The Winner's Crime Review

*this is a review of a sequel, so there can be spoilers for the first book in the synopsis/review- if you want to know more about this series, check out my review of the first book, The Winner's Curse, here!*

Goodreads Synopsis:

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. 

The Winner's Crime on Goodreads

Visit the Author's Website

Last week, I reviewed The Winner's Curse, and talked about what a fast paced, amazing book that was. Today, I'm back to talk about the epic sequel, The Winner's Crime. The Winner's Crime continues with the situation Kestrel and Arin finds themselves in. It's interesting, pretty fast paced, and a great continuation. I will say that I think this book was my favorite of the two for a few reasons I'll talk about later on in the review, but it was still a really good book and a great sequel. I gave The Winner's Crime 4 out of 5 stars.

Kestrel had a lot to deal with in this novel. She's definitely not perfect, but she's trying to navigate the treachery and intrigue of the court life. I wasn't the biggest fan of the emperor and the court aspect of this novel, but it added some really unique elements to the story. I think it also gave more insight into the Valorian life. I really enjoyed meeting the new characters and I'm curious to know more about a lot of them as well. The story was really interesting and well written, and throughout a lot of the novel I just wanted to read on and know more and find out what happened next.

I think some of the things that sort of bothered me about the novel were also things I enjoyed originally. The writing is really great at building suspense and anticipation, and there were times when I was reading as fast as I could because I had to know what happened next. But as the story progressed towards the very end, I kind of got tired of the plot pacing a little. By the end, I had definitely really enjoyed the novel, but just wanted more of a resolution to some elements of the book.

In general, The Winner's Crime is an awesome sequel. There were some things that bothered me about the novel, but there's a lot of amazing writing and story development. I'm so excited for The Winner's Kiss, even though we have quite a wait until it's published in 2016. This series is really unique- it's a fantasy with a lot of intrigue and plot twists that really make the story interesting. I think that The Winner's Crime is a great continuation to The Winner's Curse, and I am already looking forward to the third novel!

Because this is a sequel, I added my little "If you liked these books then you might like this book" to my review of the first book in the series, so you can check that out (the link's mentioned earlier) if you want to know my recommendations!

Have you read this sequel? What were your thoughts? I'm loving reading this series, so I would love to discuss it!

From the paper world,

V

The Winner's Curse Review

Goodreads Synopsis:

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love... 

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

The Winner's Curse on Goodreads

Visit the Author's Website

Today, I'm here to talk about The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. I heard a lot of people talking about this book when it first came out, and then again later on a lot of people were saying it was one of their favorite reads of 2014. After hearing so many incredible things about the novel, I was excited to pick it up and read it. The Winner's Curse is definitely an adventure- fast paced, unpredictable, and filled with plenty of plot twists. I'm pretty sure I said aloud "I can't believe that happened!" at least once while reading this novel. It's definitely a unique fantasy novel unlike any I've read so far. I gave The Winner's Curse 4.5 Stars.

As you may have heard, The Winner's Curse is a fantasy but without the more fantastical, magical elements. As we read, we learn more about the Valorians and the nation of Herran and the Herrani people, and Kestrel and Arin. Kestrel is a great protagonist. She's smart, resourceful, and cunning, which is a quality that she displays through her observing and analyzing events. Arin is a character that's endured incredible hardships and has a strength and resolve to him. The two take turns being the center of the story's perspective, and I thought this juxtaposition really added to the novel. We learn much more about the world and its goings on through this, as well as get to know more about the characters.

In terms of the story, The Winner's Curse is fast paced and intriguing, with a lot of plot twists. I found it very difficult to put the book down, and I was engrossed in the events of the novel. There's a lot of different things going on, and while sometimes I felt like the story was a little abrupt in shifting, overall I thought it was really unique and dynamic.

The Winner's Curse is a fantastic novel. It's a fantasy novel that trades magic for mystery, and it immerses you into the world of Kestrel and Arin. The book is fast paced, interesting, and exciting. I think this is a great book!

