*Cover Art may not be final*
Click author names to visit their webpages  Swear by Nina Malkin 

Series: Swoon #2 Date/Publisher: 2011 S&S Cover Artist: Cara Petrus Cover Source: BLARGH Author Comments: Gorgeous! Breathtaking! Freaking amazing! And my personal favorite: OOOOHHH!!! Just some of the reactions sent by Swoonies on my mailing list when I shared a sneak peek at the cover of SWEAR, the sequel to SWOON. I gotta agree—and can without coming off conceited since I had absolutely nothing to do with the design. (That would be the enormously talented Cara Petrus at Simon & Schuster. Hail, Cara!) Abigail’s Thoughts: Sometimes it’s the little things that really make a cover appealing.  In this case it’s the trio of petals resting on her shoulder Julia’s Thoughts: Just lovely, the way her hair and shoulders are arranged brought to mind a frozen moment of ballet.

Description:
N/A

Previous Covers in This Series


 
Infernal Affairs by Jes Battis 

Series: OSI #4 Date/Publisher: May 31st 2011 by Ace Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Tez Says Author Comments: N/A Abigail’s Thoughts: I normally don’t like these types of washout covers, but I think the centaur silhouette in the background is awesome. Julia’s Thoughts: The cover model looks a bit too Medusa-esque for me, and the flailing centaur limbs coming out of her head re-inforced that impression.  I feel like this one still needs a little tweaking...

Description:

A dead body on the beach turns out to be a live demon on the run from some of the nastiest bounty hunters in this dimension - or the next. Protecting one demon from another, Tess gets wrapped up in a case that's as dangerous as it is mind-boggling, especially when it begins to involve her own past.

Previous Covers in This Series
   Hard Spell by Justin Gustainus 

Series: Scranton After Dark/Supernatural Crimes #1 Date/Publisher: July 26th 2011 by Angry Robot Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Author Author Comments: The cover art is final, although the cover copy may change (we're soliciting quotes, and may put a different one on the cover). Abigail’s Thoughts: This cover grew on me the more I looked at it. I like that the boys are front and center.  The dead vamp still looks a little cheesy, but overall I like it. Julia’s Thoughts: I love the guy in the back, hands on hips, scruffy, all business *swoon*, but the vampire's face has to change.

Description:
Stan Markowski is a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD's Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit.
Like the rest of America, Scranton's got an uneasy 'live and let unlive' relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that's when they call Markowski. He carries a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.

Previous Covers in This Series

  N/A
  Pure by Jennifer L. Armantrout 

Series: Covenant #2 Date/Publisher: 2012 by Spencer Hill Press Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Ramblings and What Not Author Comments:  …a cover has popped up on the internet. And if you have seen it, it's the actual cover. So I figured I should blog it up. Abigail’s Thoughts: I love the simple beauty of these covers…they almost look like jellyfish Julia’s Thoughts: Beautiful, the colors and flowing shapes bring to mind an ice sculpture, while the background shapes and squiggles suggest the deep sea.  I completely agree with Abigail's jellyfish reference, in the loveliest possible way.

Description:
N/A

Previous Covers in This Series
   Drink Deep by Chloe Neill 

Series: Chicagoland Vampires #5 Date/Publisher: November 2011 Cover Artist: Tony Mauro  Cover Source: The Daily Snark Author Comments: N/A Abigail’s Thoughts: I was never a fan of the first two covers in the series.  The bangs drove me nuts.  Then it took my a while to adjust to Merit’s new look, but I kinda love this one.  She looks calmly fierce and not over the top sexy. Julia’s Thoughts: I'm down on cover model faces tonight.  The way she's positioned, all I see is her face, and her expression looks odd.  I much prefer the side profile in TWICE BITTEN.

Description:

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven't been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.

That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.

Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike.

Previous Covers in This Series
  Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston  

Series: N/A Date/Publisher: July of 2011 from Penguin Canada Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: ...in Other words... Author Comments: I hope you guys love it as much as I do! Abigail’s Thoughts: The blue translucent panel is an odd choice, maybe it looks better in person, plus her hair looks like she drove to the photo shoot with her head hanging out the window  Julia’s Thoughts: Too busy, my eye kept going from the bird to the girl to the blue square without feeling like there was any flow between them all.

