RECENZIE SCRISĂ DE CRISTINA URS PENTRU BLOGUL OKIAN. 10 stars out of 5 - I LOVED IT! How do I even begin?! It’s been a while since I’ve last read a great fantasy book and The Winner’s Curse is not just great, it’s actually WOW. There’s something in the way Marie Rutkoski writes. This book… I don’t even have the words to describe how beautiful it is. My 10 stars rating goes like this: 5 stars for the story and how it’s written and the other 5 stars go to the author for this rather ravishing and heartbreaking story. The Winner’s Curse is the first book in The Winner’s Trilogy and it is about how the Herrani people had been seized by the Valorians about ten years ago. A war that never seized to end… apparently. The book concentrates not only on the war aspect between the two territories but also on love, trust, betrayal and desires. Kestrel is the daughter of the Valorian army general and she's a very brave, smart, stubborn and at times naive young girl who never gives up at anything no matter the cost. Her curiosity or rather foolishness drives her to spend 50 keystones at a slave market where she “buys” the young Arin. A purchase that will lead her toward new decisions that will change everything. Arin, whom at a first and simple glance seems to be harmless, has his own dark secrets well hidden inside him. But once he’s in Kestrel’s hands, the secrets he has will be found out by his new mistress. And along with them, Kestrel will lose her trust in him and see him for who he really is.