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tale_of_tales's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Torture
Moderate: War
Minor: Cursing, Kidnapping, and Medical content
karly_ackley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, War, Torture, Murder, and Death
wildflowerleahg's review against another edition
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Suicide and War
Minor: Slavery
katherina_lei's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I really liked this book. The writing was beautiful and captured so many emotions. I was rooting for all the loveable characters all the time. This book is tragic but also so fascinating and I can't wait to see how the trilogy ends! The bind the main characters are in seem impossible, and I am curious to see how the story progresses and if there will be any sort of happy ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Torture
Minor: War
fifth_magpie's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Violence
Minor: Slavery
gabbygarcia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Slavery, War, Death, Violence, Suicide, Colonisation, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Vomit, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Medical content
ajboyd_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Racism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, War, Body horror, Classism, Excrement, Grief, Murder, and Religious bigotry
reiki's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
emiliaphrodite's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
you can definitely tell the author was discovering her queer identity. the emperor and the general were giving gay longing for a straight man who is uncomfortable with it. the gods are able to be any gender. it’s not unheard of to be gay. love it.
kestrel and arin are destiny 💖
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Wow, The Winner’s Crime took me by surprise. This book was intense.
We talk a lot about how middle books are a bridge between books one and three and are a bit blah. That was not the case with The Winner’s Crime. This book – particularly Kestrel’s POV – was a constant rollercoaster. I loved listening to it.
Well, I loved listening to Kestrel’s POV chapters. As I found with The Winner’s Curse, Arin’s chapters were ridden with a lot of stereotypical poor decisions and I found him underwhelming. Honestly, I don’t know what Kestrel sees in him as a person because Arin is reckless and shortsighted and frustrating. Please know – when I say “stereotypical poor decisions”, I’m not giving Rutkoski enough credit. Even though Arin makes a lot of expected choices, Rutkoski chose to take the story in a different direction than I expected. This book stressed me out in a lot of the best ways and I appreciated it.
Kestrel, Arin, and the emperor all fit neatly into character tropes and are easy to get to know in a short period of time. As far as characters go, Rutkoski hasn’t done anything spectacular. These characters aren’t memorable on their own and won’t bring readers back for their own sake. The Winner’s Crime relies heavily on its plot to bring in readers. If you aren’t interested at the beginning or if you’re a very strong character reader, this series may fail to interest you.
For myself, I wasn’t overly impressed with The Winner’s Curse, but I was intrigued enough to pick up the sequel… and I’m glad I did. The interesting parts of the story flourish in The Winner’s Crime and this book stressed me out. In a good way. In that “yelling at the TV ‘NO DON’T GO IN THERE'” kind of way. I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I picked it up. I have no idea how this trilogy is going to end and I can’t wait to find out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Racism, Medical content, and War
Minor: Slavery