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momwithareadingproblem 's review for:
The Winner's Crime
by Marie Rutkoski
If you have not read [b:The Winner's Curse|16069030|The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)|Marie Rutkoski|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1377023523s/16069030.jpg|21861552], please do NOT read this review. There are spoilers to the previous book in this review!
Oh my!!! Oh my, my, my!!!! I can’t handle the events of The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski. I just thought the author couldn’t top the emotions generated from reading [b:The Winner's Curse|16069030|The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)|Marie Rutkoski|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1377023523s/16069030.jpg|21861552], I was wrong. I don’t even know how to start this review. I’m in shock!!! A little recap: Kestrel is engaged to the emperor’s son after she bargained for Herran’s freedom, granting them independence as a territory of Valoria. Arin doesn’t know what Kestrel sacrificed for him and his country and is now the unofficial governor of Herran.
Kestrel is in over her head in this book. I truly felt for her and caught myself holding my breath on more than one occasion. Like the last book, the POV alternates between Kestrel and Arin so the reader knows things the character does not. For me this was torture. After a few run-ins with the emperor and seeing how truly evil he is, Kestrel sides with Arin, becoming his spy in secret. Even Arin is clueless to the identity of his Moth. I wanted to scream at Kestrel as events played out. I worried for her as she isn’t the most stable in this book. She thinks she knows what is happening, having learned from the best, but unfortunately she’s playing with fire.
Arin is lost in this book. He’s gained everything he wanted from the rebellion: Herran’s freedom, his own freedom, even the house he grew up in, BUT he lost his heart in the process. He fell in love and fell hard for Kestrel, yet she deserted him for Valoria and the prince. She left without a word and brought the empire to his doorstep in the process AND he let her. He let her go. This fact haunts him and he is SO angry in this book. And his trust, well he places it in the wrong people.
The plot revolves around Kestrel and the Valorian court. She is in over her head as she gains information about Herran and passes it to Arin’s spymaster. She is the Moth, anonymous and dangerous to Valoria. Yet she underestimates her opponent, and thanks to the dual POV the reader is in the know. I love (and hate) this dramatic irony! It kept me turning the pages out of fear for the characters.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It did lose a star from 5 to 4 because it has a slow start and Kestrel and Arin are separated pretty much the entire book. So if you’re looking for romance, look elsewhere. There is a lot of drama and angst in this installment of the series. However the irony and edge-of-your-seat suspense kept me reading. If you enjoyed the first book of the series, I highly recommend you continue reading! And that ending?! What are you doing to me Marie Rutkoski?
Oh my!!! Oh my, my, my!!!! I can’t handle the events of The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski. I just thought the author couldn’t top the emotions generated from reading [b:The Winner's Curse|16069030|The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)|Marie Rutkoski|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1377023523s/16069030.jpg|21861552], I was wrong. I don’t even know how to start this review. I’m in shock!!! A little recap: Kestrel is engaged to the emperor’s son after she bargained for Herran’s freedom, granting them independence as a territory of Valoria. Arin doesn’t know what Kestrel sacrificed for him and his country and is now the unofficial governor of Herran.
Kestrel is in over her head in this book. I truly felt for her and caught myself holding my breath on more than one occasion. Like the last book, the POV alternates between Kestrel and Arin so the reader knows things the character does not. For me this was torture. After a few run-ins with the emperor and seeing how truly evil he is, Kestrel sides with Arin, becoming his spy in secret. Even Arin is clueless to the identity of his Moth. I wanted to scream at Kestrel as events played out. I worried for her as she isn’t the most stable in this book. She thinks she knows what is happening, having learned from the best, but unfortunately she’s playing with fire.
Arin is lost in this book. He’s gained everything he wanted from the rebellion: Herran’s freedom, his own freedom, even the house he grew up in, BUT he lost his heart in the process. He fell in love and fell hard for Kestrel, yet she deserted him for Valoria and the prince. She left without a word and brought the empire to his doorstep in the process AND he let her. He let her go. This fact haunts him and he is SO angry in this book. And his trust, well he places it in the wrong people.
The plot revolves around Kestrel and the Valorian court. She is in over her head as she gains information about Herran and passes it to Arin’s spymaster. She is the Moth, anonymous and dangerous to Valoria. Yet she underestimates her opponent, and thanks to the dual POV the reader is in the know. I love (and hate) this dramatic irony! It kept me turning the pages out of fear for the characters.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It did lose a star from 5 to 4 because it has a slow start and Kestrel and Arin are separated pretty much the entire book. So if you’re looking for romance, look elsewhere. There is a lot of drama and angst in this installment of the series. However the irony and edge-of-your-seat suspense kept me reading. If you enjoyed the first book of the series, I highly recommend you continue reading! And that ending?! What are you doing to me Marie Rutkoski?