What's Your Winner's Curse? Blog Tour & Giveaway!!

Today I am participating in ‘What’s Your Winner’s Curse?’ blog tour for
Marie Rutkoski's The Winner's Trilogy!!

What is a Winner’s Curse, you ask? The ‘Winner’s Curse’ is an economics term that means you’ve gotten what you wanted – but at too high a price. Have you ever got something that you always, always wanted, but it came with a huge price? That’s a winner’s curse!


The Winner's Curse  &  The Winner's Crime
by Marie Rutkoski
Website | Twitter | Facebook
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For this blog tour, the fabulous friends at Macmillan ask,
“What’s your Winner’s Curse?”.

Wow, what a loaded question, right? One that could have SO many different answers, so I’m actually going to give you two answers for my pick.


My first answer to this question would be: My family.

I have been blessed with three healthy children and a husband. These people are my life, and their health and well being are super important to me, so I would pay just about anything that I could to keep them safe and healthy.

And also to go with answer, I'd pay just about anything to find a cure to diseases and cancers that  take people away from their families. To end the pain that people endure and the lose that occurs.


My second answer to this question would be:  Books.

Books are knowledge. Books are power. Books are one of the few things I wouldn’t want to live without, and it shows by the amount of books that I own. :smirk:. Books are seriously one of the few possessions that I would be willing to pay whatever amount for, within reason. And I’d love to be able to supply everyone with books. Schools, libraries, etc… no one should ever be without books!


Those are my answers to this question!!

Check out the Winner's Curse Tour Page to see what
other bloggers on the tour have to say!

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Giveaway Info:

Win a copy of The Winner's Curse OR The Winner's Crime!!

1 Winner will be chosen.
US ONLY.You must be 16 or Older to Enter.
Giveaway ends Sunday, March 15th.

Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Crime
(The Winner's Trilogy #2)
by Marie Rutkoski
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: March 3rd 2015
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Pages: 416
ISBN: 9780374384708
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Source: Publisher

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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. (Goodreads)

I was super excited to finally start The Winner’s Crime, especially after that ending in The Winner’s Curse. While I was a bit nervous to see what was going to happen, I knew I’d be in for a really unique story with this book, and I was definitely not disappointed.

I’ve really liked Kestrel since I first met her in the first book. She’s such a strong and determined character, and let’s be honest, she has a pretty brilliant mind. I do believe I am even more in love with Arin that I already was before. He’s such a great character and has a pretty brilliant mind as well. I love how the book showed how extraordinary Kestrel and Arin were. The ideas that they came up with and problems that they had to figure out were beyond remarkable. Also, I love the relationship between the two, and while we don’t get to see a whole lot of romantic times in the book, the parts that we do see are filled with tension.

As with any good book, Rutkoski gives you a wide range of characters to meet while reading the book. Some new characters are introduced that you will grow to love; as with Verex, Tensen and especially Roshar, who we will hopefully see a lot more of in the next book. But she also gives you a few characters to hate, mainly the emperor, who was so much more different than what I expected after his brief mention in the first book. And then there are the characters that are going to disappoint you and break your heart into teeny, tiny pieces.

The storyline for the book was just as engrossing as the one for the first book. I was seriously hooked, and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. The suspense nearly killed me at times! And then there was that ending…  Oh my goodness, that ending. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, I knew something would pretty big was going to happen, and it’s left me anxious for the next book to see what is going to happen next for Kestrel and the rest of the story.

Overall; if you haven’t yet started reading this series, I highly implore you to do so. This is a series like no other, and it’s guaranteed to have you hooked. From the gorgeous covers to the amazing characters and storyline, this series really has it all. Check it out!

Waiting on Wednesday #167 - The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Crime
(The Winner's Trilogy #2)
by Marie Rutkoski
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: March 3rd 2015
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
ISBN: 9780374384708
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy

The Winner's Trilogy Official Website



Available for Pre-Order:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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. (Goodreads)

I read The Winner's Curse earlier this year
and I thought it was a really creative story.
The characters were great; I especially loved Kestrel and Arin.
I'm hoping that a lot of the questions that I had left at
the end of the first book will be answered in this book.

I can't wait to read The Winner's Crime and get back into this story!

**"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine,
that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.**

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Curse
(The Winner's Trilogy #1)
by Marie Rutkoski
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: March 4th 2014
Publisher: Macmillan
Pages: 355
ISBN: 9780374384685
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Source: Netgalley

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

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. (Goodreads)

I was super excited to finally start The Winner’s Curse, as I had seen so many great things about the book floating around the internet. This book definitely did not disappoint! It was an absolutely fascinating read.

The main character in the story is Kestrel, who is the daughter of a very influential general. When we first meet Kestrel in the book, I thought she was bit standoffish and somewhat snobby. Because of this, I didn’t actually think that I was going to like her. But thankfully we see throughout the book that she’s quite the opposite of a snob, she’s a very caring person, who only wants to do what’s right for not only her people, but for the Herrani people as well. I found Kestrel to be an extremely likeable character.

Arin is a slave that Kestrel purchases on instinct. (Of course, there is a reason for this purchase.) Arin is definitely a very complex and mysterious character. I couldn’t figure him out in the beginning, and even when I got to know him better, I still had mixed emotions about him. He was a man with many different sides. I liked his fierceness and determination to do what he thinks is right, even if it may not seem right to me or everyone else. And I loved his feelings for Kestrel. He definitely did not want to do her any harm. He just wanted what everyone wants, to be free. I’m really looking forward to getting to know him more as I continue this series.

Everything about this book was so creative to me. The characters names, the storyline, the world-building… EVERYTHING!  The author did a wonderful job of describing the world in which these characters lived. I was able to see it precisely in my mind, and the world was just beautiful. The storyline was creative and unique, I can honestly say that there is no other book that I’ve read that can compare to this one.The only thing that drove me crazy was that I had so many questions left at the end of the book, and I am hoping that we will get answers to them in the next book. I’m really curious as to what is going to happen next for these characters.

Can I also just add that the cover for this book is absolutely gorgeous? Major kudos to the designer that did this cover, it’s definitely stunning!

Overall; this book definitely lived up to all of the hype that it has been getting. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I can’t wait to check out the next book in the series.