Marie Rutkoski - The Winner's Kiss

I'm having a difficult time to put coherent sentences next to each other because I am. Utterly. Otherworldly. One percently. Emotionally. Tousled.
.....
*deep breath*
I can do this.

"You talk about her as if she’s made of spun glass. Know what I see? Steel.”

Kestrel has come a long way since she's adorned her braid with ribbons and her biggest quandary has been what to wear for a traditional Valorian tea party. That Kestrel is gone and a more unsteady version of her filled her old shoes. Broken by the trials of the tundra she has lost her memories that must be too painful to remember anyway. Nevertheless, she has come back like a refracted light irradiating Arin's heart. And she's more than ready to pick up the fight on the dark side.
I must say his father is a Dart Veder, indeed. I could tear him into tids and bits then I'd put them in a matchbox and set on fire. That's what he deserves, really. Nonethelessly, I feel sorry for Kestrel to fall such an asshole to her share. Not to mention Arin who's going to fight his own demons ad infinitum because of his painful past. Afer they suffered so much they well deserve a great amount of happiness, I might add. Luckily they have each other. What else would they possibly need? ;)

"Arin was a boy, a slave, a grown man, free."

I virtually pat Arin's shoulders for Kestrel popped up in his mind. If it wasn't for him in shining armor up to his ears, Kestrel would be long gone. I can't really blame his tardiness because Kestrel deceived him big time. Yet I do. Because by the time he arrived, Kestrel lost her memories and they had to start from zero. Plus I have to keep on gnawing at my nails. Also, I haven't figured that my heart could break so many times. Apparently it has a lot of dangerous potentials due to the spectrum of sentiments Kestrel and Arin go through: Guilt. Happiness. Loss. Hope. This ticket to the emotional rollercoaster was out of my intention because it's bad for my breathing and blood pressure still I'm thrilled to have felt all of them along with my love birds. Thank you for that.

"He murmured that he loved her more than he could say. He promised that he would always choose her first."

There are times (okay: always) when I'm drooling over the male character. For this time (the world turned upside down), I tended to love them as an unbreakable package and I loved the world the author confines me in for hundreds of pages. It is my personal shelter where I can feel whatever I want, whenever I want. Either it is pure wicked PAIN or cristal clear JOY. Jees, I love books!

"You don't need to be gifted with a blade. You are your own best weapon.”

P.S.
The flashing change of perspectives was killing me. When I just immerse in a thrill-packed scene and then bumm!!! it ends in the middle of the sentence driving me to despair and elevated numbers of heartbeats. No need to spend money on bungee jumping and wild water rafting if you hold The Winner's Kiss in your hands.

“Will you come with me?"
"Ah, Kestrel, that's something you never need to ask."

After reading

A few key facts:

This books is fictional.

—Thus perfect-I'd-do-anything-for-you guys don't exist.
—Thus Arin doesn't exist.
—Thus I live in reality.
—Thus my life is meaningless. And I should move on. But I can't. How can I? Can you? Would you? Want to?

Rating

EXCUSE ME WHILE I PICK UP THE PIECES OF MY HEART THAT JUST SHATTERED ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Physical symptoms that prove I'll die in a milli-second

Pounding heart. Contraction of lungs. Shortage of breath. Shuddering. A lump in my throat.

One thing is for sure

Even if I survive, I'm not convinced I want to live in this life void of the magic of the Winner's Trilogy.