The Winner's Crime: Marie Rutkoski (The Winner's Trilogy)

I received a copy of this book for free via the publisher and thanks to netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Basically: I would have given my right (and maybe even my left) arm for a copy of this book. So, this is a totally biased review of a great book. In Detail: The sequel to The Winner's Curse (which all my friends will be getting for their birthdays, regardless of what they actually want - sorry guys, well not really) which brings back all the beautiful world building, story, writing, and characters from the first book. This book is set in a Greco-Romanic inspired world (I love these kind of settings) and follows Kestrel from where she was in the last book - heading to the capital. The story of this book unfolds beautifully, and in parts is highly distressing (or at least I thought so). It's interesting to read the discussion this series presents on slavery and about the corruption of power and concepts of barbarianism. The Characters: I love how complex all the characters are in this series, and dynamic. All the characters, even the ones who only appear briefly feel very real. Kestrel remains one of my favourite characters of all time (even if I don't always understand her) and I loved her development in this book. Arin remains sweet and foolhardy at the same time. I also really liked the new characters we were introduced too and I hope some of them come back in the next book. My Thoughts: This book was beautiful, utterly painful, but extremely beautiful. It's something I wanted to savour and I enjoyed it so much. I cannot wait for the last book and honestly I'm working on convincing all my friends to read this series as soon as they can.

This one is not as good as the first. It has some excellent scenes, but it doesn't seem to have as much of a direction, and things are a little more convoluted, I guess. It's still good writing, good characters and a good story, just not as perfect as in the first book. I would recommend reading it, though, because it hasn't dampened my excitement for the third book at all.

Following your heart can be a crime. Betrothed to the Crown Prince and despised by the one she loves, Kestrel weaves a choker of lies, slowly suffocating herself with the high cost of her crimes. Within Kestrel's world of façades, tales and intrigue, she aches to tell Arin the real reason for her choices but when she fails to even trust herself, she tries to protect her beloved in a way that hurts them both most. As the Emperor threatens everything she loves and follows her every move, she has no choice but to stay entangled in military strategy and the royal wedding. As she knows, dangerous lies and false allegiances come at a high price. I enjoyed this book so much more than the Winner's Trilogy first instalment, The Winner's Curse. I felt so much more connected to Kestrel and the plot of the book was a lot clearer, the complexities seemed even more intricate but a lot easier to understand. The characters were brilliantly developed, with daunting enemies and loyalties lying where they shouldn't be. The Emperor was phenomenal as one of Kestrel's foe and every part of the book seemed to have a new twist in the tale. As I said in my review of The Winner's Curse, I would of perhaps enjoyed the book more if it had been in first person, but that is a personal preference. I would have liked to see how the story might have changed and how the writing of it in first person might have changed Rutkoski's style of writing or the overall feel of the book. Overall I still loved the book, request for some more Astrel/Kestin/Krin/Arel in the third book though, because there wasn't enough. Just saying

Blog Review: So, it took me a long time to read this book, I picked it up on a Tuesday evening, two weeks from the end of term. Not only is this a usually busy time, it was the run up to Christmas. Worst idea I've had in recent memory, except for the one where sorting my hair out myself is the way to go, but that's reoccurring one and not relevant here. Somewhere around 1.30am and 55% I realised my idea of casually reading it over the rest of the week was simply pipe dreams, it was going to be all or nothing so I subsiquently had to ban myself from reading more until I had time. Today was that day! Here are the notes I made at 55%: A few issues; I'm currently lacking in sleep. No sleep here. And there's no option for stopping at the end of a chapter, BECAUSE THERE'S NO CHAPTERS! Of course this is a digital ARC copy and that will be sorted when I have the real thing. Bittersweet! The word for this book is bittersweet! Now that I've read the whole thing, this is how I feel on the matter: WHEN IS BOOK 3 OUT??! No really... Certainly the first half was bittersweet and while the theme continued into the second half, I feel that my self imposed ban helped me to focus better and notice something. When you aren't trying to cram one more chapter in several hours after you're meant to be sleeping, you can almost feel the Sting and Bite tiles lining up, even as the rug is pulled out from under you. At this point, we're 2/3 through so I'm pretty sure that they've been lining up from the first word, but the exact players are hard to pin down. I couldn't tell you my favourite character. Perhaps the Princess, for there is more to her than we seem to know, Arin seems a little too dense sometimes, I really just want to whack him over the head with a trout and Kestrel, for all her skill, is easily distracted into thoughtless moves. The Emperor is there to be hated and to be honest, he's over confident in his every step. Even when all the pieces were mine, I wouldn't have been mean about it all.That's the perfect way to get what he's going to get! I'm assuming. Where book 1 made me cry, this one gave me hope. As I said, I could almost see the tiles lining up and while there are still several ways this could still go, the Emperor has lost far more than he seems to realise and I can't wait to find out how it all comes together in the end.

I loved the first book but this seemed to drag. Her indecision is really frustrating throughout the book & so is Arin. I hope the next book is better. This was disappointing.

This was a really /really/ good book, the plot was gripping, it was very well written and all in all just a good book to sink your teeth into. However, the first 100 pages are quite boring and it is quite hard to get through them but once you get to page 100, there is a lot of action and you are kind of sucked into the book.

