A brand new permutation of comments today, Abigail and Kristina had both posted comments before I arrived on the scene, but left the Best/Worst to me.  Teamwork!  I loved the sinister shadow of DUALED, there was no hesitation on my favorite (and given how often I complain about overly Photoshopped dudes, my least favorite should not be a surprise).

We’re happy to welcome back Jennifer L. Armentrout to the blog just days before the release of her Lux series prequel, SHADOWS (available on February 21st from Entangled Publishing). If you are new to the Lux series, check out Julia’s swooning review of the first book, OBSIDIAN and it’s ultimate bad boy hero Daemon. SHADOWS features a brand new bad boy to fall for: Daemon’s twin brother Dawson.  If you are thinking these otherworldly alphas are vampires, think again.  One look at the description and my former obsession with Jason Behr from Roswell came back with a vengeance.  Want to find out for yourself?  Check out the giveaway below where three of you will win a copy of the first Lux novel, OBSIDIAN!

Why are aliens better than vampires, weres, and other creatures that go bump in the night?

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Like any lover of the paranormal genre, I love me some vamps, shifters, and other spooky supernatural creatures, but sometimes people forget that aliens are really just another ‘otherworldly’ creature and not just for the sci-fi lovers out there, but also the paranormal ones.  So here is my list to why (completely bias) aliens are better than normal supernatural creatures:

Short but sweet, I had no “thumbs down” at all this week (and Abigail’s one thumbs down shocked me!).  I found it incredibly frustrating that my favorite cover in this batch is for a series that I can’t get into, but that disappointment is leavened by Lux finally getting covers that the series justice. 

 

 

It’s hard to find a cover that’s not worth a thumbs up this week. These covers are a crop of great lighting, lovely colors, and sex appeal.  That should make it no surprise that Abigail and I are all over the map for both our Best and Worst choices.  Despite my usual love of cartoon covers, REAL VAMPIRES HATE SKINNY JEANS didn’t work for me this week.  And though both of us were a little confused by what body parts were on the cover of DIETY, but Abigail was totally skeeved out by what little she could decipher.  With so many great covers, it all comes down to personal preference on which rise to the top.  Which strike your fancy this week?

 

Jennifer L. Armentrout has stopped by today to offer one, free copy of her latest book, OBSIDIAN, and a behind the curtain glimpse of her writing playlist.  OBSIDIAN earned 4 Bats here at All Things Urban Fantasy, not the least because of Daemon, the budding alpha hero who pushes all the right “bad boy” buttons, and Katy, the plucky heroine who refuses to be pushed around.  I can’t wait to pick up book two in this series, ONYX (May 2012 by Entangled Publishing), but in the meantime, the playlist below has me wanting to enjoy book one all over again.  Enjoy!

A Lux Playlist by Jennifer L. Armentrout

A lot of readers are curious when it comes to what music an author listens to when they write. So I've compiled a list of songs I listened to or just reminded me of the novel/characters. I've also included random notes about the songs. Hope you enjoy!

 

This week I came face to face with my fan-girl side, and it is not rational or fair.  The cover art reveal for the new Lux book would have been a neutral thumb for any other series, but as evidenced by the enthusiastic Four Bats I just gave OBSIDIAN, the two characters being portrayed as Eurotrash slouchers below are near and dear to my heart.  I’m not proud of my thumbs down (ok, or the fact that I just called those cover models “Eurotrash”), but my emotional investment in Katy and Daemon took over.  The ONYX cover would be perfectly fine for another Paranormal YA, I’m just put out that it doesn’t match my mental picture.  Does anyone else have a favorite character that doesn’t match their cover model, even one that everyone else seems fine with? 

 

Title: Obsidian Author:  Jennifer L. Armentrout Series: Lux #1 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Paranormal YA Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Paperback: 292 pages Publisher: Entangled Publishing; December 6, 2011 ISBN-10: 1937044238 ISBN-13: 978-1937044237   Sexual Content: Kissing, sexual contact, references to sex, and attempted rape. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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This week we have another foray into animated eBook covers, UK readers will enjoy a glimpse of the anthology A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS.  For the good old fashioned covers, there are series starters, stand alones, and newest editions.  DARKEST KNIGHT has a completely different color palette than the first book of the series, but reminded me instantly of KNIGHT’S CURSE.  I like a little bit of an Easter egg hunt to tie covers together, how much in common do you like your series covers to have?

By the Blood of Heroes by Joseph Nassise 

(Click to enlarge) Not Yet Available for Pre-Order.

Description: N/A “Cover art for the first book in the Burke’s Marauders series I’m doing with Harper Voyager , BY THE BLOOD OF HEROES, came in today and I think it captures the look and feel of the series quite nicely.  We pitched the series as an alternate history zombie steampunk mash-up, a Dirty Dozen meets Dawn of the Dead, and I think the artwork makes it pretty damn clear what you’re getting.” – Joseph Nassise

Series: The Great Undead War #1 Artist: N/A Goodreads: Link	Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher Release Date: May 1, 2012 Source: Author’s Blog
Julia’s Thoughts	Abigail’s Thoughts
I’m a fan of the “big head” cover when it involves dog fights and zombies.  The color palette seems very old school to me, I think it works well.	I love how clearly this cover expresses exactly what kind of book this is…very cool

Previous Covers in This Series

N/A

We’re kicking of the second week of Spooky Legends with author Jennifer L. Armentrout.  Jennifer’s new Covenant series launches this month with HALF-BLOOD (available on October 18th 2011 by Spencer Hill Press).  In our early review of HALF-BLOOD, Julia said, “but by book's end I had tears in my eyes and couldn't wait to get my hands on Covenant book two, PURE.” Today’s post retelling The Killer in the Backseat urban legend does exactly what I hope for with this event by taking a well known story and giving it a delicious supernatural twist that changes everything!

Click to see the Spooky Legends Master List with links to all the previous posts and giveaways

Ruby on The Killer in the Backseat
by
Jennifer L. Armentrout

*This title will be released on October 18, 2011*

Title: Half-Blood Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout Series: Covenant #1 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Paranormal YA Excerpt: Free Prequel Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Spencer Hill Press; October 18, 2011 ISBN-10: 0983157200 ISBN-13: 978-0983157205 Sexual Content: Kissing, references to sex. Scenes that allude to sexual activity. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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Jennifer L. Armentrout is the author of the young adult urban fantasy Covenant series about the teenage decedents of gods training to fight daimons at the Covenant school.  Jennifer is talking today about YA cover art and her debut HALF-BLOOD (available on October 18, 2011 from Spencer Hill Press).  Our review will be up soon.  In the meantime, don’t forget to follow the rest of the HALF-BLOOD book tour hosted by Teen Book Scene.