My favorite part of doing these posts is finishing my comment and reading Abigail’s, it’s always fun to get instant feedback in the form of her observations and opinions. This week in particular we had some great similarities and some hilarious differences. Seeing the new Bloodhound Files was exciting, and Faith Hunter’s new Jane Yellowrock stopped me in my tracks. Jane is more gorgeous and exotic than ever! Ending on A HOWL FOR A HIGHLANDER was icing on the cake, the same detail came up in both of our comments… but in completely different ways.
After Dark (The 19th Year #1)
by Emi Gayle
Expected publication: October 31, 2012 by J. Taylor Publishing
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Source: Publisher E-mail Art by: N/A | Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Not Yet Available for Pre-Order.  Description: What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn’t know will probably kill her. In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life. She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours. More…
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| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts  | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “I’m so excited to be able to share this with you. Seriously. SOOOOO excited. I hope you like it! If you do, tell me! I wanna hear it!” | I like this one a lot. The colors are great and the graveyard imagery works well to convey the tone. | Though these elements are a little disjointed (which always looks self-pub to me), the lighting and placement of the cover model is fantastic. That plus exploring the changling mythology lands this on my TBR list. |
Redemption (Hearts of Stone)
Expected publication: September 2012 by Flux
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| Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links:   Description: Guillaume: For five hundred years I've existed as a gargoyle. Perched atop an old Montreal church, I've watched idly as humanity wanders by. With the witch Marguerite gone, there is no one left to protect, nothing to care about. I never planned to feel again. But then a girl released me from my stone restraints, allowing me to return as a seventeen-year-old human boy. I must find out all I can about this girl's power . . . Aude: Getting attacked twice in as many days is strange in itself, but even stranger is the intriguing guy I keep running into. There's something so familiar about him, like a primal drum rhythm from my dreams. But spending time together only raises more question-about my heritage, a native Mohawk prophecy . . . and an unearthly magic threatening our city… |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts  | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | Just doesn't feel cohesive. And I'm not nuts about the glow outline surrounding her. | Gossip Girls meet Gargoyles. The lightening brings these elements together better than AFTER DARK, but I like the subject matter a lot less. |
Dead Reckoning
by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
Expected publication: June 5, 2012 by Bloomsbury USA
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| Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: Jett is a girl disguised as a boy, living as a gambler in the old West as she searches for her long-lost brother. Honoria Gibbons is a smart, self-sufficient young woman who also happens to be a fabulous inventor. Both young women travel the prairie alone – until they are brought together by a zombie invasion! As Jett and Honoria investigate, they soon learn that these zombies aren’t rising from the dead of their own accord … but who would want an undead army? And why? This gunslinging, hair-raising, zombie western mashup is perfect for fans ofCowboys vs. Aliens and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | Love the saturated colors...almost feels like the wild west meets The Walking Dead. | A much different look than I was expecting, the colors say “zombies” but the clothing says “frontier”. Very “blah'” all together, though. The style reminds me of EVIL DARK, unfortunately, that’s not a positive comparison. Love these authors, though, can’t wait to read this! |
Death’s Rival (Jane Yellowrock #5)
by Faith Hunter
Expected publication: October 2, 2012 by Roc
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| Previous Covers:     Buy/Add links: Description: Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead… For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to …a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane. But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey. More… |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | So close to awesome...but why is she wearing those awful garbage bag pants? They bunch up in extremely unflattering ways and completely distract me. | Wow, I wish I could give this cover two thumbs up, absolutely gorgeous. The cover model shows a little more skin than usual, but I love the action shot. She looks very exotic on this one, too. |
Splintered
by A. G. Howard
Expected publication: January 2013 by Amulet Books
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Source: The Book Smugglers Art by: N/A | Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: For sixteen years, Alyssa Gardner has lived with the stigma of being descended from Alice Liddell -- the real life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's famed novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But cruel jokes about dormice and tea parties can’t compare to the fact that Alyssa hears the whispers of bugs and flowers ... the same quirk which sent her mother to a mental institution years before. When her mother takes a turn for the worse and the whispers grow too strong for Alyssa to bear, she seeks the origins of their family curse. A set of heirlooms and a moth tied to an unusual website lead Alyssa and her gorgeous best friend / secret crush, Jeb, down the rabbit hole into the real Wonderland, a place more twisted and eerie than Lewis Carroll ever let on. More… |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | Really captures the whole fractured fairy tale vibe perfectly. I especially love the strand of hair gripped by a vine. | Another *fantastic* Alice story, the colors on this cover are perfect for the description, “more twisted and eerie than Lewis Carroll ever let on”. |
The Moonstone and Miss Jones (Paranormal Investigator #2)
Expected publication: October 2012 by Brava
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Source: Wanton Thoughts & Wicked Scribes | Previous Covers:  Buy/Add links: Description: In this dark and sexy sequel to The Seduction of Phaeton Black, Phaeton returns to England in time to help Doctor Exeter and the mysterious deadly Nightshades rescue London once again—this time from Professor Foucault's destructive tinkering. As the threads of existence begin to unravel, the eccentric scientist attempts to save his son's deteriorating condition by replacing body parts with mechanical apparatus. Ah, but how to power them? The near mad professor believes he has found a way to unleash the arcane energy inside the Moonstone, and he needs Phaeton Black to help him do it. More… |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | The image quality is poor (even on the author's site it's not any better), but I really like the steampunk elements and the more romantic pose.
