Book Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Crime 

by Marie Rutkoski

Series: The Winner's Curse #2

Genre: YA, fantasy, historical

Published March 3rd 2015 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Source: Publisher

Purchase: Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Book Depository

Local order/purchase: Fully Booked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

My Thoughts:

The much-awaited (well, not really for me, since I already have the book with me) sequel of the elegant The Winner's Curse is here. Though I didn't have to wait long for the sequel because it already has been published, I just read the first book since it was published a year ago, and I already have my copy, I can still feel the buzz of excitement in reading it, especially with the ending the first book gave me. The feeling and anticipation is quite the same when you are waiting for another year for the next book (though it's more torture in that situation). 

As usual, the book was told in Marie Rutkoski signature: beautiful and graceful writing and story-telling. I love that the vibe the author let me experience in the first book was kept in the sequel. It was even more beautiful and breathtaking. Though also like in The Winner's Curse, the first half in The Winner's Crime was like in a slow pace. But the mystery and the characters' tiptoeing around each other's real intentions kept me alive. When the second half came, tiptoeing around was gone and explosives were being thrown into different ways, which made it more crazy exciting in a I'm-pulling-my-hair-out-because-IT'S-happening way. Too much emotions and Oh no's happened there. I'm not even talking about the ending yet. Oh gosh, THE ENDING. If I thought The Winner's Curse's ending was frustrating, then The Winner's Crime's ending killed me. Now I'm on the situation wherein I can feel the torture of waiting for THE next book. Please let's get there already, March 2016! I am hoping that The Winner's Kiss' (ooh what a sweet name) ending would be worth the two frustrating endings the first two books gave me.

However "frustrating" endings, though, I have to give the series and Marie a slow clap and a standing ovation. *dramatic pause* I really love what everything this series and the author (of course) has to give to the readers. Like I said in my review in The Winner's Curse, it has everything. And let me say this again: the romance wasn't satiating or too much. But dramatic, in a Romeo and Juliet way with a twist of well-thought story and characters. This book is fabulous and grand without even trying to. Simply elegant. I love it.

Read my review for the first book, The Winner's Curse here.

*Thank you so much Macmillan International for the review copy in exchange of an honest review!

Rating: