The Winner's Crime (Winner's Trilogy, #2)

by Marie Rutkoski

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria's crown prince is the event of a lifetime, but to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making, so as she aches to tell the truth about her engagement, she becomes a skilled practitioner of deceit and as a spy passes information and gets close to uncovering a shocking secret.

To Kestrel, the engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria's crown prince means living in a cage of her own making, and as she aches to tell the truth about her engagement, she becomes a skilled practitioner of deceit. The plot contains violence. Book #2

• ISBN10: 1250073561
• ISBN13: 9781250073563
• Publish Date: 29 March 2016 (first published 3 March 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Square Fish
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4 Stars


Onto the winners kiss! RTC

[ladygrey]

I don’t quite know what to think of this book. It’s not bad but it’s overwritten.

In the midst of it I kept getting bogged down in both Kestrel and Arin’s thoughts and endless “I’m so conflicted” for various reasons. And thinking back on the plot not that much actually happened. There’s a lot of talking about what’s already happened. And a lot of questioning... of themselves and what has happened but not much of what could happen. And a lot of hemming and hawing about making something happen. And only a little bit of something actually happening.

The court intrigue seemed pretty well laid out so there weren’t many surprises. Like literally 2 things throughout the whole book that I thought, “huh didn’t know that.” I knew that Risha was downplaying her skills but I didn’t know she was specifically sent to assassinate the emperor. Though it was obvious she hadn’t because of Verex. And I didn’t see the poison Herrani plot until Kestrel did. But I knew there was something the emperor was up to in order to undermine the treaty. Because it was the year of money and he was two-faced.

The lies Arin and Kestrel tell each other and themselves are kind of frustrating. Because they keep rehashing the same territory again and again. And because it felt forced - like Rutoski is trying to find a way to keep them apart for the sake of the plot, so there’s some conflict. Which maybe isn’t fair because in the capital Kestrel wouldn’t have been able to acknowledge anything between them. And yet, it still felt forced rather than authentic to the circumstances and story. And because the lies don’t seem to fit with the characters from the first book who were smart and strategic and floundering and confident and capable all at once.
And I get that Kestrel was in over her head so she was going to make mistakes but for a strategic girl she did some dumbass things.
And I also thought Rutkoski did a good job of evoking both character’s turmoil at misunderstanding each other and misinterpreting what the other said. Because who hasn’t been there? It would have been fine if that was woven into all the things happening. But when that’s all that happens, again and again, it’s considerably less than interesting.

The most interesting parts are with Jess and Ronan and those are both such short scenes. It would have been a lot more interesting for them to stay at court and be more a part of the story (and for there to be more of a story).

I feel like it could have been streamlined a lot and been half as long or had twice as much story (or if the third one is the same been a duology).

Also, not to rewrite the story but it would have been a lot more interesting if Kestrel has been partially honest with Arin in the beginning. For her to say, “yes I’m playing a game and no I’m not going to tell you what it is. I’m keeping you off the board because the moment you step onto the board it becomes more dangerous for me.” And for him to still get cut and for her to say straight up “I told you. They will use you as a weapon to punish me.” It would have changed things between them and changed the story but there still would have been plenty of conflict just of a different variety.

Mostly I think it’s just less compelling because so much of the story is written in a style that’s removed and descriptive, even when it’s describing their inner thought and turbulent wants, it feels withdrawn instead of driving into the scene of feeling immersed in it.

[jeannamichel]

A sequel that goes beyond the first in magnificent world building, a gorgeous romance and an unbelievable plot. Review to come.

[liz089]

Wow this was a very intriguing and thrilling second part !! So much is happening and the whole story kept me on edge. I loved Kestrel and Arin, even though they were apart for most of the story. I love the clever games and plot twists.. REALLY want to get started on the last one !! Such a good series.

[Ashley]

I liked this book but didn't love it. It felt like it had all the typical negative points of a book in the middle of the series. It was a clear transition—not as exciting as the first book, and not as exciting as the last book. Somewhere in the middle. Then there was the typical "second book problem" of the MC and the love interest being separated for most of the story. Grr.

