Cover to Covet (26)

I LOVE book covers. Love, love love them. So I decided to make it a regular post - each post featuring a cover I love.



Breathe by Sarah Crossan

I freaking love this cover! The colours, the cracks in the earth in the foreground. It looks dystoptian (which it is) but it's pretty too. And it sounds ace:)

From Goodreads: Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe . . .

The world is dead.
The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.

ALINA
has been stealing for a long time. She’s a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she’s never been caught before. If she’s careful, it’ll be easy. If she’s careful.

QUINN
should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it’s also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn’t every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.

BEA
wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they’d planned a trip together, the two of them, and she’d hoped he’d discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days’ worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?

It's published in October 2012 (both UK and US)

Q&A: Julie Kagawa

As part of the blog tour for the release her new novel, The Immortal Rules, Julie kindly answered a few questions...
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What made you decide to write a post-apocalyptic vampire series?

I had been toying with writing a post-apocalyptic YA story after The Iron Fey, when my agent suggested I might want to try vampires. Although not terribly intrigued with the idea at first, I then had the thought of combining the two, and from there everything sort of fell into place.

Allison Sekemoto, like Meghan Chase, is a very strong character.    Is this something that is important to you? How much of yourself did you put into her character?

I am far more similar to Allison then I am to Meghan Chase. We're short (as in, not tall), we like reading, we're not afraid to fight, and we have somewhat of a short temper (or I did, back when I was a teenager, lol). Out of all my characters, Allie is probably my favourite female because of her snark and her katana.

If The Immoral Rules became a movie or TV series what would be your ideal cast?

I'm soooooooo bad at this, lol. Maybe Jamie Chung or Devon Aoki for Allie, Zac Effron for Zeke and Ian Somerhalder for Kanin? I'm probably missing something obvious, but like I said, I'm bad at this.

What is your favourite and most challenging aspect of being a published author?

My favorite aspects of being a published author is being able to do something I love every single day and to share that work with fans. It sounds trite, but I really would be writing whether or not it was my job. The fact that those stories are being read and (I hope) enjoyed by people all over the world is just… well, it’s incredible. There are days when I still don’t believe it.

There are lots of challenging aspects to being a published author. The biggest challenge for me is probably trying to juggle everything – writing (and meeting deadlines), interviews, signings, blog tours, etc… It’s funny, because I enjoy doing all of those things, but sometimes trying to do them all at once can get a bit overwhelming.

Are there any authors who have been a strong influence on you?

A lot of my influence and inspiration comes from Japanese manga and from video games. I’d say the author that’s influenced me most though is Neil Gaiman, though. I’d love to be able to write like him.
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Thanks Julie

You can read my review of The Immortal Rules here (it is awesome!)

The series has its own website here

And you can find Julie on her Website, Blog, Twitter and Facebook.

Giveaway: The Wintercraft Trilogy by Jenna Burtenshaw

To celebrate the release of Legacy by Jenna Burtenshaw, the final book in the Wintercraft series,  the lovely people at Headline have kindly provided one set of the Wintercraft Trilogy to giveaway!

The giveaway is open to UK entrants only and the closing date is 16 May 2012. 

Just fill in the form below - good luck :D

This giveaway is now closed.

Cover Wars: The Hunt

US / UK

I really love both of these.  I love the 'ripped' design on the US one - it's really clever and I really like the contrast in colours.  But I think there should only be the boy figure in the middle - for a reason that I believe will be apparent once you've read the story.  The UK one suits the story slightly better I think - it kind of screams male point of view giving it more of an appeal to male readers and for the girls? Well...the guy on the front is rather hot don't you think? 

So I think my preference would be the UK cover.  What do you think?  Does the US or UK one appeal to you more?

Also don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour.  The next stop is tomorrow over at Narratively Speaking.

Andrew Fukuda has his own website and blog and Twitter, plus you can find out more about The Hunt on the Facebook page.

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

For Review: Simon & Schuster
Published:  10 May 2012

From Goodreads:   

Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

How much did I love this book?  I mean seriously!  It is awesome! I got completely lost in it and can't wait for more.

The concept is brilliant and terrifying - just the idea of having to live my life in that world, where one mistake is life or death - made me come out in a cold sweat.  I loved the male narrative and I loved Gene.  Who he is, how he is.  He's so strong - because he has to be -  but you also get the sense that underneath the surface is the belief that there has to be something better.  I can't imagine how you'd be able to continue otherwise.

As for the vampires - they are both terrifying and gross.  All that drooling?  Eww!  And what's with the wrist scratching?  It seriously creeped me out!  But I loved that they are real predators.  They are not cuddly creatures begging to be understood.  They would kill Gene if they realised just what he was - the threat is constant and there is one particular scene in the book that really drums home just what would become of Gene if they were to find out he was human.  I have to admit though, that if I thought about it too much, I started to wonder whether Gene would have realistically been able to hide who he was for so long.  The care in making sure he wasn't showing any hair, having to constantly wash so he didn't smell, or sweat, or bleed seemed as if it would be impossible to continue for a long period of time.  But having said that, I also think that when the impossible means certain death perhaps it wouldn't be so hard after all? And he didn't know any different - he'd lived his whole life that way.

The story is fast paced, and the action scenes are of the hold your breath, did that really happen kind!  But interlaced with that are some calmer, character driven moments.  Combined together, it really defines this as book well worth reading.  The ending has guaranteed I will be first in line for the second book in the series as I am itching to get back into this world.  I need to know what happens next. 

Make sure you pop back later - I have a Cover Wars post too.