Review: The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Published March 3, 2015 | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
GOODREADS | THE BOOK DEPOSITORY | AMAZON

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE WINNER’S CURSE.

Following your heart can be a crime

A royal wedding 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 trust Arin? Can she even trust herself?

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.

Rating: ★★★★★

I would like to say this book had too much romance, but then I’d be a hypocrite because I enjoyed everything between Kestrel and Arin so, so much. Even if many moments threatened to shatter my heart. And if you thought the schemes and trickery in The Winner’s Curse had been intense, the entire plot of this sequel will blow your mind to Mars.

At the end of the first book, we weren’t really left with an antagonist as Valoria was generally seen as this huge impending force of doom, Kestrel’s father was still someone she loved and his actions had (mostly) good intentions, Irex had been outsmarted by Kestrel (then died), and Cheat wound up dead. But fear not because you will soon meet the emperor of Valoria, a conniving prick and all-time pain in the ass. His despicable nature, in my opinion, can definitely hold a torch up to the King of Adarlan from the Throne of Glass series.

Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Published October 14, 2014 · Balzer + Bray
Goodreads · The Book Depository · Amazon

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

Rating: ★★★★

Snow Like Ashes was among the many new fantasy novels I had been looking forward to reading last year (incase you don’t know, I’m a huge fantasy fangirl). Raasch had created an incredible world filled with cunning, impending war, hope, and underlying magic. However, while this novel was fascinating, it definitely has room for improvement.

Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Published February 10, 2015 · HarperTeen
GOODREADS · THE BOOK DEPOSITORY · AMAZON

MARE BARROW’S WORLD IS DIVIDED BY BLOOD—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn’t know she had. Except… her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.

Rating: ★★★

Red Queen is one of those novels I’ve been looking forward to since before the cover was released. The synopsis was on point; everything about it sounded deliciously brutal and the world-building utterly unique. Then the gorgeous cover was revealed and the deal was sealed. There was no question I had to read it, so imagine my excitement when I finally got my hands on a copy.