The Winner's Kiss (Winner's Trilogy, #3)

by Marie Rutkoski

THE FINAL BOOK IN THE HEART-STOPPING WINNER’S TRILOGY: an irresistible story of forbidden romance and class warfare

‘Every line in The Winner's Curse is beautifully written. The story is masterfully plotted. The characters' dilemmas fascinated me and tore at my heart… I loved it. I want more’ Kristin Cashore, author of the Graceling Realm books

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?

• ISBN10: 1408858746
• ISBN13: 9781408858745
• Publish Date: 24 March 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 3.5 Stars


Gahhhhhh Idk. I expected some magic or magical elements somewhere along the line, but alas, this was just... a glorified war trilogy? Maybe epic adventure/ tumultuous AF, going-crazy-because-WHERES THE FREAKIN' ROMANCE?!?

The ending was satisfying, but it was way less than what we deserve. Sigh.

[ladygrey]

Sometimes in a story the author will give the reader information that is withheld from the characters—to create suspense, anticipation, excitement. Sometimes when an author is trying to create that suspense they just annoy the reader. Because that moment we’re waiting for is the moment the story gets interesting. Until then it’s... not.

The Winner’s Crime never reaches that tipping point into interesting. Even at the last minute when it could have, it kept pulling back and pulling it’s characters apart for the sake of false tension. It never goes anywhere and it never gets interesting.

The Winner’s Kiss is dragging its heels. It’s obvious and its annoying.

But once it does get going it’s perhaps my favorite book of the trilogy. It dwells with the characters; dives down into the moment in dialog; explores how Arin and Kestrel shift and evolve and make choices that change the other.

This book is almost entirely them (except for a few war scenes that are important to the plot but not that interesting but quick enough that they don’t bog the story down) and that might not work for some people but I enjoyed it. I think I might have enjoyed it more if it felt more evenly balanced throughout the series instead of all torn apart in book two and then all condensed in book three.

Roshar is a great character—fun and moody and exactly what Kestrel and Arin needed to continue propelling them forward. Plus he makes the scene amusing.

Nearing the end, I thought there were too many things to wrap up that would be left unfinished, but it takes the time to touch on all the loose threads and ends well.

[jeannamichel]

You know a book is amazing when it leaves a warm feeling in your heart when it's over. Review to come.

[liz089]

Wooow.. such an amazing series ! I find it almost sad that it is finished.. even though it was a great ending. I loved the main characters and even though it was not overly romantic, it had a lot of tension and she kept you guessing until the end. LOVED IT.

[ellieroth]

Original de: El Blog del Gato - El Extraño Gato del Cuento

es un final muy satisfactorio, donde vemos a los protagonistas brillar por sus personalidades, ganar o perder siendo ellos, sin ninguna salida jalada de los pelos, es un final que solo te queda sonreír y decir ¡CLARO, tha's SO [SPOILER]!



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Mi vida no volverá a ser la misma

------------------------------------------

Antes de leer:

The Winner's Kiss

Quieren matarnos, matarnos MATARNOS, MATARME, NO PUEDO, THE WINNER'S KISS


KISS

KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS


El dolor del segundo libro no es nada comparado con el dolor del título de este libro.

[Stephanie]

BIG OLD SPOILER:

I had a hard time believing in Kestral's drug-induced amnesia, especially since it was right from the beginning and permeated throughout the entire book. It felt like a plot device that didn't work at all. Anytime a problem arose where the only issue was the fact that she didn't remember, the convenience of not having a resolution, in order to go do (insert bad decision/dangerous thing here) really irked me. It took me out of the book so much at times that I just eye-rolled into no man's land.

But I really love Arin and his god of death, I really love Roshar. I needed more Sarsine, and Risha, and Verex ALWAYS. This series surprised me in many ways, for a book with girls in froo-froo dresses on the cover.

[Ashley]

Seriously, it breaks my heart that I didn't love this book. I wanted to... I so wanted to.

I think the biggest problem for me was the romance.

* I liked the romance in the first book. I liked it quite a bit! I wouldn't say I was "in love" yet, but the "like" was definitely there.

* The romance fell apart in the second book.

* The third book was where it was supposed to come back together again, and it did. I just wasn't on board with it. I think there was too much that fell apart in the second book and it didn't get put back together in a way that I could enjoy and really be part of.

