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Description: Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| This run of covers is much less cinematic than the ones with real models, a much more fantasy feel. Given the edgy feel of the series, I think the live action covers fit the series better. This one is rather generically YA. | This has to be the UK cover…it looks nothing like the US versions, but I still think the purple almost disco vibe is a wrong fit for this series in any country. |
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Description: A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle. Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything. With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders. The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion.
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| I like the color and how this cover fits the series, but the drape of this cloth isn’t particularly graceful. I looked twice at the back before I saw the foot and realized she was walking away. | I do wish her toe nails were visible, and I also preferred the legs only poses from the previous covers, but the color is great & it does fit-mostly-with the series as a whole. |
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Not Yet Available for Pre-Order. |
Description: The Girl is Running. She's alone; a werewolf without a pack, a shape-changer who cannot change, an intruder in Roanoke's territory. It's Andrew Dare's job to catch her, expel her, or kill her. He's the enforcer, after all, in charge of security. But when he catches her at last, he finds someone he wants to protect, not kill. A tortured stranger who needs him...and who warns of a threat to all the packs of North America.
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| I really like the drama and composition of this cover, it draws me in even without a description. The “V” over the sun is just spectacular. | I’m a fan too (and I added the description ;) which makes it even more compelling. |
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Description: Lou Crushek is a reasonable, mellow, easygoing kind of guy—especially for a shapeshifting bear. But once someone starts killing the scumbags he works so hard to bust, that really gets under his fur. Especially when that someone is a curvy she-tiger who's bringing his passion out of hibernation… Marcella Malone is a member of an elite feline protection unit, and Crush is proving one major pain in her gorgeous tail. The only reason she's joined forces with him is to track down the wealthy human who's got her entire species in his ruthless sights. But there's no denying that beneath that big, burly exterior is a man who knows how to rub her in all the right ways...
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| I’m not a big fan of Crush’s facial expression, but I don’t need a perfect cover to get excited about a new Shelly Laurenston book. This cover doesn’t capture the humor that’s bound to be in this book, but the heat’s all there. | What is up with this pose? It looks like she should be wearing a leash. Love the colors though—well, maybe not his white hair…that’s a bit off for me. |
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Description: Jane’s not happy. She’s been packed off to England to fight in a war, when she’d much rather be snogging her new boyfriend. Unfortunately, Jane’s enemies have been busy stirring up some major trouble—the kind that attracts a lot of attention. In other words, they’re not making it easy for Jane to get any alone time with Anyan, or to indulge in her penchant for stinky cheese. Praying she can pull off a Joan of Arc without the whole martyrdom thing, Jane must lead Alfar and halflings alike in a desperate battle to combat an ancient evil. Catapulted into the role of the most unlikely hero ever, Jane has to fight her own insecurities as well as the doubts of those who don’t think she can live up to her new role as Champion. Along the way Jane learns that some heroes are born, some heroes are made, and some heroes are bribed with promises of food and sex.
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| The movement in the last two Jane True covers has been pretty clunky. I like the green better than the red, but this cover doesn’t come close to capturing the allure of the first two. | I’m a fan of the sense of action in this cover, not so much of the lobster monster she’d fighting though. |
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Description: From the outside, Kerry Smithson appears to have it all -- beauty, brains, money, and fame...but she harbors a crippling secret. With just one touch she'll know your your deepest desires but this second sight comes with mind-numbing pain. Adept at avoiding even the lightest of touches, isolation and loneliness have become her way of life. However, her world is turned upside down from the moment she encounters the disarmingly handsome Dante Coltari but little does she know that he harbors a secret of his own. A secret that would change the course of their lives and intertwine their fates, forever.
