Publication date: March 4th 2014
Publisher: Square Fish
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 355
Goodreads description: As a generals' daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction.
Arin's eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him - with unexpected consequences. It's not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a felow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
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I bought because 1. a youtuber that I think likes the same books that I do, adored this book. 2. The cover is a beauty. 3. This book is always on the shelf in my local bookstore. And it doesn't deserve to be there. This book should've been bought by anyone who has laid their eyes on it. It was that good.
This book has amazing plot line. The idea of ''The winner's curse'' really intrigued me. Marie Rutkoski explained the concept of the winner's curse in an interview. " 'The winner's curse' is a term in economic theory that describes what happens at an auction when someone wins an item up for bid, but winning is predicated on paying too much for that item. Essentially, the winner of the auction has only acquired the object by bidding more than what everyone else thinks the object is worth."
The whole plot kept me at the edge of my seat. I wanted to know what will happen next to the point that I got the urge to read the last page (thank goodness I didn't)
The characters were A+. They were all so fresh. For a fantasy reader, I always see female protagonists who can kick some butt. Those characters that can easily kill in one blow. I know you can list a hundred of them on top of you head. Well, the female main character on this one, Kestrel, did not kick some butt with her karate or ninja moves. She kicked some butt using her wits. She was strategic. She uses her brain before acting.
She's always 3 steps forward from everybody. Her head is always on the game. Even though there were a lot of things that she wanted to be hers, she worked on what was more important. She's good at strategy, yet she wouldn't join the military. Why? She's good at it but she's also afraid of doing something that she knows she's good at.
Arin, the slave that Kestrel bought, was smart as well. He mirrored Kestrel in many ways. But at times, he relies on his feelings to much that his priorities are getting set aside. Even though he does that, you can see why he did it. You can understand why he made the actions that he made. He's talented and can take all the whips that will be slapped on his back.
Marie Rutkoski introduced us to the world with such ease. I found it easy to understand the whole world in just a chapter. I felt comfort in it. And I didn't want to leave.
So many twists and turns that I didn't expect.
Twists that were so awesome and mind boggling yet they break your heart and will leave your jaw hanging. When you begin to understand what's really happening, you'll wish you didn't. For they will be tearing your heart. Piece by piece. I got the ''feeling'' when reading this book. That ''I can't stop thinking about it even in my sleep" kind of situation. It was nice to feel it again.
This book needs more hype around it. It taught me about taking the risk. Of patriotism. That friendship can happen despite your social status or race. It made me think about myself, if there's something that I'm good at but also afraid of doing.
5/5 BANANAS
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