REVIEW: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

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MY THOUGHTS 
This is such an overly hyped book. Everyone is giving this book 5 glowing stars. And then there is me, giving this book a measly 3.5 stars.

The main reason as to why I didn't enjoy this book as much as everyone else is this: THE HYPE. 
I was expecting a book that would be awesome beyond awesome, blow my mind, knock my socks off, and basically be amazing. That is to say, I had extremely high expectations for this book. These high expectations made me dislike the book. When the book was just great but didn't knock my socks off, I was disappointed and that disappointment grew into dislike and sometimes even boredom.
I am not saying that I didn't like this book, I actually enjoyed it, but not as much as I was expecting. 
The story was great, the world-building was amazing, I liked the romance, I liked the book! Sure, the pacing was slow throughout half of the book, but the pacing picked up. 
So, yes, I did enjoy the book, just not as much as I thought I would.

IN CONCLUSION 
Due to the hype, I was expecting to read the best book of all time, but while I liked this book, I was disappointed to see that I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else.
Yes, this is a great book, but please don't have extremely high expectations on the book because it will ruin the experience

I hereby give this book

3.5 Wheels!

Meaning: I liked it and was close to really liking it, but something prevented that from happening