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hsecen's review against another edition
3.0
I decided to give this series a reread after so many years to see how it holds up. I will say the whole empire ruling over slaves plot isn't great. In the current climate, it was difficult for me to feel really sympathy for the Valorians, though at the same time, they definitely aren't painted in a wonderful light anyway. I could see the potential in Arin and Kestrel's relationship. I remember reading this years ago and thinking their romance was so wonderful - this reread I could see it starting to blossom before the climax but I never got the sense that they had the deeper attachment that was later implied. Reading about the military and political strategy was really interesting but required a bit of digesting to truly understand.
louetceslivres's review against another edition
4.0
4.5⭐️
this book is simply incredible!!
the incredible characters!
the political plots!
this book is simply incredible!!
the incredible characters!
the political plots!
melissa_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
This book grew on me as a read it. The culture within the story reminds me of the Jane Austen era, as the rules of propriety are quite apparent as well as the class structure.
There are two races in this story, the Herran and the Valorians. The Valorians are militant people, and the young Valorians must choose before they are 18 to either join the military or marry. 10 years ago, the Valorians conquered and enslaved the Herrani people. Kestral, the protagonist, was quite young at the time. Her father is a general in the Valorian army and after the Herran War he mother passed away from illness. Kestral is quite headstrong and does not want to join the military or marry, must to her fathers distress. One day, Kestral goes to a market & is a spectator at a slave auction. One young man catches her eye as the auctioneer reveals that he is a singer, music is close to Kestral's heart. She decides to purchase the slave and over time grows close to him. Little does she know that she may have brought down the winner's curse on herself as the tables turn.
I found the book quite interesting. It was definitely thrilling towards the end, I can't wait to see what Rutkoski does in the next installment of the Winner's Triology
There are two races in this story, the Herran and the Valorians. The Valorians are militant people, and the young Valorians must choose before they are 18 to either join the military or marry. 10 years ago, the Valorians conquered and enslaved the Herrani people. Kestral, the protagonist, was quite young at the time. Her father is a general in the Valorian army and after the Herran War he mother passed away from illness. Kestral is quite headstrong and does not want to join the military or marry, must to her fathers distress. One day, Kestral goes to a market & is a spectator at a slave auction. One young man catches her eye as the auctioneer reveals that he is a singer, music is close to Kestral's heart. She decides to purchase the slave and over time grows close to him. Little does she know that she may have brought down the winner's curse on herself as the tables turn.
I found the book quite interesting. It was definitely thrilling towards the end, I can't wait to see what Rutkoski does in the next installment of the Winner's Triology
bookdust's review against another edition
4.0
My heart is heavy at this book's end. This story is so tragic and the writing SO elegant. It truly embodies the concept of the "winner's curse." What a read. I CANNOT wait to read its sequel. I know it's only going to give me more heartache, but I'm prepared.
justplainbecca's review against another edition
5.0
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge
Task 11: A YA Novel
Task 11: A YA Novel
amieib's review against another edition
4.0
I have been in a reading slump for MONTHS - it probably was the combination of starting school again and a new demanding job that made it impossible to concentrate on the book I was reading prior to this.
I decided to just go ahead and read this book because I saw that Illumicrate was making special editions of them and I had seen some positive reviews - I bought the book because I had heard that the series was severely underrated.
I read this book pretty much in three days which may not be impressive in general but certainly was for me who has spent the last three months reading the same page of a previous book over and over again or not reading at all.
This was such a quick enjoyable read. The world building was simple enough to follow and I am now fully invested in Kestrel and Arin's individual and joint endeavours. I also really liked what the side characters brought to the table - I'm not a fan of all of them but I do appreciate the dimensions they create.
I also need updates about Jess and Ronan - my new favourite book siblings! I am also desperate for Ronan and Kestrel to get some closure. Ronan has my heart and I want to see him happy, even if he might not end up with Kestrel.
This was easily a 3.5-4 star read for me and I am looking forward to completing the series.
I decided to just go ahead and read this book because I saw that Illumicrate was making special editions of them and I had seen some positive reviews - I bought the book because I had heard that the series was severely underrated.
I read this book pretty much in three days which may not be impressive in general but certainly was for me who has spent the last three months reading the same page of a previous book over and over again or not reading at all.
This was such a quick enjoyable read. The world building was simple enough to follow and I am now fully invested in Kestrel and Arin's individual and joint endeavours. I also really liked what the side characters brought to the table - I'm not a fan of all of them but I do appreciate the dimensions they create.