| Switching from cool blue to fiery red really ratchets up the heat for book two, which works perfectly with flirty, fun posture of the cover models. The top hat is a little over the top, but still fun. |
Geekomancy
Expected publication: July 10, 2012 by Pocket Books
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| Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: Ree Reyes’ life was easier when she just had to worry about scraping together tips from her gig as a barista-and-comicshop slave wage in the port city of Pearson to pursue her ambitions as a screenwriter. When a scruffy-looking guy storms into the shop looking for a comic like his life depends on it, Ree writes it off as just another day in the land of the geeks. Until a gigantic ‘BOOM!’ echoes from the alley a minute later, and Ree follows the rabbit hole into Pearson’s magical flip-side. Here, astral cowboy hackers fight trolls, rubber-suited werewolves and Elegant Gothic Lolita fate witches by channeling genre tropes and wielding nostalgia-powered props. Ree joins Eastwood (aka scruffy guy), investigating a mysterious string of teen suicides as she tries to avoid imploding after her own drag-your-heart-through-jagged-glass breakup. But as she digs deeper, Ree discovers Eastwood may not be the knight-in-cardboard-armor she thought. Will Ree be able to stop the suicides, save Eastwood from himself and keep her job? |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “There she is folks, Geekomancy‘s own Rhiannon Anna Maria Reyes aka Ree! I’m blown away by the awesome of this cover, both in the depiction of Ree and the very cool design for the title.” | Not since Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson have glasses looked this good on an urban fantasy heroine. Can't wait to read this one. | I’m expecting her to throw off her glasses, let down her hair, and rock Scruffy Guy’s world, not save it, but no where near as trampy as A BRUSH OF DARKNESS. Still, wish there’d been more character less sexpot on the cover. |
Moonshifted (Edie Spence #2)
by Cassie Alexander
Expected publication: November 27, 2012 by St. Martin’s Press
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Source: Wanton Thoughts & Wicked Scribes | Previous Covers:  Buy/Add links: Description: Check in to County Hospital’s secret ward—where paranormal activities lead to medical emergencies for one tireless nurse… After surviving a brutal vampire attack, Nurse Edie Spence is ready to get back to work—attending to supernatural creatuers in need of medical help. But her nursing skills are put to the test when she witnesses a hit-and-run on her lunch break. The injured pedestrian is not only a werewolf, he’s the pack leader. And now Edie’s stuck in the middle of an all-out were-war… More… |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “Check it out people! Moonshifted's cover is here!!! I didn't know I had a subtitle, but I suppose I do! I'm an Edie Spence novelist, ha!” | These covers are really growing on me. I get the setting (hospital) and supernatural element (werewolves) loud and clear. Great cover. | This “Naughty Nurse” has as much sex appeal as the “Sexy Librarian” from GEEKOMANCY, but I like this setting better. More sense of story and character. The wolf in the window is a little cheesy, but they needed something paranormal on the cover. |
Midnight’s Warrior (Dark Warriors #4)
by Donna Grant
Expected publication: November 27, 2012 by St. Martin’s Press
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Source: Wanton Thoughts & Wicked Scribes | Previous Covers:   Buy/Add links: Description: N/A |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | So glad he's wearing a shirt. That gives the cover the subtly sexy feel that I'm really drawn to in PNR. | I like the posture of these two, his hand at her waist and the look on her face are lovely. Much more appealing than the previous “bare-chested RAWR covers”, but a little less obviously paranormal. |
Drive Me Wild (The Others)
Expected publication: November 27, 2012 by St. Martin’s Press
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Source: Wanton Thoughts & Wicked Scribes | Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: N/A |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | I like that his eyes match the tiger's and that the 'D' in the title looks like a scratch, but a shirtless guy with a giant cat head is basically the definition for cheesy covers IMO. | I love his cute little smile, but why couldn’t they leave his eye color alone?! Fakey, fakey. |
