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Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>
<i>The Winner’s Curse</i> is the first book in the <i>Winner’s Trilogy</i> by American author Marie Rutkoski. It is a novel that mixes together rumours, lies, love and warfare to create an incredible new story for young adults.
It is set in a similar society to that of the 18th century or earlier (in Europe at least) except that for women there are only two lifestyles. By the age of twenty they must decide whether to marry or join the military. By women, that means Valorian women. Ever since the defeat of the Herrani during the Herran war many years ago, the Valorian have made them slaves and looked down on them, whilst seizing their lavish properties and enforcing Valorian customs.
The title, <i>The Winner’s Curse</i>, is a concept that relates to the winner of an auction. Whilst they have won the item they have also lost by paying out more money than other bidders felt it was worth. This is what happens to seventeen-year-old Lady Kestrel, a Valorian, when, with an unexplainable impulse, she hires Arin, a Herrani slave, for an extortionate amount of money. Put to work as a blacksmith, Arin becomes intrigued with Kestrel, and she with him, and they soon start to form a friendship – although rumours suggest something more.
It is not, however, simply the cost of a slave that <i>The Winner’s Curse</i> refers to. The Herrani are planning an attack on the Valorian Empire, and Kestrel being a General’s daughter could unknowingly reveal vital information. The emergence of a second Herran war is imminent, but Kestrel and Arin’s relationship complicate things further.
Whilst similar to other novels with lovers belonging to opposing families, it is more original regarding the circumstances, secrets and lies, which makes, not just the characters, but the reader question what their true feelings and intentions are.
It is an excellent, fast paced read, and definitely recommended.
<i>The Winner’s Curse</i> is the first book in the <i>Winner’s Trilogy</i> by American author Marie Rutkoski. It is a novel that mixes together rumours, lies, love and warfare to create an incredible new story for young adults.
It is set in a similar society to that of the 18th century or earlier (in Europe at least) except that for women there are only two lifestyles. By the age of twenty they must decide whether to marry or join the military. By women, that means Valorian women. Ever since the defeat of the Herrani during the Herran war many years ago, the Valorian have made them slaves and looked down on them, whilst seizing their lavish properties and enforcing Valorian customs.
The title, <i>The Winner’s Curse</i>, is a concept that relates to the winner of an auction. Whilst they have won the item they have also lost by paying out more money than other bidders felt it was worth. This is what happens to seventeen-year-old Lady Kestrel, a Valorian, when, with an unexplainable impulse, she hires Arin, a Herrani slave, for an extortionate amount of money. Put to work as a blacksmith, Arin becomes intrigued with Kestrel, and she with him, and they soon start to form a friendship – although rumours suggest something more.
It is not, however, simply the cost of a slave that <i>The Winner’s Curse</i> refers to. The Herrani are planning an attack on the Valorian Empire, and Kestrel being a General’s daughter could unknowingly reveal vital information. The emergence of a second Herran war is imminent, but Kestrel and Arin’s relationship complicate things further.
Whilst similar to other novels with lovers belonging to opposing families, it is more original regarding the circumstances, secrets and lies, which makes, not just the characters, but the reader question what their true feelings and intentions are.
It is an excellent, fast paced read, and definitely recommended.
Merissa (12788 KP) rated Stalking the Goddess in Books
Dec 17, 2018
Stalking The Goddess by Mark Carter is not a book to be taken lightly or to be read as a fill-in. This book deserves your attention as Mark Carter has tried to do the near-impossible and unravel a book that has long been thought of as a Pagan Must-Have. The White Goddess by Robert Graves has long been considered as one of the ultimate books for a Pagan to own, with links to the Welsh Celtic path and showing how, through poetry, that paganism lived on through the ages.
Stalking The Goddess is written like a thesis or dissertation from a university so will appeal to any academically-minded out there. This did make it quite hard going at times and I would read some and then take a break to digest what I had read.
Mark Carter has “untangled the woods” of The White Goddess and made it more accessible to the Pagan who would like to know more about it and where Robert Graves got his sources. Mark Carter has made it possible to see who has influenced Robert Graves, both in a positive and also a negative way, by showing whose work was used and which was not.