LIKED:

* Politics.
* Betrayal.
* Kestrel's awesome intelligence and battle strategy. The girl is crazy impressive.
* I liked the prince and his relationship with Kestrel. It's not a love triangle (which I appreciated), but they still have a cool relationship.
* I loved the ending!
* Kestrel's relationship with her father (ohhh damn).

DISLIKED

* Some elements felt repetitive: Kestrel messing up and the Emperor saying "watch it" (over and over), her relationship with the Emperor, her on again/off again relationship with Arin, etc.
* I didn't like all the flashbacks to Arin's POV from the first book. I just felt "been there, done that" about it.
* The story dragged on a bit with nothing really progressing (see repetitive point). It felt a bit slow.
* I agree with what Debby said about how they made jumps to insane conclusions that had so little proof or logic. One thing I'd like to add to Debby's example is when the word "diluted" made Kestrel jump to the idea that the emperor was poisoning the Herrani's water supply. She was SO CERTAIN but honestly there was very little proof. I thought it was insane that she guessed that.

[Stephanie]

WELP, goddamnit. It had the kind of endings I hate but I loved this one. Some of the wording was a little too flowery at points that I almost didn't understand the important tidbit it was describing but all in all, I'm down.

I was going to read something else in between this one and the last book but I guess that's not going to happen.

[Vicki]

Mar 2018 = 4.5 stars
Apr 2016 = 4.5 stars

[KitsuneBae]

It took me a long time to read this because the first book didn't impress me much but so far, this was an adequate sequel, adequate enough to look forward to reading the next book.

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.5 ★ Audiobook⎮ I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel right now. I'm feeling so many things. This series is so damn conflicting. And the best/worst part is that the author intends for it to be that way. Normally, it's pretty obvious how the author wants you to feel but with Marie Rutkoski, I can't tell up from down anymore and it's brilliant. So why the 4.5 stars? Because this brilliant resurgence of emotion only happened in the final chapters. Those chapters were utterly exhilarating. The kind that caused my heart to race with excitement, face to flush with anger, and skin to tingle with anticipation. The first 75% of the story might as well have not even existed, because all I can remember is the ending. If I had written this last night after immediately finishing the audiobook, my review would have had a very different tone. I finished it while lying in bed and it took me quite a while to calm down enough to fall asleep. I was furious with Kestrel, the "protagonist", for being so ridiculously stupid. I could probably think of a more dignified, SAT-like word to describe her actions in this installment, but stupid pretty much sums it up. My feelings for her took a severe nosedive in the final chapters (they were already steadily declining, anyway). She's not what I would call "my kind" of main character, meaning the type that I prefer. I understand that not all main characters have to be strong, brave, independent, etc. and it is okay to write a "weaker" female lead, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy reading them. From my impression of her in the first installment, I thought (and hoped) that she would be the type of female protagonist that I enjoy reading (à la "River Song"), but this installment significantly weakened her character. Worse than that, it allowed love to be the cause of her weakening. As I said, I'm certain all of this was intentional, because it serves the overall story, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. The same thing was done to Arin (the male protagonist), only slightly less so (read into that what you will). Honestly, these two are the types of characters that give you the uncontrollable urge to repeatedly bang your head against any available surface.

AND YET... I'm just as obsessed with this series now as I was after finishing the first installment. Cue Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You", because that is the only appropriate anthem for this series. God help these two because they sure don't want to help themselves. It's a wonder they have feet left to stand on, after shooting themselves there so many times. I swear, this story is nothing if not exasperating. AND YET... I can't wait to get my hands on the third installment and let these two idiots exasperate me even more.

Narration review: As detailed in my review of the previous installment, I do not care for the sound of the narrator's (Justine Eyre) voice even a little bit (I likened it to nails on a chalkboard). But I challenged myself when beginning this installment to find something about her narration that I didn't hate. Lo and behold, I did it. She has a wonderful ability to vary character accents by fictional geographical region. I have to say, I enjoy her dialogue narration immensely more than her standard prose narration. She provides very distinct vocal tones and accents for the characters, which is incredibly enjoyable to hear. ♣︎

[wyvernfriend]

Oh Man, what is going to happen now. The Emperor is a bit obvious though.