Initial Impressions 11/27/14: Well that just destroyed my feelings. 
 I had sort of the same experience with The Winner's Curse in that I was wholly invested the whole book BUT THE ENDING. HOLY MOTHER OF... Marie Rutkoski sure knows what she's doing. I had the same feeling from book one where I'm reading and really enjoying but it wasn't quite five star material. I was wavering between 4 and 4.25 stars for a long time BUT THE ENDING, GUYS. IT JUST KILLED ME. It's so hard to pick ratings sometimes but that solidly brought it up to 4.5 stars and simultaneously made me want to hug the book and throw it across the room. I think that's a good thing. 
 I felt a lot more invested in the characters this book too. I did enjoy them in The Winner's Curse but something about CRIME felt like I really got to know them so much more. I mean, I guess I did! The stakes are so much higher now that Kestrel is involved with the emperor and he has so much of a hold on her -- and anyone she associates with. The emperor is one scary dude. OH, the rage I feel for him. 
 Also, THE ROMANTIC TENSION. Oh man. Oh man. 
 Anyway. Clearly I enjoyed it! As with book one, the ending killed me. Now I'm dead. Now I need book three... and this book isn't even out yet. Why did I do this to myself again...? 
 Full review posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 2/4/15: Um. Yeah. Marie Rutkoski? You broke my feels (probably everyone's feels) with this book. Is it possible to be broken in a good way? Because I think this was it. I don't usually put gifs in my reviews but let's just say I'm lost somewhere in between "a little broken" and "shattered to pieces"... I'll admit it -- I was one of those people who felt like THE WINNER'S CURSE started out juuuust a bit slow (don't worry -- obviously I was totally captivated in the second half) but in retrospect, I think that was just because it was a non-magical fantasy and I wasn't quite used to that. Immediately after finishing CURSE I was dying for CRIME so I picked this one up fairly quickly after I got it in the mail from Macmillan! Now that some time has passed, I girded my feels for what might happen in book two (wasn't really possible), and I knew exactly what I was in for (I really didn't), I threw myself head first into THE WINNER'S CRIME. 
 The book starts off pretty much where THE WINNER'S CURSE left us. IN AGONY. No, but really. The plot picks up a little ways where we last left Kestrel and right from the first page I was hooked. I don't really want to go into the plot (of CURSE or CRIME) because I don't want to start spilling out spoilers but let's just say Kestrel put herself in a compromising position in order to try to help Arin and then these two... This is the most tension and frustration I've felt since I read JUST ONE YEAR. It KILLED me to see these two constantly sacrificing something to help the other and that plan backfiring, or missing opportunities to finally say something to each other, or almost giving in to what they want and pulling away. GAH. 
 One thing I really loved was how twisty everything got at the end of THE WINNER'S CURSE and CRIME surely follows in the same vein as well. Kestrel and Arin constantly killing us with all of their clandestine meetings and emotional self-torture, but obviously they both have their reasons to do so. THE WINNER'S CRIME is a sort of constant volley back and forth between Kestrel's plans and Arin's plans and witnessing how close they are and yet how far they are is just torture. If these two could just communicate... but they can't. And the readers go NUTS. 
 Okay, trying to move away from the feels here... Once again, Marie Rutkoski does a fantastic job with making these characters just leap off of the page. The new characters that are added are just fantastic and I really connected to them in a short time span, getting immediately invested. I had a love/hate relationship with the emperor because he was just awful but like, an amazing evil (think Umbridge) that I just loved to hate him. I also love the way this world grew. I got to know more about neighboring regions and the imagery in my head was just gorgeous. The descriptions were so wonderful that I could really picture everything as it was playing out. Just fantastic. 
 I honestly want to say so much more about this book, but like its predecessor, THE WINNER'S CRIME is one you just want to experience for yourself. It's a great balance between character and plot and when things start to escalate in the end, I assure you that you'll be on the edge of your seat! Just don't say I didn't warn you when you finish and want book three immediately...