Hainin Oyunu

The Traitor's Game #1

by Jennifer A. Nielsen, Deniz Arı (Translator), Ece Çavuşlu (Editor)

HAİNİN OYUNUNDA KAZANMAKTAN BAŞKA ŞANSIN YOK

Kestra Dallisor üç yıldır sürgündeydi ve kendisini çok daha karanlık bir geleceğin beklediğinin farkındaydı ama zalim kral Lord Endrick’in sağkolu olan babası yüzünden eve dönüş yolunda asilerin ona pusu kurmasını beklemiyordu.

Hayatına karşılık kayıp Olden Hançeri’ni bulmasını söylediklerinde Kestra çoktan plan yapmaya başlamıştı. Asilerden biri olan Simon ise kaderin onları tekrar buluşturmasının sebebini öğrenmeden onu gözünün önünden ayırmayacaktı.

Hiçbir şeyin göründüğü gibi olmadığı Antora’da sırlar birer birer çözülüp hedefler değiştikçe, kim ve ne uğruna savaştıklarına karar vermek zorunda kalacaklardı.

“Sıradaki büyük genç yetişkin çılgınlığı.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Her ters köşede ağzınız açık kalacak.” —Justine Magazine

“Eğer kadın kahramanlarınızı öfkeli, erkek kahramanlarınızı korumacı, sadakatleri iki arada kalmış, görevleri karmaşık, nedenleri gizli, yaşamları sırlarla dolu seviyorsanız,
Hainin Oyunu’nu mutlaka okumalısınız..” —Fiktshun

“2018’in en çok beklenen genç fantastik romanlarından biri.” —Bustle

“Hainin Oyunu cesur bir kadın kahraman, bir parça yasak aşk ve pek çok ters köşe içeren entrika dolu bir macera sunuyor.” —Shelf Awareness

“Onu tuzağa düşürmeyi amaçlayan komploları bozarak kendi hikâyesinin kontrolünü ele almakta ısrarcı bir kadınla tanışacaksınız.” —RT Book Reviews

“Nielsen, hikâye boyunca gerilimi belirli bir seviyede tutarken bir yandan da okuru savunmasız yakalamak konusunda müthiş bir iş çıkarmış. En zor beğenen okurlar bile tatmin olacak.” —School Library Journal

“Kestra benim için tüm zamanların en müthiş kahramanlarından biri. Bir parça büyüyle okuru tamamen ele geçiren bir efsaneye; ilgi çekici bir üçleme için mükemmel bir başlangıca imza atılmış.” —Buried Under Books

“Fantastik ve romantik romanların baş döndüren karışımı.” —Girls’ Life

“Bitirdiğiniz anda daha fazlasını isteyeceğiniz, aksiyon dolu bir ilk kitap.” —Missourian

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Audiobook, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Adventure

392 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 2018

About the author

Jennifer lives at the base of a very tall mountain in Northern Utah with her husband, three children, and a naughty puppy. She loves the smell of rainy days, hot chocolate, and old books, preferably all at once. She is a former speech teacher, theater director, and enjoyed a brief but disastrous career as a door-to-door pollster. In her spare time, Jennifer tends to panic, wondering what she has forgotten to do that has allowed her any spare time.

Reviews

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Jennifer Nielsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I'm biased, but I hope readers will love this book as much as I do. I adore Kestra's fire, intelligence, and desire to do the right thing - something that isn't always clear to her. I love Simon's dedication, courage, and devotion to the causes he cares about. And I'm fascinated by these two characters who are working their way toward the truth, but coming to it from completely different angles.

If you read this and like it, then I also hope you'll follow this story through the sequels. I'm writing Book 2 right now, with more trouble for your favorite characters and some new characters that continue to build this world!

[jv poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abruptly abandoning her beloved Lava Fields, based solely on a demand from her paternal parental unit, is aggravating. The fact that it’s been three years and no reason was given for the reunion, is infuriating. When Kestra’s security carriage is attacked on the journey home, she flips from frustrated to fiercely furious, forgetting all about fear.

Certainly, the people of Antora have a healthy respect for that anger. After all, her father is second in command to Lord Endrick. Those who actually know the scrappy, skilled teen are more realistically wary of her wrath. The band of rebels, however, has too much at stake and too pat a plan to be thwarted.

Kestra is kidnapped. Her guard and governess held as collateral.

One captor poses as her lady-in-waiting, the other her driver and Kestra is taken into Highwyn and tasked with finding the Olden Blade to overthrow evil Lord Endrick. No one actually knows that the magic dagger exists. If it does, and she is able to locate it; then she will have to determine how much, if any, of the legend is true. This seemingly insurmountable problem pales when Kestra realizes the reason for her return.

She is to be wed. Groom selected, arrangements made, the ceremony…stupidly soon. She has no say in the matter.

With several sticky situations to solve, and only a small window of time, the story flies faster than Lord Endrick’s condors. Along the way, secrets are revealed. Kestra begins to believe that she fell in love with the idea of her country, without ever knowing the realities of her world. Burdened by new knowledge, the difference between enemies and innocents becomes blurry, but she must choose someone to trust.

Kestra may be one of my favorite characters of all time. She is courageous, bold beyond belief and also positively petulant, with a tendency for tantrums. The perfect protagonist for this adventurous, action-packed fantasy. Mixed with a bit of magic, a completely captivating saga is created; a stellar start to a tempting trilogy (I’m guessing, here).

This review was written for Buried Under Books by jv poore.

