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The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)

Marie Rutkoski

Start date: April 1, 2014

Finish date: May 1, 2014

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What Members Thought

Mar 31, 2014 Angele | adominiquereads rated it it was amazing

This book is amazing! I'm regretting that I haven't read this as soon as it came out, but I'm really glad that I finally did. This goes into one of the best books I've read!

I really love how the characters are well-written and well-developed. I love Kestrel and Arin together and separately. Both are very strong and very calculating characters. The last series I've read with characters like this is Legend Trilogy - and I've read that trilogy years ago! The whole plot was well-written and you rea ...more

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Feb 23, 2014 Ifrah rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned

I definitely was not expecting it to be that good. Can't wait for the next one!!!! ...more

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Jan 05, 2014 Catherine Keaton rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, reviewed, read-in-2014

Where is Book 2?! I find myself actually wanting to read the next book right away, and this is not normal reading behavior for me. This must indicative of how much I enjoyed reading this book.

I had originally given this a 4.5-star rating because it does have some flaws. But, I realize now that the story and characters are kind of staying with me after finishing it, and I want to know where the entire series is going from here. I’m willing to give it the full 5-star treatment because it doesn’t h ...more

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Feb 19, 2014 Amber rated it really liked it

This was amazing! I have no clue why I didn't read this earlier. I think I went in to The Winner's Curse thinking that it would be something very different from how it turned out. Obviously, I had high expectations since the hype for this book is insane, but it really lived up to everything.

First off, the world building was great. Most of the time, when authors try to describe a world that they created themselves, they get lost in explanations of culture and geography - things that the reader d This was amazing! I have no clue why I didn't read this earlier. I think I went in to The Winner's Curse thinking that it would be something very different from how it turned out. Obviously, I had high expectations since the hype for this book is insane, but it really lived up to everything.

First off, the world building was great. Most of the time, when authors try to describe a world that they created themselves, they get lost in explanations of culture and geography - things that the reader doesn't actually need to know and doesn't really help in any way. Rutkoski did an excellent job of keeping her descriptions both brief and understandable. She told us everything we need to know without overwhelming us with useless information. My main issue with this is that I never really got a feel for the setting. Most of it was very character and plot driven, so the actual descriptions of the places were rushed a little.

I loved the plot as well. For the most part, I'm pretty familiar with this story line since I probably have two other books on my shelves that are basically the same thing, but Rutkoski really made it her own. Granted, there are plenty of cliches floating around here, but none that I wouldn't forgive immediately. I'm a firm believer that execution is always more important than worrying about cliches all the time.

The characters were amazing. They were believable, relatable, and I genuinely wanted to root for them, even if some of their goals didn't really align. It was really hard to want the Herrani to get their freedom when I also wanted Kestrel to have her lavish lifestyle. Another thing I noticed were the actual personalities of the Herrani and Valorian cultures. As two different peoples, they had very distinct values and appearances. It helped me distinguish them as much as the generalizations frustrated me. It seemed a little too easy to make sure that only the Herrani value music in their lives. I was willing to overlook this though, considering how much I loved everything else.

Also, if you're on the hunt for a romance, look no further! It's not immediate and it definitely took time to grow, but once it was there, I just HAD to know what would happen next with them. Arin and Kestrel both were clever and interesting, both in dialogue and in thoughts. I was really impressed with how well Marie Rutkoski was able to develop their relationship so that it wasn't too rushed nor was it dragged over hundreds and hundreds of pages.

Can't wait to see what happens next! ...more

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