Suicide Reviews: The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski

  

Synopsis: 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.

Date Published: March 4, 2014

Published By: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Number of Pages: 355

Rating: 5/5

I am completely in awe of this book. It is everything I'm looking for in a romantic historical fantasy. The world-building is incredible, the characters are well-rounded and complex, and the writing is beautiful and lush.

Marie Rutkoski has managed to create a realistic fantasy world of astonishing complexity and depth. The two warring nations, the Valorians and the Herrani, each have their own separate cultures, histories, and languages. The world is so incredibly imaginative that I can feel the history lurking beneath the surface even if it isn't spelled out on the page. This is the kind of world-building that sucks you in and immerses you until you feel as if the story can't possibly be fiction - it must be based on fact. I think that's what every fantasy author strives to do and Marie Rutkoski has mastered it brilliantly - she even makes it look easy.

Kestrel might just be my new favorite heroine in YA fantasy literature. What I love most about her is that, unlike some YA heroines, she is unskilled with using weapons. She's not totally inadequate - she does know how to defend herself. But let's just say Katniss Everdeen could teach her a thing or two about how to use a bow and arrow.

Kestrel has different strengths- for one, she is incredibly smart and tactical. She assesses situations, analyzes her enemies, and uses her wits to gain the upper hand. She's not particularly romantic - which makes it so much more satisfying when she realizes that she has feelings for Arin.

The love between Arin and Kestrel is nowhere near instantaneous - Arin hates Kestrel at first, and everything she represents. Kestrel has her own prejudices about the Herrani but gradually overcomes them as she gets to know Arin. Both Arin and Kestrel are loyal to their respective tribes which makes the love between them even more devastating - they must choose between their love for each other and their loyalty to their people.

The ending is spectacular, wrapping up the first book perfectly but still leaving things open-ended enough for the sequel. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book.

The Winner's Curse is perfect for fans of romantic fantasy - it's a complex, heartbreaking story that will leave you wanting more. If you loved Kristin Cashore's Graceling series, you'll love The Winner's Curse.

Suicide Reviews: The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey

 

Synopsis: After the 1st Wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th Wave, just one rule applies: trust no one.

Now it's the dawn of the 5th Wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother - or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. 

From award-winning author Rick Yancey comes a gripping epic of catastrophic loss, unthinkable odds, and unflinching courage.

Date Published: May 7, 2013

Published By: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Number of Pages: 457

Rating: 5/5

I am so glad this book lived up to the hype. Even though I'm excited for the upcoming film adaptation, I know it will only pale in comparison to this epic sci-fi tale of survival and resilience. 

From the very first page I was sucked into the story. I plowed through the first hundred pages without looking up, and when I did, it was like waking from an incredibly vivid dream. I actually had to remind myself that aliens hadn't invaded the planet in reality (at least not yet.) That type of realism for such a fantastical story is awe-inspiring. It made me think that if aliens did invade our planet, it would happen exactly as it did in The 5th Wave.

I loved all of the characters and the complex, ever-shifting dynamics between them. The relationship between Cassie and Evan Walker is particularly intriguing. I won't spoil anything, but I did figure out what eventually happens between them long before it actually happened. Of course, this may have been because I saw the trailer for the movie, and guessed the twist from there. (Come on, movie trailers, could you be any more obvious?)  

The aliens in this book are some of my favorite that I've ever come across in science fiction. Of course, I'll always have a soft spot for sexy aliens, like Daemon Black from the Lux series, but, man, do I love me some evil, destructive aliens hell-bent on world domination. The structure Yancey uses to describe the invasion with the different Waves is masterful - both chilling and completely convincing. 

The 5th Wave is exactly the kind of post-apocalyptic alien-invasion story I've been looking for. I can't believe it's taken me this long to read it. This book isn't just for young adult sci-fi fans - adult readers will love it too. 

The 5th Wave Movie Trailer 

Book Review: The Deepest Night (The Sweetest Dark #2) by Shana Abe

 

Synopsis: It's 1915, and sixteen-year-old Lora Jones is finishing up her first year as a charity student at Iverson, a prestigious, gothic boarding school on England's southern coast. While she's always felt different from everyone around her, now she finally knows why: She is a drakon, a rare, enchanted being with astonishing magical abilities. 

    As war hits Britain's shores, and Lora reels from an unimaginable loss, she finds that her powers come with grave and dangerous responsibilities. At the request of Armand Louis, the darkly mysterious boy whose father owns Iverson, Lora will spend her summer at his lavish estate. To help the war effort - and to keep Lora near - Armand turns his home into a military hospital, where Lora will serve as a nurse. For Armand is inescapably drawn to her - bound to her by heart-deep secrets and a supernatural connection that runs thicker than blood.

     Yet while Lora tries to sort out her own feelings toward Armand, fate offers an unexpected surprise. Lora discovers there is another drakon, a prisoner of war being held in Germany. And that only she, with her newly honed Gifts, will be able to rescue him.

     With Armand at her side, Lora will cross enemy lines on an incredible mission - one that could bond her to Armand forever, or irrevocably tear them apart.

Shana Abe delivers another enchanting romance without sacrificing plot. I loved the previous book but The Deepest Night is better in almost every way - there is breathtaking romance, thrilling adventure, and gorgeous, lush prose that I practically salivate over.

I love the whole 'quest' aspect to this story - Lora and Armand must set out on a journey to rescue Armand's brother, Aubrey, a fighter pilot now captive in a German prison camp. The last hundred pages or so are chock-full of exciting, dangerous moments - Lora and Armand fight German soldiers on the ground, get chased by German fighter planes, and almost get captured (by Germans.) 

I love that there are so many more 'dragon scenes' in this book: Lora flies with Armand across the English channel, and Turns to dragon to fight the soldiers, etc. The transition between Lora's human form and her dragon form never feels jarring or unnatural - it all flows so well that it never feels weird to read parts where Lora refers to 'my wings' or 'my tail.' This is due to Shana Abe's impeccable world-building. She makes the fantasy of the Drakon come to life. 

The romance is so much better than the one in the last book. Without spoiling the previous book, it just feels like Lora is paired with the right guy - while at the same time never forgetting the one she lost - and that's one of the interesting struggles she faces. 

Lora is so badass in this book, it's almost frightening. Armand, too, grows as a character in leaps and bounds. I love how it's never just Armand saving Lora or Lora rescuing Armand - they save each other throughout the whole book.

I cannot recommend The Sweetest Dark series enough. READ THEM!

(The third book has not been published yet. It's listed on Goodreads as 'expected 2014' but it still doesn't have a title or a fixed release date. Hopefully late 2014/early 2015? I need to read the third book now!)