[R.F. Gammon · Rating 5 out of 5]

REREAD #3:

If I’m being honest, this read was more of a 4 star. I forgot that this book is relatively young for YA, but I still loved every minute of it.

REREAD #2:

BRUH. THIS BOOK.

That's it that's all I've got.

I love Simon.

I love Trina.

I love Kestra.

I hate Gabe and I hate Tenger and I hate Endrick and I hate Sir Henry and just *insert angry emojis here*

ON TO BOOK TWO AND THEN BOOK THREEEEEEEE


REREAD #1: February 2019

I thought it was agonizing to wait for The Deceiver's Heart BEFORE now. But now! Having reread this one!!!!! I may well die long before I get that book (never mind that I've preordered it and it should be here within a couple of weeks xD)

I'm having trouble writing a coherent review at the moment, so let's start off by saying:

KESTRA is a girl I would love to be friends with. She's so strong, so willing to throw herself into harm's way if it saves others. I love her character growth, as she goes from being a girl who only cares about a couple of people to wanting to save the whole country. Her sass is impeccable; her arc is beautiful. She does what must be done. Somehow, she feels different from most other YA protagonists. I Love her wholeheartedly.

SIMON is the MVP. He didn't need to be as dedicated as he was, but HE WAS. He fought in places he could have run; he was always the first one rushing headlong into danger; he even stood in the hallway, knowing full well that he was a spy and could be in HUGE trouble, and casually said "Good morning" to Lord Freaking Endrick himself. I mean....WHAT. This guy. He has a heart of gold and nerves of steel. Can I marry him please.

TRINA is such a complex, well-written, deep character. I don't have a ton to say about her, just that I really hope there's more about her in book 2 and we get to hear more about her. She and Kestra are sort of woven together now and will be forever....mwahahahaha.

THE SETTING too is perfect. One thing I admire about Jennifer Nielsen's writing is that she doesn't shy away from making ridiculously vast worlds that would confuse most readers--and yet she manages to keep track of everything and make lots and lots of factions that all have their own goals and yet are all still memorable. I think I've observed growth here between this book and the Ascendance trilogy, too--in the latter, I occasionally found myself confused by the sheer number of countries involved, but here I was never confused. Coracks, Halderians, Endrians, Dallisors, the Dominion, and the Scarlet Throne are all players here, and somehow it still manages to make sense. I love this world and I can't wait to see more of it ^_^

THE PLOT TWISTS are still just as great a second time through. I barely remembered half of what happened, which was marvelous, because I was pleasantly surprised.

EVERYTHING ELSE????

I need book 2, NOW. Most anticipated book of the year. Gimme.

(Also...is the blurb of that one saying that Endrick is going to make Kestra an Ironheart? Because...if he does I will beat him. With all the fury of an offended fangirl. This has been a PSA.)

Original Review: May 2018

OH WOW. I picked up this book on a whim at the library because it was on the new books shelf and because I had heard of the author from a lot of my friends. I meant to get the False Prince first...whoops. Excuse me whilst I go and preorder both book 2 of this series AND Resistance, the WWII Holocaust novel that Nielsen has coming out.

Ahem. Now that that is out of the way...

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I know I had it at four stars when I had first finished it, but the more I think about it....the more I think it deserves five. SO GOOD.

The characters, for starters. I think the one downside to the characters (and this is genuinely the only downside!) was that Kestra's name was very similar to that of Kestrel, the heroine of the Winner's Curse trilogy. I loved Kestra WAAAAAY more than I did Kestrel, but since they were sort of similar stories, that was a little distracting. :P Other than that....I ADORED THEM ALLLLLL. Kestra and Simon were both wonderful little snarky cinnamon rolls, and their romance....ooh I loved it. And Trina was beautifully complicated and conflicted and I LOVED HER TOO. I think the only character I didn't like was Henry Dallisor....he and Lord Endrick (UGH to both of them, but in a horrible villain sort of way, not a bad-character sort of way.)

The plot was mind-bending....I saw a couple of the twists coming, but not all of them. And I'm not usually crazy about the whole long-lost family thing, but this time I adored it (no spoilers if you haven't read the book, but it was executed really, really well.)

The romance too. Argh I loved it. It didn't feel like instalove, somehow, even with the fact that the story is like four days....and I love childhood friends to enemies to lovers for some reason. (And enemies to lovers is always going to be one of my favorite tropes...) SO SO GOOD.

I also loved that this book is a comp title for one of mine (I won't say which because that might be spoilers for MY book....but it is the comp for one of them ^_^) Which is SO COOL!!!!!!

And let me just say: WHERE IS THE SEQUEL. Having read the synopsis for book 2 here on goodreads....NO NO NO NO NO NO. GIVE ME BOOK 2. PLEASE. I BEG YOU.

5 stars. 5 glorious stars. I love this book, and I need to get me some more Jennifer Nielsen ASAP.

[Zitong Ren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ehh, yeah?, no?, maybe? Was it good? maybe? Who knows? Who am I to judge person that is a lot more successful than me? Ok, but in all seriousness, in what began as a sort of fun action paced fantasy series that I thought was ok, the more I actually think about it, the more ridiculous it becomes and the less I like it, but I sort of have to think to write these reviews.

First, we must let my inner fantasy nerd out before we get onto the actual review.

WHY IS THERE NO MAP!!!!!!

There, I’m done.

