Following your heart can be a crimeA royal wedding is what most girls dream about. It means one celebration after another: balls, fireworks, and revelry until dawn. 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: that she agreed to marry the crown prince in exchange for Arin’s freedom. But can Kestrel … But can Kestrel trust Arin? Can she even trust herself? For Kestrel is becoming very good at deception. She’s working as a spy in the court. If caught, she’ll be exposed as a traitor to her country. Yet she can’t help searching for a way to change her ruthless world . . . and she is close to uncovering a shocking secret.
This dazzling follow-up to The Winner’s Curse reveals the high price of dangerous lies and untrustworthy alliances. The truth will come out, and when it does, Kestrel and Arin will learn just how much their crimes will cost them.
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Stars: 2.5/5
Series: Trilogy – The Winner’s Trilogy
Previous Reviews:
My Winner’s Curse *Ahem* Short Review
Characters: 3/5
Setting: 2/5
Writing: 2/5
Plot and Themes: 0/5
Favorite Character(s)?: Haha, oddly Roshar and maybe Risha (Verex and Arin a bit too)
Ugh, so I read the first…a while back and really wanted to finish this series, only? I really struggled though this one, and thought I’d never finish it! So, what changed? Is it weird that once Arin reached the Middle Eastern kingdom I started enjoying it more? Yeah, at like 78% and right when I thought all hope for me enjoying the story was lost, things took an…interesting turn!
I’ll also admit…I’m slightly disturbed myself by how easily Roshar slipped in and not only saved the day (read *Book*), but quickly became my favorite character, but theirs’s no denying it! It’s also one big reason I’ve decided to go ahead and finish the story, since all his best quotes seem to be in the last book! ;D
Overall, I found this one to lack direction or any real purpose, and worse than the ‘second book slump’ is that the first had so much potential but also relied heavily on the sequels to make the story, which clearly didn’t work out. Still, we did meet Risha who I’ve liked from early on, and Prince Verex who was also an interesting change from the usual characters we see. Likewise we also meet Roshar and his sister, who I’m sure will feature more in the Winner’s Kiss.
There was also a lot of deaths, that while apparently were meant to ‘send a message’ and ‘set the tone’ of the story in one go, just seemed…rather pointless and wasted? I understood the first one, and even maybe a few others would have made sense with the proper plot and planning, but with no storyline or real direction, they seemed to have lost all read meaning even to the point of not being very memorable because…you know what? No one really cared anyway, as the character has clearly lost all of their limited use, and outlived their role in the book….NO! I hate that cop-out and more so when the story meanders along with no real planning or plotline involved.
Arin also attempts to force Kestral to kiss him, or otherwise acknowledge some physical attraction to him still exists in her. Meanwhile, he also has two instances of varying degrees of infidelity while ‘dealing with his feelings (or hopefully, lack there of) for Kestral’. The first, was less what he did, but what he allowed as a girl straddles his lap. The second is a rather detailed heated and lusty make out scene with a foreign queen, who ‘accidently’ ended up sending him into the realization that…SURPRISE! HE STILL WANTS KESTRAL TO BE THE ONE KISSING HIM! Wow, never would have guessed that one! It also seemed odd, since after the first book, we know Arin is no saint, but this kind of behavior seems very inconsistent with his character, and seemed like much of the book to only serve as shock factor, which I hate. Twists are fine as part of a plot, with a bit of foreshadowing even, but pure shock factor without reason, is NOT!
Also, Kestral and Arin….UGH, I liked the angst and tension in the first book, and still enjoyed Arin for the most part in this one, but even his recklessness got old, and Kestral, GROW A SPINE! The constant push-and-pull, I hate you but I really don’t scenes were too much, and I hated everything about Kestral’s actions at the ball, especially after Arin left, and she carelessly shunned Jess with her actions! I also hated the scene with Ronan, and all the scenes with her father, and well…really 90% of the book where she did all the selfish things pretending to be the victims while willingly playing the game, gambling the lives and wellness of others against her own.
This book has once again made me really question if I’ve finally outgrown YA as a genre? I noticed last year that most of my reads leaned more toward what I consider NA (New Adult) with slightly older characters, more mature themes the adults deal with from marriage, to death, to loss and finding their place in life, and make a more grown up approach to character growth and ‘becoming the (man or woman) they were meant to be’. Not necessarily for the smutt or steam factor (I still rather avoid heavy erotic themes, even some ‘YA’ is more that I care for.) but just for the characters who are closer to my age, and that I now find more relatable to where I am in life.
That said, there are still some YA books I love, but this book did prove that it’s becoming more of a trend for me to struggle more with YA sequels, and I might not be finishing some of the series I originally planned to get to soon for that reason.
Marie Rutkoshi does it again and writes another addicting story about Kestrel and Arin.
As Kestrel is engaged to the prince, she learns quickly that the Emperor’s greed for power will never end. So she decides to be a mole in the palace and pass information about the emperor’s plan to eliminate threats.
Arin wants to trust her, but he cannot imagine her risking her status for a noble purpose.
The story was slow, but it was still an interesting read. I wish Kestrel and Arin were able to communicate better to each other, but I’m sure they will trust each other more in the 3rd and final book.
I have to say this series gets better and better. I love the politics that drives this book. It seriously makes my palms sweaty with anticipation. The stakes have definitely been raised with The Winner’s Crime.
I loved the characters even more in this book. I feel that their in dangerous situations and they have even more to lose with each decision they make. I loved this. You never know what’s going to happen, who they could trust, and whether Kestrel and Arin will be together. OMG! It was almost too much to take. This book is very suspenseful and meticulous. Kestrel is torn between her obvious love for Arin and betraying her people. She’s caught in the middle and either choice can have dire consequences. Kestrel can trust no one as the Emperor has eyes everywhere and Arin is in a constant state of danger doing what he can to protect his people.
I can’t help but love this series. Its addictive and exciting. I love that while there is a romance between Kestrel and Arin, its not necessarily the focus of this book. It is in the sense that their feelings for one another drives their actions, but the story is political in nature and strategic as Kestrel comes up with battle strategy and navigating her loyalties. I highly recommend this book.