I actually quite liked Kestrel and Arin separately but I no longer liked them together. I had zero passion for their romance/relationship, and ultimately that's what the entire book was about. I felt like even the war took second place to their romance. And since I didn't love the romance, I couldn't love the book.

Furthermore, so much of the book just felt slow to me.

In the beginning ("spoiler" is just of what the first half is about—nothing from the end) Kestrel had lost her memory and she just spent the first half trying to get it back. I guess this was frustrating to me because I, as the reader, knew exactly what she'd forgotten. I had to sit there while she tried to remember stuff that I already knew. It just wasn't a fun read for me.

Then, the middle to the end was basically one big road trip. Walking. Travelling. Riding. Camping. The actual action was very little. It didn't hold my interest.

Finally, Kestrel's relationship with her father ended up being anti-climactic, I thought. It never really got resolved... It just... ended. I would have liked to see them hash it out more.

My favourite part of the book was probably Roshar, who ended up being quite a minor character. But I just loved his personality. He was funny and unpredictable.

I'm pretty devastated that I didn't love this series. I probably could have loved it if I was more on board with the romance, but since I wasn't, that basically just ruined any chances I had.

[KitsuneBae]

It's a good ending although I can't believe that the emperor was beaten that easily. Errr~

[Vicki]

Mar 2018 = 4.5 stars
Apr 2016 = 4.5 stars

[cornerfolds]

Why did it have to end???



The Winner's Kiss was one of my MANY anticipated reads for 2016! While I loved The Winner's Curse, The Winner's Crime focused too much on politics for my taste and I was hoping this final book would redeem the series. I actually found a copy at Barnes and Noble four days before it was supposed to be released and immediately dropped everything and devoured it!

This book picks up where The Winner's Curse leaves off, with Kestrel being completely devastated that her father would send her to a work camp, essentially leaving her for dead. In true Kestrel fashion, she immediately starts looking for ways to escape. I love Kestrel so much. Throughout this book Kestrel overcomes so, so much. She pulls herself up from the absolute lowest place she could have gone and rises above everything! She is strong and she's smart and, as someone who would very likely be incapable of defending myself hand to hand, I love seeing a heroine who holds her own with brain instead of brawn!

I actually had a little bit of a problem with Arin in the last book, but in The Winner's Kiss he is back to being the amazing, incredible love interest that I loved! It takes him a little while to figure things out for himself, but once he did, he was basically perfect! (Maybe a little too perfect, but whatever - I love him.) The romance between Arin and Kestrel was amazing! For reasons I cannot disclose, their relationship had to start again pretty slowly and Arin was always perfectly patient with Kestrel and did nothing but love her. This romance is the very definition of "in good times and in bad!"

Apart from Kestrel and Arin, I absolutely adored Roshar!! He was hilarious and crude and the perfect yin to Arin's yang. Roshar is unabashedly himself regardless of whether things are blowing up or he's playing cards. I loved his relationships with both Arin and Kestrel and that he always backed up Kestrel in wanting to do her part in the army he was responsible for. I also really enjoyed watching him grow as a character, especially towards the end when his sister showed up. To be honest, I would definitely read a spinoff series that was entirely about Roshar!

One thing I loved about this book is that it wasted absolutely no time on fluffy filler - it is non-stop action from beginning to end. It hits every important note, never dragging but never seeming rushed either. The Winner's Kiss revolves largely around the war (less politics, more blowing things up!) between the Heranni people (with the help of their Eastern allies) and the emperor. Arin and Kestrel both played very major roles, Arin with his mad war skills, and Kestrel with her brilliant strategy. In any other book I might not be interested in reading about a war, but I was so invested in the characters by the time it actually started that I felt like my life was dependent on the outcome!

I also really appreciated that Marie Rutkoski focused mostly on the Herani lands. Although there was plenty of time to get to know Heran in The Winner's Kiss, having the opportunity to explore it further as opposed to branching out into parts unknown. This made the world building feel so much more thorough and I liked that I didn't feel like I had to absorb a ton of new information. Instead I just got to enjoy the story!

The Winner's Kiss is easily the best book in The Winner's Trilogy! It was honestly the perfect ending to a series that I had become a little wary of and I don't think there's anything Rutkoski could have done better! (Except maybe give us that Roshar book??) If, like me, you didn't have a fantastic experience with The Winner's Crime, please give this one a chance anyway!