Book Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Pages: 400
Publish date: March 12th 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s
ISBN: 9781408858691
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

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.

The Winner’s Crime:

I received a copy of The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I love fantasy, everything about this genre is memorizing to me and before about 3 years ago it was all I read. So when I was reading The Winner’s Crime I was just in love.

The Winner’s Crime is the sequel to one of my favourite fantasy books of all time The Winner’s Curse. And let me tell you, I have no idea how The Winner’s Crime could even be better than it but it was.

I am in awe of Rutkoski, her writing is absolutely gorgeous, her characters are intriguing, and that story line. I cannot really put in words how much I love this book.

“I don’t mind being a moth. I would probably start eating silk if it meant that I could fly.”

At the end of The Winner’s Curse we were left with a slight cliff hanger that left us readers in a world of our own, thinking ‘what the hell is going to happen next.’ And gosh we were answered in The Winner’s Crime. There was so much going on, that my head was spinning in a remarkable way.

Kestrel is probably one of my favourite female protagonist of all time. All through the book Kestrel is struggling to live knowing that she will be married soon, trying to live under her soon to be father in law all while trying to stay true to herself. Kestrel has a great deal on her shoulders and I like that we see that sometimes she cannot handle it. It shows that Kestrel is human, and not this superhuman that can handle everything in the world.

“Sometimes you think you want something,” Arin told him, “when in reality you need to let it go.”

I felt that Kestrel has grown so much throughout The Winner’s Crime from the first book. We see that she is trying to be strong, hold her feelings in and not let people see that she is close to breaking point.

Aria, gosh he frustrated me. I love him to bits but the way that he treated Kestrel through The Winner’s Crime got on my nerves. I understand that he felt betrayed and I would be to, but couldn’t he tell that Kestrel wasn’t happy and that she was helping him and his cause.

Furthermore, I love the world that Rutkoski has built, I adore that it’s rich in cultural and that even after two books we still don’t know everything about the world.

Jess, what can I say about her. Again like Aria, I understand that she is hurting like hell, but now she is all that Kestrel has at the moment and what she does hurts Kestrel more than she realises. My heart was breaking into pieces, it would kill me if I was in Kestrel’s situation and my so called best friend wasn’t there for me.

The ending…what can I say. Rutkoski knows how to kill her readers doesn’t she. I was so stunned when I read the last page, I just gawked. I could not believe what I was reading, but I loved it to pieces, Rutkoski is a queen at cliff hangers. I don’t know how I am going to wait till next year for the last book.

Overall, I loved The Winner’s Crime to pieces. I am in admiration of Rutkoski and her writing. She is able to manage an intriguing and rich world, layered characters and a gorgeous writing style.