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| With one eye in shadow, he still manages to look wall eyed. A beefcake cover is all about sex, this guy’s expression doesn’t do it for me. | Shirtless guy covers are always a hard sell for me and this one doesn’t inspire me at all. |
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| *Sigh* I’m so disappointed that an opportunity for a new cover just became a cut and paste of dudes. This model has less of a “bronzer gone wrong” look, I like his eyes, but his head is too big for the space. If nothing else, the plants over his face bring more attention to the harsh border on the side. | Wow. They managed to change the least objectionable part of this cover. I’m with you, Julia. I do not understand why an author as BIG as Nalini Singh can’t get a decent cover for this series. Do they think her name is a big enough draw that her covers don’t matter? I mean her Guild-Hunter covers are soooo much better. |
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Not Yet Available for Pre-Order. |
Description: N/A
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![309045_277801978908526_125107200844672_948318_1796410240_n[1]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-eD9hg-N28xw/TqY9-pFa6XI/AAAAAAAACf8/mG4eQ2zfKXc/s1600-h/309045_277801978908526_125107200844672_948318_1796410240_n%25255B1%25255D%25255B4%25255D.jpg "309045_277801978908526_125107200844672_948318_1796410240_n[1]")
Love the Impure Resistance symbol in the back!” – Laura Wright
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| This novella cover does a good job fitting the over all series, it’s nice that they pulled in a story specific detail. | Blah, blah, blah another shirtless man cover, but I like the title detail and color wash enough to tip my thumb up. |
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Not Yet Available for Pre-Order. |
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![298704_228890147171858_113366205390920_598348_240700645_n[1]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Euh-V0RE9yc/TqY-AEroItI/AAAAAAAACgU/OwPUabh2AN4/s1600-h/298704_228890147171858_113366205390920_598348_240700645_n%25255B1%25255D%25255B4%25255D.jpg "298704_228890147171858_113366205390920_598348_240700645_n[1]")
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| The bright colors are a fun twist on the usual Paranormal Romance cover. The one bright eye is about ask good of a use of the shadow animal head as I’ve seen, but I would have liked to see the model’s face. | Considering this is from a different publisher and art department, this cover fits pretty well with the series overall. I really need to read this series before Julia beats me to death with her copies. I will. I promise. |
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Description: Agent of Death Madeline Black is finding out that some of the spirits of Chicago aren't ready to cross over. Something is wrong with the souls of Chicago's dead. Ghosts are walking the streets, and Agent of Death Madeline Black's exasperating boss wants her to figure out why. And while work is bad enough, Maddy has a plethora of personal problems too. Now that Gabriel has been assigned as her thrall, their relationship has hit an impasse. At least her sleazy ex-fiancé Nathaniel is out of the picture — or so she thinks...
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| Another fantastic addition for this series, love the suggestion of wings! | I really love how they’ve created the illusion of wings in the background on every cover too. Great series look. |
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Description: It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and Zoë Sorensson’s love life is heating up. Cute, loyal, and understanding, wolf shifter Derek is pretty much the perfect guy. He likes Zoë, and he knows what it’s like to have to keep a secret. Yet, Zoë can’t help but wish it was rebel rocker Jared asking her to the Valentine’s dance instead. But Jared’s too busy playing hot and cold with her heart, calling Zoë his dragon girl one minute and then taking special interest in her best friend the next. Zoë is just about ready to breathe fire, especially once she uncovers a new threat that targets her friends. Although Zoë thought the Mages were defeated, they’re back and have invoked an old spell to give them new power – they plan to eliminate all shape shifters on the night of the big dance. Now, Zoë must lead an alliance of young shifters to battle the Mages and figure out exactly what – and who – she wants, before it all goes up in smoke…
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| Can’t beat the fierce expression from #2, but this cover is beautifully put together. | Soft and pretty. Exactly the way I’d want a dragon series aimed at teen girls to look. |
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| I could live without the matching eye color, but I love the smile on this model’s face. Completely dreamy! | Those abs look almost painful! But his expression won me over too. |
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Description: Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| I’m torn on this one. I love the light streaming through the water, but don’t like the blurring around the model’s face. | Not my favorite mermaid cover…especially since the protagonist is a merman! Sorry, that’s a pet peeve of mine. But the killer mermaid description sounds awesome. |
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| A little cold for all that skin, but she looks tough enough to handle it. I like her stance and the lighting, the red for the text pops beautifully. | Wow! I love the black, white, and red colors. I could to with out the bottom of the boob cleavage, but still a fan. Does anyone else think she looks like Evangeline Lily? |
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| It’s amazing what a big difference these little changes make. I love the background swirl, and the simple change in perspective gives this model a much more adult appearance. | I was thinking the exact opposite :) you can barely tell they changed anything. Tohr still looks very young to me. |
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| There is just no beating a Dos Santos cover. Her facial expression is a little too fierce for me, but the line of her body, with that dress and that gun, is just spectacular. | I’m a crazy fan of Dan Dos Santos, but what is up with that stance? It's so incredibly unsexy…really distracting for me. |
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Description: When vital research about the time gene is stolen, Kaleb must put flirting with anything in a skirt on hold and join Emerson and the Hourglass team to find the criminal (who could be anywhere, in any time). And even if they succeed, it may be too late….
