The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski (The Winner's trilogy book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, The Winner’s Curse and The Winner’s Crime, Stop! I don’t want to ruin one of my favorite series for you.

Please visit the Recaptains blog if you need a refresher on the series.

“Some kisses come at a price.”   

Arin has joined forces with Darca to fight back against Valoria and reclaim Herran for it’s people. Kestrel still haunts his memories but the pain of her betrayal no longer stings. What he doesn’t realize is that Kestrel was trying to protect him. Her letter to Arin was intercepted by her father who turned her in for treason against the Empire. She has been sent to the northern tundra to work in the sulfur mines. Kestrel hopes that she was able to pass a masker moth on to a Herrani man who in turn will take it to Arin, who  will realizes that she was his spy and is in danger. She also knows that she cannot depend on Arin and must come up with a plan of escape on her own.

Will Kestrel be able to escape from the work camp? Does the Herrani man take the moth to Arin? What happens when Arin learns of Kestral’s fate? Will Herran be able free itself from Valorian rule? Can the Emperor be defeated? What happens when Kestrel sees her father again? Do these star-crossed lovers be reunited or will war finally tear them apart?

Fans will be eager to see how Arin and Kestrel’s story will wrap up.

Visit Marie Rutkowski’s website.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

"The experiment will be a bold one and there may well be risks we have not foreseen. But Incarceron will be a system of great complexity and intelligence. There could be no kinder or more compassionate guardian for its inmates." - Chapter 3

Incarceron is prison, but unlike any prison you have ever heard of. It is a living complex of cells, cities and wilderness that is continually shifting. Only the Warden of Incarceron knows where the prison is located. Having been permanently sealed shut for over 160 years, legend has it that only one man has ever escaped. And Finn hopes to be number two.

Seventeen-year-old Finn the Starseer is a prisoner of Incarceron but doesn't remember his childhood. Everyone says he is a "cellborn" but Finn has flashs of a birthday cake and believes he is from Outside of Incarceron. Most of Incarceron's inmates don't believe there is an Outside. It is during an ambush on the Civicry that Finn plays captive to get them to stop. As they are trying to help Finn, a woman notices the mark of an eagle on Finn's wrist and says she has seen that mark before. Finn's interst is peaked and he takes the woman hostage to find out what more she knows. She has seen the same mark on a crystal. Finn takes possession of the crystal when it is offered as part of her ransom. He soon realizes it is a key. Finn, his oathbrother Keiro, Gildas a Sapient and a slave girl escape from their winglord in attempt to locate a door that Gildas has seen before that he thinks the key will unlock.

Claudia Arlexa is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron and the bride in an arranged marriage with the heir to the throne. The Earl of Steen is a young man who thinks he is beyond control but Claudia has been raised to reel him in somewhat even though she is disgusted by him. Caspar, the Earl, became heir to the throne after the death of his half brother Giles, whom Claudia was originally engaged to. With the help of her tutor, Jared, a Sapient, Claudia is determined to learn the mysteries of Incarceron and not marry Caspar. Upon breaking into her father's study, Claudia also discovers a matching crystal key. Soon Claudia and Finn realize that they can communicate with each other through the keys and Finn implores on Claudia to help him escape into the outside world.

This novel was suspenseful and keeps you on edge trying to figure out if Claudia's suspisions are right, if Finn gets out of Incarceron, does Claudia marry Caspar and what is going what the prison itself. Incarceron lives up to a quote from The Times, London on it's cover that states "One of the best fantasy novels written for a long time."

The sequel, Sapphique, is due out December 2010.

Check out Catherine Fisher's website.