I don’t know about you guys, but my newsfeed has been filled with ever more entertaining items being added to Pinterest. This week has reached a new high, as Abigail created a board for All Things Urban Fantasy. If you’re ever in the mood for new cover art before Cover Art Coverage hits newstands, feel free to stop by our Pinterest and browse. Global covers will appear there, too, be sure to check it out!
|
Not Yet Available for Pre-Order. |
Description: Lil isn't just an average teenager. She's one of the Nephilim--the descendants of humans and angels--which gives her some serious psi skills and a mission for redemption. Just when Lil thinks she's found a balance between her normal life with human friends and her training to become a Guardian, she's warned that someone close to her will betray her. When the boy she loves starts acting strangely and one of her human friends acquires a supernatural ability, Lil begins to realize that someone is manipulating the people she loves... and won't stop until she's been lured to the dark side.
|
|
|
| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| This cover has a very classic color palette, but the arched sun salutation on the cover is a little overly dramatic for my taste. | Overly dramatic is the perfect description. And this so doesn’t look like a YA cover. I thought it was paranormal YA until I read the description. It is a HUGE improvement over the original though. |
|
|
|
|
Description: Playing a scantily clad vampire victim in an off-Broadway play, struggling actress Esther Diamond now may be the target of someone who claims to be a genuine bloodsucker...
|
|
|
| Julia’s Thoughts | Abigail’s Thoughts |
| Absolutely love this cover! | There is no mistaking a Dan Dos Santos cover. He’s genius. This is genius…his covers really tells story. |
|
|
 | Title: Dark Taste of Rapture
 Sexual Content: Sex scenes, references to oral sex and masturbation, prostitution and human trafficking. Rating:
|
New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter captivates with a dark, tantalizing world of humans, otherworlders, and a powerful AIR agent consumed by his desire for a woman he can never have. . . .
With one caress, he can give unforgettable pleasure . . . or unending pain. . . .
Hector Dean is shaved, tattooed, and totally ripped—and he has a deadly secret. He is a walking weapon, capable of killing with a single brush of his fingertips. Little wonder he’s determined to remain on his own. But Noelle Tremain is a temptation like no other. She is beautiful and rich, with a party girl smile that hides a shocking vulnerability, and from the beginning his sizzling attraction to her is undeniable. For the first time, his stone-cold resistance is tested. But to be with her, he risks destroying her.
When a wealthy businessman is murdered in New Chicago’s seediest district, the two are partnered, and there’s no escaping what they both want: each other. Yet neither Hector nor Noelle knows what to fear more—the killer case, or their own lethal desires. . . .
In DARK TASTE OF RAPTURE Gena Showalter offers us a trip back through the looking glass to Ava and Noelle's basic training as AIR agents. If this book is a love story, it is as much about the relationship of these two girls as any sizzling chemistry between Noelle and Hector. Some of the issues raised get resolved, some don't, and I'm on the fence trying to decide if all of these are intentional threads left dangling for the rest of the series, or if some of the story slipped away. Either way, in the end, this book was entertaining and fun, with enough one-liners and mayhem to keep me giggling through to the last page.
Laugh out loud lines aside, DARK TASTE OF RAPTURE does address some weighty issues. Hector and Noelle are both products of abuse, despite being from different ends of the socioeconomic ladder. Noelle diagnoses (and treats) her own insecurities and codependency, with more or less success, and she manages to be Hector's saving grace on occasion. All in all, despite the heinous treatment Hector suffered as a child, I felt like the two main characters were able to move forward with a minimum of second guessing and miscommunication. Showalter manages this both with the passage of time in this novel (starting with basic training and then jumping past the events of ECSTASY IN DARKNESS to Ava's bachelorette party), and by writing two protagonists that truly want to trust each other. Despite their tough exteriors, Noelle and Hector are gentle with each other where it counts. Hector's "skin condition" is a tough hurdle for any relationship, even when out in the open, though it added a little extra zing to every hands free encounter the two orchestrated. The only roadblock that seemed really out of place was Dallas’s vision. This gambit never really gelled as anything substantial (nor was it resolved in any way). I can only hope that this means Dallas will be featured front and center in the next Alien Huntress book.
