Cover Talk: A REAPER AT THE GATES by Sabaa Tahir

Sabaa Tahir's book An Ember in the Ashes took the entire world by storm. Well, at least my world, anyways. And probably many of my other fantasy loving brethren book lovers. Which is why I'm jumping here to tell you about the title and cover reveal of the third book to the series, A Reaper at the Gates!

Ready for the cover and synopsis? Here it is!

Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger. 

The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister’s life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance.

Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would aid her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she’d have to fight. 

And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that will stop at nothing to ensure Elias’s devotion—even at the cost of his humanity.

New Cover Reveal: THE SIREN

We all remember Kiera Cass, the fantastic author of The Selection series, right? Well, her very first book, The Siren, originally self-published, is now being re-published by HarperTeen! With that said, it means that the entire book has gotten a new and fresh look, perks of a publishing company! :)

Here's the new cover!

That is a very pretty dress, if I do say so myself. I feel like Kiera Cass' books all must contain gorgeous dresses as part of her signature!

1. THAT OCEAN. I would love to spend every day living beside an ocean as big and as blue as that.
2. Like I mentioned before, the dress! I love the sandy colour, how it represents both land and water (sand banks are both part of land and water). And the trail of balls down the spine of dress...it's so pretty! I wish I could waltz down a beach wearing a dress like that.
3. The fact that the girl is holding her dress up...is she merely holding it against the wind, or is she preparing herself to go into the ocean? 
4. Let's add her head. She's facing away from us, but from the position, it seems like she's gazing out into the ocean. Again, is she just admiring the view, or is she preparing to jump in? And with the wind... Basically, I really love her pose, and this cover is absolutely stunning :)

Now, I'm going to be a little honest here, but as gorgeous as this cover is, my first thought when I saw this cover was this book:

(This is The White Rose by Amy Ewing by the way.)

Does anyone other than me see the similarity? Just a bit? Girl in a beige dress, with a green-blue regal title on the bottom dress? Don't get me wrong, these covers are very different, but they're also quite similar. 

However, I'm going to admit I love The Siren cover a lot more than The White Rose. Just...ocean! Scenery! Wind! Loose dress! It simply doesn't compare!

This book will bit hitting bookstores January 26th, 2016. If you can't wait that long, I'm pretty sure you can already get the ebook version of it now, as it's been out for a while (like before The Selection ever became popular).

What do you guys think of this book being re-released? And what do you think of the cover? 

Goodreads blurb:

From Kiera Cass, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series, comes a sweeping stand-alone fantasy romance.

A girl with a secret.
The boy of her dreams.
An Ocean between them.

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again. 

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude...until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of.

Falling in love with a human breaks the Ocean’s rules. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart.

New Cover Reveals: THE INFERNAL DEVICES

Look! Look! To continue along with the new covers of Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter books, here comes the newest looks of The Infernal Devices series!

Ahh! So, like before, I'm going to have my thoughts on the covers under the cut. If you haven't read these books yet, you definitely need to! Cassandra Clare's books are to die for, and I love this prequel series!

Official blurb of Clockwork Angel (first book of The Infernal Devices) courtesy of Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7171637-clockwork-angel

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them... 

My thoughts are below the cut :)

New Cover Reveals: THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS

Ahh! Breaking news! The new book covers to Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments is here! I'm so excited!

This use to be a series of 5 separate posts, which I have now consolidated into one massive post.That being said, this is quite long, so I'll just give you them all first, and then have my own thoughts about them under the cut.

Okay? Great! Now, may I present to you the new covers of The Mortal Instruments!

And the spines, put together, will look like this:

And there you have it! The new covers! They'll be available in stores September 1st, 2015, so if you haven't read them yet, be sure to pick them up!

Rest of my thoughts will be under the cut :)

Official blurb of City of Bones (first book), courtesy of Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256683.City_of_Bones

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...  

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Click to read my thoughts on the covers!

Cover Reveals: EVERY LAST BREATH, and the rest of the Dark Elemental series

The final book cover of Jennifer L. Armentrout's The Dark Elements series is here!

Observe:

Okay, you're all wondering, "What? That's completely different from the other covers!" And you're right. 

So what happened? New covers.

