"She watched the white sky dissolve into snow and shiver apart over the leaden sea. She felt icy sparks on her skin. The snow fell on her, it fell on him, but Kestrel knew that no single flake could ever touch them both."
The Herrani were dreamers, artists and explorers filled with pride and contentment. The Valorians were aggressive, strong and unforgiving conquerors, tempted by all that the Herrani lands had to offer. In the end, it came down to the fact that the Herrani were weak, and the Valorians were not.
Years after the surrender, the Herrani work as slaves, doing the bidding of their masters, cleaning the houses they used to live in. They toil in servants quarters while the invaders sleep in their comfortable luxurious beds, treating them as if they are nothing but scum. They hold auctions to sell them off, bid on men and women alike as if they were mere commodities, whilst whipping or doling out whatever punishment they deemed right, because, after all, the Herrani slaves were considered nothing more than a piece of property.
Lady Kestrel is a Valorian, daughter of the conqueror of the Herrani realm, the most celebrated general in Valorian history. Arin is Kestrel's Herrani slave. Defiant, strong willed and stubborn they're bound to clash, they're bound to fight and they're bound to fall in love.
"Winning what you want may cost you everything you love."
The Winner's Curse is a one of a kind, BRILLIANT book, perfect for fans of the entire Dystopian Genre! Everything about the book was so well planned out, the setting, the politics, the characters that it sucked me right in and refused to let go. There is just something SO intense about Marie Rutkoski's writing style, that I was almost salivating for more!
I loved the fact that nothing in the book was rushed, not the budding friendship between Kestrel and Arin, not their feelings for one another, not the Herrani hostility towards the Valorians – nothing. Everything was so extremely realistic and I couldn't give it a higher recommendation!
A brilliant and bold tale on loyalty, love, family, friendship, suppression and power… READ it!
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