Undead to the World (The Bloodhound Files #6)
by D. D. Barant
Expected publication: November 27, 2012 by St. Martin’s Press
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Source: Wanton Thoughts & Wicked Scribes | Previous Covers:      Buy/Add links: Description: N/A |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | I love the covers in this series. From #4 on they've just gotten better and better. If I'm being picky, I wish her hip wasn't cocked quite so much, but really I'm totally digging this. Anyone know who the artist is? | Love these books and I think they’ve done a great job with the covers. Is there a figure in the light behind her? |
A Howl for the Highlander (Heart of the Wolf #10)
by Terry Spear
Expected publication: 2013 by Sourcebooks
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| Previous Covers:          Buy/Add links: Description: N/A |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “Yum!! […] Love the cover! Would you want to cheer Duncan up in the Grand Cayman Islands?” | This guys face is totally making this cover for me. So intense and just a tiny bit scary. | I do like the tropical scene in the background, but I’m not a big fan of the cover model’s expression (too blank and angry). |
And our picks for Best & Worst…
| Best | Worst |
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Which are your Best and Worst?
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Splintered just blew me away! What a cover! I also like Death's Rival - best cover in the series so far. I totally agree with your picks for the worst covers. They are pretty horrendous.
ReplyDeleteI love how Jane is in arrested motion, that's new for the series, too.
DeleteThe guy on the Drive Me Wild cover - why is his nipple Photoshopped out? Do shifters not have nipples?
ReplyDeleteOh holy crap, now that's all I can see. That poor nippleless man!
DeleteI didn't even notice that! Why on earth would they do that?
DeleteSplintered has a great cover. And I agree on your comments that the shirted guy on Midnight's Warrior is sexier than those shirtless guys. It feels real and is probably more applicable to the story. I read a shirtless guy covered book that had no correlation to the story whatsoever; it was mainly about a strong female character solving a mystery. Why not feature that?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as always love the commentary.
You said it exactly. And we're so glad you enjoy these posts :)
DeleteLove the Geekomacy and the After Dark covers! And I also love that the guy is wearing a cover on Midnight Warrior - it IS sexier than all the shirtless guys out there!
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to see THE SHATTERED DARK cover. Is Gene Mollica doing it? I just love him.
DeleteThe Splintered cover is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of the Edie Sinclair series, but it sounds right up my alley. I'm so glad I checked out this post!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for Death's Rival,it's great that we don't have to wait until January 2013 for the next Jane Yellowrock series. I didn't really like the latest cover, probably the colour or the lack of Bitsa.
ReplyDeleteThe nurse in Moonshifted looks to be wearing a porn nurse costume. All's that missing is a pair of cat's eye glasses and a pair of diuble D's.
Thanks for showing off A Howl for a Highlander, ladies! He's the dark warrior of the brothers, but his whole life is turned around when he meets up with a lone she-wolf who makes him realize there's more to life than just fighting battles. :)
ReplyDeleteGeekomancy is definitely my favorite (although agree re: sexpot quotient -- it reminds me of that Youtube video where girls take their glasses off, and suddenly they're in make-up and club clothes asking themselves "what the hell?") I'll definitely look for that title. :)
ReplyDeleteAwe, wheee! Thanks for featuring my debut novel and for giving it two thumbs up!! :) Glad you like it. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for featuring SPLINTERED! You just made my Thursday. :) BTW, I love the purple cover of UNDEAD. Lush and gorgeous. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for returning the "day making" favor, both for us and UNDEAD :-) Congrats on the gorgeous cover, can't wait to read SPLINTERED.
Delete