Most Popular Books by Marie Rutkoski

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria''s crown prince is the event of a lifetime, but to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making, so as she aches to tell the truth about her engagement, she becomes a skilled practitioner of deceit and as a spy passes information and gets close to uncovering a shocking secret.

In the tradition of Kristin Cashore and Cassandra Clare comes The Winner''s Curse, a brilliant, unputdownable, star-crossed romance from New York Times bestselling author Marie Rutkoski. Winning what you want may cost you everything you love They were never meant to be together. As a general''s daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can''t help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other. Set in a new world, The Winner''s Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Bringing to mind Gillian Flynn and Tana French but completely unique, Marie Rutkoski''s Real Easy is a compulsive, tenacious, and unexpectedly hopeful thriller. "[R]iveting...An adrenaline ride filled with grit and compassion." —People, Book of the Week It’s 1999 and Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club. She’s not used to mixing work and friendship—after all, between her jealous boyfriend and his young daughter, she has enough on her plate. But the newest dancer is so clueless that Samantha feels compelled to help her learn the hustle and drama of the club: how to sweet-talk the boss, fit in with the other women, and make good money. One night, when the new girl needs a ride home, Samantha agrees to drive: a simple decision that turns deadly. Georgia, another dancer drawn into the ensuing murder and missing person investigation, gathers information for Holly, a grieving detective determined to solve the case. Georgia just wants to help, but her involvement makes her a target. As Holly and Georgia round up their suspects, the story’s point of view shifts between dancers, detectives, children, club patrons—and the killer. Drawing on her experience as a former dancer, Marie Rutkoski immerses us in the captivating world of the club, which comes alive with complicated people trying their best to protect themselves and those they love. Character-driven and masterfully plotted, Real Easy gets to the heart of the timeless question: How do women live their lives knowing that men can hurt them?

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?

Set in the world of the New York Times–bestselling Winner’s Trilogy, Marie Rutkoski''s The Midnight Lie is an epic LGBTQ romantic fantasy about learning to free ourselves from the lies others tell us—and the lies we tell ourselves. Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colors. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences. Nirrim keeps her head down, and a dangerous secret close to her chest. But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away, who whispers rumors that the High Kith possess magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted.

Marie Rutkoski''s startling debut novel, the first book in the Kronos Chronicles, about the risks we take to protect those we love, brims with magic, political intrigue, and heroism. Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it''s never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world''s finest astronomical clock. Petra''s life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home – blind. The prince has stolen his eyes, enchanted them, and now wears them. But why? Petra doesn''t know, but she knows this: she will go to Prague, sneak into Salamander Castle, and steal her father''s eyes back. Joining forces with Neel, whose fingers extend into invisible ghosts that pick locks and pockets, Petra finds that many people in the castle are not what they seem, and that her father''s clock has powers capable of destroying their world. The Cabinet of Wonders is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children''s Book of the Year.

Intrigue, romance, and magic abound in The Hollow Heart, the heart-stopping conclusion to Marie Rutkoski’s Forgotten Gods duology. At the end of The Midnight Lie, Nirrim offered up her heart to the god of thieves in order to restore her people’s memories of their city’s history. The Half Kith who once lived imprisoned behind the city’s wall now realize that many among them are powerful. Meanwhile, the person Nirrim once loved most, Sid, has returned to her home country of Herran, where she must navigate the politics of being a rogue princess who has finally agreed to do her duty. In the Herrani court, rumors begin to grow of a new threat rising across the sea, of magic unleashed on the world, and of a cruel, black-haired queen who can push false memories into your mind, so that you believe your dearest friends to be your enemies. Sid doesn’t know that this queen is Nirrim, who seeks her revenge against a world that has wronged her. Can Sid save Nirrim from herself? Does Nirrim even want to be saved? As blood is shed and war begins, Sid and Nirrim find that it might not matter what they want...for the gods have their own plans.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Winner''s Trilogy comes Marie Rutkoski''s Tor.Com Original short story, "The Bridge of Snow." Here readers are introduced to Arin during more innocent times. In his childhood, before the war, there was still time to tell stories. This story is set in the same world of the author''s stunning YA trilogy, which begins with book one, The Winner''s Curse. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Sixteen-year-old Darcy Jones knows little about her past except that she was abandoned outside a Chicago firehouse at age five, but when the mysterious Conn arrives at her high school she begins to discover things about her past that she is not sure she likes.

Upon arriving in the Romany homeland to deliver the Mercator Globes, Petra Kronos, Tomik, and Neel formulate a plan to save Petra''s father, who has been transformed into a Gray Man. But when a long-held secret is revealed, Neel finds himself bound to his country. The friends are quickly swept up in an epic battle for power. Thrones are at stake. Spies are afoot. Murder is common. Worst of all, Prince Rodolfo is close to becoming emperor, and ruling half of Europe. How much is Petra willing to sacrifice to defend the people she loves? Her search for answers will take her to castles and cities, through mountains, and even underwater as she tests her strength and gambles her life.

Download the first five chapters of THE WINNER''S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski! 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 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.

Few know that the Great Chicago Fire was started deliberately, as a genocide of deadly creatures called Shades. Fewer still know that they didn''t die, not quite...but one human will confront the truth when an ominous beauty makes him gamble for his life. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

When Prince Rodolfo''s monsters attack her, Petra Kronos is spirited away to London. As she struggles to escape, Neel and Tomik sail the high seas, in search of her. Though separated by many miles, the three friends draw closer together in this sequel to The Cabinet of Wonders, called "astonishingly accomplished" by Publishers Weekly. Readers will not be disappointed in this adventure-filled novel that includes man-made monsters, the unraveling of a murder mystery, and the hunt for the Celestial Globe, which the prince of Bohemia will do anything to own.

