Mundie Moms

Thursday, April 21, 2016

THE WINNER'S KISS by Marie Rutkoski / Book Review



By: Marie Rutkoski
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Released on: March 29th, 2016
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #3
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Source: purchased book

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?


The perfect ending! The Winner's Kiss is the perfect ending to Kestrel and Arin's story. It was all the things I had hoped it would be, and then some. There's love, redemption, romance, friendship, and forgiveness. I sighed, laughed, and was on the verge of tears a time or two while reading this book. I don't think there could be a more fitting ending for two characters who have come full circle in their journeys both individually and together.

I feel like I fell in love with both Kestrel and Arin all over again. Kestrel is a girl who has both brains and beauty. I admire her strength, determination, and even her stubbornness. It gets her through all she has to endure. I also love that her knowledge, and intelligence on war, and weapons was just as appealing. Then there's Arin. Oh my word, Arin. I loved watching him grow from a boy who had a vendetta to a man who would do anything for the women he loves, and his people. What he does for Kestrel in this book makes him one of my all time favorite YA boys. Yes, there was swooning going on. 

The romance in this book.... it was fabulous! This book's title definitely lives up to it's name. There is so much I want to say about the romance between Arin and Kestrel, but for the sake of spoilers I can't. Let's just say it was beautiful and perfect. These two have something special. They drive each other. They are each other's hope, reason, and determination to be better, to do what they do, and over come all that they have endured. Be prepared to swoon, many, many times. 

Through out this series readers have been introduced to characters we couldn't help but love, be infuriated with, cheered for, swooned over, wanted to hate, and in the end swelled with pride over how far her two main characters have grown both together and individually. Their journey wouldn't be complete without the friends they've had. Along with Arin and Kestrel, I loved getting to know Roshar, his tiger and Sarsine. These two are fabulous friends and are characters I really came to care about. 

This book is beautifully written. I know I've said this in a previous review for this series, but I love Marie Rutkoski's poetic writing style. There's something about her writing that just pulls you and makes you want to stay awhile. Normally when a series come to an end I'm left with a longing for the characters, and wanting to know more about their journey together. This time around that's not the case. This ending was perfect. 

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