If you're a Jennifer L. Armentrout fan like me, you'll probably know that the same thing happened to her last series, her Lux series, in which Opposition suddenly got a new and different cover, with the rest of the books beforehand following suite. Basically, the covers were consistent until the last book, in which the entire series got a makeover to fit the new look of the last book.

Here's the new looks of the previous books in the series:

Bitter Sweet Love (prequel)

White Hot Kiss (book 1)

 Stone Cold Touch (book 2)

And put together, the final complete set will look a little like this:

The consistency is nice. I just wished they stuck to a consistent cover theme from the very beginning.

In comparison, here's what the old covers looked like:

And, onto my typical ranting:

The new covers:

1. It really focuses on the individual cover models, rather than having the whole two-person vibe going.

2. I'm not too crazy about the cursive-like font of the new cover. I mean, the titles of the books alone make it seem like this is a contemporary romance series, but it's not. The cursive font only enforces that idea. It gives no indication that it's actually a paranormal book. Sure, romance plays a role, but it's not the main plot here.

3. That being said, the lack of two-people-looking-intensely-at-each-other helps to sway the assumption that it's a pure romance novel. But...

4. The whole light theme still going on, which is nice. I'm glad they stuck to it on both the old and new covers. It will help...ease the transition...okay, not really.

5. Did I ever mention that the cover model for Roth is rather fine? And now that there's a close-up of it...well...

6. Speaking of Roth. Why did they take out Bambi? Where's Bambi here?

On the old covers:

1. I liked the bold font more. It seemed more...earth-shattering in comparison to the girly cursive font.

2. I was really looking forward to the final cover, mainly because I was hoping for a green cover. But oh well.

3. It really depicted the whole Layla-can-kiss-Roth-but-not-Zayne thing going on. Which was kind of important.

Okay. I confess: I like the old covers better. But I know that this is NOT the author's fault, and it in NO WAY changes the story that is contained in those pages. It's just a cover. It's not the story. And honestly, anyone who refuses to read the book simply because of a non-matching cover seriously needs to get over it. Though, I am a little annoyed that this happened to the author's last series too. Dear publishers, please cut the author a break. She's dealt with unhappy fans over sudden cover changes not once, but twice now.

Every Last Breath, the stunning conclusion to Jennifer L. Armentrout's The Dark Elements series, hits shelves July 28th 2015! What are your thoughts? Excited for the soon release date? Do you like the new covers? Let me know!

Official blurb, courtesy of Goodreads->http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17455817-every-last-breath

Some loves will last ’til your dying breath

Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust. Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin—the deadliest of demons—has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her…including her best friend. To keep Sam from a fate much, much worse than death, Layla must strike a deal with the enemy while saving her city—and her race—from destruction. Torn between two worlds and two different boys, Layla has no certainties, least of all survival, especially when an old bargain comes back to haunt them all. But sometimes, when secrets are everywhere and the truth seems unknowable, you have to listen to your heart, pick a side—and then fight like hell…

Cover Reveal: FIREWALKER and TRIAL BY FIRE

So, super special day today! These beauties came out two days ago (and I apologize for being late on it, but it's only by a few days)! I've been waiting and waiting for these to come out, so I'm so excited that they're here, and that I can share them with you!

May I first present to you the cover of Firewalker, the second book in the Worldwalker trilogy by Josephine Angelini!

IT'S PURPLE!!!

1. Do you see the three willstones hanging right under the droplet shape? Willstones. Lily's three Willstones! How cool is that? Here's betting that they play a pretty important role...
2. Purple! As I've mentioned before, it. Is. Purple! Purple fire! You don't see purple fire as often, and something about it, the way it merges with the regular orange-yellow color of fire, makes it seem like it's very deadly. A beautiful danger, one that can easily burn right through anything.
3. The forest! There's a forest (it looks like it might be a snow-capped forest) that is being set aflame. What's going on? What exactly does Lily have to do with it? Does she start the fire? And the fire...it's curling upwards, as if being collected...
4. Have I ever mentioned that I have a thing for swirls? I love swirly things. And this cover has no lack of them! They're everywhere, and I couldn't be happier! There's an elegance as well as a magical feel to it...
5. The "drop of water" effect. It looks like there's a giant drop of water about to go crashing down on the fire below, putting it out...

