Series: Yes, The Winner's Trilogy #1
Pages: 355
Copyright: 2014
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books
Buy: Amazon
Summary: from Good Reads
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.
Feelings:
Have you ever been to an auction and gotten so excited that you bid higher than you intended to and won? That is the winner's curse. You regret your purchase because it is not something you intended, but it happens. Here you have the set up for this novel. The Winner's Curse is not set in our world, but a made-up world where an empire the Valorian is expanding and coercing enslaving those they conquer. That Herrani are such a people.
Kestrel, the daughter of a general, buys a slave at auction because she sees something of herself in his defiance. Arin is our second narrator and the slave Kestrel buys. He is haughty and doesn't act like a slave should. This attitude is what draws kestrel to him. I give nothing away, when I say, this is a story of forbidden romance. It is more than that deceit, lies, and betray, but they all playing important part in the story.
This wasn't quite fantasy but it is close. The world is not our world which pushes it towards fantasy. However, I would place this in the general fiction category. A made-up world, though, does that automatically make it fantasy? Should it be considered fantasy? I seen a lot of people considering it such, and I admit I'm tempted to agree. Tempted but I feel like the story doesn't have anything, besides the green storms, that I really make it being fantasy. I'm undecided. It might be, it might not be.
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.
Feelings:
Have you ever been to an auction and gotten so excited that you bid higher than you intended to and won? That is the winner's curse. You regret your purchase because it is not something you intended, but it happens. Here you have the set up for this novel. The Winner's Curse is not set in our world, but a made-up world where an empire the Valorian is expanding and coercing enslaving those they conquer. That Herrani are such a people.
Kestrel, the daughter of a general, buys a slave at auction because she sees something of herself in his defiance. Arin is our second narrator and the slave Kestrel buys. He is haughty and doesn't act like a slave should. This attitude is what draws kestrel to him. I give nothing away, when I say, this is a story of forbidden romance. It is more than that deceit, lies, and betray, but they all playing important part in the story.
This wasn't quite fantasy but it is close. The world is not our world which pushes it towards fantasy. However, I would place this in the general fiction category. A made-up world, though, does that automatically make it fantasy? Should it be considered fantasy? I seen a lot of people considering it such, and I admit I'm tempted to agree. Tempted but I feel like the story doesn't have anything, besides the green storms, that I really make it being fantasy. I'm undecided. It might be, it might not be.
What I liked about this novel was a strong characters. This is adventure, nor is there as much romance as you might expect. It is an engaging story though. I liked the political side of the story. It wasn't what I expected, but when you think about slavery and the turmoil it causes having one group subjugated, the political side of the story rings true. While some people might have found it less then engaging, I found find fictional politics fascinating. Yes, it reflects our past, but it also shows possibilities.
Watching Arin in Kestrel in their game of intrigue was interesting. They know the other is smarter than they anticipated and that draws them to each other. There is a reveal and shadow that happens through out the story. It increased their understanding of the other, but does not reveal the other's secrets.
It was the complexity of the narrative and the strength of the characters that made this a story I can't wait to read more of. I highly recommending The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. It is a world that is bright yet full of darkness.
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