{Quick Review} The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Synopsis:

Some kisses come at a price.

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?

Short and sweet review time!

Just like most of the other reviews I’ve seen for this book, I could not have asked for a better ending to this series. While I enjoyed the second book, we got WAY more action, way more romance, way more character development in The Winner’s Kiss. And it was all wonderful.

Well, some of it was terrible. But in a wonderful way.

The Winner’s Kiss picks up right where the Winner’s Crime left off, with Kestrel on her way to the work camp, and Arin waging war with the aid of Dacra (and the AWESOME Roshar). This book is a lot more war, a lot more romance, a lot more action than The Winner’s Crime, which I think pretty much everyone agrees is a good thing.

If you liked Arin and Kestrel in the first two books, you’ll love their development in The Winner’s Kiss. Let’s just say, the title does not lie. And much of it is actually tempered by a new and interesting conflict that I found very compelling, especially after all the frustration of their previous miscommunication. Not to mention the added stress of war, and not just any war, but war against Kestrel’s father, piles on another layer of really excellent character struggle, really for everyone involved.

Obviously, if you spent time reading the first two books, you’ll most likely finish the series. If you haven’t read The Winner’s Curse, I highly recommend it. It’s an interesting, relationship driven series, with extremely high stakes, with extremely serious consequences. I loved the way everything was concluded, and could not have asked for a better ending.

Content: Recommended for 16+