Now, you're all probably wondering why it looks so drastically different from the cover of the first book, Trial by Fire. Reason is because the book got a new cover. That's right. New cover. Now, I know that new covers can be a reader's worst nightmare (especially if you already have the original cover), but there isn't really any helping to it. On the positive side, the new cover for Trial by Fire is pretty neat, though. So, without further ado, here is the new cover of Trial by Fire:

This is probably the first cover I've seen with an aqua-green color! It's very pretty :)

Here's the two covers for Trial by Fire side by side:

In comparison to the first cover...
1. The colors are much more vivid than the original one. There was a lot of grey in the first cover, but with this facelift, it almost seems a little more exciting. It's definitely more vibrant, with a bigger contrast of colors.
2. The castle's entire form. Unlike in the original, we only got the main face of Lillian's tower/castle. Here, we have the entire thing. And boy, does it look sinister. It's like that dark place you don't quite want to get close to, yet the secrets it holds is too intriguing to turn away from...
3. Apart from the castle...it's all on fire. A little different from the first cover, where it was Lily who's at the centre of the fire. Yet I can't help but notice that for both cover, the castle still stands taller than the fire itself...
4. The circles. They look like...dimension maps? Which is appropriate, given that there are numerous versions of worlds out there. Everything is interconnected one way or another!
5. The droplet form. Actually, unlike Firewalker, I see the droplet not as water, but as a small flame. There's a candle-like aspect to this cover, though I guess you could arguably say the same for Firewalker.

Here's a quick look at how the new covers look together! And may I say that they make quite a fine pair!

Josephine Angelini's new cover of Trial by Fire is to be the paperback version of the book, which comes out September 1st, 2015! Similarly, Firewalker also comes out September 1st, 2015, too! Get ready for a very Worldwalker September!

I've added the blurbs for both Trial by Fire and Firewalker down below :) And to read my review of Trial by Fire, go here.

Official blurb of Trial by Fire, courtesy of Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20613491-trial-by-fire
This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily's other self in this alternate universe.

What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected.

Official blurb of Firewalker, courtesy of Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22469323-firewalker
Worlds divide, magic slays, and love lies in the second book of Josephine Angelini’s The Worldwalker Trilogy.

"You think I’m a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified."

Lily is back in her own universe, and she's ready to start a new life with Rowan by her side. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape from New Salem, and must hide her magic for the safety of everyone she cares about, but compared to fighting the Woven, the monstrous creatures inhabiting the alternate Salem, life is looking pretty good.

Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade Lily to return to her world, she will force her to come back by doing away with the ones she loves.

New Cover Reveal: CITY OF BONES

Here at this blog, we are huge huge HUGE fans of Cassandra Clare's world of Shadowhunters.

Which is why news of this beauty over here immediately grabbed my interest. Because there is a new cover for the City of Bones.

A. New. Cover.

This, in comparison to the old one:

What I like about the new cover:
1. Fresh new look!
2. It plays on the movie version of it (the angelic rune in the background)
3. The Mortal Cup's card is there
4. Jace has the Mortal Sword in hand!!!
5. This Jace is oddly closer to the Jace I had in my head when I read the book, rather than the one on the old cover

What I'm iffy about:
1. No hint that this is an urban fantasy
2. "Shadowhunters Novel" on the side--what's with that?
3. Did the Mortal Sword even come out in City of Bones?
4. The title is in two lines rather than one...
5. Jace has magical fingers?

So yeah. Though a new cover came out, I can't say I love or hate it. I still like it, just not sure about the cover design's overall relevance to the plot, as there are some things on the cover that aren't really addressed in the first book. But that being said, I can only be picky because I've read it, meaning that those who haven't read probably won't mind. The cover is intriguing, which is what matters!

This new cover hits shelves on September 1st, 2015! I already have the old copy and I don't really need another copy, so I probably won't be picking this one up. But either way, I for sure will be heading over to the nearest bookstore to marvel at the cover and how it looks with the other books! 

If you haven't read this series yet, this is your chance!

Official blurb, courtesy of Goodreads-http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256683.City_of_Bones

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...  

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.