If you liked Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, then you might like The Winner's Curse!

Have you read this novel? If so, what did you think? I would love to discuss this book some more! And stay tuned for my review of the sequel, coming up next week!

From the paper world,
V

Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake Review

*This is a review of the sequel to Antigoddess by Kendare Blake, so there will be spoilers for the first book in the synopsis and review. You can check out the first book on Goodreads using the link above or see my review of Antigoddess here.

2015 Challenges - Sign Ups and Goals

This year I'm excited to be signing up for several challenges. You can see my 2014 Challenge Wrap Up if you're curious about what challenges I did last year and how I did in those. I really enjoyed doing a lot of those challenges, and so I'm excited to share which challenges I want to do in the year 2015! Last year, I did a lot of posts sporadically as I found different challenges I'm interested in doing. This year, I wanted to combine all of my sign ups and goals into one post so that it's easier to see what challenges I'm doing. I'm being pretty ambitious with my challenge sign ups for the year, but there were a lot that I found would be fun and also challenge me to write more reviews and enjoy my reading.

2015 Goodreads Reading Challenge

My goal: Read 50 books

I completed my reading goal for 2014, which was 75 books, but I found that by the end of 2014 my reading was something I had a lot less time for, sadly. So, I'm hoping to set aside some time for reading every day in the midst of a busy schedule.

2015 Debut Author Challenge

hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Challenge goal: Read and review 12 debut novels

This is a challenge I ended up not completing last year. I was disappointed about not completing the challenge, because there were a lot of 2014 debuts I was really excited to read and share my thoughts on. However, this coming year there are some great 2015 debuts that I will try to read and review, and hopefully I'll find some time to go back and read more of the 2014 debuts as well.

2015 Prequel & Sequel Challenge

hosted by Novel Heartbeat and Writer Grrl Reads

My goal: Amateur level (25-50 points)

I participated in this challenge last year and surpassed my goal. I really enjoyed doing this challenge while I was reading and continuing on with a lot of series I enjoyed. The points system is a fun addition as well. I think that aiming for the Amateur level is a reasonable goal because a lot of my favorite series are wrapping up this year, and I would like to go back and review a lot of books from earlier on in the series that I haven't reviewed in order to provide more of my thoughts on the books.

2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

hosted by Bookish

My goal: A First Kiss level (21-30 reviews)

The Bookish TBR Pile Challenge is one that I really appreciate because it's so helpful in going through my TBR and reviewing those books. In addition, it's really helpful to keep in mind that non-new release books are interesting and on my TBR Pile too, and review those as well. I really enjoyed participating in the 2014 TBR Pile Challenge, so I'm excited to continue on. I'm going to be staying at the same level since last year I only had 23 reviews, but I'm hoping this year to get it even closer to 30 reviews.

2015 Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge

hosted by Hello, Chelly and Alexa Loves Books

My goal: read and review 5 fantasy novels

This is a new challenge, and it's something I'm really excited about. 2014 was a year when I saw a lot of people talk about fantasy novels they were reading and enjoying, and it made me more curious about reading more of the genre. I wanted to do that this year, but when I saw this challenge I knew it was the perfect opportunity. This looks like it's going to be so much fun! I'm only going to set the goal for 5 novels, because I'm not the biggest reader of fantasy novels. But, I'm hoping this challenge inspires me to read more fantasy novels. 

2015 Re-Read Challenge

hosted by So Obsessed With and Belle of the Literati

My goal: 3 re-reads and reviews

I'm keeping my goal for this newest challenge pretty low, since I've never re-read too many books but I want to try and re-read some books from series I'll be finishing this year, and then share my thoughts on those too, since I noticed I was missing some earlier reviews for some of the series I'm currently reading. 

2015 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

hosted by My Reader's Block

My goal: Pike's Peak level (read 12 books)

I wanted to add this challenge because the goal is only to read books that have been on my TBR.  

Here are all the year-long challenges I'm planning on participating in this year. Let me know what challenges you're doing in the new year!

From the paper world,
V