The Winner's Curse

Winner's Trilogy, Book 1

By: Marie Rutkoski

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...

As a general’s 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 fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

©2013 Marie Rutkoski (P)2014 Listening Library

Good

What did you like best about The Winner's Curse? What did you like least?

The world. It's very descriptive and unique, I loved learning about the different customs.

Least? The narration and the characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I didn't HAVE one. The two main characters were hypocrites.

Was The Winner's Curse worth the listening time?

Honestly, I probably would have enjoyed the book more, had I read it vs listenin to the audio.

The narrator

I cant even listen to the voice, it is uncomfertable to listen to so i couldnt even finish the book. Please get someone else to read it, so I can finish it!

Beautiful story, horrible narration

I couldn't speak more highly of this story but sadly the narration is absolutely horrible.

A Winning Story

This is a creative and intelligent story. I think it was well worth the credit and I am looking forward to the second book. Justine Eyre has a strange intonation to the voices; breathy with a weird uptake at the end of sentences. I could not stand it initially but grew used to it. There was definitive differentiation between character's voices though despite the strange speech pattern. It helps to keep the characters straight. Marie Rutkoski's characters are interesting and engaging. The story-line is not something I've read before so it is not predictable or boring.

Read this book.

I don't give 5 star reviews often. This book is great. The characters are textured, the heroine is intelligent, emotional and brave. I think that the discussion about slavery could have been developed more fully but was handled well. I bought the sequel before I finished the first book, so I'm committed!

Good series

This was another series where the first book was OK, but I was glad I stuck with it through the end of the trilogy. The last book was the best.

Yes, the narrator is a bit annoying. I've heard her in a few other books, so was used to her.

Distracted by narrator's horrible narration.

This story could be bigger. It's got a lot of core elements that I like, but its almost like the plot is bigger than what's described. It keeps one from sinking in to the story completely because we are skimming the surface of the elements. The narrator had great voices for the parts, but her general narrator voice made me crazy! It sounded repressed and gravelly like she was trying to be cool. And she put such emphasis on the end of words, that often times a vowel was added. Instead of "drum" it was "drum-ma". Etc. Made me crazy!! Not a total waste of time, but not stellar either.

Really liked the story

If you could sum up The Winner's Curse in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, compelling, new

What did you like best about this story?

I like the strong heroine. The plot is a change from a lot of the current YA but is still fast-paced and compelling. Very enjoyable and I can't wait for the next one.

Which character – as performed by Justine Eyre – was your favorite?

Justin Eyre is a great narrator and when looking for new books, if I am unsure whether to try it or not, I will definitely pick it up if I see her narrating.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Over priced but okay

This book had some potential but the ending was pretty lame. It seemed suddenly rushed. I hoped for more.

it's just okay

Narrator is very breathy and has an odd tone she speaks with. But it's easy to get passed.
The story was meh. I didn't really see the love blossom between the characters. seemed to be an insta love type of story. and the whole slave society was really hard to look passed. I didn't like that part at all.