So I started reading The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski...

Goodreads

Kestrel

"More leaves drifted from the trees, Summer warmth drained from the air. Kestrel barely noticed, for she stayed indoors, finding that she was able to forget most of what she had learned from her father while she played the piano. She played almost every free hour, now that she could. Music made her feel as if she were holding a lamp that cast a halo of light around her, and while she knew there were people and  responsibilities in the darkness beyond it, she couldn't see them. The flame of what she felt when she played made her deliciously blind."

Arin

"He snatched his hand away. He turned, his face hot. Through the open bedroom door, Arin saw Enai staring at him from where she lay. "I'm sorry." He set the lid on the box.

"I doubt it," she muttered, and told him to come near.

Arin did, slowly. He had the feeling he was not going to like this conversation.

"You spend a lot of time with Kestrel," Enai said.

He shrugged. "I do what she asks."

Enai held his gaze. Despite himself, he looked away first. 

"Don't hurt her," the woman said.

It was a sin to break a deathbed promise.

Arin left without making one."

Kestrel and Arin

"Forgetting the difficulty of what she was doing, she simply played.

It was a gentle, haunting music. When it ended, Kestrel was sorry. Her eyes sought Arin across the room.

She didn't know if he had watched her play. He wasn't looking at her now. His gaze was unfocuzed, directed toward the garden without really seeming to see it. The lines of his face had softened. He looked different, Kestrel realized. She couldn't say why, but he looked different to her now.

Then he glanced at her, and she was starled enough to let one hand fall onto the keys eith a very unmusical sound.

Arin smiled. It was a true smile, which let her know that all the others he had given her were not. "Thank you," he said.

Kestrel felt herself blush. She focused on the keys and playes something, anything. A simple pattern to distract herself from the fact that she wasn't someone who easily blushed, particularly for no clear reason."

Oh I am loving this title. It grabs you from the very beginning. The words are true and strong, and the built up of the world is exquisite. Immediately you get pulled in. Kestrel and Arin are different, special. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Currently on page: 127.