Despite the unlucky number, this crop of covers was particularly nice. Only two covers managed to tip all the way to a thumbs down, and neither of them unanimously. Of course, Abigail and I both started our cover art perusal with these gems… which is enough to put anyone in a good mood.
Widow’s Web (Elemental Assassin #7)
Expected publication: August 21, 2012 by Pocket
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Step-back:
eBook Cover:
Source: Author’s Blog Art by: Tony Mauro | Previous Covers:       Buy/Add links:    Description: I used to murder people for money, but these days it’s more of a survival technique. Once an assassin, always an assassin. So much for being plain old Gin Blanco. With every lowlife in Ashland gunning for me, I don’t need another problem, but a new one has come to town. Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but she’s really a dangerous enemy whose water elemental magic can go head-to-head with my own Ice and Stone power. Salina also has an intimate history with my lover, Owen Grayson, and now that she’s back in town, she thinks he’s hers for the taking. Salina’s playing a mysterious game that involves a shady local casino owner with a surprising connection to Owen. But they call me the Spider for a reason. I’m going to untangle her deadly scheme, even if it leaves my love affair hanging by a thread. |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts  | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “Huzzah!” | Tony is one of my favorite cover artists largely because of his work on this series. They are gorgeous. That being said, this is ties with the first cover for my least favorite. I've gotten used to seeing part of Gin's face and this back shot feels a little too impersonal. Still a great cover though. | Very interesting! The paperback cover looks very mainstream, though with enough interesting paranormal elements to save it from Thriller/Romance. The eBook cover fits better with the rest of the series, but as much as I like the classic Elemental Assassin look, the paperback cover is awesome. |
Dark Water (Siren #3)
by Tricia Rayburn
Expected publication: July 10, 2012 by EgmontUSA
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Source: Wanton Thoughts & Wicked Scribes | Previous Covers:   Buy/Add links: Description: When seventeen-year-old Vanessa reunites with her biological mother, she faces the dilemma of a siren's existence, that in order to survive she must endanger the lives of those she loves most. |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “Here it is, the final installment of the Siren trilogy (available July 10)! Who's that boy on the rocks? You'll have to read to find out!” | I'm a huge fan of the redesign for this series. They feel bleak and romantic. This latest cover is no exception. | I love the style of these covers overall, though the warm sunrise sky isn’t as striking as the cold, ominous clouds of books 1 & 2. |
Dark Light of Day (Noon Onyx #1)
by Jill Archer
Expected publication: October 2012 by Ace
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| Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: Noon Onyx, a student at a post-Apocalyptic law school yearns to shed her destructive abilities and become a healer. |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “I love Noon’s expression. Standing in front of a fiery sky, holding a fireball in her bare palm, she looks slightly defiant, but also calm and somewhat calculating. Here’s a young woman who is carefully considering something (probably where to put that fireball! | I love the saturated warmth of the colors, but her face has that slightly inhuman look. I like everything else though so this gets the thumb up. | I love the colors and this central image, though the top of the cover seems a little empty still. I imagine that’s where a cover blurb will go. |
).”
Devil’s Gate (Elder Races #4.55)
Expected publication: June 5, 2012 by Samhain
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| Previous Covers:       Buy/Add links: Not Yet Available for Pre-Order. Description: N/A |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “My utterly wonderful Samhain editor, Heather, got approval for the cover art so that I could post it today. We’re both so excited!” | I actually really like that the novellas in this series have a distinctive look. And not only did they put him in a shirt, but he get's a jacket too! | I like the more restrained cover, though I envisioned Duncan as more of a “suit” guy. I’m looking forward to reading this novella to see if I’m wrong… |
Break My Heart 1,000 Times
Expected publication: October 16, 2012 by Hyperion Book CH
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Source: la femme readers Art by: N/A | Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: Living in the aftermath of the Event means that seeing the dead is now a part of life, but Veronica wishes that the ghosts would just move on. Instead, the ghosts aren’t disappearing—they’re gaining power. When Veronica and her friend, Kirk, decide to investigate why, they stumble upon a more sinister plot than they ever could have imagined. One of Veronica’s high school teachers is crippled by the fact that his dead daughter has never returned as a ghost, and he’s haunted by the possibility that she’s waiting to reappear within a fresh body. Veronica seems like the perfect host. And even if he’s wrong, what’s the harm in creating one more ghost? More… |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | I'm on the fence with this one. I thing the cover and title make sense, but it's not visually appealing to me.
