Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The weekly event is meant to showcase eagerly anticipated upcoming releases…and to spread the word! This week I’m excited about:
Title: The Winner’s Curse
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BYR)
Anticipated Release Date: March 4, 2014
In the tradition of Kristin Cashore and Cassandra Clare comes this brilliant, unputdownable, star-crossed romance about the curse of winning.
Seventeen-year-old Kestrel is an aristocratic citizen of Valoria, a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers. Here, a girl like Kestrel has two choices: join the military or get married. Despite her skills in military strategy, Kestrel’s real passion is music. Which is why she feels compelled to buy Arin, a slave with a talent for singing, at auction. It’s not long before she finds herself falling in love with Arin, and he seems to feel the same for her. But Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for Arin is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a new world, The Winner’s Curse is a story of wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
Yes please! Everything about this upcoming debut sounds amazing – except for the name “Kestrel.” I get that fantasy authors think they need to create unique names for their protagonists, but this one is just too out there for me. Hopefully she has a nickname. Either way, this one just made it to a top spot on my wish list.