The Winner's Curse(The Winner's Trilogy, #1)

☆☆☆☆

THE winner's curse.

The Winner's Trilogy, #1
 marie rutkoski..

Publisher  Farrar Straus Giroux

Publication Date: March 4,2014.

Genre:  YA Fantasy|Romance.

 Format|Pages: Paperback|355.

 Source: Goodreads| Library

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. 

 ✎

Another book that has me at loss for words. I did not know what to expect when I picked this at the library. The cover captured my attention, and the title. THE WINNER’S CURSE is a title that will draw you to the book, and make you wonder about the story. That was one of the reasons that I picked up. Then, I read the summary and it sounded interesting so I decided to check it out. I am so glad that I did. I felt as if it did start out slow. However, it picked up within few pages and then I had hard time putting the book down. I loved Kesrel from the beginning of the book, who to me was a strong character. I loved how she did not let anyone treat her without respect and she was not afraid to let others know what she was feeling. Kestrel is type of girl that you would not want to mess with her. You cannot help but fall in love with her. From all of the characters in the book, she was my favorite. Through the book, you could see the most significant change in Kestrel’s character. Just when I think that she cannot surprise me anymore, Kestrel does something else unexpected that you do not see coming. The book got to the point where it got hard to put down because you wanted to know what would come next.



Arin is another character that you will fall in love with. I knew there was a reason that Kestrel bough them at the slave auction, even if Kestrel might not know at the time. However, even I did not know what would happen towards the end of the book. I think that I was as shocked as Kestrel was when it was discovered. Their relationship, it felt real. The pace was slow and they did keep going back and forth for half of the book but that how some of relationships are. That was one of the things that I liked about, the relationship did not feel rushed and they did not fall in love right away. Although, I did have a feeling that there was some sort of connection between the two of them when they met, but I am not sure about it. The only what I was not fond of is the way that the two of them treated each other sometimes. Of course, now I cannot help but wonder what is going to happen between them in the next book, considering what happened towards the end of the book. The ending, which made me wish that I had the next book in the series.



THE WINNER’S CURSE was the first book that I have read by MARIE RUTKOSKI and I did not know what to expect from the book. I did not start the book with high expectations. However, it did not take me long to figure out how wrong I was. THE WINNER’S CURSE had everything that I love about books and one of the books that I wished that I picked up sooner that I have. In addition, it is a story that you will find yourself thinking about long after you finish it, or talking to your friends about. It does have romance, however it is more action packed than the romance. I cannot wait to find out what happens with all the characters next.