This is a book that takes place over the course of just a little over 4 days, and during those four days, these characters don’t need any water, can travel the span of what is supposedly a massive empire and back, survive off two hours of sleep, eat just half a meal, while being chased by all sorts of stuff, almost have a near wedding, get locked up in prison while falling in love with the person you hated, not to mention the amount of times they almost died and suffered some pretty bad wounds that are forgotten about until it becomes convenient to mention them.

Like, I don’t care how strong your characters are, they are still human, and humans need to sleep. Like sure it’s all good and all to talk about searching for stuff at night every night without getting a wink all eating any food, but keep it semi realistic please. The author even goes to mention at how tired the characters are and at how they have not had any sleep before they become the hulk a second later and starts beating the crap out of everyone.

And that’s the thing. Don’t just remember to add in things when they become convenient. If a character has had their wrists hurt, would it not hurt for several days to move around your wrist as it recovers, not to mention swinging swords around and climbing walls? No, oh ok.

The world building comes off as a bit dodgy to me, and it isn’t helped by the fact that there is no map. I simply don’t get a sense of the scale of this country. Like, they can travel from the literal edge to the centre in the span of a day, yet there also happens to be plains, massive scary forests and mountain ranges? The geography and sense of scale simply does not match up and that isn’t even the worse thing about the world building, since we are told that there are a specific group of people have magic and why, oh because blue cave thingo. Honestly, the things that are just left out and not explained in this book really just got onto my nerves. Sometimes, it helps to explain import things in your book instead of focussing all your time on your characters trying to fight each other when they are on the same side, wait… what’s this, they have lied to each other for the nine millionth time! i’m not even surprised anymore.

We have this romantic thing… going on from where the characters hate each other from the start yet the guy wants to kiss here because, curves or something and they are close together, but they are meant to hate each other and who cares this is there first time seeing each other for six years. The romance makes no sense, at all. The entire time, these two characters in particular are snapping at each others faces, telling at how much they hate each other, while at the same time at staring at how sexy each other are.

Oh, his eyes! I could just drown in them.

Not one minute later…

YOU LIED TO ME. I HATE YOU AND I WANT TO STAB YOU!!!

I mean, can we just stop with this instalove stuff, cause it does not make sense and the author tries to plays it off as not being instalove as their relationship sort of slowly progresses even though it really doesn’t, not to mention that these are two teenagers who have known each other just a few days. It is not realistic at all, and it can’t be played at love at first sight since they were bickering the entire time about how much they wanted to kill each other and no one is going to tell me that turns into love in a few days just because one person used their leg as a pillow while they slept their only two hours in the entire course of the novel.

I mean no offence to the author, I never do, but she is a New York Times bestselling author, but this book is really just another hyped up overdramatic instalove novel that attempts to call itself fantasy. There is actually good YA fantasy out there, but the more I read of the genre, especially the over hyped books, I really should start avoiding them since more often then not, they all have the exact same plotline, problems, cases of instalove and all their characters have the exact same personality. I mean, it is always good fun while it lasts, but I could be reading something that I may actually enjoy, as much as I like writing rant reviews.

At least it has a pretty cover. 1.5/10

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating ~2.5

While, there wasn’t anything particularly bad about this, there also wasn’t anything particularly good or memorable about it either.

The romance, if you can call it that, fell flat. Honestly, I thought Kestra had more chemistry in a few scenes with her betrothed than she did in any of her scenes with Simon.

I cared about essentially none of the characters, and one of the few characters I did somewhat like died.

It hasn’t even been a month and I sometimes struggle to recall what happened in this book. Though, admittedly, I do remember if I give it a good amount of thought.

But that for me makes it easier to define this book in one word: Forgettable

*More detail review come?

[mary liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I AM SO TORN HOW TO RATE THIS.

On one hand, I absolutely LOVED it - the sass, the setting, the plot twists, the character arcs . . . they are all so masterful.

But on the other hand . . . I'm so very disappointed.

Lovely Things:

- Can we just recognize the extreme SNARK levels?? I'm convinced that Jennifer Nielsen is the master of witty writing. I laugh SO MUCH every time I read her books because the sass levels are off the charts. And yet, despite how many snarky characters she creates, they all feel DIFFERENT. That is serious skill right there, to be able to uniquely craft wit to match a character's personality.

- The character arcs. WHOA GOODNESS - I want to be able to craft character arcs like these! Kestra starts off as naive and spoiled, but her exterior shell crumbles as the book progresses to reveal a hurting, genuinely compassionate person who wears a mask of toughness to hide her desire to feel like she belongs. Truly a masterful character arc, in my opinion. It makes her a sympathetic character who is relatable but also incredibly deep. (Plus, you know . . . she's really snarky. *grins*) And Simon? He was another great character with a wonderful arc. Quieter and more even-tempered than Kestra generally, he has a heart that aches to help others. And like Kestra, he had a difficult past that often makes him put up barriers. Honestly, all the characters are really well fleshed-out, and they keep you guessing all. the. time.

- The writing. I've seen a lot of reviews saying the writing is bad . . . but I don't see that at all?? I LOVE her writing style. It feels very organic and flows so well. Not to mention Jennifer Nielsen throws the best plot twists. Even if you occasionally see them coming, they somehow feel exciting and engaging.

- The setting. AH YES - I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. I kind of like the darker, more mature feel of this book, but at the same time, it feels a little underdeveloped. I want to see MORE of this new world. (And I'm also not too sure if I like how dark it can get at times . . . )

Not-So-Lovely Things:

- The romance. UGH WHY. I'm soooooo torn on this! I feel like it could have worked. It COULD have. But it didn't.

