01 February 2012

Cover Art Coverage: 12 New Titles!

This is another great week for covers, Abigail and I agree on our “Best” and each of the “Worst” titles have at least one thumbs up to their credit.  A former favorite is back with a redesign, as Andrew Fukuda’s THE HUNT gets a new look before it even comes to press.  This redesign generates a mixed reaction.  The original is gorgeous, but I can see how the new cover has a greater “off the shelf” appeal.  Which one do you prefer?
 
 
Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland

(Click to enlarge)

Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues

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Description:

N/A

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: White Trash Zombie #2 
  • Artist: Dan Dos Santos 
  • Goodreads: Link
  • Publisher: DAW
  • Release Date: July 3, 2012
  • Source: Tez Says

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Such a gorgeous continuation for the series with these colors.  Also, just as gross as the first cover, despite substituting a bathroom for brains. It's hard not to like a Dan dos Santos cover, but even though I'm giving this a thumbs up, I'm a teeny bit disappointed.  I love all the 'trashy' details like Angel sitting on a toilet with her panties down and a cigarette, and the graffiti text is perfect, but I was hoping for another head shot.  I wanted the closeup. 
Previous Covers in This Series

My Life As a White Trash Zombi...

  

Grave Memory by Kalayna Price

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Description:

N/A

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: Alex Craft #3 
  • Artist: N/A
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

I love how these covers keep the focus on Alex, but other than the shirt colors I’d have a hard time telling them apart.  This is kind of a neutral hand for me. Another winner for Kalayna's excellent series.  So many great details here: the crow on the tombstone, the faint scroll work frame, the glint on her dagger.  And I love the colors again.  
Previous Covers in This Series

Grave Witch (Alex Craft, #1)Grave Dance (Alex Craft, #2)

  

Thieftaker by D. B. Jackson

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Thieftaker (Thieftaker Chronicles, #1)

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Description:

Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, August 26, 1765

A warm evening in colonial North America's leading city. Smoke drifts across the city, and with it the sound of voices raised in anger, of shattering glass and splintering wood. A mob is rioting in the streets, enraged by the newest outrage from Parliament: a Stamp Tax . Houses are destroyed, royal officials are burned in effigy. And on a deserted lane, a young girl is murdered.

Ethan Kaille, a thieftaker of some notoriety, and a conjurer of some skill, is hired by the girl's father to find her killer. Soon he is swept up in a storm of intrigue and magic, politics and treachery. The murder has drawn the notice of the lovely and deadly Sephira Pryce, a rival thieftaker in Boston; More…

“[…] when I saw this image for the cover of THIEFTAKER, book I of the Thieftaker Chronicles, I was blown away.  I’d had something in mind, and it looked nothing like the image that the amazing and talented Chris McGrath created for the book.  Thank goodness.  This is so much better than what I’d envisioned.  McGrath’s image captures perfectly the mood and feel of the book.  I’m thrilled.” – D. B. Jackson

  • Series: Thieftaker Chronicles #1
  • Artist: Chris McGrath
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Such a gorgeous cover, a piece of renaissance art come to life.  I’d hang this on my wall in a heartbeat, let alone my excitement to read it. This is just beautiful.  Like an oil painting. It reminded me a little of the cover for THE RIFT WALKER by Clay and Susan Griffith, and after some digging, I found out both were done by the amazing Chris McGrath.  Not quite as gritty as Chris usually does, but this feels perfect for the description.
Previous Covers in This Series

N/A

  

Night’s Engines by Trent Jamieson

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Description:

The conclusion of the Nightbound Land duology. The Roil has not yet been defeated – and the Roil extends its grip on Shale, following the commands of the Dreaming Cities.

Wars will be fought. Doomsday weapons employed. And night will fall.

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: The Nightbound Land #2
  • Artist:  Angelo Rinaldi
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

ROIL looked like a graphic novel, this one looks like a model pasted on top of clip art.  I love the suit, but the background is too generic for me to be wowed. Here's a new to me artist I plan on watching.  This is amazing! The lighting and shadows are stunning and his face is near perfect.
Previous Covers in This Series

Roil  (The Nightbound Land, #1...

  

The Nekropolis Archives by Tim Waggoner

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Description:

This volume collects all three novels in the Nekropolis sequence:Nekropolis ~ Dead Streets ~ Dark War
Meet Matt Richter. Private Eye. Zombie. His mean streets are the city of the dead, the shadowy realm known as Nekropolis. You've got to keep your head in Nekropolis. But when you're a zombie attempting to battle the vampire lords, that's not as easy as it seems...

