A review by taylorreadsbooks
The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
4.0
I absolutely loved this final book of the trilogy. Marie Rutkoski wrapped up the series perfectly with this story. The storyline has intensified and relationships deeper explored. It gets bloody, it gets dirty and the choices some characters make are surprising. Both Arin and Kestrel have both come so far since the first book. They have grown as individuals and their relationship has evolved. While this series is a romance it wasn’t really insta-love between Arin and Kestrel, it took two and a half books of them fighting it, denying it and straight up overlooking it before finally admitting to it. I couldn’t help but finally cheer (inwardly that is, as I listened to this as an audiobook while working in an office full of normal people) when Kestrel finally admitted her feelings.
The secondary characters in this book were on point. I didn’t much care for Rashar in The Winner’s Crime but I came around quick in this book. His humor and sarcasm brought light to a pretty dark plot. Plus it made me burst out laughing in the middle of my office while I was listening to it earning me funny looks from my co-workers. His bromance with Arin and even his relationship with Kestrel made me like him even more. Loyal and faithful friends are hard to come by in a world that lives and breathes war and games. Rashar had a nickname for Kestrel – Little Ghost. It struck me as ironic in a way because throughout this entire book both Kestrel and Arin dealt with their own ghosts. Arin was haunted by ghosts of his past 10 years in the making while Kestrel was haunted by the ghost of her father.
Sarsine was also another character I began to like more in this final installment. Her friendship with Kestrel really helped the poor girl heal and begin trusting again after all that she has gone through. It gave her more of a purpose then being just the remainder of Arin’s family.
I really liked how this book wrapped up the series. The writing was beautiful and the strategizing was at its height. This series is great read and I’m a bit sad we won’t get more.
Highly recommend this series!
The secondary characters in this book were on point. I didn’t much care for Rashar in The Winner’s Crime but I came around quick in this book. His humor and sarcasm brought light to a pretty dark plot. Plus it made me burst out laughing in the middle of my office while I was listening to it earning me funny looks from my co-workers. His bromance with Arin and even his relationship with Kestrel made me like him even more. Loyal and faithful friends are hard to come by in a world that lives and breathes war and games. Rashar had a nickname for Kestrel – Little Ghost. It struck me as ironic in a way because throughout this entire book both Kestrel and Arin dealt with their own ghosts. Arin was haunted by ghosts of his past 10 years in the making while Kestrel was haunted by the ghost of her father.
Sarsine was also another character I began to like more in this final installment. Her friendship with Kestrel really helped the poor girl heal and begin trusting again after all that she has gone through. It gave her more of a purpose then being just the remainder of Arin’s family.
I really liked how this book wrapped up the series. The writing was beautiful and the strategizing was at its height. This series is great read and I’m a bit sad we won’t get more.
Highly recommend this series!