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| The haunting twist of HOURGLASS is just silly in this overt tableau, not a fan. | I wish they’d incorporated another optical illusions that so you didn’t notice at first like in HOURGLASS, but I appreciate what they were trying to do here. |
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Description: Kate has chosen to leave the comfort and safety of her human world in order to join Vincent in the dangerous supernatural universe he inhabits. For his part, he has sworn to go against his very nature and resist the repeated deaths that are his fate as a revenant—even though it will bring him immeasurable suffering. More…
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| Sugar-coated filigree, this cover is definitely a departure from the darker tone of book one’s cover. I think I like DIE FOR ME better, but UNTIL I DIE does a good job with the brighter, glossier look. | There is something so decadent about this cover…it even makes me like the debut much more now since I was initially a fan of the DIE FOR ME cover before they changed it. |
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Description: The war between good and evil has raged for millennia, and as a powerful new enemy ascends, the Marked Souls are pushed to the ragged edge in this fourth book of the series. Sidney Westerbrook has always studied darkness and damnation from a sensible distance. Now, to earn his place as a league Bookkeeper, he must discover why Chicago is such a battleground of soul-linked warriors. But the research becomes personal when he finds himself over his head and under attack -- and at the mercy of a waif with demon-lit eyes and a deep yearning in her heart. More…
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| Gorgeous lighting on his muscles, but the flower tattoo is an oddly effeminate placement. | Another shirtless cover that does nothing for me. |
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Description: This time, Riley might really have bitten off more than she’s ready for. After practically begging the Council for a more challenging Soul Catch, she is assigned an actual Roman gladiator—Theocoles, the Pillar of Doom. How is Riley, a skinny twelve-year-old, supposed to get through to him? Then she meets the beautiful Messalina, who convinces her that her only chance is to become part of this world. To accomplish this, Messalina helps Riley through a dramatic, mystical makeover, transforming her into the beautiful and mature teen she’s always wanted to be. Finally, Riley can experience her first boyfriend and her first kiss. With a dream this enchanting, will she ever want to leave?
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| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| I think I’d like this cover better without the mirror, it looks odd that the girl and the dog staring into it. Love the tangerine color, this may be favorite color scheme for this series. | These covers so perfectly convey the dream world Riley lives in. Another great job. |
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And our picks for Best & Worst…
| Best | Worst |
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Which are your Best and Worst?
Are you guys sure Alien Diplomacy is a Dos Santos cover? The character design and lack of illumination seem so different from his work.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the author's blog, it's Dos Santos. I couldn't find an image of this cover on his website, though, to see if this was just a bad image.
ReplyDeletehttp://speculativebookreview.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-hunter-by-theresa-meyers.html
Not diggin the cover for JR Wards new book..... I want a man not a boy. Thanks guys!
ReplyDeleteRain - I thought the redesign did a good job butching up Tohr, not for you?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julia. Did you think it looked a bit different from the others too?
ReplyDeleteShirin - The facial expression looked completely Dos Santos to me, no one else creates women so intense and fierce. It's also "zoomed out" a bit, which is common for this series, but most of the covers on his website are more detail pictures. But to answer your question, no, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I saw it, though I was thinking of it in reference to the other covers in the series more than his artwork in general.
ReplyDeleteHm, I see what you mean. All good points.
ReplyDeleteNup, that BLACK HEART cover really is the US cover - I got it from the US publisher's website: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Black-Heart/Holly-Black/Curse-Workers-The/9781442403468
ReplyDelete