I also need updates about Jess and Ronan - my new favourite book siblings! I am also desperate for Ronan and Kestrel to get some closure. Ronan has my heart and I want to see him happy, even if he might not end up with Kestrel.
This was easily a 3.5-4 star read for me and I am looking forward to completing the series.
hurrikanekathrina's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 stars!
Wow! Wowowowow! What an amazing book! I am so glad that my friends from the buddy read made me read this book. Shout out to you guys!
Beware when you start this book. It will be nearly impossible to put it down! Better plan a free day so you can finish it all in one sitting, because being forced to stop is torture!
If I had to describe this book in three words it would be: Intriguing. Mature. Unputdownable.
But luckily, I don't have to limit myself to three words, so I shall ramble happily about all the great things of this book that made me rate it 5 stars and put it on my favorite shelf.
The fantasy aspect of this book is not very heavy. Other than the names of the nations and places being fictional, this could be set in our world during the time of the Roman's conquest of Greece (which has several parallel's to this book's society). When I heard that this book would be about historical fantasy, focusing on the aspect of slavery, I was doubtful if I would enjoy this book (as I prefer very fantastical and otherworldly fantasy over realism and history. I know. Shame on me.) But the writing style, the great main characters and the world building was so good and so intriguing. I flew threw this book.
Whenever I would put it down, it found its way into my hands again in a matter of minutes and 'one' more chapter became ten.
Though the pacing is relatively slow at the beginning, the story and the character's dynamics pulled me in from the very first chapter. This books main strength is its two main characters.
Kestrel the female lead, is the general's daughter and part of the elite of her society. She took some time to grow on me. It wasn't that I didn't like her, but she was rather cold and reserved, so it took some time to slip into her perspective and feel what she's feeling. However, she is deadly smart and is a different kind of "badass" (her strength is, other than most badass female characters, not in physical combat or kickassery, but in her sharp, almost Sherlock Holmes-esque combination skills and wit.) It was so, so enjoyable to see how she maneuvers and talks her way out of the most dangerous situations, how she keeps a cool head even when she is overrun by emotions. She's definitely NOT an annoying female damsel in distress that will have you tear your hair out in frustration because of her impulsive and stupid decisions. This girl thinks before she acts. She plots all the time, always looking for ways to tip a situation in her favor. That also makes her harder to identify with, because she's lacking that teenage aspect of most YA female protagonists (and while often YA overdoes that aspect to the point of having annoying, angsty Mary-Sues, when it's done in small dosises and not the main aspect of the character's personality, it offers comedic relief and a means to indentify yourself with the character if you a young adult girl yourself) but who says you always need to be able to identify yourself with a character 100%ly?
Now to our male lead, Arin . Oh, Arin, you got me from the beginning. Grim, quiet, mysterious, dark, he is all the things that I love in a male character. It is my luck that lately I seem to encounter more and more mature, thoughtful YA males (in contrast to the vast number of generic and boring "smirky, cocky womanizers/assholes" that seemed to dominate the genre for quite some time) and Arin is such a character. Despite being a slave he had this silent pride and something I'd like to call a "brooding anger" inside of him that just made him interesting from the very first page he appeared. I don't want to give too much away about him, but he's def. my favorite character so far.
The writing style was very prosy beautiful yet at the same time easy to read (which is something to accomplish).
The cover and design is very beautiful as well, btw, the edges of this book are ragged and frayed and the paper feels nice and solid. Has nothing to do with the story or the content of this book, but still, props to the publisher for that.
Wow! Wowowowow! What an amazing book! I am so glad that my friends from the buddy read made me read this book. Shout out to you guys!
Beware when you start this book. It will be nearly impossible to put it down! Better plan a free day so you can finish it all in one sitting, because being forced to stop is torture!
If I had to describe this book in three words it would be: Intriguing. Mature. Unputdownable.
But luckily, I don't have to limit myself to three words, so I shall ramble happily about all the great things of this book that made me rate it 5 stars and put it on my favorite shelf.
The fantasy aspect of this book is not very heavy. Other than the names of the nations and places being fictional, this could be set in our world during the time of the Roman's conquest of Greece (which has several parallel's to this book's society). When I heard that this book would be about historical fantasy, focusing on the aspect of slavery, I was doubtful if I would enjoy this book (as I prefer very fantastical and otherworldly fantasy over realism and history. I know. Shame on me.) But the writing style, the great main characters and the world building was so good and so intriguing. I flew threw this book.
Whenever I would put it down, it found its way into my hands again in a matter of minutes and 'one' more chapter became ten.
Though the pacing is relatively slow at the beginning, the story and the character's dynamics pulled me in from the very first chapter. This books main strength is its two main characters.
