Cover Reveal Roundup (12)

Hey everyone, welcome to this week's edition of Snarky Cover Talk. Maybe I should start calling it that? I've seen too many other Cover Reveal Roundups. Whatever. Anywho, I've got some awesome and awful stuff for you today. I hope I didn't miss anything good, but I probably did, since I'm on a business trip and haven't been able to follow them like I usually do. I still found a good number, though, so I guess it's all good.

Homeland (Little Brother #2) - Cory Doctorow

 Thoughts: Can we talk about how flipping excited I am that there's going to be another of these? HELL YEAH! Also, this cover? So freaking cool. I like it better than number one. This is SWEET.

Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy - Terry Windling & Ellen Datlow, eds.

Thoughts: What IS gaslamp fantasy? My guess is it's some specialized form of steampunk. Hmm. The cover's pretty cool, I suppose, at least once you notice the headless dude!

Bot Wars - J. V. Kade

Thoughts: I don't really understand using a pen name when everyone knows who you are, but whatever. J. V. Kade = Jennifer Rush, whose YA debut, Altered, also comes out soon. This looks pretty awesome, and is hopefully better than the movie with Hugh Jackman which the cover makes me think of. Good MG cover with lots of boy appeal. 

Boundless (Unearthly #3) - Cynthia Hand

Thoughts: This is my least favorite of the set, but it's still gorgeous. I just liked the blue colors better than this pinkish one. Still in love. I also really just love how they did this series. GORGEOUS. The first one's my favorite, in case you were curious.

Pivot Point - Kasie West

Thoughts: Compared to Sliding Doors? That sounds pretty freaking cool. Kiersten White blurb? Nice. The cover is creepy and fits that theme. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I'm not in love, but I'm guessing this is perfect for the book.


Paper Valentine - Brenna Yovanoff

Thoughts: I am so creeped out. Something about this is absolutely horrifying. And that feeling only increases as I look at it more. Eeek. I feel like it's going to eat my soul. Which is probably what they were going for, so good job, designers.

Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5) - Tahereh Mafi

Thoughts: Blink and you might miss this novella. Get it? See what I did there? Actually, I like this cover much better than I like the other two. What I like better here is the coloring. I do wonder where the tree-lashes have gone, even though I didn't like them. Note that, unlike Unravel Me, this one has the correct font size and location.

Echo (Soul Seekers #2) - Alyson Noël

Thoughts: These two really don't have a series feel to them. Even the font treatments are entirely different. The cover's pretty, of course, with the dress and the snowflakes. I feel like this might make sense in the story, but from an entirely uninvolved perspective, this is a weird choice.

Ravage (Deviants #3) - Jeff Sampson

Thoughts: I really think the Vesper cover did this best, but I do like the way they've established the series here. The swirly mists and font treatment are very effective, and I especially like when the mists contrast sharply with the background color (which, sadly, this one does not do). I also think the silhouettes are cool, and give the covers a creepier aspect then they might otherwise have. This cover's definitely the creepiest, with the blood red coloring, and the fact that she definitely looks like she's in a blood-soaked room of torture.

The Art of Wishing - Lindsay Ribar

 Thoughts: Pretty cute. This makes for a nice contemporary fiction, romance cover. I really like the title treatment. As is almost always the case, though, I hate the little blurb: "He can grant all her wishes. But only she can save his life." Lame. Those are always lame.

17 & Gone - Nova Ren Suma

 Thoughts: Red. So much red. Cue the Fiona Apple. That room is so creepy. I do really like the title and the creepy room, but I'm not really a fan of the overlay of the missing person report. It just makes it look a little off to me. I would prefer it if that were taken off.

The Shadow Society - Marie Rutkoski

Thoughts: I like this one! Rejoice at me approving of something! The fonts and the colors and the reflection are all made of win in my opinion. I'm not entirely sure why the reflection is hanging above a city, but whatever. It's so pretty. Also, I love those boots.

Sever (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #3) - Lauren DeStefano

Thoughts: Is it just me or do these covers get worse and worse? I actually really liked Wither's cover. I liked that it was playing with the pretty dress trend, using a pretty dress and model but still achieving a sort of dystopian feel. The second cover was very fitting for the book, but I, and others, were thrown by the rocking horse in the background. Well, apparently, the designers seized on that and rounded up all the random shit they could find to put in the Sever cover. Plus, the model's now wearing a pretty dress and sitting properly. It looks like she's about to go to a tea party. It looks like the sever cover got mixed up with some sort of Alice in Wonderland cover. Also, why is the model different in all of these? I declare this a FAIL.

Rise (Nightshade Prequel #2) - Andrea Cremer

Thoughts: Despite myself, I really liked the Rift cover. I like how badass the girl looks, and I am intrigued by the shiny silver weapon. I also love the color blue. Well, all of that awesome stuff? Not in the Rise cover. We've changed to a girl in a dress, viewed from behind. She's holding a large, phallic candle, and the color is now a sickly yellow. Ew. Also, I suspect her dress may be made of pleather.

Deep Betrayal (Lies Beneath #2) - Anne Greenwood Brown

Thoughts: I definitely wasn't in love with the first one, and I like this one less. Girl underwater has been done, and it's been done better. It doesn't seem like the same model, and I don't get a real series feeling from the two covers. Also, I can't help wondering if the deep betrayal was having flashed everyone with her dress riding up underwater.

Iron's Prophecy (The Iron Fey #4.5) - Julie Kagawa

Thoughts: You know what? I really don't care enough to pull up all of the other covers for a novella. I don't even like this new novella trend. I wouldn't even share this, except that I think it's hilarious. Just look at it! Look at that snake! It looks so incredibly cheesy and terribly made. BAHAHA. Oh, the Iron Fey covers after the first couple are always good for a laugh.

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3) - Richelle Mead

Thoughts: In all honesty, I think the covers for this series are pretty lame. I mean, I guess the ones for VA were too, but they were the guilty pleasure kind of lame, whereas these just kind of make me snicker.I think a big part of the problem here is the female model's face. What is that expression? She makes weird faces. She's doing it on The Golden Lily too. Of course, we also have Mr. Pasty on the left and Mr. Sunken-Cheeked Smolder on the right. To top off all of that awesome, we have some poorly designed indigo flowers. Awesome.

 Austensibly Ordinary (Austentatious #2) - Alyssa Goodnight

Thoughts: Hey, look! It's a non-YA book! If you're surprised I made an exception for an Austenite book, you don't know me at all. Girls reading on book covers = win. I approve of this.

 

Coolest Cover of the Week: Homeland by Cory Doctorow!