This anthology includes short stories from six fierce young adult authors! Inside, you''ll find a futuristic zombie tale from Ann Aguirre, a science fiction thriller from Gennifer Albin, a nautical mermaid story from Elizabeth Fama, a story full of unicorns from Lish McBride, a postapocalyptic story from Caragh O''Brien, and a paranormal alternate future from Marie Rutkowski. This free anthology will give you an exciting taste of the fierceness of these YA authors'' novels. For more information about Fierce Reads, visit our Facebook page.

Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it''s never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider who likes to hide in her hair and give her advice. And her brilliant father has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world''s finest astronomical clock. When the prince steals her father’s eyes to wear them as his own, Petra sets off for Prague to steal her father''s eyes back. And that is only the beginning of this series brimming with magic and adventure that Publishers Weekly called a "heady mix of history and enchantment." Includes all three books in the series, The Cabinet of Wonders, The Celestial Globe, and The Jewel of the Kalderash.

The Macmillan FIERCE READS Fall 2012 Chapter Sampler includes chapter excerpts from Crewel, Monstrous Beauty, Necromancing the Stone, The Shadow Society, Outpost, and Promised — available for free — check out the Fierce Reads website for more information about these much anticipated new YA reads.

Gagner peut être la pire des malédictions... Fille du plus célèbre général d''un empire conquérant, Kestrel n''a que deux choix devant elle : s''enrôler dans l''armée ou se marier. Mais à dix-sept ans à peine, elle n''est pas prête à se fermer ainsi tous les horizons. Un jour, au marché, elle cède à une impulsion et acquiert pour une petite fortune un esclave rebelle à qui elle espère éviter la mort. Bientôt, toute la ville ne parle plus que de son coup de folie. Kestrel vient de succomber à la " malédiction du vainqueur " : celui qui remporte une enchère achète forcément pour un prix trop élevé l''objet de sa convoitise. Elle ignore encore qu''elle est loin, bien loin, d''avoir fini de payer son geste. Joueuse hors pair, stratège confirmée, elle a la réputation de toujours savoir quand on lui ment. Elle croit donc deviner une partie du passé tourmenté de l''esclave, Arin, et comprend qu''il n''est pas qui il paraît... Mais ce qu''elle soupçonne n''est qu''une infime partie de la vérité, une vérité qui pourrait bien lui coûter la vie, à elle et à tout son entourage. Gagner sera-t-il pour elle la pire des malédictions ? Jeux de pouvoir, coups de bluff et pièges insidieux : dans un monde nouveau, né de l''imagination d''une auteure unanimement saluée pour son talent, deux jeunes gens que tout oppose se livrent à une partie de poker menteur qui pourrait bien décider de la destinée de tout un peuple.

Gagner peut être la pire des malédictions... La guerre a éclaté. Arin se retrouve au centre des affrontements, avec l''Orient comme allié et, pour ennemi, l''Empire qui l''avait réduit en esclavage. Il est enfin parvenu à fermer son esprit au souvenir obsédant de Kestrel, même s''il ne parvient pas tout à fait à l''effacer de sa mémoire. Mais sa décision est prise : il n''a plus que faire de celle qui, le croit-il, soutient l''Empereur envers et contre tout, malgré les innocents massacrés, malgré le danger qui menace Arin et les siens... Mais la vérité est tout autre. C''est loin au nord, dans un des nombreux camps de travail impériaux, que dépérit peu à peu Kestrel, fiancée déchue de l''héritier de l''Empire. Droguée – une façon de s''assurer de son obéissance –, elle risque de perdre un peu plus chaque jour, comme les prisonniers qui l''entourent, tout souvenir de sa vie passée. Déjà, plus au sud, les combats font rage, et les vies d''Arin et de Kestrel se retrouvent prises entre le marteau et l''enclume... Pour elle comme pour lui, l''heure est venue de jouer cartes sur table. Mais quand les enjeux sont aussi élevés, est-il vraiment possible de remporter la mise ? Dans un monde nouveau, né de l''imagination d''une auteure unanimement saluée pour son talent, découvrez les jeux de pouvoir, les coups de bluff et les enjeux vertigineux de la partie de poker menteur à laquelle se livrent deux espions pris dans les nasses de deux causes ennemies !

Download a FREE sneak peek of THE MIDNIGHT LIE by Marie Rutkoski. Set in the world of the New York Times–bestselling Winner’s Trilogy, The Midnight Lie is an epic LGBTQ romantic fantasy about learning to free ourselves from the lies others tell us—and the lies we tell ourselves. Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colors. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences. Nirrim keeps her head down, and a dangerous secret close to her chest. But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away, who whispers rumors that the High Kith possess magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted.

The Winner''s Trilogy begins with a choice: Kestral, a general''s daughter, must decide between two life paths, join the army or get married. However, her rigid fate begins to unravel when she meets the young slave Arin, who carries, unbeknownst to her, a dangerous secret. Their burgeoning kinship, and his secret, will change Kestral''s life forever. Kestral and Arin''s growing love will take them on an irresistible journey of forbidden romance, class warfare and revolution that you won''t want to miss. This eBook bundle contains all three books of the trilogy: The Winner''s Curse The Winner''s Crime The Winner''s Kiss

Ceramic sherds are one of the most abundant artifactual remains in the archaeological record. They have been used in the past to address technological, typological, and chronological questions. However, less research has focused on whether non-production related behaviors contribute to sherd variation. An experimental data set of 30 replica vessels-that were modeled from those found in the Late Woodland period of Northern Ohio were created. Thus, the vessels were then subjected to one of two simple conditions: dropped while empty or dropped while full of corn. The Number of sherds produced, sherd weights, and sherd shape were all recorded in order to determine whether these variables were influenced by the difference in the experimental condition.