A Straight to the Point Review: The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski (March 2016)
484 pages
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Source: The library.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: Some kisses come at a price.

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

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My Review

I really didn't know what to expect before reading the final installment of the Winner's Curse trilogy. I didn't even read the jacket before I began, I just jumped right in. The final book was AMAZING!

Was there romance? Hell yes!

Was there a good amount of action? Yes. In many different forms.

Are the characters as awesome as you remember them being? Definitely yes.

Should you just go ahead and read this book? Obviously.

This series ended beautifully. I really couldn't have asked for a better third book. Fans of the first two books are going to love it. Those that aren't fans yet are going to be. Now that all three books are out, it is the perfect time to give this series a try because you won't have that dreadful wait in between books.

ARC Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski (March 3, 2015)
352 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Source: I won a free ARC on twitter from @FierceReads! Thanks Macmillan! **This didn't affect my honest review.
Purchase:Barnes & Noble|Amazon|The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

MY REVIEW

This is one of those reviews that I wouldn't be able to write without using a crazy amount of GIFs to express my true feelings. I want to give The Winner's Crime the proper justice that it deserves. Pictures are worth a thousand words right? So I went that route. This isn't so much of a review as much as a list of my emotions dealing with the relationship between the two main characters while reading. My heart raced, my heart bleed, my heart stopped beating and began again. (Yes, I am being dramatic, just go with it.)

As always I was nervous to begin reading a sequel of a book I loved, but I took a deep breathe and cautiously began.

The novel started off strong, although somewhat gruesome with graphic details of a torture scene, but really I was just excited to read a book that once again stared the characters I love, Arin and Kestrel. Yet... the relationship between these two love birds was beyond frustrating. I wanted a little less pain and a little more hope.They drove me insane.

The tension between Arin and Kestrel was suffocating. Even though I did love their chemistry and the pair's tension kept me interested and on edge, I was really mostly just...

I still loved all of the plotting and strategy of Kestrel's doing.

But all I wanted. All I NEEDED. Was for Arin and Kestrel to be truthful to each other.

Every time I thought I was going to get some relief from my frustrations with these two while reading...

It never quite went how I wanted.

Then the novel began to wrap up and I still wasn't satisfied. I was starting to run out of pages. I could barley breathe, I couldn't read fast enough.

Then the ending happened!! I have to wait how long for the next book?!?

I had a Love/Hate relationship with The Winner's Crime, but It was still a wonderful read. Anything that made me this emotional/invested deserves at least a four star rating from me in my book.

Even though I was frustrated throughout most of the book, I can say with certainty that the writing was superb. Well done Rutkoski.

I know I mostly just talked about Arin and Kestrel's relationship in this review, but it was the main thing going on in The Winner's Crime. I of course was also interested in the strategic game of who will rule all, but it was so in the background that I don't have much to say on that topic except that I liked the intrigue and that I look forward to see what is going to happen next.

Review: The Shadow Society by: Marie Rutkoski

The Shadow Society by: Marie Rutkoski (Aug. 26, 2014)

416 pages

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Source: The library.

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Darcy Jones doesn’t remember anything before the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. She has never really belonged anywhere—but she couldn’t have guessed that she comes from an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn’t happen and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.

Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But Conn’s interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.
As if she were his enemy.

When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades’ latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

My Review

First Line: “Knowing what I know now, I’d say my foster mother had her reasons for throwing a kitchen knife at me.”

Warning: I do a lot of rambling in this review. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't really find a good way to organize my thoughts. I'm sorry if it is hard to follow.

Besides that first line of The Shadow Society, although it had a unique world, it was using a lot of young adult book stereotypes and slightly eh, but luckily it slowly pushed past those as I was reading. I began reading the book at first with no real investment in anything and then just BAM, things changed. I got interested.

I love the alternate worlds in The Shadow Society and the differences in each because of one event that occurred in one but not the other. I liked exploring the other Chicago, the one where the Great Chicago Fire didn’t happen. I may have enjoyed this world more than your average reader because I live in Illinois near Chicago, but it was pretty darn cool. The whole concept of being a shade (read the book to learn more about this) was unique and refreshing as well.

The characters were interesting but only good, not great. I liked Darcy just fine and Conn was pretty complex. I really did enjoy reading about them. On the other hand, I wasn’t a big fan of the romance/relationship in this one. If only honesty was more important to these kids I would have had a little more respect for them and I would have cheered them on.

I don’t read a lot of young adult stand-alone novels (mostly because they don't interest me or I can't find really good ones) so I was excited to find this one, especially since I loved the author’s book The Winner’s Curse. Although The Shadow Society isn’t as good as her other book, it was an above average young adult stand-alone novel. One of the selling points to get you to read The Shadow Society may be that it had a satisfying ending, which was very nice since I feel like I’m always reading endings with huge cliff hangers. I like mixing it up. There was a good amount of action in The Shadow Society, but sadly not quite enough to appease my hunger for action in my books. It did have the good ending action scene, but that was about it.

Do I think you should read The Shadow Society? I don’t think it would hurt. It was a good paranormal young adult novel and I think would be a really good choice if you are looking for a stand-alone book. One more small thing, I do love the cover.

Review: The Winner's Curse by: Marie Rutkoski

The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) by: Marie Rutkoski (March 2014)

355 Pages

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: 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.

My Review

The Winner’s Curse had me hooked from beginning to end. There wasn’t a single dull or boring moment.

What did I like about The Winner’s Curse? I pretty much liked it ALL. Rutkoski can write, and she can write well. The descriptions were vivid, the people were memorable, the setting and fighting was easy to imagine. I was even clouded with emotion while reading about the oppression of the slaves. It was also perfectly paced. Although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it was so much more.

The characters in The Winner's Curse will blow you away. I can honestly say that I felt something for each and every one of them, whether it was hatred or love. Kestrel, the general’s daughters, is intelligent and brave and Arin is also intelligent and brave, making those two and their very sticky/complex relationship a battle of the minds and soul. It was perfectly well done, and I’m not even talking about just the romance. Their relationship was something beyond that. I loved Kestrel’s friendship with Jess and Ronan as well, it seemed true. I refuse to go into any further details because I don’t want to give anything away... so moving on.

One of my favorite parts of The Winner’s Curse was how much strategy played an important role in the whole thing. Everyone was always needing to stay one step ahead of the other characters. It wasn’t just a book about war, it was a game of wits and strategy. I couldn’t’ even tell you whose side I was on sometimes. 

The Winner’s Curse will be sure to delight fans of all different types of young adult fantasy novels. It’s the perfect book for the readers who enjoy a plot that is ever moving and changing, the ones who love a book that will make you think, and who likes reading about war and strategies.

Bottom Line: I'm ready for book two!