Why?

Well, for one: the fact that they go from hating each other to loving each other in the span of four days is completely ridiculous. I don't know how we're expected to believe this is actually love and that it's plausible. It's very attraction-based and honestly happens WAY too fast. Not a healthy relationship, in the slightest. Simon starts "falling for" Kestra the first night they travel together (and literally almost kisses her several hours after they meet - like no thanks :P).

Another reason this doesn't work: there is next to nothing as far as communication is concerned. This romance is basically a trainwreck waiting to happen. The whole plot revolves around secrets and double-alliances and, well, tricking other people. Kestra and Simon both keep a lot of secrets and frankly don't know nearly enough about each other to start a relationship. A healthy relationship consists of communication, not just "chills" and "feeling a connection." No, that's called ATTRACTION. Not love. Although both characters change and are drawn to each other's personalities later-on (which could be the start of a good FRIENDSHIP), the romance feels very physically-based. (Though thankfully it never goes beyond kissing and thinking about kissing.)

It could have worked, though, and I say this because I do feel like they could be a good match. However, in the context of this storyline, it's just kind of a disaster. I believe it would have been a good idea for them to become FRIENDS in this book and then perhaps later on a couple . . . but a romance in four days?? I CANNOT EVEN. *facepalm*

- Honestly? It felt a little too "YA." Does that even make sense? I don't know. All I know is that it FELT more YA than all her other books. It was somehow darker and less unique than her other books. The romance was rushed and physical. It just . . . was kind of a disappointment. *sad face*

CONTENT: A good deal of violence/torture that could be disturbing to some people but is never heavily described. Obviously, a lot of attraction between the MC's. Kissing (somewhat lengthily described), thoughts of kissing, touching of each other's faces, etc. One female character is searched for weapons by a man who gives her a thorough pat-down. (It's obviously uncomfortable for both parties, but it never really gets inappropriate.) Also, a male character apparently sees a little bit of when a female character is changing clothes (though she only strips down to a corset/shift). Probably recommended for teens about 14 or 15+.

I have to say, this was an underwhelming read in many regards. Though I loved a lot of things about it, the romance was enough for me to round down my rating to three stars. I still loooove a lot of Jennifer Nielsen books, though, and as usual, the snark + characters were vastly entertaining!

3.5 stars

[Ѽ tazannah Ѽ · Rating 3 out of 5]

On reread…
**3.4 stars**

🗡️✨ "‘You are playing the traitor’s game, and no matter how well one wins, even the winner loses in the end.’" 🗡️✨

It wasn’t as good the second time, but perhaps it’s because my standards have been raised. The writing could’ve been in more depth, but I did like the pace. The romance, however sweet, was still a little rushed. I did like the characters, though! Kestra COULD be a little annoying and… erm, eMoTiOnal at times, but she was still enjoyable. I feel like Simon fell for her WAYY too fast, but I understand that Nielsen needed the romance to be developed in order to proceed.

I loved the trickery Kestra used, though! To her credit, she is very intelligent and cunning. Also, the ending was absolutely AMAZING! Lots of plot twists I truly did not see coming.

🚫 Content/Christian POV: very clean. One comment about “trading her soul” rather than spend time with a less enjoyable character. Minor violence. Very little physical attraction. A guard roams his eyes over Kestra’s figure. A forest of spirits, said to haunt those of foreign blood and attack them. Magic.
___________________
📖 Preread review 📖
~ Very enjoyable! One of my faves! Love Simon and Kestra :)

[Ashley Haas · Rating 5 out of 5]

😍😍😍😍😍

Wow! Why haven’t I read this book sooner?!

This has everything to make a YA fantasy book epic!

-Enemies to lovers ✅
-Action packed (as soon as the book starts) ✅
- morally gray characters ✅
- magic ✅
- hunt for magical weapons ✅
- betrayal ✅
- LOTS of secrets! ✅
- TONS OF PLOT TWISTS! ✅

If I had to compare this book then I would say it reminds me of a mix of Ember in the Ashes and Throne of Glass. Which are two of my favorite series, so that’s a HUGE compliment from me!

[Nicki Chapelway · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are no winners in the traitor's game...

I will attest to the truth of this statement. I certainly didn't win. In fact, I got to enjoy watching my heart getting ripped out and then roasted on a spit.

I don't care what anyone else says about more famous fantasy authors, Jennifer Neilson is the QUEEN OF FANTASY and you will not change my mind. Thank you so much for reminding me that a book can be thrilling and epic and adventurous and romantic and still be clean.

Kestra and Simon were both fantastic in their own ways. Simon was a dear, and while he doesn't WHOLLY have my heart yet I would say that he has managed to successfully steal 87% of it at this moment. Kestra, however was the one who stole the show for me. And it is a very rare thing when the heroine is my favorite character. I related to her so much AND I NEVER RELATE TO THE HEROINES. I tolerate them, I ship them with the male leads, I grow fond of them, I consider them sisters, sometimes I come to love them dearly, but I rarely, rarely ever relate to them. Maybe the closest to that was Katniss in the first Hunger Games book, but by Mockingjay we had gone our separate ways. I always relate with the male leads more which is why they tend to be my favorites. But ah... Kestra, Kestra was me. Reading from her perspective, I never once went "why would you do that?" but instead spent every page going "that's what I would have done". Plus she has brown hair so yes, she is me. And I am so pleased to finally have a character to relate to. I love Kestra sooo much <3

Don't get me wrong, I love Simon too though. And Darrow 💔💔💔

Perfection is about the word that I would use to sum this book up. I literally have nothing more to say.

