Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Publication Date: March 12th 2015
My rating: 4 stars
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.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of The Winner’s Crime a few months back, I had adored The Winner’s Curse and Kestrel and Arin and I couldn’t wait to dive back into their gorgeous but crazy world once again, but the early reviews I read had me super worried that my heart would be in for a tough time, I’d had my fair share of heart breaking reads as of late, so I just kept on pushing back picking up the book, until I finally succumbed. And I did end up loving it, but I wasn’t really affected by it as much as I thought I would be.
With the decision that Kestrel made in The Winner’s Curse,
she knew there would be consequences, but did she think that she would never
see Arin again? That her feelings would just disappear? I for one couldn’t wait
for Arin to make an appearance just so that Kestrel could realise what she had
given up. Yes what she did was for the greater good for a lot of people, but oh
Kestrel look at what you lost in the process too? Once again I absolutely
adored Arin, he was super sweet and really did take everything to heart, I felt
super sorry for him at times, as all he wanted was the truth, but so many
people wouldn’t give it to him. It was clear as day who he was meant to be, but
all the lies that he was fed (which I know some were necessary), made him doubt
what he believed to be true. The rejections he had to deal with honestly broke
my heart. Then there was Kestrel, I did admire everything she had done, and I
know her back was against the wall especially with the emperor making constant
threats (this guy just made me so mad, I honestly wanted to just punch him a
few times). But I hated how she treated Arin, she was so close to telling him
the truth on so many occasions, but held back instead. She did however go on to
prove where her real loyalties lied, and I’m glad that she did risk a lot to do
this. But ugh I just want Arin and Kestrel to be together!
Rutkoski once again did a wonderful job with The Winner’s Crime;
her writing weaved such a beautiful story, despite so much deceitfulness and
violence going on, there was a tender poignant story going on beneath it all. And
also despite my heart being in my throat a couple of times and the constant
dread in the pit of my stomach, I always held the hope that things will end
okay (I still will count this meagre amount of hope I have left to the next
book). Rutkoski’s The Winner’s Crime is a book that readers can gobble up in
one sitting, its cunning characters will have readers constantly guessing where
people’s real loyalties lie, but the love and despair that comes through this
story will leave you hoping for more.
11 comments:
Ah, gorgeous review Jasprit. <3 I'm so glad you decided to finally read this precious, lol :D I also loved book one a bit more than this, but I still adored this one :) But aw, I was a bit mad at Arin in this one :p He should have pushed more. Sniffs. But Kestrel. Ugh. I love her to pieces. But she should have TOLD HIM. Grrr. BUT OMG. THE ENDING. The ending is the very best thing. The Kestrel part. The Arin part made me angry. Hmph. But ahhhh. Book three is going to be so epic :D I cannot wait, sigh. <3 Just have such high hopes, lol. Anyway. I'm really glad you liked this book sweetie :)
This is the first time I hear about this series and its author, I think, but I love the premise and the character sound good too. Terrific review, Jasprit! I'll check the books out.
I can't deal with this one until the third and final book is out Jasprit! The fact that Kestrel keeps her reasons for doing what she did to herself will likely give me an ulcer from all the stress because, like you, I just want these two to be together! As long as they end up together in book three I'll be able to get through this one with my mental health in tact ;-)
This book was so painful. I feel like I should have waited for the last book to come out to read it. I really enjoyed the world building part, but like you said, the way Kestrel treated Arin broke my heart, especially because I know that they are meant to be. Honestly, it would drive me crazy if their separation in book 3 is going to be stretched out. They've gone through too much already.
Lovely review, Jasprit!
I'm glad you had so much more luck than me with this book, Jasprit. I think this one wasn't for me and with the plod along plot line. I felt it was very fragmented and lack of romance really didn't help either I think. Maybe I'll give it another go before the third and final book comes out as I'd like to still know how it turns out. Great review.
Almost everyone has been so frustrated with what happened here to Kestrel and Arin. It's like a cha-cha dance where they would take one step forward then two steps backs over and over again. I'm glad to know that this book continues to be as great as the first :) Wasn't completely a fan of Kestrel in the first book but it's said she shines a lot more here so looking forward to embracing her character more!
Faye at The Social Potato
i still need to read the first book. I'm very curious. It's great to hear that you really enjoyed the sequel!
Ah I really enjoyed this one plot and atmosphere-wise, but I really wanted to shake Kestrel. I'm all for powerful, sometimes unlikable female characters, but I got annoyed with the fact that she'd make decisions that hurt Arin's people, and then wonders why he's upset and conflicted? Argh. The two are in an impossible dilemma, but I trust the author to resolve it for us..in a way that won't leave readers completely shattered, of course.
The covers of this series are very beautiful, I haven't actually read it although I do intend to sometime soon - I have heard the series gets better and better so I'm quite excited now after seeing your positive review - I love the sound of character growth, thank you for sharing Jasprit <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections
Lovely review, J! I'm probably not going to read this one until Winner's Kiss comes out, that way I can read them back to back. I just don't think my heart (or my nerves) could handle this book and then that ending!! The author is trying to kill us, I think. :P
Ooh, can't wait to read this! I really enjoyed the first story in this series and, while I'm terrible about reading the rest of a trilogy (seriously, this is an issue for me), I'm pretty excited to read this full series!
Post a Comment