The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski | Rating: ★★★★★

“Sometimes you think you want something,” Arin told him, “when in reality you need to let it go.”

Marie Rutkoski is a force to be reckoned with in the realm of action packed fantasy in young adult literature. She captures this fantastical and dangerous world of her so vividly, her characters so crystal clear and romantic. It’s easy to see the hype beyond this world and all the sparks that come with it–Marie has a talent of drawing you in within the first few pages and her characters refuse to let you go.

The Winner’s Crime has been on my most anticipated reads since finishing the first installment in the trilogy, The Winner’s Curse, and I’ve been taking my sweet time reading it. And because the previous book was such a massively captivating read, The Winner’s Crime had a great deal to live up to.

Because let’s face it, when you have such a solid start to a promising series, there’s a certain level of difficulty in capturing the magic of the previous book and expanded onto it. Sequels can be very hit-or-miss.

After such a delightful introduction, I wasn’t so sure that it could get any better–but Marie knocked me right off my game multiple times and proved that yes, it can get better, and yes–she was only just getting started.