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brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
There is a particular niche of enemies to lovers that I enjoy the most, and yes - this is another one of them. Rereading this 6 years later, just as breathlessly engaged in everything and everyone in these books.
asaph95's review against another edition
5.0
LOVED IT. Why didn't I pick this up sooner!! Review to come.
_gyska1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
leurireads's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Ladies and gentlemen my worst 2024 read so far! Coloniser romance, coloniser apologist, the author showed her white saviour complex very thoroughly!
General spoilers ahead!!!
Reading this book was very much like reading current news and the main protagonist being a coloniser who we should sympathise for and root for because she’s battling her feelings of loyalty to her people or to heart left a very bad taste in my mouth. It starts with her questioning her people's actions while very much benefiting from them (does it not resonate with current life events?)then its her being angry that the oppressed people who she previously sympathised with have fought back and are trying to reclaim their home (again does it not resonate?) Arin the love interest, the slave, the colonised who chose the women he loves over his people??? Again bad taste in my mouth!!
I’m supposed to start sympathising with kestrel & its basically like sympathising with an !srael! :) IK she later on switches sides but for all the WRONG reasons :)
Wdym love can bring peace between the oppressed and oppressor? This is such a poorly executed concept and the fact that the main character is part of the colonisers’ empire is just disgusting. I do not wish to sympathise with her I do not wish to read her horrible thoughts of the oppressed and I do not wish to see how she dehumanises them to the point she’s just exchanging lives with the emperor, it was basically a “listen dont colonise them (the man I love is part of them) but colonise the other side instead” the worse part is that she didnt choose to switch sides out of humanity and morals, no she switched sides because she wants a man!! One more thing I need to add is the fact that ARIN who was a slave and whose home was colonised is the one who keeps APOLOGISING to the coloniser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is such a horribly executed concept, bad writing and lacks depth. I have so much to say about this but mostly, if you as an adult have read this in this day and age and ENJOYED this book then some self reflection is due.
I will not continue this series & I will not recommend it to anyone ever.
General spoilers ahead!!!
Reading this book was very much like reading current news and the main protagonist being a coloniser who we should sympathise for and root for because she’s battling her feelings of loyalty to her people or to heart left a very bad taste in my mouth. It starts with her questioning her people's actions while very much benefiting from them (does it not resonate with current life events?)then its her being angry that the oppressed people who she previously sympathised with have fought back and are trying to reclaim their home (again does it not resonate?) Arin the love interest, the slave, the colonised who chose the women he loves over his people??? Again bad taste in my mouth!!
I’m supposed to start sympathising with kestrel & its basically like sympathising with an !srael! :) IK she later on switches sides but for all the WRONG reasons :)
Wdym love can bring peace between the oppressed and oppressor? This is such a poorly executed concept and the fact that the main character is part of the colonisers’ empire is just disgusting. I do not wish to sympathise with her I do not wish to read her horrible thoughts of the oppressed and I do not wish to see how she dehumanises them to the point she’s just exchanging lives with the emperor, it was basically a “listen dont colonise them (the man I love is part of them) but colonise the other side instead” the worse part is that she didnt choose to switch sides out of humanity and morals, no she switched sides because she wants a man!! One more thing I need to add is the fact that ARIN who was a slave and whose home was colonised is the one who keeps APOLOGISING to the coloniser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is such a horribly executed concept, bad writing and lacks depth. I have so much to say about this but mostly, if you as an adult have read this in this day and age and ENJOYED this book then some self reflection is due.
I will not continue this series & I will not recommend it to anyone ever.
eesh25's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book that I liked enough to wish I could give it a better rating.
It follows Kestral, the daughter of a Valorian general. She lives in a society where, by the age of twenty, you either join the military or you get married. Kestral wishes to do neither. Slavery is very prevalent and when Kestral finds herself falling for a Herran slave she bought, it's a problem. On top of that, her slave, Arin, has his own secret plans.
So, positives first. I really liked Kestral.
Usually, in YA, a strong female characters means some who is either good in physical fights, or someone who's stubborn, reckless and downright annoying. Sometimes, they're both (*cough* Sardothian *cough*). Kestral is refreshing because she's smart, perceptive and very strategic. And considering this story is quite slow and character-driven, Kestral being interesting was important. She was refreshing and I enjoyed reading from her perspective. She made the book interesting. In fact, all the characters were fairly interesting.
That's the only just-positive thing I have for this book. Others are a mix. Like Arin.