The tough love camaraderie of Ava and Noelle can be a little over the top for me at times, as were the heavy handed descriptions of how much no one "gets" the real Noelle, but these blips on the radar were never enough to slow me down. Hector and Noelle's romance is sweet, and I enjoyed the back story and supporting characters as much as anything else. Showalter's Alien Huntress world is well rounded, and DARK TASTE OF RAPTURE is sexy, intriguing, and just the right amount of silly to keep me coming back for more.
|
|
 | Title: The Darkest Night
 A few graphic sex scenes My Rating:
|
His powers -- Inhuman...
His passion -- Beyond immortal . . .
All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member -- a man trapp ed in a hell of his own.
Neither can resist the instant hunger than calms their torments . . . and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction -- and a soul-shattering test of love . . .
Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive -- and unimaginably powerful . . . Don’t miss this incredible new paranormal series from Gena Showalter!
It’s impossible to read Lords of the Underworld series and not compare it to J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Both feature an immortal brotherhood of violent, passionate, and seductive warriors, each with their own demons—literally in Gena Showalter’s series—and even have names/nicknames that describe them like Wrath, as they find, seduce, and fall in love. But that’s really where the similarities end.
The Lords of the Underworld series is based around the Greek Myth of Pandora’s box. When it was opened, demons (Violence, Pain, Death, Disease, Disaster, Misery, Doubt, Promiscuity, Defeat, Lies, Secrets, and Wrath) were released and imprisoned inside each of the warriors who opened it as an eternal cure by the gods. Already I have some favorites who I can’t wait to read more about, but in THE DARKEST NIGHT, we focus on Maddox aka Violence. He is a Prometheus figure, forced to die brutally every night as penance for a crime he committed long ago.
The romance was developed rather more quickly than I would have liked and the female characters (both Ashlyn and two others who will no doubt be leads in future books) suffered a bit for lack of development, and while Maddox had a tendency to be boorish in a way that should have put Ashlyn off, I still found his constant battle with the demon inside him to be fascinating to watch. But overall, The Greek Mythology was a fantastic foundation to build on and the tortured band of brothers each promise to deliver unique and satisfying romances.
I’m giving this a 4/5 probably based more on potential than the actual book. If I had a 3.5 rating, that would be perfect. The Lords of the Underworld has the potential to be an amazing series in the long haul. I’ve been hunting for a solid Paranormal Romance series to sink into and I’m thinking I just found it. There are seven books available now (all of which I bought along with the prequel based on my enjoyment of THE DARKEST NIGHT) with the eighth book, THE DARKEST SEDUCTION, due out in 2012. Something tells me I won’t need nearly that long to catch up.
Voting ends tonight at midnight! Click HERE to vote
*Cover Art may not be final*
Click author names to visit their webpages & click titles to pre-order from The Book Depository or Goodreads if it isn’t available for pre-order.
Shadowflame by Dianne Sylvan
| Series: Shadow World #2 Date/Publisher: July 26th 2011 by Ace Cover Artist: Gene Mollica Cover Source: Dark Faerie Tales Author Comments: I’m quite thrilled to officially show off the final version of the cover art for my second novel, Shadowflame. The book will hit shelves July 26, 2011 (and trust me, you’ll be hearing plenty more about it before then). Judging from how excited I already am, by July my head will have exploded…of course by then I’ll have finished principal writing on Book 3, so maybe I’ll be too busy for ‘splodey goodness. My Thoughts: |  |
It’s been three months since musician Miranda Grey became a vampire and married David Solomon, Prime of the South. As Queen, Miranda must quickly come to terms with her new role and learn how to negotiate the treacherous waters of Signet politics, inevitably making dangerous enemies along the way.