Description:

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager. On the surface. She’s smart, but a bit of slacker; outgoing, but just a little insecure; not exactly a mischief-maker… but trouble tends to find her wherever she goes. Also? She unwittingly carries a centuries-old Druid Blood Curse running through her veins.

Now, with a single thoughtless act, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals into a deadly race to find a stolen artifact, avert an explosive catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong that happened centuries before Clare was even born, and if there’s still time—literally—maybe even get a date.

This is the kind of adventure that happens to a girl once every… never.

Previous Covers in This Series
N/A Bound By Night by Amanda Ashley 

Series: N/A Date/Publisher: September 1st 2011 by Zebra Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: So, what do you think of the new cover? According to my editor, this is "edgier" than my other ones. I think she's right. Abigail’s Thoughts: I like everything except the pleats on this guys pants.  you may have dies in the 80’s vampire guy, but your wardrobe doesn’t have to. Julia’s Thoughts: Nicole Kidman in a midriff top, what? Covers like this are all about the models, and the way these two are composed looks like something off of the Awkward Family Photos website.  I loved the couple from SONG OF SCARABAEUS, although that may have been because of the fatigues.  Abigail's right, pants matter.

Description:

A VAMPIRE’S KISS IS FOREVER…

Once featured in a horror movie, the crumbling Wolfram estate is said to be haunted by ghosts, witches, and worse. But Elena doesn’t believe a word of it—until she spends the night and wakes up in the arms of a compelling stranger…

Tall, dark, and disturbingly handsome, Drake is the most beautiful man Elena has ever seen. For centuries, he has lived alone, and Elena is the first woman to enter his lair—and survive. And Drake is the first man to touch her heart and soul. By the time she discovers who he really is—and what he craves—it’s too late. Blood lust has turned to love, and Elena is deeply under Drake’s spell. But forever comes at a price for each of them.

Previous Covers in This Series
N/A Storm’s Heart by Thea Harrison 

Series: Elder Races #2  Date/Publisher: August 2nd 2011 by Berkley Cover Artist: N/A Cover Source: Wicked Scribes Author Comments: N/A Abigail’s Thoughts: I’m intrigued by the idea of this series, but baffled by the complete disconnect from the first cover to this one.  The headless/shirtless hero can sometimes work, but the pose is killing me. Julia’s Thoughts: This one made me laugh, the "missed my bus" pose combined with shirtless, headless man.  This arrangement worked great on ENEMY WITHIN, but perhaps that's because the cover model had a head.  And lots of guns...

Description:

He’s a wyr warrior, a god of storms. She’s the heir to the Dark Fae throne. But desire will bring both to their knees in this all-new Novel of the Elder Races.

During the rule of her murderous Dark Fae uncle, Thistle “Tricks” Periwinkle found sanctuary among the wyr in New York. Her ethereal beauty and sparkling personality won the hearts of the public, but after her uncle’s death, there are those who don’t want to see her ascend to the throne…

Able to wield thunder and lightning, wyr sentinel Tiago Black Eagle has ruled the skies for centuries. His massive build and thunderous power make him one of the wyr’s best weapons. And he’s sent to protect

Tricks when she’s almost assassinated in Chicago.

Soon, both Tiago and Tricks will fall prey to the stormy hunger that engulfs them—a passion that will shake the very foundation of all the worlds…

Previous Covers in This Series

And our picks for this week’s Best & Worst…

Best Cover	Worst Cover

 What do you think?  Do you agree with our picks? Which are your Best and Worst covers from this week? 

Thank you all for entering this giveaway and to Kirsty Eagar for providing a copy of her book Saltwater Vampires to giveaway.

 

The winner (chosen by Random.org) is…

Manga Maniac

Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you soon.  Please respond with your address within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.

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Didn’t win?  Buy your own copy of SALTWATER VAMPIRES with free shipping from The Book Depository:

 

Title: Dark Goddess Author: Sarwat Chadda Series: Billi SanGreal #2 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Paranormal YA Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by:Abigail Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (January 25, 2011) ISBN-10: 1423127595 ISBN-13: 978-1423127598   Sexual Content: Kissing My Rating: Okay – Somewhat disappointing with significant flaws. Library/swap/borrow if you want.

