Blog Tour: The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski!

We are so excited to be participating in the Winner's Kiss blog tour hosted by Fierce Reads!!  For our stop we get to talk about our favorite kiss! 

What book is your favorite literary kiss in?
I would have to say Shatter Me by Tahreh Mafi. I read this book back in 2011, and when I was asked about a hot kiss for this post, that book immediately came to mind.  Mafi definitely left an impression on me with her kissing scenes.

Who is kissing?
The two main characters in the story Juliette Ferrars and Adam Kent have some pretty intense moments in that book, but it all stays very YA appropriate. :)

Why is it your favorite?
Well first off Juliette and Adam were an absolute perfect pair. Aside from their pretty steamy moments, there was some beautiful dialog and yes … their hot as HALE kisses. I remember having to wipe the steam from my glasses. Most importantly though, it was nice to see these two characters who knew and cared for each other long before the story even began come together and start a very intense journey, so it's logical that their romance would be pretty memorable.

We have to share our love of this series and to go along with this tour Fierce Reads is letting us send a kiss to a friend!  So Emily you have been kissed!!  We hope you enjoy!

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
Release Date:March 29th, 2016
Purchase: Amazon

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

About the Author:

 Marie Rutkoski is the author of The Kronos Chronicles, including The Cabinet of Wonders and The Celestial Globe. The Cabinet of Wonders, her debut novel, was named an Indie Next Kids’ List Great Read and a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, among other honors. Rutkoski grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. She attended the University of Iowa, where she took Writers’ Workshop classes and studied with Pulitzer Prize-winner James Alan McPherson. After graduating, she lived in Moscow and Prague. Upon receiving her Ph.D. from Harvard University, she held dual appointments as a lecturer there in both English and American Literature and Language, and History and Literature. Rutkoski is currently a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Renaissance Drama, children’s literature and creative writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and cat. 

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Don't forget to check out the other amazing blogs joining in the kissing fun!  Click here to see a list of participating blogs.

Blog Tour: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Today on WinterHaven Books I am participating in the blog tour for The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski!  I am really excited to join in this tour and for my stop I was asked this question..

The ‘Winner’s Curse’ is an economics term that means you’ve gotten what you wanted – but at too high a price.  What would you pay too much for?

This is a very loaded question that I know I could answer in a number of ways, but I am going to go with my first love and that is cupcakes!  I am a cupcakeaholic and just recently spent an insane amount of money at a wonderful bakery in Austin.  Every time I walk into a bakery I have to buy at least four cupcakes and money is no option.  Yes I realize I have a problem.  Books would have to be my second choice for this question, but cupcakes rules my number one spot.

What about you?  What would you pay too much for?

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Published on Farrar Straus Giroux on March 4th 2014

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Expected Publication on March 3rd, 2015 by Farrar Straus Giroux

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

About the Author:

Marie Rutkoski is the author of the YA novel The Shadow Society and the children's fantasy series The Kronos Chronicles, including The Cabinet of Wonders, The Celestial Globe and The Jewel of the Kalderash. Her next project is a YA trilogy that begins with The Winner's Curse, which is scheduled to be published in March 2014.

Marie grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. She holds a BA from the University of Iowa and a PhD from Harvard University. Marie is currently a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Renaissance Drama, children's literature and fiction writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.

For the full tour schedule click HERE 
 To see the master website for The Winner's Trilogy click HERE and to play a fun game from the book "Bite and Sting" click HERE

Giveaway time!  The wonderful people at Macmillan have offered to send one lucky reader a copy The Winner's Crime.  The book will be shipped out when finished copies are available.

US Only

Good Luck! 

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Review & Giveaway: The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski

The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski

Publication Date: October 16, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Purchase: Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

Darcy Jones doesn’t remember anything before the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. She has never really belonged anywhere—but she couldn’t have guessed that she comes from an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn’t happen and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.
Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But Conn’s interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.
As if she were his enemy.
When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades’ latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .
In this smart, compulsively readable novel, master storyteller Marie Rutkoski has crafted an utterly original world, characters you won’t soon forget, and a tale full of intrigue and suspense.

My Thoughts: 
Let me first say that Marie Rutkoski, author of The Shadow Society, sure knows how to set the stage of her novel by starting off with a mother of all hooks. Holy fire hose was that intense!! She really had me from the opening scene, and continued to draw me into her novel with her constant twists and turns. This book had enough fuel to keep me turning the pages at a rapid pace until the final outcome. Very entertaining!

In The Shadow Society, we meet Darcy Jones who is a foster kid that’s jumped from home to home since the age of 5. She can’t remember anything from her past, but one thing is for certain… her future is about to take an explosive turn. When Darcy comes across Conn, the new guy in school, she begins to develop feelings for him. However when her abilities as a Shade suddenly start to manifest for the first time, that marks the beginning of her battle to stay alive even from the one person she’s come to feel closest to.

There are so many layers to this story to evaluate. My mind was truly going at 100 mph as I turned the pages of this paranormal thriller. I was definitely intrigued with the setting this author chose, which revolved around the Great Chicago Fires. This was probably the largest disaster recorded in US history for the 19th century, where hundreds of people were killed and miles of land was destroyed. Rutkoski uses this time in history to set her stage and creatively implements the concept of an Interdimentional Bureau of Investigation that patrols the borders between worlds to protect human society. Their main targets are the Shades that ghost in and out of existence and according to the IBI, they are a terrorist group that prey on humans and caused the Great Fire of 1871.

 I applaud Rutkoski’s creative spin where she clearly parallels the Shades with the concept of terrorism. It’s hard not to contemplate how we consider terrorists synonymous with people of a certain place and faction. This book clearly employs the concept that simple association with a faction does not make someone a danger to society and terror on people can come from both sides of the fence… or portal in this instance.

Lastly, I really enjoyed Rutkoski’s ability to build a strong secondary cast. Darcy’s friends were definitely the highlight in this novel and my only regret is that they played rather minimal roles. Conn best described them in the novel as Raphael fighting with his fists, Jims using psychological warfare, and Lily being the mastermind and leader of this small army that protects Darcy. I enjoy reading about friendship and loyalty and The Shadow Society carried it in spades.

Well done novel that is perfectly positioned as a stand-alone. It has an explosive beginning and a conclusive ending. I couldn’t ask for anything more and definitely enjoyed it much!

4 Snowflakes

WinterHaven Books is giving away an ARC of this paranormal thriller. The book we are giving away does not have the final art cover. Please see the picture below and fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win this ARC. Thank you!

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