As if complicated vampire politics and a rising music career weren’t enough, an enigmatic but powerful force from David’s past appears, leaving a wake of chaos and uncertainty for the Pair’s fledgling relationship. Miranda begins to realize how little she really knows about her husband. But when an assassin begins targeting her friends and allies, the Pair must track down the killer, even as their lives hang in the balance…
 |
| Series: N/A Date/Publisher: March 1st 2011 by Sourcebooks Casablanca Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
Blaire Lindsay's been warned that her ancestral home is haunted. But it will take more than tales of a ghost to frighten Blaire, a battle-born witch with supernatural strength and the ability to make sparks fly from her fingertips. Hearing spectral wails, she decides to search for their source, and is surprised to find a handsome young man chained to the dungeon wall. But when Blair frees James from his bonds, she quickly discovers she's unloosed far more than she could ever have imagined...Soon the castle is overrun with vampires whose perfect manners and compelling blood lust make for some very awkward moments, and Blair and James are joined in the fight of their lives to save everything they hold dear from the forces of evil.
 |
| Series: N/A Date/Publisher: June 1st 2011 by Scholastic Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Dark Faerie Tales Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.
Epidemics, floods, droughts--for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she's rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can't continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There's something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.
| N/A |
The Council of Shadows by S. M. Stirling
| Series: Shadowspawn #2 Date/Publisher: May 3rd 2011 by Roc Hardcover Cover Artist: Chris McGrath Cover Source: Dark Faerie Tales Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
 |
| Series: Darkborn Trilogy #3 Date/Publisher: June 7th 2011 by Roc Trade Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Dark Faerie Tales Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
From the author of Lightborn, the third book in a Regency-flavored fantasy series of magic and manners.
Magic dies with the mage, or so the Darkborn believe. That's why Lady Telmaine Hearne has been condemned to death for sorcery. She's escaped but is now bound with her mageborn allies for the Borders and war. Meanwhile, her husband, Balthasar, has learned of his family connection to the Shadowborn—and is fighting for survival and sanity as magic turns him against everything he holds dear.
|
|
| Series: Vampire Armageddon #1 Date/Publisher: August 2, 2011 by Signet Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: A Great Book Is The Cheapest Vacation Author Comments: It’s gorgeous… I’m thrilled. It is the best ever. But that’s what I think about the debut book in the VA (no, not Vampire Academy, LOL) series. The book’s slated for an August 2011 release and I’ll be posting some excerpts soon. My Thoughts: |  |
The first seal has been broken, signaling the end of days. Fallen angels in the form of vampires are infecting humans one by one, creating an army fit for Armageddon. Of the few who survive the infection, one stands alone above all others…
For one year, Jesse Burke has been suppressing the beast within, driven by vengeance to destroy the vampiric fallen angels terrorizing New Orleans. But a war of biblical proportions is too much for one girl to handle, and she must turn to slayer Maddox deValois for training, though it threatens her fiercely-guarded independence. But the sinister demon Queen Amonate is doing everything in her power to lure Jesse to her side to fulfill her destiny as the mother of the devil’s child.
Before this war is over, everyone will learn that hell hath no fury like a woman possessed…
| N/A |
| Series: Alien Huntress #6 Date/Publisher: August 23rd 2011 by Pocket Star Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: | |
Beautiful Noelle Tremain has just completed AIR training and successfully navigated her first mission. Life is perfect. Until her best friend is turned into a vampire, destroying her day life, and she’s partnered with Hector Dean, destroying her nightlife. He’s the sexiest, most powerful man she’s ever met, able to atomize his arms and punch through anything – but he’s also emotionally distanced, determined to remain alone. So, to stay on top of their case, she might just have to find a way on top of him.
