The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Crime

Author: Marie Rutkoski Publisher: Bloomsbury Published: March 12th 2015 Rating: 4/5  Goodreads // Book Depository
Synopsis: Lady Kestrel's engagement to Valoria's crown prince calls for great celebration: balls and performances, fireworks and revelry. But to Kestrel it means a cage of her own making. Embedded in the imperial court as a spy, she lives and breathes deceit and cannot confide in the one person she really longs to trust ...

While Arin fights to keep his country's freedom from the hands of his enemy, he suspects that Kestrel knows more than she shows. As Kestrel comes closer to uncovering a shocking secret, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth.

Lies will come undone, and Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them in this second book in the breathtaking Winner'strilogy
If I had to choose three words to describe this book they would be dark, political and sly, but in the best way possible. Having read the first and not being overwhelmingly impressed by it, this was a welcome change in atmosphere. It was made clear in this novel that this isn't a love story, it is a story of a nation at war, of politics and of relationships, whether it be between cultures or people. If you loved the first book, you'll love this even more and if you didn't I'd say give it a go anyway because I was extremely impressed. 
To keep this review tidy (as I have a lot to say) I'm going to work in sections. Spoilers will also be found after the cut, so you've been warned!

Book Haul #5 (I Had A Naughty November)

Is the title of this post really any surprise? I mean really? Shaina bought more books, who would have guessed it. Shameful thing is you guys missed out on seeing a lot of the new books I purchased when I went MIA, so here's a massive November book haul. During November I was trying to be on a book buying ban as my Mum and sister, Tegan, are spoiling me for my 17th (exactly 1 month away as I'm writing this!) as it'll be my last birthday living at home and in the top half of Queensland, Brisbane here I come! But well, that 'ban' didn't really work out and I ended up buying more in November than I did in September and October combined. Oops! In my defence, I did get to go to the city (aka Cairns) for my Graduation, which is a rare occurrence and they have real life bookstores there (and very cheap selections at Kmart and Target) so I splurged, big time! I did get a few quite cheap though, so remember that when I show you all the books I bought and you're judging the amount of money I spent ;)

New Beginnings!

Hello everyone!
Quick post today to say- I'm back! For good this time hopefully. As of the 19th of November 2014, I am a high school graduate, which means more time for the internet and reading, less time for work (for now)! So in saying that, I've decided to 'revamp' my blog and make it all new and snazzy!
From here on most of the posts you'll see will be book related, before I was a mix of lifestyle and books, but now I really want to focus on books with maybe a few personal posts! For those of you who don't know (though I'm sure everyone reading this probably does) I'm majorly obsessed with fictional worlds. Not only do they provide my entertainment as I'm not big on movies and TV, they also fascinate me to no end. The best feeling I can think of is reading a book and being so immersed in it you don't see the words anymore, you see the story unfold before your eyes. For me, whenever I think about books I've read its like a little movie inside my mind, I can never remember actually reading the books, only the stories and the images the book gave me. Quotes will stand out, but I'll remember them as the characters say them, rather than the words on the page. It's for this reason I've made the decision to move forward with this as a book-based blog, as you can see I'm quite passionate (obsessed?) about books!
There's nothing else I really want to address apart from saying a big congrats to everyone else who has graduated recently! Isn't it the best feeling? Anyways! That's all from me for now, book haul coming soon, but who's really surprised? It's not a secret I've got a problem. Talk soon!

goodreads // tumblr // instagram

Books Around the World #1: Shadow & Bone

While I was on instagram earlier I realised how covers vary around the world and thought maybe I'd turn it into a series of some kind on my blog. I'm not sure if anyone else has done this - they probably have, but its still fun to do! :)  So to start this off, I decided to go with the first book in the Grisha trilogy - Shadow and Bone!

I really like all of these covers, but I think the German cover is beautiful. The rest of the series is just as attractive. I find it interesting that they differ so much, the UK version even has a different name! If you're after any of these versions, you can find them on Amazon or The Book Depository. If you haven't heard of the Shadow and Bone you can find the synopsis below!

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. 

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to setting Ravka free? 

The Darkling, a man of seductive charm and terrifying power. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him?

If you're interested in reading it, definitely check it out on goodreads! I do believe it's high fantasy, but I may be wrong. The world building is fantastic, and the characters are amazing. One especially ;)  As much as the synopsis makes it sound heavily romance based - its not. I was a lot more focused on the kick ass characters and amazing storyline, though the romance is a great added extra. The series only gets better!

Let me know down below if you like this kind of post and if you've read Shadow and Bone - what did you think of it?



goodreads // tumblr // twitter