The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1)- Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Curse Cover

Title: The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1)
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Release Date: March 2014
Rating: 7.5 stars
















Goodreads Description

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

Okay, so when I read the synopsis of The Winner's Curse I was really intrigued. I really like these stories where two people of different classes/enemies fall for each other. I really like it here too. The story is told from both Kestrel's and Arin's point of view which let us see all the sides of the story. It is set in a world where the Valorians (Kestrel's people) have conquered a lot of countries. They enslaved the Herrani and they really do have a lot of slaves. Right when I started the book I could just shake my head because it seems like they are begging for the Herrani to start resisting the Valorians.

I really liked Kestrel for the largest part of the book. She is really good at strategy, but doesn't want to enlist to the military which her father wishes for her to do. That means that she has to marry when she is twenty (Military or marriage- how awesome to be a woman in this world -.-). She is really nice and treats the slaves better than the other Valorians. At one point of the book she started to annoy me for a bit because she just didn't do anything, but for the most part she is a really great character.

With Arin I had my problems. I don't know why I didn't like him. He seems like a good person and he only wants his people to be free but... yeah. Also some of the actions he takes just seemed a bit unbelievable to me. If I wanted my people free so badly, would I risk it for love? I don't think so, to be honest.

There were also some side characters I really liked, but they could've been made more important because right now I feel like there were just Arin and Kestrel.

The story was really good but it seemed to me that the Climax came already in the middle of the book. This doesn't have to be bad because we know what to expect until that point and after that not so much anymore.

I really don't know how the Trilogy will continue and even though I didn't LOVE it, I'm excited to see how things will develop.