Oh, the naughty things a girl will do for her job . . .
|
|
| Series: Paladins of Darkness #8 Date/Publisher: May 31st 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
Between fighting the Kalith and honing his hacking skills, D.J. Clayborne’s life has become predictable. But lately, someone—the mysterious “Reggie”—has been breaching his firewalls to leave him messages. Reggie Morrison is part of a federal cyber-crime unit investigating top hackers and finding out how they do it. But as she looks into D.J., she finds herself admiring the way his mind works. When she discovers that he has some classified information of his own, someone will stop at nothing to keep it under wraps. And soon, the two must fight both their mutual enemies and the powerful attraction that erupts between them.
|
|
| Series: The Fallen #2 Date/Publisher: May 31st 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
Once the Fallen’s fearless ruler, a grieving Azazel must find the legendary siren meant to take his lost lover’s place . . . and kill her.
He’s a devil of an angel.
Azazel should have extinguished the deadly Lilith when he had the chance. Now, faced with a prophecy that will force him to betray the memory of his one true love and wed the Demon Queen, he cannot end her life until she leads him to Lucifer. Finding the First is the Fallen’s only hope for protecting mankind from Uriel’s destruction, but Azazel knows that ignoring his simmering desire for the Lilith will be almost as impossible.
She’s an angel of a demon.
Rachel Fitzpatrick wonders how Azazel could confuse her with an evil seductress. She’s never even been interested in sex! At least not before she set eyes on her breathtaking captor. And now she can’t think about anything else—besides escape.
Angels and demons don’t mix.
Rachel stirs a carnal need in Azazel that he never thought he’d feel again. Falling for a demon—even if she has no idea she’s the Lilith—means surrendering his very soul. But if he lets her go, he risks abandoning his heart, his dangerous lover, and possibly all of humanity, to Uriel’s deadly wrath.
 |
| Series: Dark Redemption #2 Date/Publisher: May 31st 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: ? |  |
Once an irresistible, soul-destroying seducer of men and women through the ages, fallen angel Brynna Malak has fled Hell to seek redemption. But is such a thing possible? While dodging the brutal Hunters sent to retrieve her she must also save the life of a teenaged girl fathered by an angel and whose destiny is to complete a preordained task. At her side is a Chicago police officer who fights his undeniable attraction to her. And Brynna has made up her mind: she will die for eternity rather than return to Hell or give up her quest. Yet to continue, she must begin the long and difficult journey of learning to love and appreciate both the joys and the tragedies of being human.
|
|
| Series: Midnight Bay #3 Date/Publisher: June 28th 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
Fiona Gregor is having a terrible time adjusting to being human again, mostly because she’s an eleventh-century Scottish lass who suddenly finds herself dealing with life in the twenty-first century. And according to her brothers, forcing her to live on her own in this scary new world is exactly what she needs. Tricked into renting his upstairs apartment to Fiona by her brothers, Trace Huntsman is less than thrilled to have the opinionated beauty around, especially when stray animals—and suitors—start following her home. When the wizard Macmillan Oceanus shows up in Midnight Bay, Trace reaches the end of his rope. But he can’t ignore the powerful magic that’s threatening his heart.
  |
| Series: Hoodoo #2 Date/Publisher: June 28th 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: Steve Stone Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
While searching for her missing bayou-pirate cousin, Kallie Riviere, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a talent for trouble, finds out the hard way that someone’s undoing powerful gris gris down in the bayou and changing the very nature of magic. Suddenly working magic is like rolling a handful of dice—random and definitely not what you planned.
Now the wards woven by conjurers to protect New Orleans and the Gulf coast are in danger of unraveling, leaving the city and the coastline vulnerable just as the deadliest storm—an unnatural storm—in a century is born. And aims for the heart of New Orleans.
As Kallie races to uncover the random magic’s source and restore the wards, she learns a dark and unsettling truth: she might be the source. And she and everyone close to her—including a certain sexy nomad who can wear wet boxers like no other man—are being hunted.
