Release Date: March 4th, 2014
Genre: Romance, Political Intrigue
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 368
Rating:
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Summary:

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.

Blurb: An okay read, but never really grabbed me.

Review: I've heard some people say that fans of the Grisha Trilogy will like this book. And eh... I think I can see where they're coming from. But I adore the GT, and this book... was just okay.

Does this book have a lot of politics? Honestly... not really. I felt like we never really got to see the inner workings of their world. The class systems and heirarchy were mentioned, but never fully explored. I didn't really get to know anyone but the two main characters. And so all I got was two perspectives when I wanted a lot more. And I don't mean I wanted a multiple POV book, just a more diverse cast of characters. Or even better, a more in depth exploration of those characters.

Was the love story interesting? Yes. It was very interesting to see the two main characters struggle with their loyalty to their culture, and to each other. That was something unique. And I appreciated that neither character was willing to throw either away easily. In most cases like this it seems that the characters decide to forget everything they've known for their whole lives and just run off together, OR they decide that the only way they can move forward is to completely abandon each other. Not so in The Winner's Curse. The characters wrestled very well with their conflicting emotions.

But in the end, I'm not quite sure I was invested enough to crave the sequel. I might pick it up someday if I get the chance. But I would recommend you get this one from the library before buying it.

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