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Description

New enemies, new romance, and new horrors,
Billi's back, and it seems like the Unholy just can't take a hint.

Still reeling from the death of her best friend, Kay, Billi's thrust back into action when the Templars are called to investigate werewolf activity.  And these werewolves are like nothing Bilil's seen before.
They call themselves the Polenitsy - Man Killers. The ancient warrior women of Eastern Europe, supposedly wiped out centuries ago. But now they're out of hiding and on the hunt for a Spring Child -- an Oracle powerful enough to blow the volcano at Yellowstone -- precipitating a Fimbulwinter that will wipe out humankind for good.

The Templars follow the stolen Spring Child to Russia, and the only people there who can help are the Bogatyrs, a group of knights who may have gone to the dark side. To reclaim the Spring Child and save the world, Billi needs to earn the trust of Ivan Romanov, an arrogant young Bogatyr whose suspicious of people in general, and of Billi in particular.

Dark Goddess is a page-turning, action-packed sequel that spans continents, from England to the Russian underworld and back. This is an adventure of folklore and myth become darkly real. Of the world running out of time. And of Billi SanGreal, the only one who can save it.

Review

I was hoping, really hoping, that Billi and I would get along better in DARK GODDESS than we did in DEVIL’S KISS, but after the first chapter, I realized if anything, she was worse.

The opening scene involves Billi and another Templar fighting werewolves.  A little girl, Vasilisa, barely escapes after witnessing both her parents brutally attacked and (mostly) eaten right in front of her.  The next chapter picks up with Billi complaining about having to share a room with the traumatized little girl who cries and is afraid of being left alone and wondering if Vasilisa was even worth saving as she prys the little girl’s hand off her and slams a door in her face.  Seriously, Billi has firmly established herself in my mind as one of the most selfish characters I have ever read.

The romance was once again trite and overly dramatic, this time with a princely warrior descendent of the famous Romanov family.  I never once bought into it.  The villain in DARK GODDESS was more interesting and involved a werewolf pack who worshipped the witch/goddess Baba Yaga, and the writing itself was still good. I didn’t bring this up in the previous review, but there are a number of religious statements about both Christianity and Islam (Billi is somehow both) that manage to be offensive on both sides.

Overall, I appear to be in the minority here with the Billi SanGreal series, so you might want to check out some of the other reviews linked below, but Knights Templar mythology and good writing aside, this series isn’t for me. 

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
Devil’s Kiss	Wondrous Reads ALPHA reader The Book Smugglers

As promised, here is the February batch of ARCs that I’m giving away to bloggers (not all of these are February releases).  This time there are Urban Fantasy & Paranormal YA titles.  I remember what it was like to have ARC envy when I first started blogging, so ideally, I’d like to pass these on to new bloggers who wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to review them:

 

 

Darkness Becomes Her (Gods & Monsters, #1) by Keaton, Kelly

Dark Goddess by Chadda, Sarwat

The Iron Witch (The Iron Witch, #1) by Mahoney, Karen

*Forest Moon Rising: A Tess Noncoire Adventure by Frost, P.R.

The Kensei (Lawson the Fixer, #5) by Merz, Jon F.

*Night School by Mancusi, Mari

Wither (Chemical Garden, #1) by DeStefano, Lauren

 

*These two titles would be guest reviewed  here on All Things Urban Fantasy.  The other titles can be reviewed on your blog.

Requirements:

1. Have a blog
2. Been blogging for at least a month
3. Agree to review the ARC on your blog (or on ATUF if indicated above) within a month
4. Have a US mailing address
5. Agree NOT to sell the ARC, you are free to give it away etc.

That’s it.  Leave your email, blog URL, the 3 title you most want, and you can even plug your blog a little if you want.  I’ll pick 8 winners on February 12th. The winners will be chosen based on my assessment of your blog so include a link if you post about this giveaway

 

And there will be an upcoming giveaway for another ARC of WHITHER on the Twitter account too

Thank you all for entering this giveaway and to Laurie London for providing such a tempting giveaway: One copy of BONDED BY BLOOD by Laurie London & a Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain/balm.

 

The winner (chosen by Random.org) is…

BLHmistress

 

Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you soon.  Please respond with your address within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.

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Didn’t win?  Buy your own copy of BONDED BY BLOOD with free shipping from The Book Depository: