Bright We Burn by Kiersten White

Lada and Radu are still at odds. Radu is reeling over the horror he saw in Constantinople and continues to see through Mehmed's manipulations. He's constantly stuck between Lada and Mehmed as they wage their wars. Lada is ruling as she sees fit, harshly punishing all crimes no matter how noble the criminal. Her people, especially the poor, support her unconditionally because she follows through with her promises, redistributes land to the poor, and has basically abolished crime. However, those that follow her don't feel right bucking tradition or no longer wish to follow her rule. Lada has to ask herself if her actions are for Wallachia and how far she is willing to go to rule the country she wants.

Bright We Burn skates an interesting line that has me rooting for both Radu and Lada even though they are more at odds in this book than any other. Lada is my absolute favorite. She becomes a little more self reflective in this installment. Her rash actions come from selfishness and pride rather than for the good of Wallachia and she eventually recognizes it. Many of her actions are successful like completely blazing her own way regardless of tradition. Power flows from her down instead of always being held by boyars who stay prince after prince. Her rigidity in regards to justice and rewarding loyalty make the people fiercely loyal in turn, almost to a fanatical degree. She never underestimates anyone and makes use of all of her resources that others would overlook or find distasteful. Many might find Lada's actions questionable or pushing too far, but she does what's necessary to protect her people and keep her country from falling into the wrong hands.

Radu, on the other hand, is quite changed from the last book. The horrors of Constantinople weigh on him and he still doesn't know if his lover and wife are even alive. He's caught in the same triangle between Mehmed and Lada's conflict as he always has. Mehmed's patterns of manipulation are much more transparent to him and Radu finds himself falling out of love with him. Being in constant conflict isn't for him and he wants peace sometime in his life. He's tired of the same old power plays in court even though he still deftly navigates them. I feel for him and his frustration, but I still feel he's on the wrong side as he plots against Lada. He doesn't wish to hurt her, but sees her takeover of Wallachia as a dangerous folly. I wish he would recognize her amazing qualities instead of trying to save her from herself. 

Bright We Burn is an amazing novel that ties up the story beautifully. The final ending seemed to deviate from the rest of the series and was slightly disappointing in its view of Lada. Literally everything else was amazing. The most wonderful thing was to see so many women in all sorts of roles doing whatever they could to exert their power and influence in such an oppressively patriarchal system. It shows that while Lada is an outlier in some ways, so many women are just as capable and powerful. I never thought I would get into this series, but I read each installment the minute I got it. Kiersten White infuses her characters with such humanity and emotion that even the war stuff, which usually bores me, had me at the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this whole series.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

The Winner's Kiss

The heartstopping end to The Winner's Trilogy starts with Kestrel trying to figure a way out of prison due to her betrayal being discovered and swiftly punished by her father. Arin is gunning for war after ensuring the aid of the Dacran queen. Kestrel tries to escape a few times, but after harsh punishment and being subject to various drugs, she loses the will to fight and starts to forget who she even is. Arin focuses on simply not feeling and throwing himself in the war to cope. The Dacrans and Herrans are clearly outnumbered, outgunned, and out maneuvered plus his Moth spy has disappeared. Will Kestrel and Arin ever see each other again? Can the Herrans and Dacran cooperate and overthrow the Valerians?

The Winner's Trilogy is epic fantasy at its best, addictive and masterfully written. Although there isn't any magic to speak of, the world is completely realized with the different people's customs, attitudes, and norms. This book in particular is a wonderful mix of romance, political intrigue, and war without having one aspect take up too much of the plot. One of my pet peeves with young adult fiction is how the angsty romance takes up so much of the plot when earth shattering things are usually happening all around. There's a place for everything in The Winner's Kiss and nothing is forgotten. The romance has the usual miscommunications and pride of the respective people involved which is expected because it builds tension. However, Kestrel and Arin finally level with each other and get all of their feelings out with real conversations instead of half truths and misunderstandings. The political intrigue is the smallest part in this novel because Kestrel is no longer at court, but it's mainly present when Dacran royalty is involved. The war depicted here isn't glorious and honorable. It's bloody, messy, dirty, and horrific. Kestrel finally directly involves herself with the war and is forced to take lives to save her own and get her hands dirty instead of orchestrating everything from safety. All aspects of the book were filled with just enough forward momentum, tension, and drama.

The characters of The Winner's Trilogy are really what kept me reading, especially Kestrel, Arin, and Roshar. Every character is dynamic and interesting to read, even the ones I loved to hate. Kestrel is no longer surrounded by riches. She starts out trapped in a prison built to create mindless slaves through drugs. After months of fighting to escape and being punished, she succumbs to the oblivion of the drugs and forgets literally everything about herself. Once Arin saves her, she has no idea who he is or even who she is, having to relearn and remember everything. The person who comes out the other side isn't exactly like the old Kestrel, but someone new who has to get to know Arin again (plus everyone else in her life) instead of just fall into his arms. She has to discover who she is and reconcile everyone else's account of her with her own slowly trickling in memories, many of which are repressed. I like that Kestrel had to come to terms with her own lies and other undesirable things she did in order to do what she thought was best. Her complex relationship with her father also plays a large role because so much of herself was shaped around waiting for him and hungering for his approval. She has to find who she is separate from him and from Arin before she makes any definite decisions on what to do.

Arin is also changed after Kestrel so soundly rejected him in the last book. His anger and sorrow are closer to the surface as he tries to throw himself into battle to forget. Through new Kestrel, his softer side emerges more and more, but he is no less ferocious in battle. He has to let Kestrel go a little bit and stop being so controlling because she's a force to reckoned with and will make her own decisions despite his. They became a great team as the battles went on and got to know a different side of each other this way.  Arin's friendship with Roshar also develops and becomes almost like a brotherhood instead. The two have such silly banter because Arin tries to be serious all the time, but Roshar insists on making jokes at every turn, no matter how dour the situation. The mutilated prince has lots of layers underneath his jokes and it becomes clear that he actually cares for Arin and Kestrel, who he gets to know throughout the novel. The ending particularly showed the depths of his devotion even if that act in itself is told in a hilarious way. Without Roshar, the book would have been much too dramatic. He succeeds in lightening the mood (even if he may be infuriating) and coming up with schemes that don't always align with his allies. Roshar is a memorable trickster character with his own agendas, but a heart of gold.

If I had my way, I would have read The Winner's Kiss in one sitting. Alas, things like sleep and work got in the way. I loved the entire series and I couldn't ask for a better ending to this series. I eagerly await for what Marie Rutkoski writes next, whether future books exist in this same universe or not. I always lose myself in her masterful writing with its twists and turns that I can never predict.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins