The Winner's Crime (Book Review)

Author: Marie Rutkoski
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #2
Source: Library

Summary from 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.

Rating: êêêêê

Review

This book left me speechless and struggling with feelings - in the best way possible, The book moved at an excellent pace. The plot is thick, there were plenty of twists that kept me on my toes and the politics of this book were intriguing. My favorite part about this book was the character development. We really get to know the characters in this book. Without being spoilery, one of the things that really hit me after reading this book was the fact that, everything the characters did was consistent with who they are and yet I was still shocked by a few things that some of them did. I think it speaks volumes about how well Marie Rutkowski knows her characters. Typically,I am not a fan of star crossed lovers, but Kestrel and Arin's story had me hooked, I think because it's sort of in the background and not in your face. It was the perfect balance. Overall, this book was AMAZING and you should read it.