The Winner's Kiss Blog Tour: The Winning Kiss

Today is a very exciting day everyone! Not only do I get to be a part of the promotional tour for The Winner's Kiss, the final book in Mariet Rutkoski's outstanding young adult series, but I also get to swoon and gush and wax poetic about fictional kisses and the couples who share them. *happy dance*

The enormously creative team at Fierce Reads has asked each participating blog on this tour to share the book in which our favorite literary kiss occurs along with a little explanation as to why that particular kiss is so special. KISSING FOR THE WIN! As all of you probably know by now, I'm a romance lover at heart and it's not often that I pick up a book, YA or adult, that doesn't have some kind of romantic relationship in it, so this is my kind of tour.

Okay, let's get to the good stuff! Juicy questions and answers coming right up:)

WHAT BOOK IS YOUR FAVORITE LITERARY KISS IN?

I think you can all probably guess that this was a very hard question for me to answer. Very. Hard. I decided to go with not necessarily my all time favorite kiss, but rather the kiss that kickstarted my love of romance. We'll call it the Kiss That Launched An Obsession, and it took place in a little book called Frostbite by Richelle Mead, the second book in her monstrously popular Vampire Academy series.

WHO IS KISSING?

Rose and Dimitri. Of course! Instead of telling you all about it though, I thought I'd just let Ms. Mead do my talking for me and share a brief excerpt of the Kiss That Launched An Obsession:

The hand I'd hoped would touch my hair suddenly reached out and grabbed my pointing hand. He pinned it to the wall, and I was surprised to see a flare of emotion in his eyes. It wasn't exactly anger...but it was frustration of another kind.

"Don't tell me what I'm feeling," he growled.

...

I could see his labored breathing and knew his heart was beating as quickly as mine. And he wasn't pulling away. I knew this was wrong–knew all the logical reasons for us staying apart. But right then, I didn't care. I didn't want to control myself. I didn't want to be good.

Before he realized what was happening, I kissed him. Our lips met, and when I felt him kiss me back, I knew I was right. He pressed himself closer, trapping me between him and the wall. He kept holding my hand, but his other one snaked behind my head, sliding into my hair. The kiss was filled with so much intensity; it held anger, passion, release...

He was the one who broke it. He jerked away from me and took several steps back, looking shaken.

"Do not do that again, " he said stiffly.

WHY IS IT YOUR FAVORITE?

I think what I love so much about this scene is that it shows a tiny crack in Dimitri's emotional armor. After the events of the first book it became clear to both Rose and Dimitri that a relationship between them posed so many challenges as to make it nearly impossible to be together, so in the build up to this moment they've both been angry and hurt, wanting what they can't have and taking that frustration out on one another. Dimitri is the more buttoned up of the two, holding his feelings close to his vest and hiding them so well that he makes not only Rose doubt his attraction to her, but us as well. This brief interaction is the perfect swoony reminder that despite all his strength and his legendary control, Dimitri is still flesh and blood. And struggling just as much as Rose to keep distance between them:)

WHAT KISS DO YOU HOPE WILL OCCUR IN THE WINNER'S KISS?

If Kestrel and Arin aren't madly in love and together at the end of this book I will curl into the fetal position and start sobbing. I say this with absolutely no exaggeration:)

I'd love to know what book has your favorite kiss or couple, so please share in the comments! There's no such thing as too many romantic recommendations:)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

THE WINNER'S KISS

Releases March 29th

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?

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

MARIE RUTKOSKI

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 full list of participating blogs for more winning kisses!

Review: Last Sacrifice

LAST SACRIFICE (Vampire Academy #6)
Richelle Mead
Paranormal Young Adult
594 pages
Penguin/Razorbill
Available Now

Warning: Contains mild spoilers from previous books and you will be able to deduce who Rose ends up with romantically from this review though no specifics are given.

THE STORY
Rose Hathaway has never been one to take the easy road. Her life as a Dhampir (half human, half vampire) has always been one of service to her best friend and Moroi princess, Lissa, and she's never hesitated in doing anything and everything in her power to keep Lissa from harm. As it turns out, Rose now finds herself in a position where she is the one in harm's way, imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit and facing a swift trial and execution based on the significant evidence stacked against her.

Though the future looks bleak, Rose's friends refuse to let her go down without a fight, and Rose is quickly teamed up with her former mentor and love of her life Dimitri, off on a mission that will both aid Lissa politically and help to clear Rose's name. Though Rose has tried to move on after Dimitri's heartbreaking rejection, their forced proximity sparks a flame that has never quite extinguished despite both of their best efforts to put it out.

Emotional upheaval, long-buried secrets, and political intrigue are dominant factors, and Rose and company are forced to face painful realizations that have far reaching consequences for all involved. Though Rose knows she's innocent, there's a murderer in their midst who would do anything to remain anonymous while Rose takes the fall and Lissa is thrust into the world of politics, but this battle has been a long time coming, and Rose will do anything to keep her friends safe.

