Review : The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Pages : 355
Genre : YA, Fantasy
Series : The Winner’s Trilogy, book 1
My Rating : 4/5
About the Book :
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.
My Thoughts :
I’ve had a lot of pleasant surprises when it comes to reading so far this year, and The Winner’s Curse is another one of them. For entertainment alone, I’d give this book 5 stars out of 5. Once I started reading it I didn’t want to put it down, and once I finished it, I wish I could have read the sequel right away!
In many ways, The Winner’s Curse is very similar to the Throne of Glass. It’s a fantasy heavy with romance, dresses and deceit. In fact, I’d say that by comparison, The Winner’s Curse is a lot more focused on the romance and a lot less on the action, yet I found the romance here to be much more enjoyable. We know it’s coming from early on, yet it’s brought on slowly, softly, in a very natural way rather than insta-love. I also really appreciated how Kestrel and Arin’s backstories played such a great role in who they were and what they found in each other.
The story, like the romance, started very slow – but once it started, I found it gripping. It does help that Marie Rutkoski’s writing is absolutely delightful, whether she’s narrating a social gathering or describing a fast-paced action scene. I also found the overall setting to be pleasantly nuanced, each side of the war having some good among its evil and some evil among its good. The political intrigues were good, and I loved that Kestrel was weak in combat but strong in mind.
I also really liked Kestrel’s dad as a character. I didn’t agree with all of his thoughts and decisions, but it was very refreshing to have a parent in a YA fantasy novel that wasn’t dead, conveniently absent or constantly perfect. Kestrel and her father’s relationship is one of love and expectations, imperfect yet complex, as family relationships often are. This was one of my favorite aspects of the book.
While I was very entertained through the whole story, there were a few flaws that kept me from completely falling in love with it. The action was a bit too slow to come at times, and hadn’t I read the summary and a few reviews before, I would have though this was strictly romance. Then, toward the end, after some amazing action sequences and captivating revelations, I felt like the conclusion (which I loved) revealed itself to slowly, adding scene after scene without a clear direction.
Overall though, I absolutely adored my time with The Winner’s Curse. I’m excited that book 3 is coming out a few weeks from now, meaning I’ll probably be completing the series really soon. And considering how this first book concluded, I have no idea what the author has in store next!
Series Reading Order :
- The Winner’s Curse
- The Winner’s Crime
- The Winner’s Kiss