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: Matt Richter #1-3 
  • Artist: Steve Stone
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Love the colors for the background, though the red for the cover is a little much.  Gorgeous details on the bridge, building, and skull. I'm a fan of this artist, but this cover is a little lacking for me. He looks great, she looks a little slapped on with a bad wig.
Previous Covers in This Series

Nekropolis (Matt Richter, #1)Dead Streets (Matt Richter #2)Dark War (Matt Richter #3)

  

Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean

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Description:

Ally is devastated when a scandalous photo of her is texted around school. With her reputation in shambles and her life essentially over, she hides out in a back hallway, trying to figure out where everything went wrong.

Elijah has spent time in that hallway too. He landed there after taking a whole bottle of sleeping pills. Now he can see ghosts, and he knows what Ally has yet to suspect—that she's already half dead, and one choice away from never coming back.

Elijah has loved Ally for years and would do anything to save her from her in-between place. But if she’s going to live, Ally must face her inner demons, and find the will to save herself.

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: N/A
  • Artist: N/A
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs down

This is a great picture, and I like the end of her hair over her face (and hair on the face is any easy way to creep me out).  There’s nothing here that looks paranormal, though, this is more straight up YA. There isn't anything here.  Too plain & it tells me nothing about the book.
Previous Covers in This Series

N/A

  

Tooth and Nail by Jennifer Safrey

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Description:

Gemma Fae Cross, a tough-girl amateur boxer whose fiance is running for congress, has just made a startling discovery about herself. She is half faerie - and not just any faerie, but a tooth faerie! A hybrid of fae and human, Gemma is destined to defend the Olde Way and protect the fae - who are incapable of committing violence - from threats to their peaceful and idyllic way of life, which must be maintained by distilling innocence collected from children''s baby teeth. But when a threat to the fae mission emerges, Gemma is called upon to protect her heritage, and become a legendary fae warrior... even if it means sacrificing everything she knows about being human!

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: N/A
  • Artist: N/A
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

A boxing faerie!  A boxing faerie!  This cover perfectly captures that juxtaposition, in a way that seems much less hokey than reading the description.  The cover intrigues me, but I don’t know if this premise works for me. I like this a lot. I love the contrast between the lovely gossamer wings and the toughness of her pose and hand wraps.
Previous Covers in This Series

N/A

  

Chasing Magic by Stacia Kane

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Chasing Magic (Downside Ghosts, #5)

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Description:

A DEADLY HIGH

Magic-wielding Churchwitch and secret addict Chess Putnam knows better than anyone just how high a price people are willing to pay for a chemical rush. But when someone with money to burn and a penchant for black magic starts tampering with Downside’s drug supply, Chess realizes that the unlucky customers are paying with their souls—and taking the innocent with them, as the magic-infused speed compels them to kill in the most gruesome ways possible.

As if the streets weren’t scary enough, the looming war between the two men in her life explodes, taking even more casualties and putting Chess squarely in the middle. More…

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: Downside Ghosts #5
  • Artist: N/A
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Love her glow and smile, though this book could come wrapped in old newspaper and I’d be psyched to read it.  More Terrible!  More Chess! I don't love this when compared to the first three covers, but it does still 'fit' the Downside look & I'm a huge fan of this series.
Previous Covers in This Series

Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts...Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts,...City of Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, #3)Sacrificial Magic (Downside Gh...

  

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

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(Stepback)

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Description:

She’s a mortal with dark powers...

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person’s darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude... until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world’s most infamous vampire...

He’s the Prince of Night...

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all — but whatever you do, don’t call him Dracula. Vlad’s ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him – a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

“Starting with Vlad, does the model match how I picture him? Not exactly. In my head, Vlad looks like a mixture of this hot nameless model and a younger Michael Fassbender (picture link) (picture link) […] As mentioned in prior books, Vlad also has scars on his hands. In Once Burned, you’ll find out that his chest and arms have scars, too. Because of this, I begged for scars on the cover, and the art department was good enough to add some. In actuality, he would have more than this.”
– Jeaniene Frost

  • Series: Night Prince #1
  • Artist: N/A
  • Goodreads: Link
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Release Date: June 26, 2012
  • Source: Author’s Blog

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs down

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

It’s hard to pull off the squared up, full frontal cover.  This combo of furrowed frown and little smile doesn’t work for me.  Though the stepback has a nice t-shirt, I don’t like the slicked back hair. Yeah...this is hot.  Love the scars on his (that would be model Paul Marron again) chest, and check out the stepback!
Previous Covers in This Series

N/A

  

Shadow of the Witte Wieven by Debbie Peterson

(Click to enlarge)

Picture

Not Yet Available for Pre-Order.