After loving the first book- the Winners Curse, The Winners Crime has been one of my most anticipated new releases. I was not disappointed! I especially love the female protagonist -Kestrel. I read a lot of young adult books and it's refreshing to have a truly intelligent , mature main character, although she is not without her faults (which she is first to acknowledge). This book is lighter on the romance - I did want to give Arin and Kestrel a good shake to get them to snap out of their angstyness, but this frustration only makes me more excited for the third and final book. This is a must read for any young adult reader, in my opinion it is among the best in the genre.

The second book in the Winner's trilogy is even better than the first. Kestrel and Arin suffer through this book, most of the time separately, through lies and deceptions and spy games that are deadly. The stakes are high and Kestrel goes through a transformation, as is Arin. And the finale...OMG. I cant wait for fall 2016 when the Winner's Kiss, the final book in the trilogy is out.

Este libro ha sido ALUCINANTE. Me ha sorprendido que fuera TAN bueno, de verdad que no esperaba tanto. También me ha dejado en shock el realismo y la crueldad que vive en él. Normalmente los libros te asustan, pero luego viene el momento de alivio en el que vemos que el susto se queda sólo en eso. Pero aquí no. Aquí las cosas malas realmente suceden, la gente te hace daño, te abandona, muere, y no puedes hacer nada para evitarlo. Aquí nadas contracorriente pero la corriente te sigue arrastrando. He sufrido con este libro como con pocos, y siempre he tenido la llamita de la esperanza encendida, para finalmente apagarla, una y otra vez. Me ha encantado la inteligencia con la que está escrito, la inteligencia de la autora, de la protagonista. Es pura estrategia, todos mueven sus piezas y juegan intentando conseguir lo que más desean. Ha sido espectacular. Y ahora no me queda más que esperar a que salga la tercera parte. Es insoportable esperar tanto para saber qué va a pasar con todo y todos, y más después de ese final. “Sometimes you think you want something,” Arin told him, “when in reality you need to let it go.”

One of the best fantasy books I have ever read. The writing is so beautiful and the story and plot twists so well done with characters that flawed yet perfect and you can't help but love them!

Toute la trilogie est un coup de coeur, je trouve que le style de l'auteur est original et agréable, les personnages très bien construits et l'intrigue prenante. A lire!

I really cannot put this book down. It is such a griping tale filled with intrigue, suspense and heartbreak. We are given two main characters who make a number of different mistakes, and who continue to misunderstand each other, which makes them very real. I love the court intrigue, and dislike the emperor intensely. The final scene between Kestrel and her father is heartbreaking ... I will say no more. Arin and Kestrel are wonderful main characters. I am beginning to like the characters of the East, I wonder whether there will be more of Roshar, he provides a little humour. Be warned, this book ends with a very tight grip around the reader's heart. It won't leave you on a high. Great read though.

Most of the story takes place in the capital of Valoria, more specifically at court of the emperor. Since Kestrel is going to marry the Crown Prince, her life is now full of garden parties, balls, dinners, and wedding dress fittings. She detests her life and it is clear to the reader that she only pretends to love it. The novel introduces a lot of new characters who all come with exciting stories, backgrounds, allies, and scheming tendencies. But with new characters also comes the loss of old characters, which doesn't take away from a great reading experience at all. Besides new characters, the reader is also introduced to new territories, mainly Dacra. With having so many countries and territories, the reader is given an amazing map in the beginning of the book. It was great to finally be able to see how the world looks like, in which Kestrel and Arin live in. The story was amazing. I thought that The Winner's Curse storyline was great already but this one was even better. The complexity, the characters, the scheming. It was exciting to uncover the lies from the thruths and the truths from the lies. Then there are Kestrel and Arin. What can I say besides that those two are the perfect match. They have the same beliefs, the same scheming tendencies, and care so much for the people they love. There is this one scene in the beginning which gave me all the butterflies. I hope there will be more of those in book 3. "An emotion clamped down on her heart. It squeezed her into a terrible silence. But he said nothing after that, only her name, as if her name were not a name but a question. Or perhaps that wasn't how he had said it, and she was wrong, and she'd heard a question simply because the sound of him speaking her name made her wish that she were his answer." I know that the "The Winner's" trilogy is supposed to be Young Adult, and it probably is, but I was honestly shocked about the brutalness in this story. I can't remember if The Winner's Curse was as brutal as The Winner's Crime, so please be aware of a few pretty descriptive and gruesome scenes. If you have the chance, please do get the paperback or the hardcover of this trilogy. It is beyond beautiful. The golden, shimmering writing, the red dress on the black background are stunning. Just like The Winner's Curse, the first few pages and last few pages of the book are black with white writing, which gives the book an elegant feeling. I can't say enough how much I love the appearance of these books, they are unqiue and amazing. I know I have only read two of three books but I can honestly say that this is by far my favorite trilogy - which is a stupid thing to say actually, since I haven't read many trilogies so far. Still, these books have so many things I love: romance, suspense, and a kind of 'royal' theme. I am not much of a dragon-fairy-wizards-fantasy lover but this fantasy/dystopian trilogy (with no dragons, fairies, and wizards) is right up my alley.