Miniviews #7: The Winner's Curse & Partials

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Publication Date: March 4th,  2014
Publisher: MacMillan
Pages: 355
Series: The Winner's Trilogy
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5

There was a lot of buzz for The Winner's Curse pre-release. Which got me excited, but also a bit skeptical because I don't like being the black sheep. Thankfully I really enjoyed it. Not love like a lot of people, but I can definitely see why this one is going to make a lot of readers top 2014 lists(at the end of the year that is). There is a few different interesting parts to this fantasy world Rutkoski has built. We come in a few years after the Valorian have conquered the city of Herran. Where the Hellani people use to call their homes they've now been enslaved. Which leads the reader into a very political world. And where the smell of rebellion is in the air. Rutkoski gives us two POV's. Which I feel is necessary for the story. First off is Kestrel a Valorian and the General's daughter. She has a sense of entitlement and naivety to her. But also like a lot of heroines she tends to question what she's supposed to believe is right in her life. And these questions start to multiply when she buys Arin on the slave market. She's drawn to him right away. And as the weeks go on their forbidden relationship starts to grow. There's a strong attraction there, but they also bond over music. It's a very innocent bond but clearly doomed from the start. I enjoyed Arin's POV more so than Kestrel. He's got his own agenda. Secrets he's keeping from her. But he never out right lies to her. Just like Kestrel, he's got to think of his own people and their freedom. Both characters are very intelligent and strong with a great sense of battle strategies. The problem is their hearts wanting something different. And that provides a whole different set of consequences.
What stopped me from giving The Winner's Curse a 5/5 is the mainly the pace. There's not a lot of action until the very end. Rutkoski had a lot of set up to get through with Arin and Kestrel's relationship and the coming rebellion. BUT through all the set up and that ending I'm left very excited and intrigued for the sequel. I have a feeling it is going  to blow my mind.

Partials by Dan Wells
Publication Date: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: Balzer & Bay
Pages: 528
Series: Partials Sequence
Rating: 4.5/5

This is another series that I decided would be best read in one go. So I impatiently waited for the last book to be released and than I started Partials. And I'm glad I waited. Not only is Partials pretty action packed but it's also full of different plot points that I've discovered become more important as the series goes on. Different bits you don't want to forget about. Which can easily happen with a year between readings. Anyhow, Partials is a dystopian set years after the world has been reduced to a wasteland. Like any good dystopian the past government has decided in all their intelligence that there was a better way to control its people. Which of course backfired. In this case they created Partials. Part humans part controllable machines. Every thing started out perfect until the Partials decided they didn't like being controlled and didn't fit into society. So they rebelled. The advantage the government gave the Partials was being super human and not easily killed. Needless to say, they easily destroyed most of the human race. This is where we meet Kira, 12 years after the war, living in a small community of what is the last humans on earth. The humans haven't had contact with the Partials since the war. But they know they're out there. There's also a bigger problem, there's been no babies born since the war. Women can carry to term, but two or three days after birth the baby dies.
Kira works in the maternity ward, but her real passion is in the research it takes to figure out why these babies are dying. Kira is beyond determined and knows that the researchers have done all they can with the information they have. There's been no progress and she's 100% sure the answers lie with the Partials. Unfortunately the ruling body doesn't agree. So Kira and some of her friends make plans to capture one. This is the point when a lot of secrets get spilled about both the Partials and humans.
I loved all the characters Wells has created. But especially Kira and Samm. Kira is a strong, determined, intelligent and stubborn heroine. And Samm gives us a different view, through a Partials eye. I was very invested in both ideals.
I like when a dystopian gives us different plot points. Especially when all are crucial to the outcome. Partials is about survival but also full of mystery and intrigue. Packed full of action and science with a touch of romance. This trilogy is not one of the more popular dystopian series out there, but I'm going to try and change that. It will now be one I can easily recommend. There is no set type of reader. Anyone will be able to pick this series up and fly through it. It's just so fantastically different.

Happy reading!

Brittany