Scan barcode
hurrikanekathrina's review
5.0
4.5/5 stars!
Wow! Wowowowow! What an amazing book! I am so glad that my friends from the buddy read made me read this book. Shout out to you guys!
Beware when you start this book. It will be nearly impossible to put it down! Better plan a free day so you can finish it all in one sitting, because being forced to stop is torture!
If I had to describe this book in three words it would be: Intriguing. Mature. Unputdownable.
But luckily, I don't have to limit myself to three words, so I shall ramble happily about all the great things of this book that made me rate it 5 stars and put it on my favorite shelf.
The fantasy aspect of this book is not very heavy. Other than the names of the nations and places being fictional, this could be set in our world during the time of the Roman's conquest of Greece (which has several parallel's to this book's society). When I heard that this book would be about historical fantasy, focusing on the aspect of slavery, I was doubtful if I would enjoy this book (as I prefer very fantastical and otherworldly fantasy over realism and history. I know. Shame on me.) But the writing style, the great main characters and the world building was so good and so intriguing. I flew threw this book.
Whenever I would put it down, it found its way into my hands again in a matter of minutes and 'one' more chapter became ten.
Though the pacing is relatively slow at the beginning, the story and the character's dynamics pulled me in from the very first chapter. This books main strength is its two main characters.
Kestrel the female lead, is the general's daughter and part of the elite of her society. She took some time to grow on me. It wasn't that I didn't like her, but she was rather cold and reserved, so it took some time to slip into her perspective and feel what she's feeling. However, she is deadly smart and is a different kind of "badass" (her strength is, other than most badass female characters, not in physical combat or kickassery, but in her sharp, almost Sherlock Holmes-esque combination skills and wit.) It was so, so enjoyable to see how she maneuvers and talks her way out of the most dangerous situations, how she keeps a cool head even when she is overrun by emotions. She's definitely NOT an annoying female damsel in distress that will have you tear your hair out in frustration because of her impulsive and stupid decisions. This girl thinks before she acts. She plots all the time, always looking for ways to tip a situation in her favor. That also makes her harder to identify with, because she's lacking that teenage aspect of most YA female protagonists (and while often YA overdoes that aspect to the point of having annoying, angsty Mary-Sues, when it's done in small dosises and not the main aspect of the character's personality, it offers comedic relief and a means to indentify yourself with the character if you a young adult girl yourself) but who says you always need to be able to identify yourself with a character 100%ly?
Now to our male lead, Arin . Oh, Arin, you got me from the beginning. Grim, quiet, mysterious, dark, he is all the things that I love in a male character. It is my luck that lately I seem to encounter more and more mature, thoughtful YA males (in contrast to the vast number of generic and boring "smirky, cocky womanizers/assholes" that seemed to dominate the genre for quite some time) and Arin is such a character. Despite being a slave he had this silent pride and something I'd like to call a "brooding anger" inside of him that just made him interesting from the very first page he appeared. I don't want to give too much away about him, but he's def. my favorite character so far.
The writing style was very prosy beautiful yet at the same time easy to read (which is something to accomplish).
The cover and design is very beautiful as well, btw, the edges of this book are ragged and frayed and the paper feels nice and solid. Has nothing to do with the story or the content of this book, but still, props to the publisher for that.
Wow! Wowowowow! What an amazing book! I am so glad that my friends from the buddy read made me read this book. Shout out to you guys!
Beware when you start this book. It will be nearly impossible to put it down! Better plan a free day so you can finish it all in one sitting, because being forced to stop is torture!
If I had to describe this book in three words it would be: Intriguing. Mature. Unputdownable.
But luckily, I don't have to limit myself to three words, so I shall ramble happily about all the great things of this book that made me rate it 5 stars and put it on my favorite shelf.
The fantasy aspect of this book is not very heavy. Other than the names of the nations and places being fictional, this could be set in our world during the time of the Roman's conquest of Greece (which has several parallel's to this book's society). When I heard that this book would be about historical fantasy, focusing on the aspect of slavery, I was doubtful if I would enjoy this book (as I prefer very fantastical and otherworldly fantasy over realism and history. I know. Shame on me.) But the writing style, the great main characters and the world building was so good and so intriguing. I flew threw this book.
Whenever I would put it down, it found its way into my hands again in a matter of minutes and 'one' more chapter became ten.
Though the pacing is relatively slow at the beginning, the story and the character's dynamics pulled me in from the very first chapter. This books main strength is its two main characters.
Kestrel the female lead, is the general's daughter and part of the elite of her society. She took some time to grow on me. It wasn't that I didn't like her, but she was rather cold and reserved, so it took some time to slip into her perspective and feel what she's feeling. However, she is deadly smart and is a different kind of "badass" (her strength is, other than most badass female characters, not in physical combat or kickassery, but in her sharp, almost Sherlock Holmes-esque combination skills and wit.) It was so, so enjoyable to see how she maneuvers and talks her way out of the most dangerous situations, how she keeps a cool head even when she is overrun by emotions. She's definitely NOT an annoying female damsel in distress that will have you tear your hair out in frustration because of her impulsive and stupid decisions. This girl thinks before she acts. She plots all the time, always looking for ways to tip a situation in her favor. That also makes her harder to identify with, because she's lacking that teenage aspect of most YA female protagonists (and while often YA overdoes that aspect to the point of having annoying, angsty Mary-Sues, when it's done in small dosises and not the main aspect of the character's personality, it offers comedic relief and a means to indentify yourself with the character if you a young adult girl yourself) but who says you always need to be able to identify yourself with a character 100%ly?
