Pros: 
 The text is richly descriptive. Rutkoski pulls no punches with the conditions of the slave camp and the depths from which Kestral must be saved. 
 I really enjoyed Kestral's indecisiveness when it came to her father. He was a terrible father, but I think his fear and grief paralyzed any love he might have shown her over the years. 
 The Winner's Kiss is very much a book of redemption and over-coming PTSD. I liked that Rutkoski didn't sacrifice the slow process of overcoming PTSD in favor of keeping the story more fast-paced. In reality, sufferers of PTSD are a slow recovery and as a reader, it felt authentic for me to be frustrated with Kestral and internally shouting at her to get over it already. Because those emotions and reactions happen in real life, too. 
 Arin 
 Arin 
 And more Arin 
 Roshar is probably my favorite secondary character. He was saucy and playful, but he had a fine edge that would cut you badly if you got on his wrong side. I actually would love side stories with him as the main character. Marie, can we please have that?! 
 Most of all, I enjoyed that we are shown that looks and circumstances can be deceiving. People are not always what they seem and maybe we should walk miles in their shoes before we aim to get revenge. 
 Cons: 
 It was, at times, very slow. But that mostly has to do with the PTSD and while it was slow in parts, Rutkoski did use that time for good character building. 
 I would like to have seen more from Verex and Risha; I don't think Rutkoski took enough advantage of them in this final book. 
 I really had to reach for things I didn't love. Overall, The Winner's Kiss will satisfy fans of the story because it delivers a realistic ending to a war-ridden world and romance, and really, I can never get enough of Kestral and Arin! 
 This book may have been provided in exchange for an honest review, and therefore will be noted on the original post.