I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski Series: The Winner's Trilogy #2
Published by Bloomsbury Children's on March 12, 2015
Genres: Dystopia, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 406
Format: E-Arc
Source: Netgalley
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Lady Kestrel's engagement to Valoria's crown prince calls for great celebration: balls and performances, fireworks and revelry. But to Kestrel it means a cage of her own making. Embedded in the imperial court as a spy, she lives and breathes deceit and cannot confide in the one person she really longs to trust ...
While Arin fights to keep his country's freedom from the hands of his enemy, he suspects that Kestrel knows more than she shows. As Kestrel comes closer to uncovering a shocking secret, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth.
Lies will come undone, and Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them in this second book in the breathtaking Winner's trilogy.
In The Winner’s Crime Kestral appears to be a stronger character. Now she is not just playing games in high society but for the ‘greater good’, but will she be able to make the necessary sacrifices? Also Arin seems a more plausible character. Before he seemed to be so proud and not enough like a slave, would he really have acted in such arrogant manner? But now he can be more like himself. More honest in who he is.
There is A LOT packed into this book! So much time passes and we get a better understanding of all the characters. Yet new characters are introduced and new pathways are formed. Sometimes it did feel like there was an overload of information. And it was hard, at times to keep track of where all the threads to the story were.
Here I preferred Kestral’s and Arin’s relationship. One because it felt more real but also because it became more of a background story. There was much more focus on the political games played at court, and the subtle shifts in power.
The Winner’s Crime was a more enjoyable book. What let it down was the ending. I hate, HATE cliffhangers and we were left on a huge one! Everything speeded up, and the adrenaline was pumping only to end on an unresolved plot line and a cliffhanger. Where I have to wait another year (yes I did go check that out on Goodreads) before everything can be resolved. If I had the next book next to me this would not be a bad thing I could just keep reading, but I can’t do that. Oh well.
A darker story than The Winner’s Curse, this is a book that is full of conspiracy, plots and alliances all made to be broken and won.
Great review! I’m so looking forward to this one! Love books with lots of twists and turns.
Thank you!
I loved this book so much, and as an added bonus it was better than the first one 🙂
I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!! I was really emotionally invested and just, gah, I shipped Arin and Kestrel quite hard and cried when they barely spent like 3% of the book together. That ending was absolute TORTURE. How are we supposed to wait a whole year for book 3?!!
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Yeah this book was so much better than the last one! And I’m really not sure I can wait so long for the next one. Roll on next year!