One of the things that I found most interesting was that although The White Goddess boasts a Welsh Celtic basis, Robert Graves had actually pulled on stories from the whole of Europe, as well as from the Bible, the Jews and used stories from the Saracens to compile his book and it somehow all seemed to fit which is where Mark Carter has excelled. Star Wars even makes an appearance!
In no way is Mark Carter dismissing The White Goddess and even states in the Epilogue that without The White Goddess it is unlikely that paganism would have developed as it did.
Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the history of The White Goddess, or for someone who has an academic “twist”. Thought provoking and a very interesting read.
Stalking The Goddess is written like a thesis or dissertation from a university so will appeal to any academically-minded out there. This did make it quite hard going at times and I would read some and then take a break to digest what I had read.
Mark Carter has “untangled the woods” of The White Goddess and made it more accessible to the Pagan who would like to know more about it and where Robert Graves got his sources. Mark Carter has made it possible to see who has influenced Robert Graves, both in a positive and also a negative way, by showing whose work was used and which was not.
One of the things that I found most interesting was that although The White Goddess boasts a Welsh Celtic basis, Robert Graves had actually pulled on stories from the whole of Europe, as well as from the Bible, the Jews and used stories from the Saracens to compile his book and it somehow all seemed to fit which is where Mark Carter has excelled. Star Wars even makes an appearance!
In no way is Mark Carter dismissing The White Goddess and even states in the Epilogue that without The White Goddess it is unlikely that paganism would have developed as it did.
Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the history of The White Goddess, or for someone who has an academic “twist”. Thought provoking and a very interesting read.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Hearts on Air (Hearts, #6) in Books
Jan 9, 2020
This review and more can be found at my blog https://aromancereadersreviews.blogspot.com/
This has been borrowed from the Kindle Unlimited library.
Well, first things first. You DO NOT have to read book #5.5, One Epic Night, to understand this as it is included at the beginning of this book.
Then the story continues where that one left off. Trevor is now a TV star in a free-running show that follows him and a handful of other free runners as they do stunts around London and other big cities. One difference now is that Reya is not in his life. Chapters go back and forth a few times so we see what happened in the months following their "one epic night" and how things didn't end so well with them.
It's been about 2 years since then and Trevor suddenly turns up in Reya's life again wanting to be friends again and asking if she'll fill in for one of their pregnant PA's while she's off on maternity. Reya is wary of letting Trev back into her life but eventually agrees and they travel to several cities around Europe with the group doing stunts and free running in pretty parks and some well known places. As they spend time together, they grow closer once more and before long those feelings from two years ago are creeping back in.
One thing that was driving me a little mad was the Leanne and Callum thing. I know they get their own book in a different series but seeing their love/hate relationship and the arguments and tender moments and NOT KNOWING what was happening was driving me a little mad. I will definitely be getting their book at some point.
I also liked how we saw pretty much every other character from the series in this one towards the end. I had honestly forgot how they all connected but seeing them in those last few chapters was really nice.
Definitely should be read if you've enjoyed previous books in the series.
This has been borrowed from the Kindle Unlimited library.
Well, first things first. You DO NOT have to read book #5.5, One Epic Night, to understand this as it is included at the beginning of this book.
Then the story continues where that one left off. Trevor is now a TV star in a free-running show that follows him and a handful of other free runners as they do stunts around London and other big cities. One difference now is that Reya is not in his life. Chapters go back and forth a few times so we see what happened in the months following their "one epic night" and how things didn't end so well with them.
It's been about 2 years since then and Trevor suddenly turns up in Reya's life again wanting to be friends again and asking if she'll fill in for one of their pregnant PA's while she's off on maternity. Reya is wary of letting Trev back into her life but eventually agrees and they travel to several cities around Europe with the group doing stunts and free running in pretty parks and some well known places. As they spend time together, they grow closer once more and before long those feelings from two years ago are creeping back in.
One thing that was driving me a little mad was the Leanne and Callum thing. I know they get their own book in a different series but seeing their love/hate relationship and the arguments and tender moments and NOT KNOWING what was happening was driving me a little mad. I will definitely be getting their book at some point.
I also liked how we saw pretty much every other character from the series in this one towards the end. I had honestly forgot how they all connected but seeing them in those last few chapters was really nice.
Definitely should be read if you've enjoyed previous books in the series.
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