Review – The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Curse, Book 3) by Marie Rutkoski (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 496 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: March 29, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-0374384739
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in The Winner’s Curse trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

‘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?’

This was a wonderful conclusion to this series and very engaging. This book was just so easy to read, I blew right through this book and enjoyed every minute of it. This has been an excellent YA fantasy series full of action, intrigue, war, and romance and I really loved it.

Kestrel goes through a lot of trials and torment in this novel; this forces her to grow a lot as a character and she ends up as a better…if different…person because of it. Arin grows and changes some as well; in the beginning of the book I was a bit frustrated by Arin’s blindness.

I love that both Kestrel and Arin are flawed but strive to do what they think is right. I also enjoyed that Roshar was in the story a lot, he is a great character and a great friend to Arin.

What continues to awe me about this series is how well the writing flows, how beautifully the book is written, and how easy and engaging it is to read. This book practically reads itself, it is just so entertaining.

I really enjoyed how the story was wrapped up and thought this was a wonderful way to tie up this series.

Overall this was a wonderful conclusion to The Winner’s Curse series. This whole series was an incredibly well done YA fantasy series that had lots of action, intrigue, and romance. I would recommend to those who enjoy historical fantasy. It was just a spectacularly engaging read!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge