Seventeen year old Kestrel knows that she has lived a privileged existence thanks to her father's elevated position. He has led Valorian armies to victory and is a huge reason why their empire is so successful in terms of defeating and conquering. But now Kestrel is facing a choice - enlist in the military as her father has been training her to do her entire life or marry someone he deems worthy. With either choice being less than favourable, Kestrel is biding her time. 
 When she finds herself at a slave auction, Kestrel finds herself with the winning bid on a young blacksmith but at a high cost. She wants nothing to do with him and yet finds herself searching him out in her estate's grounds. He's angry and sarcastic with a chip on his shoulder and yet Kestrel finds him to be better company than the high-born Valorians she has grown up with. Nothing is black and white anymore with Kestrel questioning everything she has ever learned about her father's victories and the Valorian way of life. 
 There is so much going on in The Winner's Curse. It's a story about strategy and timing, losing battles to win the war and the sacrifices one person makes for the greater good. I was fascinated with how the topic of right vs. wrong was approached. When it comes to war and either side have their own agendas, who is to say which side is right? This is also a story about friendships. Kestrel is loyal to those she feels deserves it and willing to stand up for them even when it comes at risk to herself. There is a slight romance going on in this book which was lovely to read and not quite what I expected. The characters are brilliant. They are all three-dimensional and their true motives are never quite clear to the readers. Kestrel is a strong independent female who I found to be different from most I'd read before. She's a little cagier and slightly more selfish but all that added up to an incredibly realistic heroine I adored reading about. Arin - the slave boy - is similarly complex but in different ways from Kestrel. I loved reading how angry and infuriated he was by his situation. This isn't the kind of book where a character takes one look at a pretty girl and is won over. No - he's realistically livid at his station in life and it really works in this novel. 
 One of the things I liked most about this book was I didn't quite know what to expect - which is why my review may be a little lacking in detail. I don't want to spoil anything which happens for anyone intending on reading The Winner's Curse. What I will say is it was a fantastic read. I didn't want to put it down until I had finished it. The society which exists within its pages is interesting and the characters are unique yet realistic. As a first book in a trilogy - I'm eagerly awaiting the release of book 2 because The Winner's Curse has been one of my favourite books of 2014. 
 Thanks to Bloomsbury Australia for the review copy.