Description:

Despite a contract on her head, lone Drug Enforcement Agent, Aliyana Montijo must ferret out a mole and stop the assassination of top DEA officials, as so ordered by the Colombian drug lord she seeks to take down. The task is a daunting one, for there is no one she can trust. No one that is, until she encounters a most unlikely ally.

Former seventeenth century captain of the Dutch West Indies Company, Wolfaert Dircksen Van Ness, now from a parallel dimension, encounters the beautiful agent during an unearthly storm in the Bermuda triangle. Drawn to the Spanish beauty he rescues, he pledges his assistance, despite her reluctance to accept either his help or his heart.
Can Wolf bridge both space and time to claim the woman he loves?

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: N/A
  • Artist: N/A
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

I like so many of the elements of this cover, but it’s a little too crisp.  I love the model’s posture, though, and the use of light and her pale skin looks great. Beautiful rich purples.
Previous Covers in This Series

N/A

  

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

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Compare to the Original:

Description:

In a world where humans have been eaten to near extinction, seventeen-year-old Gene has only managed to survive by painstakingly concealing his true species. If the bloodthirsty creatures surrounding him knew what he really was—a human—he would be devoured swiftly and terribly. When Gene is chosen to participate in the government-sponsored hunt for the last remaining humans, it thrusts him into the fight of his life—and into the path of a human girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible. Now, he must learn the art of the hunt and elude his fellow hunters whose suspicions about his true human nature are growing. But most importantly, Gene and the girl he loves must find a way to forge a life together in a brutal world that’s bent on their destruction.

With his propulsive plot and highly developed characters, readers will find it impossible to resist the vivid world Andrew Fukuda has created in this stunning standout debut. Readers craving a book that grips and mesmerizes them like The Hunger Games will love The Hunt.

“I've got some news! The awesome team at St. Martin's has given The Hunt cover a facelift! The new, rejigged cover conveys a stronger sense of action and, in my humble opinion, totally rocks! The ARCs (want one? Ask!) will retain the original cover, but the hardcover coming out in May will be graced with this new design.” – Andrew Fukuda

  • Series: Untitled Series #1
  • Artist: N/A
  • Goodreads: Link
  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
  • Release Date: May 8, 2012
  • Source: Author’s Blog

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

I loved the original, but I agree with the author that the re-vamp has more tension and action.  The new one will look interesting carried forward to book two as well. By itself, I like this (hence the thumbs up), but I prefer the original cover.  Looking at the silhouettes, I would guess zombies not vampires.
Previous Covers in This Series

N/A

  

Ghosts of Memories by Barb Hendee

(Click to enlarge)

Not Yet Available for Pre-Order.

Description:

N/A

No Author Comment Available.

  • Series: Vampire Memories #5
  • Artist: N/A
  • Goodreads: Link

Julia’s ThoughtsThumbs up

Abigail’s ThoughtsThumbs up

I like the misty drama of the last two covers in this series, though the model’s posture on IN MEMORIES WE FEAR worked better for me. I believe that's Paul Marron again, either way this is a great UF cover. It's atmospheric, it identifies the setting, and the body language is equal parts longing and independence.
Previous Covers in This Series

Blood Memories (Vampire Memori...Hunting Memories (Vampire Memo...Memories of Envy (Vampire Memo...In Memories We Fear (Vampire M...

  

And our picks for Best & Worst…

Best

Worst

Thieftaker OnceBurnedForgetMeNot

Which are your Best and Worst?

 

6 comments:

  1. I love cover art! Urban and Paranormal Fantasy is my favorite. It is the door that leads to worlds of that only the mind can creat. Or is it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So many of these would end up on my walls... if they weren't already covered in pictures.

      Delete
  2. I really liked Tooth and Nail especially the contrast of the vivid blue wings and the tough looking girl. I really didn't like Forget Me Not. I agree with Abigail it's just to plain and doesn't convey what the book is about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was impressed by how effectively posture and tape on the hands screamed "boxer", TOOTH AND NAIL was really well done. And yeah, I can see where you guys are coming from on Forget Me Not. Nice, but not distinct.

      Delete
  3. Strangely, I'm kind of agreeing more with Julia on the cover for ONCE BURNED more than Abigail. The whole full frontal is so over-used, I would have liked to seen a little more originality for this series. The Cat/Bones novels have fantastic covers and I don't think the first Vlad novel lives up to them.

    HOWEVER. I have to agree with Abigail that the stepback is fantastic. That does live up to the Cat/Bones novels. Just wished the cover did as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know I'm finding I have a real weakness for Paul Marron covers...he's kind of perfect, isn't he? Although I did not love his LOTHAIRE cover, but still.

      Delete

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