The Winner's Crime cover art

The Winner's Crime

Pre-order: Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Winner's Crime

By: Marie Rutkoski
Narrated by: Alexandra Boulton
Pre-order: Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Pre-order Now for £16.09

Pre-order Now for £16.09

Bloomsbury presents The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski read by Alexandra Boulton

THE SECOND BOOK IN THE HEART-STOPPING WINNER’S TRILOGY: an irresistible story of forbidden romance and class warfare

‘Every line in The Winner's Curse is beautifully written. The story is masterfully plotted. The characters' dilemmas fascinated me and tore at my heart… I loved it. I want more’ Kristin Cashore, author of the Graceling Realm books

It's a fight to the death, where no one will escape a strike to the heart...

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's Trilogy.
Action & Adventure Literature & Fiction Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

Every line in The Winner's Curse is beautifully written. The story is masterfully plotted. The characters' dilemmas fascinated me and tore at my heart. This book gave me a rare and special reading experience: I never knew what was going to happen next. I loved it. I want more.
Like any epic page-turner worth its salt, Rutkoski’s richly imagined world is full of dynamic repartee, gruesome battle scenes, and shifting alliances. A high-stakes cliffhanger will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next book
Rich characterisation, exquisite world building and rock-solid storytelling make this a fantasy of unusual intelligence and depth ... Breathtaking, tragic and true
A forbidden romance. The romance is heartstoppingly lovely and admittedly steamy ... but the raising of stakes and the reluctance of the couple to give up their respective causes, even as they confess their love for each other, lends their relationship a complexity not often seen in the genre ... A last-minute compromise between the lovers secures a sequel, and fans of Kristin Cashore and Robin Lefevers will be pleased to have a new romance to follow
Faultlessly written, home to a rich cast of mesmerising characters, and possesses just the right amount of intrigue, romance and emotion to make the story one that leaves an impression. My mind is still reeling from those final few pages
Rich with detail, tension, and true feeling — and that goes for both the plot, and the characters. Everything about it is just incredible
Full of high society balls, lies and deceit, stolen moments in secret places, as well as being absolutely beautifully written, The Winner’s Curse is a brilliant first book in a new trilogy that everyone should read!
The hype is right – The Winner's Curse is a beautiful, heartbreaking must-read
No reviews yet