Then Kallie steps right into the most dangerous trap of all, a trap set just for her in the form of a tall, dark, and grumpy loup garou designed to steal her heart. Literally
 |
| Series: Heirs of Kilronan Trilogy #2 Date/Publisher: June 28th 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
Who is working the demon arts . . .
Was it her murdered father? Her fugitive brother? It has been seven years since Lady Sabrina Douglas cloistered herself with the Sisters of High Danu, but the questions remain. She is Other—a mixture of Fey and mortal—quietly using her powers to heal. That is, until she saves a half-drowned man, his soldier’s body a roadmap of scars, his fathomless eyes filled with heartbreaking loneliness. The inexplicable connection overwhelms her defenses, touching her heart, mind . . . and body.
. . . and to what end?
A man with no memory, Daigh MacLir seeks his past, even as unknown threats fill him with monstrous rage and inhuman abilities. But as a desperate game of hunter and hunted is played out from ballrooms to bedrooms, what Daigh discovers is more chilling than anyone could possibly imagine. Defying death was only the first step in the task he has been set, and Sabrina his last hope. But dare he risk involving her? Daigh has been summoned to find an ancient king, and even the powers of love may not be enough to win the battle against the powers of darkness
 |
| Series: Shadowchasers #3 Date/Publisher: May 31st 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
In a job like this, one mistake can cost you everything.
As a Shadowchaser, Kira Solomon has been trained to serve the Light, dispatch the Fallen, and prevent the spread of chaos. It’s a deadly job, and Kira knows the horror of spilling innocent blood. But now she has a new role, as the Hand of Ma’at, the Egyptian Goddess of Truth and Order, and an assignment that might just redeem her.
A fellow Shadowchaser has gone missing, and so has a unique artifact imbued with astonishing magic. Unless the Vessel of Nun is returned, it will cause destruction beyond anything the modern world has seen. Kira’s got a team at her back, including Khefar, a near-immortal Nubian warrior who’s already died for her once. But as complicated as her feelings for him are, they’re nothing compared to the difficulties of the task she faces.And the only way to defeat the enemy is to trust in a power she can barely control, and put her life—and her soul—on the line.
  |
| Series: WVMP Radio #4 Date/Publisher: August 1st 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
Former con artist Ciara Griffin hopes to settle into a normal un-life as a fledgling vampire, with the help of her fiancé, grunge DJ/guitarist Shane McAllister. But when the WVMP crew reports that hippie vampire DJ Jim has murdered a pair of humans—humans who happen to share Ciara’s last name—that’s when trouble rolls out the red carpet. To redeem her past and pay back her most wounded victim, Ciara plans one final triple-crossing con game—with her own “miracle blood” as the bait. And as Ciara clings to what’s left of her humanity, she’ll need her new vampire strength—and old con artist cunning—now more than ever.(less)
|
|
| Series: L.O.S.T #2 Date/Publisher: August 30th 2011 by Pocket Star Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
A group of rogue cops, their lives destroyed, rise from the ashes like the mythical phoenix...
Caught acting outside the law, they are given a choice by the enigmatic Mr. Black: Spend their lives in prison. Or break all ties with their past, assume a new identity, and become part of an elite crime fighting team unofficially sanctioned by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.
Their sole purpose is to close the cases that normal law enforcement channels cannot touch. What they discover is there are no rules--not for them and not for the Others.
L.O.S.T. operatives are the hunters, the cleaners, the end of the road for the bad guys. Immortal. Or not.
No boundaries.
No laws.
No compromises.
When the balance of humanity is in jeopardy, failure is not an option.
 |
| Series: Moon Chasers #5 Date/Publisher: August 30th 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
|
|
| Series: Blood Lines #6 Date/Publisher: August 30th 2011 by Pocket Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A My Thoughts: |  |
|
|
Best Cover: SHADOWFLAME
Worst Cover: IT HAPPENED ONE BITE
So any new to you covers? Which are your Best & Worst picks?
|
 |