[Grace A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy, quick, and enjoyable weekend read.
In this book, everyone was tired of the wicked tyrant, Lord Endrick, he’d declared himself an immortal, and ruler of all; the only weapon able to kill him was an ancient blade called “the olden blade”. Only one person is able to wield such weapon and the blade chooses its wielder, if anyone tries it could kill them. The tyrant king is searching for this weapon as well as his enemies. Kaestra, the main character was caught between both camps, her father was the tyrant’s right hand man. No one seem to care much for her welfare, including her own father, besides using her as a pawn.
She’s got wits and can hold her own in a fight or battle. She used that to her advantage and managed to stay alive through it all.
This is the first book in the series, I am curious enough to check out the next book.

[Brooke W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kestra Dallisor, the main character, has spent the last three years in exile. Out of nowhere, her father sends her a letter, requesting that she come home. Kestra is valuable in a bargain. When her carriage home is intercepted by rebels, she's not the east captive they thought she would be. Antora is a world with magical creatures and places, but only one person, Lord Endrick, has control over the magic. Who will win The Traitor's Game?

I need the next book now, and then the third one.
Sara(my reading buddy), please accept my apologies, I read ahead. Can't wait to talk with you about this book!
Characters: 5/5
Kestra- Knows it's alright to have fear, she is definitely a fighter.
Simon- The best. His perspective was so well written and he’s such a likable character. He’s so kind, forgiving, and he makes good and selfless decisions.
In this book, Nielsen created hate-able antagonists that were the ‘perfect villains’.

Plot: 5/5 perfection
The mystery, the intrigue, the action.
It was unpredictable and gripping. I didn’t want to put it down! Somehow, everything was connected and it was crazy to see how Nielsen pulled everything together. It takes serious brainpower to come up with something like this.

Dialogue: 5/5
Haha this was what I needed. The arguments, the honesty, the romance. I wonder how many hours authors have to spend to always have the BEST comebacks. It was well done, each word fitted perfectly to the scene, whether it was talking, thinking, or action.
There were fantasy creatures, magic, banished people, and nobles. I could envision everything so well, I love it when I can play out what I'm reading like a movie.

World building: 5/5
There were fantasy creatures, magic, banished people, and nobles. I could envision everything so well, I love it when I can play out what I’m reading like a movie.



Would definitely recommend! Thank you, Sara, for reading this with me!

[Sibel Gandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yazarın Nemesis yayinlarının çıkartmaya başlayıp, sonra yarım bıraktığı Ascendance serisinin ( 6,5 senedir devamını bekliyorum serinin dile kolay 😒) 2 kitabını zamanında çok beğenerek okumuştum. O yüzden bu kitaba da büyük bir hevesle başladım. Ancak tam beklediğimi bulamadım açıkçası. Kitap kötü mü değil, okunuyor. Ama olan biten çok fazla bir şey yok, biraz yavaş ilerliyor kitap. Belki de serinin ilk kitabı olduğundan böyledir, devamında hızlanacaktır (umarım). Olayların yavaşlığına karşın ergen kahramanlarımızın (kız 16 oğlan 17 yaşında) aşık olmaları sadece 2 gün sürüyor ki buna çoğu YA dan alışık olduğum için görmemezlikten gelip, çok da takılmamaya çalıştım. Bir de öyle çok grift entrikalar, oyunlar falan beklemeyin, yok öyle bir şey 😏

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow another fun series by Jennifer!

The Traitor's Game went by pretty quickly. I didn't wait long to dive into another series after finished the false prince books.. and I wasn't disappointed one bit either. In it, you will meet Kestra and she's definitely a stubborn MC. Besides her, there's Basil and Simon. Sure, this book has a lot more people but I'm only mentioning these three.

Now I don't really like love triangles but did enjoy this one. I kept tossing and turning from team basil to team simon throughout the book. Eventually one side won my heart, simon. Ugh, love this fool and I just want them to be together in the end. For some reason, their love just seems a lot more genuine to me.

Don't get me wrong, I love basil as well but more like friendship love than anything. I get that it was supposed to be an arranged marriage and all but didn't seem like they would be really happy throughout it. Maybe one day but eh, who wants to wait for that to happen?

Other than the romance, the story and the secret blade that she needed to find were okay. Nothing really stuck out to me but I am hoping that the next book will be a bit better.

[Sara L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In THE TRAITOR'S GAME, Kestra, who's 16, has been happily living away from her tyrannical father, second in power only to the king. Unexpectedly called back home, Kestra suspects that she'll have to face an arranged marriage when she gets there. But a rebel faction has other ideas about how Kestra can be useful, so they kidnap her while she's on the road. Using threats against the people she cares about, the rebels force Kestra to undertake a dangerous mission, one that will force her to betray her family. As her feelings for the rebel Simon grow, she becomes less and less sure of whom to trust, and whom to betray. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Kestra will have to navigate a tangled web of dark secrets, including a shocking truth about herself.

*Buddy read*
I love this. This book was soo good! I couldn't put it down! This book reminds me so much of Caraval and The Hunger Games so If you liked those books- you might like this. I feel like this book had the perfect action packed pace, not too fast-not too slow- JUST RIGHT.

I wish I could love this book enough to give it one more star, but I can't :(
So overall I give this book a 4/5 stars!
*Thank you for reading this with me Brooke!*

[Lisa]

Stopped at 50 percent.