MY THOUGHTS
This final installment reunites us with characters with whom we have fallen hopelessly in love through prior books, their heartbreak and loss a keening pain we feel every moment during their absence in between novels, and one that refuses to dissipate the entire six month wait until we are together again. Ms. Mead's shining strength is her stunning characterization, creating individuals to whom we are irreversibly bound, our emotional connection to them a live wire pulsing with our shared joy, turmoil, and overwhelming anguish, cementing a relationship that will forever be remembered, cherished, and returned to experience again and again. Because our thoughts and opinions of characters and events are filtered through Rose's observations and musings, we find ourselves slipping easily into her role, the boundary between her fictional existence and our reality blurring to such a degree that for the duration of hundreds of pages, and sometimes long after, the outside world simply ceases to exist as our attachment to Rose and the other characters becomes a permanent link powerfully reinforced with every word, every page, and every chapter we read.

Rose is, and always has been, a remarkable blend of maturity and naivete, possessing an enviable fortitude and surety of purpose combined with a tempestuous nature that often lands her in a variety of difficult situations. To watch as she's progressed from an able, independent, but also very young girl to a resilient, impassioned, and unbelievably dedicated woman has been and absolute privilege. The battle between selfishness and selflessness has been a prominent one, and Rose has struggled with finding a balance between the value of protecting Lissa's life and the desire to live her own. Finally, in this last book we get to see that epic battle come full circle as the events leading up to the finale produce a Rose who exceeds our expectations and our fondest imaginings. A warrior, a leader, and a woman we would be proud to call friend emerges from the chaos to become someone who we saw fleeting glimpses of previously, but now stands before us fully embracing both the flaws and strengths of a woman that has known unfathomable loss and pain, and has not only survived, but excelled, when others would have surely succumbed.

The journey for Rose and Dimitri has been not just a long and winding one, but one so dominated by obstacles it often seemed they would never escape the darkness and get to experience the light. Part of the enjoyment of Last Sacrifice is the return of the Rose and Dimitri we knew so long ago, and though both have been fundamentally changed by their individual battles, we have the pleasure of watching as a flare alights in the blackness, the tiniest of beacons existing to usher them into the future we want most for these two people who mean so much to us. Even more interesting, we get to see a role reversal in their relationship–where Dimitri has always been the calm to Rose's storm and the voice of reason to her youthful zeal, we now find Rose to be the leader, the optimist, and the lifeline holding Dimitri to sanity when the force of his guilt might otherwise consume him. Where previously they were student to teacher, adolescent enthusiasm to learned control, and inexperienced Dhampir to battle-ravaged Guardian, we now find two equals; both whose worlds have been altered seemingly beyond repair but are rebuilding together, partners in a relationship that brings a smile to our faces, butterflies to our stomachs, and tears to our eyes.

Last Sacrifice is a brilliant end to a beautiful series, one that never shies away from pain and isn't afraid to allow misery to temporarily eclipse hope. It is a story that leaves us more satisfied and complete for having experienced the trials of it's characters and more involved than perhaps we ever thought we could be in a piece of fiction. For anyone who loves to be completely connected with those about whom their reading, this series is for you. For those who like it when their emotions are tested, taunted, and tormented, this series is for you. And for anyone who loves when the joy is ultimately worth the suffering, I say this series is for you.

Rating: 4.5/5

Teaser Tuesday: Last Sacrifice

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading and here's how it works:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share a snippet from somewhere on that page but be careful not to include spoilers

My teaser this week is from Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead:

More questions were on my lips when brilliant light suddenly blinded me. My eyes had grown attuned to the darkness, and the unexpected brightness was too abrupt a change. There was a rustling in the trees, a sense of many bodies around us, and as my vision returned, I saw vampire faces everywhere. (pg 136)

LAST SACRIFICE (Vampire Academy #6) from Goodreads:

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules. She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir's Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardians to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose–for a crime she didn't even commit. She's in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She'll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose's life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back . . . and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?

Join Rose, Dimitri, Adrian, and Lissa in LAST SACRIFICE, the epic, unforgettable finale to Richelle Mead's international #1 bestselling VAMPIRE ACADEMY series.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!


Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
Releases December 7th
Penguin Group
Young Adult

From Goodreads: Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice. Now, with Rose on trial for her life and Lissa first in line for the Royal Throne, nothing will ev ...more Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice. Now, with Rose on trial for her life and Lissa first in line for the Royal Throne, nothing will ever be the same between them.

Okay, that's not the most descriptive of blurbs, so for anyone not familiar with this series it follows Rose Hathaway as she attends school in hopes of becoming a guardian. Rose is a Dhampir, half vampire and half human, and it's the job of Dhampirs to guard the Moroi, full vampires, from the Strigoi who embrace the vampire stereotype and live up to every legend of brutality and murder that's been recorded. Rose faces pain, death, betrayal, love, loss and everything in between in this six book series. Last Sacrifice is the sixth and final book, and book five left Rose in a less than ideal situation, so I'm dying to see what Mead has in store for us.

Luckily, though this is the last in the series, Ms. Mead is doing a spinoff series based in the Vampire Academy world, so more is to come!