Now to our male lead, Arin . Oh, Arin, you got me from the beginning. Grim, quiet, mysterious, dark, he is all the things that I love in a male character. It is my luck that lately I seem to encounter more and more mature, thoughtful YA males (in contrast to the vast number of generic and boring "smirky, cocky womanizers/assholes" that seemed to dominate the genre for quite some time) and Arin is such a character. Despite being a slave he had this silent pride and something I'd like to call a "brooding anger" inside of him that just made him interesting from the very first page he appeared. I don't want to give too much away about him, but he's def. my favorite character so far.
The writing style was very prosy beautiful yet at the same time easy to read (which is something to accomplish).
The cover and design is very beautiful as well, btw, the edges of this book are ragged and frayed and the paper feels nice and solid. Has nothing to do with the story or the content of this book, but still, props to the publisher for that.
breezy610's review against another edition
5.0
the winner's curse is the stunning first book in this exciting new trily/series. I true have me wrapped in it pages. I read the whole book in one sitting. I can't wait the next to come out.
blurrypetals's review
3.0
"You enjoyed the entire Grishaverse and The Wrath and the Dawn, both historical fiction, and you initially thought you were going to hate them! This is gonna be great. It might be a little bit of an adjustment, but you're gonna love it!" - my subconscious, as I was searching for books outside my comfort zone that I might still enjoy
In most situations, this would likely be the last book I would read in the series, but I am genuinely interested in seeing what happens to Arin and Kestrel and I'm still trying to reach outside my comfort zone, so I'm going to keep going.
With that said, everything to do the whole revolution and war felt so dull. In The Grisha Trilogy and The Wrath and the Dawn, there are wars, lots of bloodshed, and I understand and empathize with the people who are participating in it, even going so far as to make me empathize with the "bad guy" in the case of The Grisha Trilogy.
Here, though, I understand it, I see the pain the slaves are going through, but once the revolution begins and then eventually overthrows the city, I found myself completely detached from everything. It all felt so two dimensional.
I think one edge The Grisha Trilogy and The Wrath and the Dawn had, too, was the fact that they weren't just historical fiction, they were also fantasies with magic and mysticism, not just historical fictions.
Hopefully this next book will get me to care a bit more, but we'll see! I'll catch you in the next one.
In most situations, this would likely be the last book I would read in the series, but I am genuinely interested in seeing what happens to Arin and Kestrel and I'm still trying to reach outside my comfort zone, so I'm going to keep going.
With that said, everything to do the whole revolution and war felt so dull. In The Grisha Trilogy and The Wrath and the Dawn, there are wars, lots of bloodshed, and I understand and empathize with the people who are participating in it, even going so far as to make me empathize with the "bad guy" in the case of The Grisha Trilogy.
Here, though, I understand it, I see the pain the slaves are going through, but once the revolution begins and then eventually overthrows the city, I found myself completely detached from everything. It all felt so two dimensional.
I think one edge The Grisha Trilogy and The Wrath and the Dawn had, too, was the fact that they weren't just historical fiction, they were also fantasies with magic and mysticism, not just historical fictions.
Hopefully this next book will get me to care a bit more, but we'll see! I'll catch you in the next one.
nana_darling's review against another edition
5.0
...wow... This book was so amazing!!! I loved every line and chapter in this book!!! Plus the characters are absolutly loveable, I loved Kestrel's confidence and her quick, smart mind and Arins strong and bold sprit . This is definitely one of my favorite books !
eponineeurydice's review
4.0
This was pretty good! The writing was lyrical and the characters were compelling, but I don't think I felt very emotionally attached to the characters for some reason. I liked them, but I felt like the connection was missing. Still, I'd like to continue this series. If you liked An Ember in the Ashes, you may like this book.
tale_of_tales's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, Classism, and Blood
Moderate: Death
Minor: Colonisation, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Racism, and War
shadowbunny101's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Honestly I really enjoyed this. The writing is excellent for a romantasy book. The reason I rated this as a 3.75 (instead of something higher) is largely because I didn’t feel convinced that the main characters truly loved each other? Yes, they cared deeply for one another but I didn’t really see them connect outside of their shared love for music. So, I think this limited my interest in the book series as a whole. Additionally, the fantasy world was pretty tame. One nation conquers another yada yada. If I wanted to read about conquests I could pick up any book about the Roman Empire. The beauty of fantasy (in my mind) is the magical elements. The lack of a magic system is another reason I didn’t love love this book. Overall, my appreciation of this book was driven by the quality of the writing rather than the subject matter.
daisyjones_andthesix's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
brisingr's review
5.0
There is a particular niche of enemies to lovers that I enjoy the most, and yes - this is another one of them. Rereading this 6 years later, just as breathlessly engaged in everything and everyone in these books.