The Winner's Curse

Title: The Winner's Curse

Series: The Winner's Trilogy - book 1

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Rating: 4.5 stars

Genre: Young Adult

Number of Pages: 355

Publication Date: 2014

Publisher: Square Fish

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.

I absolutely loved this book! I loved the world, the characters, the plot, all of it.

This book consisted of a world that was a mix of ancient Rome, the Middle Ages and fantasy without the magic. Here the characters live under the rule of an Emperor with generals holdings high powers of authority, there were old fashioned rules for society such as women needing an escort yet at the same time woman could join the army and had the right to then be considered a soldier like any man.Yet despite all these mixing genres the world never felt as if different styles were being forced to co-exist; the world was seemlessly created and easy to imagine existing. The world was very easy to get lost in and it felt as if you were standing right beside the characters in this ingenious world.

The characters of The Winner's Curse are some of the best characters I have ever read about. A large focus of this book is based around the romance between Arin and Kestrel but at no point was there any lines about how they were shockingly good looking, charming, breathtakingly beautiful; instead each of these characters were strong characters who were admired for their talents and actions they took. These characters were each refreshing and made the book so much more.

The main characters were not the only one's who helped to carry the story. Every character that was apart of this book left some kind of impression, both good and bad, but none were forgettable. The characters in this story made impacts on the story line and helped to add depth to both the other characters and to the world itself.

The plot of this book was, however, was what drew me in the most. I picked this book up and I didn't put it down until I realised that I had run out of words...I even read the acknowledgements looking for something extra that continued on the story - no such luck. This book was captivating and well written.

Right from the beginning this book has a story to tell, at no point did I feel like the book dragged or failed to convey its message. The second half of the book seems to appear out of nowhere; suddenly the book picks up and begins to weave an incredible story about fighting for your freedom, the people you love and using your wits to survive.

This book meets so many criteria that anyone who reads it is likely to find some aspect that they like about it. I would have loved to have given this book 5 stars but there is something (no idea what it is) that is missing. From here out the series can surely only get better.