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?
The Winner’s Kiss by Maire Rutkoski
Pages: 496
Publish date: 24 March 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
ISBN: 1408858746
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU (Kindle and Audible only so far)
This review will have spoilers from the previous novels in the trilogy.
Pages: 496
Publish date: 24 March 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
ISBN: 1408858746
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU (Kindle and Audible only so far)
This review will have spoilers from the previous novels in the trilogy.
I loved the first two books in this trilogy – I adored them. I was intrigued by the world, by the characters and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I read both The Winner’s Curse and The Winner’s Crime in a day each and it was no different when I read The Winner’s Kiss.
The Winner’s Kiss was action packed, emotional and also kept me on my feet. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, it was full of blood, secrets and revenge. Would Kestrel and Arin ever see each other again? If they would ever come back together?
The Winner’s Kiss starts off not long after where The Winners Crime finished. Kestrel is being held prisoner in a brutal work camp. When the book starts she is just arriving and is not prepared for what is in stall for her. She is hoping that Arin will come and save her, but as the days go on and on her hope dwindles.
The work camp scenes were very hard to read at times. I just wanted to hold Kestrel in my arms. Her whole life she hasn’t had to deal with things like this and now she is doing them herself. She is being drugged so that she works hour after hour and it’s tearing her apart. She is being mentally and physically tortured. One of the hardest things about these scenes throughout the book was that I knew that her father was responsible for this. Her own father put her there.
Arin is not physically being tortured, but he is mentally. He thinks that Kestrel has betrayed him, she cared more about the empire than him. He is trying to convince himself that he no longer loves her, that he no longer cares. But as a reader you can see right through it and all you want to do is hug him nice and tight.
This might be a spoiler here, but you cannot go nearly 500 pages of a novel and Kestrel still be in the prison. She does escape with the help of a special someone. But her experiences have changed her and this broke my heart.
There were countless twists and turns throughout The Winner’s Kiss and I didn’t know whether anyone was going to be safe, I couldn’t know till the last page.
The Winner’s Kiss is much darker than the previous novels. Both protagonists have gone through so much and they have both been hurt. Arin is swoon-worthy and gorgeous, but he has been hurt and he doesn’t trust anyone. Kestrel is broken, but her love is what gets her through it all.
Marie Rutkoski's writing is exquisite, it just takes you right into the story and you are lifted into another world. The world building in these books is also taken to another level.
The Winner’s Kiss has everything; romance, friendship, battles, and heaps of banter that helps release the tension, and it was brilliant.
One thing that I have loved about this series from the start is the strategies. It’s well thought out, well planned and very interesting to read.
The romance in The Winner’s Kiss just broke my heart. I adore Kestrel and Arin together, from the start they captured my heart. Throughout The Winner’s Kiss they are tested, they are broken, they are torn apart, and they are pulled in many different directions.
I could go on and on, about how I feel about The Winner’s Kiss, but I will finish with this: The Winner’s Kiss was a near perfect ending to a brilliant series that blew away my expectations. It deals with many things from politics, religion, war, and love. It takes you on a journey that you will never want to end. It will capture your heart, but wreak your emotions, and it will break you and put you together over and over again until the very last page.
The Winner’s Kiss was action packed, emotional and also kept me on my feet. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, it was full of blood, secrets and revenge. Would Kestrel and Arin ever see each other again? If they would ever come back together?
The Winner’s Kiss starts off not long after where The Winners Crime finished. Kestrel is being held prisoner in a brutal work camp. When the book starts she is just arriving and is not prepared for what is in stall for her. She is hoping that Arin will come and save her, but as the days go on and on her hope dwindles.
The work camp scenes were very hard to read at times. I just wanted to hold Kestrel in my arms. Her whole life she hasn’t had to deal with things like this and now she is doing them herself. She is being drugged so that she works hour after hour and it’s tearing her apart. She is being mentally and physically tortured. One of the hardest things about these scenes throughout the book was that I knew that her father was responsible for this. Her own father put her there.
Arin is not physically being tortured, but he is mentally. He thinks that Kestrel has betrayed him, she cared more about the empire than him. He is trying to convince himself that he no longer loves her, that he no longer cares. But as a reader you can see right through it and all you want to do is hug him nice and tight.
This might be a spoiler here, but you cannot go nearly 500 pages of a novel and Kestrel still be in the prison. She does escape with the help of a special someone. But her experiences have changed her and this broke my heart.
There were countless twists and turns throughout The Winner’s Kiss and I didn’t know whether anyone was going to be safe, I couldn’t know till the last page.
The Winner’s Kiss is much darker than the previous novels. Both protagonists have gone through so much and they have both been hurt. Arin is swoon-worthy and gorgeous, but he has been hurt and he doesn’t trust anyone. Kestrel is broken, but her love is what gets her through it all.
Marie Rutkoski's writing is exquisite, it just takes you right into the story and you are lifted into another world. The world building in these books is also taken to another level.
The Winner’s Kiss has everything; romance, friendship, battles, and heaps of banter that helps release the tension, and it was brilliant.
One thing that I have loved about this series from the start is the strategies. It’s well thought out, well planned and very interesting to read.
The romance in The Winner’s Kiss just broke my heart. I adore Kestrel and Arin together, from the start they captured my heart. Throughout The Winner’s Kiss they are tested, they are broken, they are torn apart, and they are pulled in many different directions.
I could go on and on, about how I feel about The Winner’s Kiss, but I will finish with this: The Winner’s Kiss was a near perfect ending to a brilliant series that blew away my expectations. It deals with many things from politics, religion, war, and love. It takes you on a journey that you will never want to end. It will capture your heart, but wreak your emotions, and it will break you and put you together over and over again until the very last page.
DISCLAIMER: Bloomsbury Children’s provided me with an e-arc of The Winner’s Kiss via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.
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