I didn't think much of him in the beginning and though he grew on me since he was a really good guy, and fairly smart too, I still wish he didn't so often let his emotions get the best of him. And I have a feeling that wish will be granted to some extent in the next book.
The romance was also very good. But sometimes, the intensity of their feeling was more that what made sense, from what we'd seen.
The writing was good and flowed well, but it was a bit pretentious at time. These line, for example:
He walked, thinking of the things he had learned in the parlor. his mind touched them, considering their shapes and sizes as if they were beads on a string.
And then:
Arin let this new information slip along the string in his mind, click against the other beads, and be silent.
It was a bit much.
For the negatives, I have two things. One was the fact that this book is being categorized as a fantasy when it isn't a fantasy at all. It's mainly a romance with class oppression and rebellions. If someone read this book looking for a fantasy, that person would be very disappointed, and kinda bored. Thankfully, I'd already heard that this was mostly a romance.
Lastly, there wasn't much world-building. The book told us some stuff but not enough to paint a picture of the world. There wasn't much information about the system (were there slaves everywhere or just in Herran? Was the entire empire Military based?), about the geography (what kind of terrain was the world, or even the Valorian empire?) or about social classes or castes (Valorian, Herran, barbarians and what else? What differentiates them?). I would have liked to have a clearer picture.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read, but very contained. I'm looking forward to the next book not just because of the story, but also because I think it will expand, and explain, the world it's set in.
Whether I recommend the series depends on how much I like the next book.
phoenix2's review against another edition
3.0
The Winner's Curse is the first book of the YA fantasy series with historical novel vibes.
The book is classic YA, with many tropes and twists that could be found in nearly all the young adult books of that period. And yet, the story is interesting, thrilling, and and suspenseful, even making one want to read more. The romance was angsty enough to keep things thrilling to the very end, which was an open one, giving room for the story to unfold properly in the second book. Actually, the whole book kind of felt like it was setting the pieces down for the rest of the series.
So, three out of five stars for this one; not a very deep book but an adictive read nevertheless.
The book is classic YA, with many tropes and twists that could be found in nearly all the young adult books of that period. And yet, the story is interesting, thrilling, and and suspenseful, even making one want to read more. The romance was angsty enough to keep things thrilling to the very end, which was an open one, giving room for the story to unfold properly in the second book. Actually, the whole book kind of felt like it was setting the pieces down for the rest of the series.
So, three out of five stars for this one; not a very deep book but an adictive read nevertheless.
madelynskies's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
yukarin's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
Okay, where do I begin. I hated the main characters friends because they only pushed her their own way and for their own convinience. I don't think Kestrel is all that intelligent and strong minded since she made quite a few stupid decisions through the story (also very thoughfull decisions but we are talking about the things that annoyed me first). Also the romance: Kestrel was loving one paragraph and hating her love interest the next one. That's not how I picture a hate-to-love relationship because there was no real progress to the loving part only a constant change in heart which annoyed me quite a lot. Because of that I found Kestrel quite indecisive and egoistic at times.
Plotwise the book was neatly done. I liked the overall story, setting the romance aside.
I hope that my problems with this first book will go away or lessen in the next books.
Okay, where do I begin. I hated the main characters friends because they only pushed her their own way and for their own convinience. I don't think Kestrel is all that intelligent and strong minded since she made quite a few stupid decisions through the story (also very thoughfull decisions but we are talking about the things that annoyed me first). Also the romance: Kestrel was loving one paragraph and hating her love interest the next one. That's not how I picture a hate-to-love relationship because there was no real progress to the loving part only a constant change in heart which annoyed me quite a lot. Because of that I found Kestrel quite indecisive and egoistic at times.
Plotwise the book was neatly done. I liked the overall story, setting the romance aside.
I hope that my problems with this first book will go away or lessen in the next books.
erikajay's review against another edition
5.0
I love the enemies to lovers trope! And it is done very well here.
The world building was great. The history is well explained and you get a real sense of the two groups of people in the city. Because of that, we’re able to understand our characters better and see both of their motivations.
Character development was also great. Both of our main characters are interesting and complex. We get both of their POV, which makes the book a lot more interesting.
The world building was great. The history is well explained and you get a real sense of the two groups of people in the city. Because of that, we’re able to understand our characters better and see both of their motivations.
Character development was also great. Both of our main characters are interesting and complex. We get both of their POV, which makes the book a lot more interesting.