The Winners Curse
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Series: The Winner’s Trilogy
Pages: 369
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Amazon
(Only $3.38 on kindle at the moment)
Release date: 10th April 2014
Synopsis. (Goodreads): Winning what you
want may cost you everything you love
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.
But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.
But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
Review: 3 out of 5
stars
I was
quite hesitant about reading The Winners Curse, fantasy is either
hit or miss for me and the hype for this book was overwhelming when it was
first released but I’m pleased to say that I found myself enjoying it.
Seventeen
year-old Kestrel is the General’s daughter and needs to decide if she want to
join the military or get married to an elite Valorian; she prefers to make
music and doesn’t wish to conform to the rules much to her father’s dismay.
On a whim at an auction Kestrel purchases a Herrani slave at a ridiculous
price, she’s intrigued by this stranger and eager to learn more.
Characters: Our MC was wonderfully developed!
Kestrel was a strategist not a fighter, I enjoyed her passion and eagerness;
she wasn’t without her faults but I really liked her, Arin was mysterious and I
came to truly appreciate the moments he would spend with Kestrel, there was bitterness
in his persona and as the story progressed we come to find out why.
Plot: I found the first part of
the book extremely slow, we have a small inkling that something is going down
but the what was a mystery - the plotting and scheming had me curious so I was
eager to see how it would all unfold.
We do
get a sweet forbidden romance, my favourite type. The conflicting cultures were
intriguing as was the slavery aspect; the Valorians took over the lands and
conquered the Herrani many years ago.
What a liked:
*Marie
Rutkoski detailed imagery
*The
romance wasn’t at the forefront of the story, I liked the forbidden aspect.
*The
stunning cover
*Enjoyable, detailed world-building, the build-up was quite exciting and after the ending we were left with the next book has been set-up perfectly.
What I didn’t like:
* Some
parts were slow and my interest was starting to taper off before something
exciting would happen again.
* It
lacked tension and frequent action sequences I tend to find myself enjoying
* That
shocker of an ending! I neeeeed a HEA in my books and the outcome was not what
I was expecting.
*Arin’s
lack of a back-story.
Overall,
The Winners Curse is a nice start to
the series, I look forward to reading the next book in the Winner's Trilogy.
About
the author: Marie Rutkoski is
the author of the YA novel The
Shadow Society and the children's fantasy series The Kronos
Chronicles, including The
Cabinet of Wonders, The
Celestial Globe and The
Jewel of the Kalderash. Her next project
is a YA trilogy that begins with The
Winner's Curse, which is scheduled to be published in March
2014. Marie grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. She holds a BA from the University of Iowa and a PhD from Harvard University. Marie is currently a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Renaissance Drama, children's literature and fiction writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/marier..
I try to ignore the hype around books, because they never turn out to be as good as advertised, and I find that it's a good way to avoid being too disappointed. I like that the romance was subtle, and I do enjoy an author that can seamlessly incorporate imagery into their writing. Pacing problems, and lack of tension are definite cons though; I'm torn...
ReplyDeleteIsn't hype the worst? You always have such high expectations then....nothing.
ReplyDeleteI really liked The winners curse but I agree that the first half lagged a bit. I can't wait to find out more about Arin! <3
Amber Elise @ Du Livre
This is exactly why I haven't read this yet. Fantasy is already a tough genre for me. I can't handle slow books. I wanted to try the audio but I hate the narrator. Sorry you didn't love this :)
ReplyDeleteOh man, I feel better after reading your review Sharon..I listened to this on audio and just stopped listening. To be honest I was bored.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked this overall. I did too, but I definitely had problems. If you want some additional background on Arin, you could check out the prequel, Bridge of Snow. It's only a few pages long, and it's available for free on Tor.com:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tor.com/stories/2014/01/bridge-of-snow-marie-rutkoski