Kestrel the female lead, is the general's daughter and part of the elite of her society. She took some time to grow on me. It wasn't that I didn't like her, but she was rather cold and reserved, so it took some time to slip into her perspective and feel what she's feeling. However, she is deadly smart and is a different kind of "badass" (her strength is, other than most badass female characters, not in physical combat or kickassery, but in her sharp, almost Sherlock Holmes-esque combination skills and wit.) It was so, so enjoyable to see how she maneuvers and talks her way out of the most dangerous situations, how she keeps a cool head even when she is overrun by emotions. She's definitely NOT an annoying female damsel in distress that will have you tear your hair out in frustration because of her impulsive and stupid decisions. This girl thinks before she acts. She plots all the time, always looking for ways to tip a situation in her favor. That also makes her harder to identify with, because she's lacking that teenage aspect of most YA female protagonists (and while often YA overdoes that aspect to the point of having annoying, angsty Mary-Sues, when it's done in small dosises and not the main aspect of the character's personality, it offers comedic relief and a means to indentify yourself with the character if you a young adult girl yourself) but who says you always need to be able to identify yourself with a character 100%ly?
Now to our male lead, Arin . Oh, Arin, you got me from the beginning. Grim, quiet, mysterious, dark, he is all the things that I love in a male character. It is my luck that lately I seem to encounter more and more mature, thoughtful YA males (in contrast to the vast number of generic and boring "smirky, cocky womanizers/assholes" that seemed to dominate the genre for quite some time) and Arin is such a character. Despite being a slave he had this silent pride and something I'd like to call a "brooding anger" inside of him that just made him interesting from the very first page he appeared. I don't want to give too much away about him, but he's def. my favorite character so far.
The writing style was very prosy beautiful yet at the same time easy to read (which is something to accomplish).
The cover and design is very beautiful as well, btw, the edges of this book are ragged and frayed and the paper feels nice and solid. Has nothing to do with the story or the content of this book, but still, props to the publisher for that.
breezy610's review against another edition
5.0
the winner's curse is the stunning first book in this exciting new trily/series. I true have me wrapped in it pages. I read the whole book in one sitting. I can't wait the next to come out.
blurrypetals's review against another edition
3.0
"You enjoyed the entire Grishaverse and The Wrath and the Dawn, both historical fiction, and you initially thought you were going to hate them! This is gonna be great. It might be a little bit of an adjustment, but you're gonna love it!" - my subconscious, as I was searching for books outside my comfort zone that I might still enjoy
In most situations, this would likely be the last book I would read in the series, but I am genuinely interested in seeing what happens to Arin and Kestrel and I'm still trying to reach outside my comfort zone, so I'm going to keep going.
With that said, everything to do the whole revolution and war felt so dull. In The Grisha Trilogy and The Wrath and the Dawn, there are wars, lots of bloodshed, and I understand and empathize with the people who are participating in it, even going so far as to make me empathize with the "bad guy" in the case of The Grisha Trilogy.
Here, though, I understand it, I see the pain the slaves are going through, but once the revolution begins and then eventually overthrows the city, I found myself completely detached from everything. It all felt so two dimensional.
I think one edge The Grisha Trilogy and The Wrath and the Dawn had, too, was the fact that they weren't just historical fiction, they were also fantasies with magic and mysticism, not just historical fictions.
Hopefully this next book will get me to care a bit more, but we'll see! I'll catch you in the next one.
In most situations, this would likely be the last book I would read in the series, but I am genuinely interested in seeing what happens to Arin and Kestrel and I'm still trying to reach outside my comfort zone, so I'm going to keep going.
With that said, everything to do the whole revolution and war felt so dull. In The Grisha Trilogy and The Wrath and the Dawn, there are wars, lots of bloodshed, and I understand and empathize with the people who are participating in it, even going so far as to make me empathize with the "bad guy" in the case of The Grisha Trilogy.
Here, though, I understand it, I see the pain the slaves are going through, but once the revolution begins and then eventually overthrows the city, I found myself completely detached from everything. It all felt so two dimensional.
I think one edge The Grisha Trilogy and The Wrath and the Dawn had, too, was the fact that they weren't just historical fiction, they were also fantasies with magic and mysticism, not just historical fictions.
Hopefully this next book will get me to care a bit more, but we'll see! I'll catch you in the next one.
nana_darling's review against another edition
5.0
...wow... This book was so amazing!!! I loved every line and chapter in this book!!! Plus the characters are absolutly loveable, I loved Kestrel's confidence and her quick, smart mind and Arins strong and bold sprit . This is definitely one of my favorite books !