I haven't read the very popular The False Prince series by this author, but my expectations were high because of the attention surrounding the other books.

I have to say: I'm pretty disappointed. The premise of the book - a princess who must turn spy and traitor against her father - is a story I've read a ton of times already. The characterization was also pretty basic (tough heroine can take care of herself!) and a some big emotional strife is quickly demolished because HELLO lust/attraction!

If you're looking for high action/big stakes YA fantasy, then pick up Truthwitch by Susan Dennard or Ruined by Amy Tintera instead.

[✧Bella✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a traitor's game, there are no victors. Only those left standing at the end.

^^Alright, is it just me, or is that giving serious "Nobody ever wins the Games period. There are survivors. Not victors."

Anyway, I'm giving this 3.5 stars, and rounding up. Does it deserve that? Idk. I just know I had a lot of fun with it for some reason.

It could have been better, yes. For one thing, it's extremely fast-paced. The whole book takes place over the course of four days. And I wouldn't be complaining, except that causes the romance to happen pretty suddenly. And then there's the matter of trust...

Also, Kestra felt almost like a copy and paste of Jaron from The Ascendence series. The similarities were real. And that's not even considering the fact that they have the same hair and eye color. (help) Don't get me wrong, I still like Kestra. She's my fav character in the book. But I think I might like Jaron better.

And, this is random, but a magic pool being nearby when a character is injured is awfully convenient, but it is better than medical inaccuracies, so what can I say?

I called most of the plot twists, and none of them really surprised me, also this book is very much on the younger end of YA, which isn't really my thing, but it was still a super enjoyable read, and I'll be continuing the series for sure.

Here's to hoping for more political intrigue, because that ending is promising.

[Kacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/3 stars....I think? The Traitor's Game was a hard one to rate because I really really really wanted to like it because I love other books by Nielsen....But this one kind of fell flat. To me it seemed like your basic and repetitive YA fantasy fiction. Which, I admit, I am dead tired of.

I didn't love the characters...I even kept getting some of them mixed up! Kestra.....Kestra was just plain annoying. It was funny how she kept stealing peoples' knives though XD. I liked Simon, but I still didn't love him. Trina was just a mess of anger and resentment. Her whole personality was her anger and spite. Not a great portrayal for a character :/ Put simply, I felt no connection to any of the characters, which is an issue for me because that's one of the most important things to me while reading a book.

The plot was okayish. However, the world building was almost nonexistent, which didn't help the plot at all. And what's with the random prophesy thrown in halfway through? That didn't seem to fit. Aaaaand magic pools of water that randomly pop up just in time to heal someone's injuries just seems like a copout to me.

I listened to the audiobook, which helped me get through the book. But I didn't love the narrators, especially the female narrator. The male narrator was much better but still not my favorite.

So The Traitor's Game was overall a disappointment, but I might still read the next books in the series because I'm curious to know what happens :P

[Katrina Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

update march 2019: Moved the rating back up because 4 stars is just too low for how utterly fantastic this book is. (Why does rating books have to be such a stressful process??)

REREAD FEBRUARY 2019:

What I love most about this book is probably the character development. It's just astounding, really. Every character, from the main ones like Kestra, Simon, and Trina (the hot-headed kickbutt girl, the soft but fierce cinnamon roll boy, and the brat who's incredibly annoying but you've just gotta appreciate that she's not two-dimensional and is actually really interesting), to the side characters like Darrow, Tenger, and Basil (the mentor who isn't present for most of the book, the sinister rebel leader, and the pitiful prince who tries to butt his way into the obvious OTP, whose romance is tense enough already), ALL OF THEM are explored enough to pop off the page with gripping complexity.

The characters are RICH in this story, I tell you. Read it for them rather than the tropey plot, okay?? But speaking of tropes, the author handles them SO gracefully. So you honestly could read it for the tropey plot. ;) It's a fun romp, frens. A savage one and nothing is okay, but a fun one.

I also love the world-building, even though I feel like this first book features only a taste - an introduction - of all there is to discover about Antora. Another reason to squeal long and loud in anticipation of The Deceiver's Heart!

The first 100 pages or so lean toward mediocrity (they made me nervous I wouldn't love this book as much as I did the first time I read it - I'd forgotten that, as mentioned in my original review below, I found the first part hard to get into the first time I read it as well), but literally like on page 101, the story clicked for me and amazingness sprouted.

And sprouts grow fast, lol.

One thing I have an annoyance with that I don't think I had the first time is how the climax played out and its accompanying twists. The climax itself and the twists themselves are GREAT. Perfect. Didn't see them coming. #screaming

But here's the thing: We bounce from climactic twist to climactic twist so fast that I didn't have time to react to them properly. Rushed, in my opinion. I have a theory that that's why a good number of the twists near the end had completely fled my memory since the first time I read it (though I know part of it must be the speed I was reading it at and the fact that it's been a hot minute since December 2017).

I'm bringing the rating down to 4 stars because of my quibbles. Obviously, though, I still ADORE this story, am craaaaazy about these characters, and CAN'T WAIT for book 2! *still screaming*

Note: This time I read a final copy of the book from the library, not my ARC.


FIRST READ DECEMBER 2017:

Review based on Advanced Reader's Copy. I got the copy for free via a contest hosted by the author and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jennifer A. Nielsen has done it again! I was looking more at a 3.5 stars during the first hundred pages or so, but then something clicked and I fell. in. love. This book is amazing, guys. Simply amazing.

