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booksarefriends_notfood's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
uruseibaka's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
"You don't, Kestrel, even though the god of lies loves you."
This review is super late but I still remember being #SHOOK over that ending.
I vaguely remember screaming "WHYYYY" into the void, yes.
Anyway, this was a fun read, it was interesting enough to keep me going but it lacked that WOWZA factor for me. The good old forbidden romance was well, good. A girl and a boy from different worlds fall for each other hmmm, where have I read that before? Still, I liked the story enough to finish it.
Overall, I don't actually remember much from the book (oops?) and I wasn't even able to find highlight-worthy quotes but the ending and of course, the undying attractive force of the forbidden love story was enough to earn a high rating from me.
Would I recommend it? Hmm, maybe if you're into that Romeo and Juliet kind of love minus the death part.
"You don't, Kestrel, even though the god of lies loves you."
This review is super late but I still remember being #SHOOK over that ending.
I vaguely remember screaming "WHYYYY" into the void, yes.
Anyway, this was a fun read, it was interesting enough to keep me going but it lacked that WOWZA factor for me. The good old forbidden romance was well, good. A girl and a boy from different worlds fall for each other hmmm, where have I read that before? Still, I liked the story enough to finish it.
Overall, I don't actually remember much from the book (oops?) and I wasn't even able to find highlight-worthy quotes but the ending and of course, the undying attractive force of the forbidden love story was enough to earn a high rating from me.
Would I recommend it? Hmm, maybe if you're into that Romeo and Juliet kind of love minus the death part.
harleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 Stars
I'm not exactly sure on how I feel about this book. It was certainly not was I was expecting. When I began reading this book I was expecting a fantasy story about a girl who bought a slave and the war that led to the how the world is then, not a romance novel. I found the first 150 pages to be extremely boring, I wasn't sure at some points if I was gonna be able to finish. I am so glad that I did, after an event that happens half way though the story just unfurled. It became so much better, I couldn't put it down. It became fast-paced, and exciting trying to figure out what will happen next. While not a whole lot happened, enough happened for me to change my original opinion of the book.
All in all I'm somewhat pleased by this book and will be continuing on with the series.
I'm not exactly sure on how I feel about this book. It was certainly not was I was expecting. When I began reading this book I was expecting a fantasy story about a girl who bought a slave and the war that led to the how the world is then, not a romance novel. I found the first 150 pages to be extremely boring, I wasn't sure at some points if I was gonna be able to finish. I am so glad that I did, after an event that happens half way though the story just unfurled. It became so much better, I couldn't put it down. It became fast-paced, and exciting trying to figure out what will happen next. While not a whole lot happened, enough happened for me to change my original opinion of the book.
All in all I'm somewhat pleased by this book and will be continuing on with the series.
emmad24's review against another edition
5.0
*More like 4.5 stars but idk*
I honestly don't know how I feel about this all I wanted was the relationship part of the story screw everything else. And the ending irritates me bc I don't have the next book to start reading :(
I honestly don't know how I feel about this all I wanted was the relationship part of the story screw everything else. And the ending irritates me bc I don't have the next book to start reading :(
_ottavia_'s review
5.0
I finally gave an exam this morning so obviously I spent the afternoon reading and finishing this book. For a while I thought about giving a four star rating, not a five, but then I ended up giving the highest, for some reason.
It's not a flawless book, I didn't like the war scenes, for example, cause after reading a lot of high fantasy they seemed a bit ridiculous.
But it was the first time in which I completely and absolutely liked the main character, Kestrel. Usually, especially with YA, but also with more adult fantasy, my sympaty for the main female character is balanced by some good amount of dislike for their stupidity: it's not like YA character are the smartest in the literary world and I also have a natural dislike for irrational people. But Kestrel is nothing like that. She's smart, rational, always calculating what to do, how to do it and the consequences of her action. As a student of International Relations that is wonderful to see. I did not find her stupid once, which is a miracle. But I found him, Arin, stupid sometimes, which is better. And above all, the book is completely without those scene where she sees him and became instantly dumb, where she can't even move because he's so beautiful but somehow he's always capable of doing anything, despite her beauty.
No, the romance here is believable, the conflict feels real and interesting, the politics is simple but well putted and the characters are amazing. A very good read!
It's not a flawless book, I didn't like the war scenes, for example, cause after reading a lot of high fantasy they seemed a bit ridiculous.
But it was the first time in which I completely and absolutely liked the main character, Kestrel. Usually, especially with YA, but also with more adult fantasy, my sympaty for the main female character is balanced by some good amount of dislike for their stupidity: it's not like YA character are the smartest in the literary world and I also have a natural dislike for irrational people. But Kestrel is nothing like that. She's smart, rational, always calculating what to do, how to do it and the consequences of her action. As a student of International Relations that is wonderful to see. I did not find her stupid once, which is a miracle. But I found him, Arin, stupid sometimes, which is better. And above all, the book is completely without those scene where she sees him and became instantly dumb, where she can't even move because he's so beautiful but somehow he's always capable of doing anything, despite her beauty.
No, the romance here is believable, the conflict feels real and interesting, the politics is simple but well putted and the characters are amazing. A very good read!
bookdevouringmisfit's review
4.0
Despite the many glowing reviews I get why there's still some who didn't like this book at all. The Winner's Curse may be a tad too tame compared to some high fantasy books out there but I'm glad that despite a slow first part, I was still interested to continue onto the second part where things got more interesting and fast-paced. What got me the most, I think, is the romance. I'm a sucker for a romance done well and this has it. Kestrel and Arin's romance is sweet and slow-burn. I didn't initially like Arin and Kestrel but when they were together I forget how infuriating they can be sometimes. Especially Arin. There was a scene near the end that just gutted me and my shipper heart when . It just broke my heart and I damn near cried. I heard that the second book wouldn't focus much on the romance and despite me thinking that there's more romance in this book than it should, I can't help but be a bit sad that we won't be getting any Kestrel and Arin kisses in the second installment. But fortunately, the third book is titled The Winner's Kiss and even though I think it's a bit random, I'm holding on to the thought that maybe Kestrel and Arin will be sharing a lot of kisses in the future.