The rich daughter of a general named Kestrel lives in the Valorian colony Herran, whose original population was made into slaves. Kestrel decides at an auction to buy a slave called Arin without her father's approval and ends up falling in love with him. Both of them are faced with a nearly impossible decision: whether to betray their people or each other.
"You don't need to be gifted with a blade. You are your own best weapon."
This book is everything I possibly could've asked for and the perfect ending to a fantastic series. I absolutely loved it and couldn't help but tear through it. To be honest, this is definitely one of the best last books in a series I've ever read and it's my favorite out of the series, which says a lot since I loved The winner's curse and The winner's crime a lot. The story is super fast-paced and filled with action, schemes, betrayal, gambles and just the right amount of romance. The plot is amazing, it's full of little twists and really intense, so it's most of the time literally impossible to stop reading. There's just honestly not a single thing I would change in this novel, so if you haven't read the series yet, go and pick it up. Now. An especially amazing part of the novel is definitely the ending that completed the story in such a beautiful way. I liked how it isn't an completely happy ending, but still positive enough to make you feel satiesfied. There's not really a lot to say about the writing except that it's fantastic and beautiful and perfect. The alternation between the two POVs is very balanced and especially in the fight scenes, which are extremely epic by the way, done perfectly. I enjoyed the romance a lot more than in the first book because it isn't as prominent and way more mature.
I really loved the characters, especially due to their huge character developments. My favorite thing about Kestrel is that she fights a lot more and a lot better with her brain and wits instead of her fists. Seeing her scheme and planning battles is so interesting and intriguing, definitely also because of the high stakes that are constantly there. I loved the little "duel" she has with her father throughout the book and in general how the story doesn't only focus on the relationship between Kestrel and Arin (what's their shipname by the way?), but also on Kestrel and her father. Arin is a compelling character as well, since he's so ruthless, calculating and cold-blooded, but at the same time he's extremely caring and tender with Kestrel. It's one of my favorite things about Arin's and Kestrel's relationship that both of them bring out a completely different facet in the other person. I also loved the pretty big focus on minor characters like Sarsine and Roshar. I enjoyed both of them so much, Sarsine probably because she's the most relateable character for me and Roshar because he's just such a funny, sassy and sarcastic character. Honestly, I don't even think it's possible to dislike those two.
Anyway, I can't recommend this series enough and even if you don't enjoy the first book that much, definitely keep reading because they just get better. I'm quite sad the series is over now, but I'll definitely pick up any future books written by Marie Rutkoski since they're hopefully as fantastic as The winner's trilogy is. Honestly, just go and pick it up.
Rating: 5/5 ✹
Sorry for rambling so much, I hope you enjoyed this (sadly rather short) review anyway. Have a lovely day!
Leah
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