Me on Waiting on Wednesday (251)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Winner's Kiss
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Macmillan imprint)

From Goodreads:

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it, with the East as his ally and the empire as his enemy. He’s finally managed to dismiss the memory of Kestrel, even if he can’t quite forget her. Kestrel turned into someone he could no longer recognize: someone who cared more for the empire than for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she cared for him. At least, that’s what he thinks.

But far north lies a work camp where Kestrel is a prisoner. Can she manage to escape before she loses herself? As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover unexpected roles in battle, terrible secrets, and a fragile hope. The world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and Kestrel and Arin are caught between. In a game like this, can anybody really win?

I really really want to know how this trilogy is going to end. It's going to be brutal and harsh and wreck everyone. I hope they end up together, or in some form of together like not killing each other or dying horribly. Like, if they could both be alive and talking to each other at the end. As 'epic' and 'star-crossed' as they are, this series is about so much more than the romance. It's about secrets and empire and colonialism and entitlement and survival and fear and war. And hope.