| The creepiness of this cover is a perfect complement to the description. I’d like it better if the hash marks were a little hazier and blended with the background. |
The Suburban Strange
Expected publication: October 2, 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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| Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: Shy Celia Balaustine is befriended by a mysterious group of outliers called The Rosary at her new school, Suburban High. The Rosary exposes Celia to new experiences and ideas that help her break out of her shell. Soon though, Celia discovers something is not quite right at Suburban. Girls at the school begin having near fatal accidents on the eve of their sixteenth birthdays. Who is causing the accidents and why? Celia's own sixteenth birthday is fast approaching and she is inexorably drawn into an underground conflict between good and evil—the Kind and the Unkind—that is bubbling beneath Suburban High. |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | I wish we had a larger image because the details are very cool but hard to full make out. From what I can see, I like the high school setting and the scroll work on her. | This cover is gorgeously eerie, love it! |
Mystic City (Mystic City #1)
Expected publication: October 9, 2012 by Random House Children’s Books
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| Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: A magical city divided. Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City’s two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents’ sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn’t remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can’t conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. More… |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
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| I'm always drawn to these smokey hair images. Everything looks so gritty and sterile. It's a nice contrast to the vulnerability of her pose. | I love the lighting on this cover, her hair is this intricate contrast to the angular, space-age background. |
The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2)
by Michelle Hodkin
Expected publication: October 23, 2012 by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
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| Previous Covers:  Buy/Add links: Description: Two days after Mara walks into a police station in Miami at the close of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, she is committed for psychiatric treatment for what her parents believe is a mental breakdown. But what seems like a hallucination to everyone else is a chilling reality for Mara. Someone from her past has discovered her strange, disturbing secret and that someone wants her to pay. But she's about to discover that the price is more than she can bear. Dark and thrilling, suspenseful and passionate, The Evolution of Mara Dyer will have readers breathlessly turning pages to find out what will become of Mara Dyer next. |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | Not as powerful as the debut, but I like that it appears as though they were ripped apart. Nice continuation for the series. | Wow, it is extra creepy how the guy is fully clothed and face down. His reach is a little stiff, this cover isn’t as fluid as the first one, but I still like it. |
Divinely Ruined
Expected publication: April 26, 2012 by Entangled
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| Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Not Yet Available for Pre-Order. Description: She finally meets a decent man–after she’s oath-bound never to touch men again! Rebecca’s life sucked before she became an angel. Crappy apartment, awful jobs, abusive boyfriends–it was no wonder she jumped at the chance to escape it all and become a real live angel. The problem is Rebecca’s not very angelic, and she’ll have to do more to earn her wings than end her love affair with the word f–er, frick. Especially when she’s assigned to save single father Tony Weis, whose less-than-pure thoughts wreak hell on a telepathic angel’s nerves. It’s all Rebecca can do to keep her hands off him…but when she loses her memory injuring herself to save Tony’s daughter, now it’s Tony’s turn to be her angel and care for her. But will Tony’s devotion tempt her from her angelic path, even if it means being human again? |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| “Rebecca is an aspiring angel with an attitude problem, and a bit of a potty mouth. But that’s not her only problem…He perfectly captured the heroine’s attitude and sass, and made an eye-catching, perfectly yummy cover!” | I love this. It's the haughty expression on her face and the contrast between her fiery red hair and snowy white wings.
| I’m not a big fan of the title font, but I love this cover model. Gorgeous hair and infinite attitude in that expression. |
Timekeeper (Timeless #2)
by Alexandra Monir
Expected publication: December 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
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Source: Goodreads Art by: N/A | Previous Covers:  Buy/Add links: Description: When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance. Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives. |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | Beautiful smokey/misty colors from the debut, but the tender hand to hand pose adds that perfect romantic and tender element. | This cover looks a little homemade compared to book 1, however the blending between the background and the couple is well done. |
Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron
Edited by Jonathan Straham
Expected publication: August 28, 2012 by Random House Children's Books
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Source: Author’s Blog Art by: N/A | Previous Covers: N/A Buy/Add links: Description: Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Diana Peterfreund, Margo Lanagan, Peter S. Beagle, and Garth Nix are just a few of the authors who have toiled over their cauldrons and conjured up bewitching new creations inspired by and celebrating the might and mystery of the witch. Assembled by one of the most well-regarded anthologists in the science fiction/fantasy world, this rich, intelligent collection will enchant readers of all ages. |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | I like the way the author names are mixed into the mist from the cauldron, but it does feel very Harry Potter...not sure if that's good or bad. | As much as I usually love drawn covers, the purple smoke with author names isn’t working for me. I love the hat in the foreground, though. |
For the Love of the Goblin Warrior (Shadowlands #3)
by Shona Husk
Expected publication: [Date] by [publisher]
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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 | You all know that I'm not of fan of the sleeveless vest/jacket look, but in this case I'm giving it a pass since he's carrying a bow and it kinda works with the whole goblin idea. | I’m not a fan of the angle, his head looks oddly foreshortened. Also, the pink is too pastel against the green background. |
Poison (Legacy #2)
Expected publication: December 4, 2012 by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
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| Previous Covers:  Buy/Add links: Description: N/A |
| Author Comments | Abigail’s Thoughts | Julia’s Thoughts |
| N/A | The first book had that cool prep school feel that really worked...this sequel is a little more nerds at the library. | I think the male cover model got head-shrunk by Photoshop, but I love the colors and staging. That purple is gorgeous and I love the books. |
And our picks for Best & Worst…
| Best | Worst |
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Which are your Best and Worst?
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Never heard of any of these books. Liked several of the covers but my favourite must be Dark light of Day :)
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to let you know that Cover Art Coverage is my favorite feature of yours! Thanks for the good work! :)
ReplyDeleteLove this feature!!! Plus, it always gives me a heads up on new releases. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteI love this feature, too. :) And I think my favorite cover is the Suburban Strange. Just like the feel of it.
ReplyDeleteI spent a long time staring at SUBURBAN STRANGE before ultimately picking DARK LIGHT OF DAY... but it was close. SUBURBAN STRANGE is definitely eye catching.
DeleteYour meme is my favorite. For this edition I love Divinely Ruined the most.
ReplyDeleteWe love it too. We're total cover Junkies. Be sure to check our Pinterest board for even more covers :)
ReplyDeleteI also love this feature. I really like the Mara Dyer cover but I wasn't a huge fan of the first book. The Mystic City cover drew me in the most.
ReplyDelete