The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski | Review

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review in any way.

Description from Goodreads:

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?

I feel like I've been on a long and extreme emotional journey at the hands of Marie Rutkoski. I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Winner's Trilogy is one of my favourite series of all time. I fell in love with Arin and Kestrel in The Winner's Curse, my love continued to grow in The Winner's Crime (which you can read about in my review) and it grew some more in the final instalment of the fantastic series, The Winner's Kiss.

The Winner's Crime had an oh my gosh cliffhanger, it left me with so many feels that I had to try and sort out! All I wanted from The Winner's Kiss was some sort of resolution! Obviously I wanted Arin and Kestrel together, but it got to the point where I just wanted Arin to stop hating and denying his love for Kestrel, and Kestrel to get out of the work camp.

Because yes, Kestrel is in a work camp, where she is drugged into a shadow of her former self. And for anyone who's read the previous books you'll know that Kestrel is witty and intelligent, while not capable in battle she uses her intelligence and brain to outwit her opponents. This makes her a really interesting character, the political intrigue within all of the books within the trilogy makes them highly enjoyable, and there's always an element of what the hell is going to happen next.

The Winner's Kiss is a low fantasy, there isn't magic or fae like some fantasies that I've read, but the relationships and the world building in these books are just something else! Throughout all three of the books Marie Rutkoski has crafted a vivid world, and I'm not sure I'm ready for the series to be over!

Arin and Kestrel are possibly my favourite OTP of all time, and I think it's safe to say that I ship them!! My love for The Winner's Trilogy has had me telling everyone left, right and centre to read these books! It's got to the point I hands down want to play Kestrel in any adaptation (a girl can dream!)

In my opinion The Winner's Kiss was the perfect end to the trilogy, everything got wrapped up and I was not disappointed by this fantastic conclusion!

Have you read any of the books in the series? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

'The Winner's Kiss' by Marie Rutkoski
5 Stars