wait, that was the end. NOOOOOO *heartbroken* why do I pick these books?! I'm off to sob in the corner and wait till 2015 for book 2 (and maybe read the prequel) 
 Full review can also be found on: Paein and Ms4Tune's Book Blog 
 2014: 
 Heart broken. HEART BROKEN!!! Why do I pick these books, WHY?! How do I even find them? They leave me torn up and I can't even hate them because they're so amazing. 
 This is a far more complex story than the blurb leads you to believe. It's obviously just the tip of the iceberg, considering there are two more books. I'm really looking forward to seeing them through to the end even if my heart ends up shattered at me feet. 
 The characters were interesting and engaging. Both of them are a little slow however. Idiots! Ahem. Though Kestrel was sort of banking on it at the end, I agreed with what she did and why she said nothing. Though I wonder how it will all play out. 
 I find it hard to review some books sometimes, without giving anything away. It was all amazing and important to the plot and these people were just so clever! Except, maybe just not quite clever enough...yet. Holding out for a yet. 
 I loved the look into the Herran culture. The different gods, and stories and legends that go with them have always fascinated me in stories. I look forward to learning more about them. I hope we do!!! 
 Also mentioned in a 2016 thowback with The Winners Crime HERE 
 Just a super quick read through to refresh my memory before I start on The Winner's Kiss. Not as quickly as I was intending however, because there were many, many sections I just wanted to read again. 
 As always the last line of The Winner's Curse makes me tear up. Not in and of itself, of course, it's something repeated several times in the book after all, but at this last point, it means something more - so pay attention every time the God of Lies is mentioned because it links back!! 
 Book two, I said, gave me hope - not sure why, as it ends pretty direly. But perhaps for the possibility of where it can go from here. Foolish Emperor, you know how dangerous these people are, and yet...you've made it so that they have nothing to lose. I hope your fall gives you enough time to analyse every single thing you did wrong in exacting detail because I'm so going to gloat. You are a bully and I don't like bullies. 
 I couldn't choose between Kestrel and Arin for a favourite, they are so similar. Though, I can't help but be put out by Arin for Kestrel's sake. Goodness me man, you're stupid! I just can't wait for you to be whacked over the back of the head by everything in book 3! You'll be devastated at you're own idiocy, you were nearly there and then you gave up. I'll feel horribly guilty for being so satisfied about it all, But I don't care. 
 In my review for The Winner's Crime, I said something wickedly clever about feeling the Bite and Sting tiles lining up, which I had forgotten about. I should have perhaps read these two slower so that I could see the build, but truthfully, I wont see the full genius of Marie Rutkoski's writing until the last word of the last book has been read. I've no doubt that once I'm done I'll wish to start again - but I won't. I'll savour it and wait a few years so that I've almost forgotten and then I'll start all over again. As one always should with a spectacular series. 
 I was also under the delusion that Arin was a fool for not seeing. He was a fool and he was slow on the uptake. And then at the most important moment, he doubted himself and made all sorts of messes. I was quite entertained, reading back my commentary on goodreads - I hope I successfully kept it spoiler free for anyone who stumbles across it! 
 I seem to like the bittersweet stories yet I hate the splits in the middle of a series - possibly a contradiction, especially as I can't work out what makes them different.