The Winner's Kiss

By: Marie Rutkoski

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

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?

©2016 Marie Rutkoski (P)2016 Listening Library

Loved this ending of a great series

What did you love best about The Winner's Kiss?

A very good end to a great series.

What did you like best about this story?

The first 75% was fantastic....then the end was a bit slow. Too much war. But still, the romance resolved beautifully.

Worth the listen

The story was enjoyable all the way through with enough twists that you didn't quite see what would happen next even when you thought you knew for sure. The narrator was outstanding. Her flexibility in vocal sounds and accents was wonderful and allowed me to feel more like I was there in the story. Well done

Such a Great Story

This whole series was awesome! The narrator did a splendid job with the voices. I definitely got lost in the story.

Awesome ending!

I really enjoyed the intelligence of the story. The author has a keen understanding of how to wage a war and weave an amazing story of love, loss, and friendship. I counted down the days for the release of this book. It was everything I hoped it would be. The narration was excellent and made it more enjoyable than reading the story.

The good overwhelmingly outweighs the bad.

WOW. Fantastic end to the series. Talk about character development!

I have to say, Justine Eyre is not a good narrator for me. There is a whine to the end of her sentences that drives me right up the wall. When I see that a book is narrated by her, I usually just pass it by or grab it in print.

However, two things redeemed this entire audiobook series for me. First, the ability to speed up the narration on an iPod. Listening at 1.5x fixed the whine problem enough to let the story take over. I was never pulled out of the story because I was distracted by the narration. Secondly, Eyre's use of accents was superb. One of my favourite things about this series is that she starts off with the main character having an accent. The story places the main character in a foreign country (to her) and the natives to the country are the ones without an accent. I love the way she turned this around from what would have usually be done. It's as if we begin with the invaders of our own country, which is exactly the way the author intended it to be.

I've done a complete video review of this series that you can find on my YouTube channel (link to that is in my profile). I highly recommend this YA series. And I'm ready to go back and listen to some of my other titles narrated by Justine Eyre - at 1.5x speed. I have a feeling I'm going to like them the second time around.

Great story. Very original.

Loved loved this sorry. But you'll have to get past the narrators annoying voice. Her "sultry" voice--eh, not for me.

Amazing series

I adored every book in this series! Romance, intrigue, mystery, in an incredible setting with brilliant writing. I’ll be recommending these books to every reader who loves young adult fantasy.

An epic conculsion!

I am so glad I decided to give this series a try! I originally bought it because Fairyloot was having a special edition sale, and they looked pretty. This book, in particular, is one of my favorites of 2022! I love the political maneuvering, the tension between Kestrel and her father, and the power play between Kestrel and the emperor too! Of course, the love story between Kestrel and Arin is also swoon-worthy. I enjoyed the banter between Arin and Roshar and the uncertainty of how that relationship would play out in the end. The characters really mature in this installment and are faced with harsher truths and more devastating losses and trials, both emotionally and physically.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a well-thought-out plot with their romance!

Loved it!

I finished the entire trilogy inside of a week. This last book, Winner's Kiss, I finished in a day and a half. I literally ate, slept, and showered listening to this book and it has been a long time since a book captivated me that way. I found the writing style to be elegant and the story a unique one. As for the reader, initially I was put off by the way Justine Eyre would lilt and uplift the ends of certain words or sentences but quickly got used to it and began to truly enjoy her voice. She is very gifted with accents and each character had a distinct air about them. I feel that Justine's reading of it made me love the story even more than if I had picked up and read the book myself. Bottom line, I absolutely loved everything about this trilogy and am saddened that it's over. I don't honestly know what to read next because I am afraid everything will pale in comparison.

Wonderful!

It was just as amazing as I was hoping it was going to be! Truly memorizing trilogy! Now I am depressed I finished though!