There's not a lot of action, especially in the middle, but the character development is just AWESOME, okay?? At first, I didn't like tough girl Kestra, but as I got to know her and realized how complex a character she was, I became really attached to her. Simon is a dangerous lil ball of cuteness. Just my type. <3 <3 And even if she was a brat at first, Trina proved to be a complex character also. I mean, the highlight of this book is the CHARACTERS.

Waiting for book 2 is going to be torture.

Other things I loved:

The magic. It was so creative. And the weapons too. Me likey. <3

The romance. Dude, the romance was so clean and beautiful. Like, let me go sob in a corner because it was just perfect, how slow-burning it was, and how important to the plot. Just... yes.

A bunch of other things. Basically everything.

*shakes head in awe* Jennifer A. Nielsen has done it again.

[C.P. Cabaniss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really hate how this read ended up for me. The False Prince is one of my favorite novels, so I was very excited to get into another fantasy by Jennifer Nielsen. Unfortunately, this one did not work.

DNF at page 266 of 388.

I received a signed ARC of this at Yallfest in 2017.

I was really excited to get into this book. I didn't even really know what it was about, aside from sparse descriptions, but it sounded like a lot of fun. And what I have appreciated in Nielsen's other books is the vivid characters that she brings to life and makes me love. But that didn't happen here.

The novel is told from the perspectives of two characters, Kestra and Simon, both in first person. The two characters are on opposing sides of a political and physical battle, kind of. One of the big issues was the fact that there was not enough distinction between the two voices. Sometimes I would have to glance at the top of the page to see whose head I was supposed to be in. The dual perspective works really well in some cases, but the voices need to be more distinct.

I was also really disappointed in the circular thinking displayed by both leads and even the side characters. Their thoughts were constantly circling around and around. They would say or think one thing only to contradict themselves a few sentences later and then it would revert back to what they originally said. This was about everything and it drove me insane!

The world building was also lacking. The various kingdoms and peoples were not explained well, the technology was sparsely detailed, and the magic was never explained at all. There was also a strange prophecy that made little sense and a lot of the advances in the plot happened suddenly and simply.

And the romance. It was bad. I know that Nielsen can handle romance better than this, so it was disappointing to encounter this. It was very much instalove and a lot of the circular thinking I mentioned earlier happened when the characters thought about each other.

Also, I got really tired of Kestra thinking about how much she had learned and how strong she was and what she was going to do to make things right. There was little evidence that she had any training in self defense and all of her plans very shaky at best.

I wanted to love this, but I just couldn't. There is always a possibility that I will try it again in the future. I do think that some people would really enjoy this, but right now I can't handle it.

[Suzan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Tam bir YA distopya giriş kitabıydı keşke fantastik öğeler sadece lafta olmasaydı araya serpistirilmis gibi birşeydi birde her şeye atılan fedakar kız karakteri çok sıktı 😒 yazarın diğer serisini çok severek okumuştum buda kendi kategorisi içerisinde iyiydi ne eksik ne fazla 👍

[Nadhira Satria]

2018 is the year of gorgeous book covers ayeee

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5^

[Elizabeth Dragina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eeeeep ✨

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

/4.5 stars/

YESYESYESYES
I definitely need the next one asap

I LOVE THIS SO DANG MUCH.

Reading anything by Jennifer A Nielsen is just sooooo refreshing cause... clean ya? Amen to that.

This was sooo close to being five stars for me, but I did find it a tiiiiny bit predictable at times, hence, 4.5 stars. But only at a few times. There were definitely time where I was like...??? O.o Didn’t see that coming!!

Anyway.

I really liked the characters. Like, REALLY REALLY REALLY liked the characters. The were done sooooo well. Kestra especially. And the arcs were amazing. And the their characters too, just all of them!! I’m so excited to find out what happens in the rest of the series!

I really liked how the cliches were handled. At a first glance some of the tropes seem cliche, but Nielsen was able to spin them into original ideas, which was super refreshing. Too many authors these days steal ideas. 🤷‍♂️

The plot twists were also really well done. As I already said, there were a few times where I kind of already saw it coming, but really most of the time I was shocked with the rest.

Okay. I’m not gonna say much more.
It’s clean! Yay! And there is magic if you’re wondering.

HIGHLY recommend. SERIOUSLY.

Happy reading y’all! And stay safe during these crazy times! 😁

[Ezgi T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note: I listened to the audiobook, so I'm not sure how to write the character's names for the most part.

I was torn between giving 2 and 3 stars to The Traitor's Game.

It is not necessarily the book's fault, but I am apparently tired of this basic plot, especially when it isn't very well-written. It fell flat for the most part, and got annoying really fast with Kestra complicating things unnecessarily at every turn. Even one of the characters muses on this towards the end of the book, thinking something along the lines of how Kestra expects him to help her to get them out of the mess she put them in. However, that shred of self-awareness regarding the author wasn't really enough for me to turn a blind eye.

There were a few things I liked about how Nielsen worked with this basic plot, but she ended up invalidating 2 of them at the end of the book--the main reason I gave 2 stars and not 3.
Those things:
1. Kestra, when she first tries to claim the Olden Blade, believes that she has failed.

I liked the idea that she'd failed. Not because I want her to fail, but because it would be different and not over-used to have your main character fail at the one thing that needs to be done to save the kingdom. If she was unable to claim the blade, it would mean she wasn't the "chosen one", etc. and that some other person could also get some time to shine. But no.

