Review: The Winner's Curse

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A big thank you to this book for getting me out of my reading slump ❤️

This book was so good! It was definitely the fantasy book I needed to get out of my school-induced reading slump. It had me hooked from the start with a badass character named Kestrel, who's actually not that good at fighting. This is different from the new trend of kickass female characters that all know how to kill a man. This didn't make her any less badass--she was still super clever and used that to her advantage all the time.

She's sort of like a second-rate Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass. Or maybe I just kept thinking of how the cover looked so much like Queen of Shadows... Honestly...



The romance seemed forced to me, but that may be because I didn't care much for Arin. I 100% understood why he did what he did, but I also 100% did not trust him or care for him. He hurt Kestrel but she still ended up falling for him, which honestly just pissed me off. I mean I'm not for slavery or anything, but I was honestly rooting for Kestrel to win here (to be fair, she doesn't really condone slavery either).

Their relationship was not healthy. I do not approve. Kestrel should've stuck with Ronan.

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Review: A Love to Remember

A Love to Remember by Bronwen Evans
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Love to Remember is a historical romance novel about Rose and Phillip, two people who have always loved each other but refused to marry. Eventually, Rose does want to marry and have children, but Phillip is still dead set against that lifestyle, so they break up. Unfortunately, they still have feelings for each other and have to cope with being alone. Will they end up back together, stay friends, or what?

I didn't really like the plot until the last 1/3 of the book, where everything became high stakes and dangerous. Rose was the typical "strong, independent woman" up to a point where she seemed to just become useless and dependent on Phillip for everything. I understand wanting to marry, there's nothing wrong with that, but she just becomes so helpless and fragile.

The romance was interesting. There weren't many sex scenes, which surprised me, considering most adult romance novels have one almost every chapter. The relationship between Phillip and Rose was very dependent and needy, and it seemed a bit uncomfortable to read about at times.

The book wasn't amazing, but for what it was, it wasn't horrible. If you want a quick, sappy romance novel with some actually decent plot, this is for you.

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