Hey lovelies! Today, we kick off the fourth and final week of the Read-along for The Winner's Crime! WAAH! I'M SO SAD IT'S OVER!!! This read-along has been so so so so much fun! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out this post for all the deets and a super epic giveaway, which is also posted at the bottom of this post too!) I'll be discussing the ONLY chapters 34-46 of The Winner's Crime, and my thoughts. If you haven't started reading with us yet, don't worry! There's still plenty of time to catch up, so pick up your copy of The Winner's Crime and start devouring the next installment of Kestrel and Arin's story!
Another WARNING because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone..... If you have NOT read THE WINNER'S CURSE, then read NO further!!
Favorite Quote(s) from Chapters 34-48:
"I'm going to miss you when I wake up," she whispered.
"Don't wake up," he said.
"Sometimes you think you want something," Arin told him, "when what you need is to let it go."
"He'd been a fool of the worst kind: the one who can't see things for what they really are."
My Thoughts on Chapters 34-48:
Dear (Sweet, Lovely, and Beautiful,) The Winner's Crime Part Four,
*sniffles*
I cannot believe there's no more of you to read. I just can't even deal with this fact right now. HOW IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT ANOTHER YEAR FOR YOUR NEXT INSTALLMENT?! ESPECIALLY WITH THAT ENDING?! WHAT?!
Okay, I'm going to try to cool it with the all CAPS, but no promises.
In these last few chapters of you, A LOT happens. (Wow, that didn't last long. Ha.) We start off with Arin, who is still in the East, begging the Queen for an alliance with Herran, which doesn't look like it's going to happen. But my sweet Arin is a fighter, and refuses to take no for an answer, continuing to search for a way to prove to the Queen that an alliance is worth it. All the while, dealing with Roshar, who is (besides Verex) my new favorite character in your series. He's just hilarious, complex, ruthless....I could go on and on about my love for him, even though his appearance STILL reminds me of The Dark Lord (minus the paleness). Then, Arin and Roshar battle a tiger!!!! I was on the edge of my seat during the scuffle, and then my heart mewed along with the baby tiger cub that Roshar decides to adopt as his own. A BABY TIGER CUB. It almost makes up for the fact that Kestrel is forced to make the decision to give up her puppy in the next couple of chapters for fear of the Emperor attacking it in a way to get to her heart. Damn that Emperor. CURSE YOU! Before that, we get a lovely scene of Kestrel fantasizing about being in a meadow with Arin. *le sighs* I think that's my favorite scene besides the balcony one. Kestrel struggles with whether or not to continue as the moth, and whether or not to let Arin know that she is, in fact, the moth. She also finds out what the Emperor's plans are for Herran, after sneakily talking to the physician. Arin convinces the Queen and Roshar to burn the plains, and it's during this that Ronan dies. Kestrel, in turn, blames herself, and tries to reach out to Jess with no response, leaving things unresolved. Arin finally earns an alliance with the east after inventing a portable canon, but continues to question his feelings about Kestrel and realizes after an impromptu make out session with the Queen, that Kestrel actually does have feelings for him because of all the ways she's played the game of war... he just has to confront her about it. This is where everything goes to shit. More people die. The Emperor is a bigger douche. Kestrel's father is a backstabber. And most importantly, Kestrel saves Arin again by lying to him, ultimately leaving him to think he imagined everything between them (again), and leading Kestrel to a work camp in the tundra.
Phew. Like I said, a lot did happen. That's a majorly condensed version of all of your chaos. As expected, my heart is destroyed, obliterated, shattered. I'm a huge sob fest. Looks like I'm back to being in the world of a book hangover, but it's okay, The Winner's Crime. You're worth it. SO worth it. Because if your next book title has anything to say about what's to come, I'm very excited. The Winner's Kiss better deliver on LOTS OF KISSING from my OTP. I feed on the kisses from them. (That sounded kind of weird, but whatevs.)
Wrecked til then,
Becca
ABOUT THE BOOKS
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 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.
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 Curse Read-Along
February 3rd - Chapters 1 - 10
February 10th - Chapters 11 - 20
February 17th - Chapters 21 - 30
February 24th - Chapters 31 - 42
The Winner's Crime Read-Along
March 10th - Chapters 1 - 10
March 17th - Chapters 11 - 20
March 24th - Chapters 21 - 34
March 31st - Chapters 34 - 46
Make sure to follow the HASHTAG #TheWinnersTrilogy on twitter!
Check out the other participating bloggers posts...
One thing that I liked above all else in The Winner's Crime was how Kestrel got so strong as a female. She learned to look outside herself and to try and help others even if it meant risking her own life. Kestrel grew so much and was so brave in this book, but she also stayed very distinctly feminine, and I liked that! I cannot wait to see what The Winner's Kiss has in store for Marie's characters. I kinda wish we didn't have to wait a year for it, though.... ;-)
ReplyDeleteReally fun read along!