Welcome to the blog tour for THE WINNER’S KISS
by Marie Rutkoski!

I am thrilled to be today’s stop on THE WINNER’S KISS blog tour to share my favorite kiss *booming announcer voice* in ALL OF LITERATURE!!! A big, big thank you to Gina and Brittany from Macmillan for inviting me to be a part of this epic tour! It’s quite the honor to be a part of this blog tour and to be able to read THE WINNER’S KISS early (no spoilers but it’s just as achingly beautiful as the first two books)!

Before we jump into my favorite kiss of ALL TIME, let’s take a second to talk a little about the book! I’m sure if you’re checking out this post, you’re already a fan of The Winner’s Trilogy (or maybe you’re here for the kisses — I don’t blame you) but here’s all of the vitals about THE WINNER’S KISS!

Title: The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski
Publishing Info: March 29, 2016 by Macmillan
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: January 27, 2016
Related Posts: The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Curse #1), The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Curse #2), The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3)

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it, with the East as his ally and the empire as his enemy. He’s finally managed to dismiss the memory of Kestrel, even if he can’t quite forget her. Kestrel turned into someone he could no longer recognize: someone who cared more for the empire than for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she cared for him. At least, that’s what he thinks.
But far north lies a work camp where Kestrel is a prisoner. Can she manage to escape before she loses herself? As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover unexpected roles in battle, terrible secrets, and a fragile hope. The world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and Kestrel and Arin are caught between. In a game like this, 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.

THE KISS!

If this post had come pre-WINTER, I would have had to spend a lot of time debating which kiss would take the cake for me. Before I read the book, people were raving about pages 601 – 603 and I was like, “Okay, I hear you, friends, but I’m not there yet.” I had some theories about what it could be but if possible, the kissing scene on those pages was even better than I could have imagined!

Not only was this an incredibly kissing scene, but it was between my OTP, Cress and Captain Carswell Throne (who you know I swoon for hard anyway)! Things had been building up and building up and you can tell that there’s a huge miscommunication about feelings here and then when THE KISS finally happens, it’s just absolutely glorious. Check it out:

She started to not, but was surprised when Thorne pushed away from the door. Cress blinked and stumbled back, started by the sudden movement. Three, four steps. The back of her thighs hit one of the desks.
“What –?”
In one movement, Thorne lifted her onto the desk and pressed her back against an enourmous potted fern and — oh.
Cress had built a thousand fantasies around their rooftop kiss, but this kiss was something new.
Where before, the kiss had been gentle and protective, now there was something passionate. Determined. Cress’s body dissolved into nothing but sensation. His hands burned her waist through the skirt’s thin fabric. Her knees pressed against his hips, and he pulled her closer, closer, like he couldn’t get her close enough. A whimper escaped her mouth, only to be swallowed by his. She heard a moan, but it could have come from either of them.
And where, on the rooftop, the kiss had been cut too short by the battle raging on around them, this kiss went on, and on, and on…

I mean… *fans self* MAJOR SWOONS, am I right? I simply adore Thorne but that kiss, man. Whew boy. That goes down in history as one of my all-time favorites.