2. Darrow's situation.

I don't know how else to name it. At the end of the book, we don't know whether he lives or survives. But throughout the novel, one of Kestra's motivations in helping the Corak rebellion was to guarantee his safety. But we only see him in the very beginning of the book, and while it is explained that their relationship is that of a daughter and a father-figure, we don't get to see it at play much. The only reason I cared about Darrow was that he sounded like a promising, interesting character - and we don't really get to meet him.

Aside from these two, there was one thing I especially liked, and that is how the arranged-marriage trope was handled. While the suitor didn't seem like the best option for a romantic interest, I really liked how his character was written at times. (Especially towards the end of their interaction.)

However, there is one thing that's hard for me to excuse... events in this book takes place in a week. A single week.

After Kestra's kidnapped, she's given FOUR DAYS to find the Olden Blade. A mythical weapon that has been lost for the past SEVENTEEN YEARS. She's 16.

Yes, she has been living at the place for the most of her life and she knows it very well, but is it really logical to give 4 days to a teenage girl with almost no resources when 17 years of search couldn't locate the blade?

I could be okay with the weird high expectations on the part of the rebels, if they're desperate enough for the weapon. But when it actually works, and Kestra finds the blade within 4 days, it's a bit too much. I know that she had help, and the diary told her most of the things she needed to know, and that it's not on chance--but still. Keeping all that in mind, I still believe that giving her more time would've been better. This doesn't necessarily change the plot, either. Just stretches it a little bit.

I mean, giving it a month or two would definitely have made the romance more believable. The enemies-to-lovers went from 0 to 100 in the span of a single week. If they're changing their minds about each other that fast, they were never really "enemies" to begin with.

I understand that they had to overcome a lot of challenges, and were each other's only option in a way. But, I would say 4-7 days is a bit too short to forgive someone for sending you to your death when you were 11 years old, no matter how guilty they feel or how much they regret ever doing it. And it's not like Simon waits towards the end of the week. No, he forgets and forgives at the first or second day.

I might end up continuing with the second book since I don't have that many options to choose from, but I doubt it'll get better from here.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book where you felt it that it had so much potential but then it disappointed you . I really wanted to like this book and there were moments which I did but....



The Traitor's Game by Jennifer A. Nielsen follows a young noble lady Kestra Dallisor, who is ambushed on her way back home. The reason why Kestra is targeted is because her father is the right-hand man of the cruel king, Lord Endrick. The ones that ambushed Kestra want her to retrieve the lost Olden Blad, that could kill Lord Endrick. Kestra, however, isn't a girl that will easily be told what to do.

What I did appreciate

I really liked that the story was told from the POVs of Kestra and Simon, it was really nice to see the two different perspective on the same event. I appreciated Kestra as a female YA character, she has a sarcastic wit which I really appreciated but was not overdone so she is not annoying. She is resourceful but she is not just this "tough kickass" one dimensional character.

I know some people didn't like the writing style (based on reviews) but I actually liked it. I was interested in the world and the magic system and wished it was explained a bit more better, although I did like that it was more grim and bleak.

Not so much like

The Romance

The romance between Kestra and Simon I believe is suppose to follow the hate to love trope. I am a sucker for the hate to love trope. I am not ashamed to say to it! However, this "love" between them that grew over four days =| No one falls in love after 4 days. I am sorry but no.
I get they used to know each other as children but even then come on. He was a servant child and she was the daughter of the King's right-hand man. I am sure they were not allowed to be bffs. Their romance escalated from 0 to 100 very quickly. Also, there is clearly a lack of trust and communication between these two characters and I didn't really feel that spark you feel as a reader between them. I honestly felt that more with Kestra and Basil.

Also, I didn't like how Simon would make judgement calls on behalf of Kestra like she was a child who couldn't think for herself or that it was his duty to "protect her" and just blurt out her secrets. He kept telling her to trust him but then he kept making the decisions of what to tell people. At the same time got angry when she called him out on it. Also, this instant protectiveness that no male was allowed to talk to Kestra (like when she was forced by her father to have dinner with Basil) was very annoying.

I didn't like how the whole point of Kestra going along with the plan was to save her two servants and then when we find out one actually betrayed her and the other is her biological father (no shocker, I saw that coming a mile away) but then when I think her father died she wasn't more angry


Again, its not that I think its a bad book, far from being a bad book but it wasn't the book for me.

Therefore, I will give this book 2.5 stars

[Lila (Hardcover Haven) · Rating 1 out of 5]

hahahahaha NOPE! i can't do it anymore--DNF at 30%
this was so heavy-handed, cliche, and overdramatic that it became truly ridiculous. it was instalove TO THE MAX (!!!) with a near kiss at approximately 20%! not only that, but kestra begins to question her life-long, ingrained beliefs about politics after one incredibly MINOR brush with a girl in the market who tries to steal food. further, kestra's always super smug about being "smart," but i swear to god, she's one of the most naive and flat-out senseless heroines i've ever read about. and don't get me started on simon, our second narrator, who supposedly "hates" kestra, but starts mooning over her literally the second he sees her! everything about this book made me groan...

[Serena Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

First: I'M SORRYY I REALLY WANTED TO LOVE THIS but like...insta love😮‍💨 I despiseeee insta love and this whole book was in the span of a few weeks..there was like zero chemistry and I wouldn't have cared if all the characters brutally died it honestly would've just made it more interesting cuz it was just... boring.

[Scrill · Rating 1 out of 5]

bleeehhh.