”Set in a new world, The Winner’s Trilogy tells the star-crossed romance of Kestrel and Arin. It is a story of a warmongering empire, prison camps, spies, duels, rebellion, aristocrats living in luxury, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.”
“He knew the law of such things: people in brightly lit places cannot see into the dark.” – Marie Rutkoski
In my opinion ‘The Winners Curse‘ is a strong start to a new trilogy. I enjoyed reading it very much. It was a fast read and it was not boring, I flew through the pages. I was totally hooked! Even though the book did not have any fantasy elements in it, I felt like I was in this magical yet deadly world. The series started off good and I really hope the next two books will be as good as this one.
I did not have any problems with the characters. Our protagonist Kestrel was not a warrior or a wannabe warrior, she didn’t like fighting and she rather preferred using her mind as a weapon. To be honest this is the main reason I adored her. This is a rare element that we see in dystopian books. Usually, in dystopian novels, female characters like to jump from trouble to trouble. I am glad that Kestrel was different and unique in her own way.
I loved loved loved Arin. I am so glad that he did not back up from his cause just because of a potential love interest. I admired his loyalty and the compassion he had for saving his people. He did what was needed for his people. I loved his friendship with Kestrel as well. I am so glad that there wasn’t any insta-love. That would ruin the series.
Ronan & Jess were amazing! They always stood beside Kestrel no matter what had happened. I really liked Ronan and I wish he didn’t get friend zoned even though I do not ship him with Kestrel. I can not wait to read more about Ronan. Jess was so cute! I loved her and Kestrel a lot, they totally are the definition of friendship goals!
Overall I can definitely say that I loved the world Marie created and I can not wait to read the next book in the series to know what will happen to Kestrel and her friends next.