ARC Review: The Winner's Curse | Everything Comes with a Price

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Published by Farrar Straus Giroux
Format: eARC
Publication Date: March 4th, 2014
Genre: YA High Fantasy
Pages: 368
Reviewed by: Stephanie
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
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Winning what you want may cost you everything you love 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.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. No compensation was given or offered to change or effect this review.

If you're a fan of all things scheming, yes this is the book for you. If you love a great high fantasy, this the book for you. If you like great books in general, this is the book for you.

Kestrel must choose to marry or enlist as a soldier by her twentieth birthday. She knows she would like to marry at some point but hates the constraints society puts on her if she chooses that path. She'll have more independence as a soldier, but there's the small fact that she can't fight worth beans. On the other hand, Kestrel's scheming and stratagem is some of the best out there. She's not someone I would want to get on my bad side.

I would just like to first say that one of the reasons I love high fantasy is because it's usually written in third person and it's written really well that way. The Winner's Curse's world is well-constructed and filled with just about every type of character. There's the despicable guy everyone wants the main character to punch (or worse), the smart best friend who comes off as rather simple, the young bachelor whose compliments are more sincere than they seem, the tough but caring father, the motherly figure, the young fragile girl, and the very stubborn but very handsome guy who we all know belongs with the main character. Yup, the cast is full and ready to go.

The Winner's Curse had me hooked from page one. I could very clearly visualize the setting and I could tell that, even if I didn't, Miss Rutkoski knew all about her world and was just waiting for the right moment to reveal parts of its history. In the mean time, she showed us the games of Valorian high society, their gossiping ways, and the ripple effects of Kestrel's actions within it.

As I said before, the writing was fantastic. I had no problems connecting with the characters or falling deep into the story. I was immersed in Kestrel's world and it was such a pleasure to spend time there.

Kestrel herself is the schemer who sometimes wishes she couldn't scheme, yet who takes pride in the fact that she can outsmart most people. Kestrel is three dimensional and oh so intelligent. Her father conquered a whole country and she's in competition with him, trying to scheme her way out of his schemes. Yeah. Can I say the word scheme again?

Arin was perfect. He's a slave, so of course he'd be angry with Kestrel at first. Then he starts opening up and I was sitting there thinking, more, give me more. Arin isn't just a simple slave though, he's a blacksmith and his scheming's have no problem competing with Kestrel's. Oh yes, we have yet another one of those. Even with his anger though, Arin doesn't wish to slaughter Valorian society. At his heart, he's a very noble guy.

The love story was fantastic. Miss Rutkoski didn't rush anything. She let their relationship as master and slave develop and snowball until their first kiss. Arin would do anything for Kestrel and proves it. But Kestrel has a lot more going on than just being in love with Arin. Things are complicated. In the end though, she proves what we all know. But what that is I won't say because that's complicated too.

The plot was well-thought-out and perfectly executive. Who doesn't like a good rebellion? I did seem some things coming but that didn't make it all any less enjoyable. I'm just glad Cheat got what he deserved. And Irex.

The Winner's Curse is the high fantasy I have been craving. It didn't disappoint (not that I thought it would; I was 100% sure it wouldn't). It's been one of my top anticipated novels of 2014 for a reason.

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