Saturday Discussions (10): Do you judge a book by its cover?

This week, I want to talk about one of my absolute favorite things about novels... their covers. There's this old saying "never judge a book by it's cover" but then why do they have entire teams devoted to producing the perfect cover for novels? For seriously?!?!

I think most people are going to agree with me when I say I 100% judge a book by it's cover. When I walk into a bookstore and am browsing, a cover it what is going to make me pick up this novel or that, first. In the teen section, I will always gravitate towards the pretty covers. Since becoming a blogger, I see a lot more novels now and tend to know when things come out so I do a lot less browsing but once upon a time, I solely relayed on covers to entice me enough to pick them up. And to be honest, I've found some of the best books by falling in love with covers. Want some examples? Well, here you are:

What drew me to it?: A girl wearing heels on a swing. What? Why? Now, granted, this has nothing to do with the story but this is the reason I picked up the book and read the jacket flap. And it blew my mind with how good it was.

What drew me to it?: In a sea full of female faces, here was the gorgeous guy falling from the heavens with a trail of blood red feathers. It was dark and mood and so intensely sad that I HAD to snatch it off the shelf. So glad I did!

What drew me to it?: Everything about the lush red of her hair to the moody, deep, twinkling blue in the background was right for me. The dress was gorgeous and the girl had a secret. What I found inside was even more beautiful than the outside.

Oftentimes, the cover is the only thing a reader has to go on so you can bet we judge books by their covers. That's why the release of a cover is such a big deal. For the author it means that their book is really real and I truly believe that their cover depends on how well it will sell. I know there will be those of you out there who are less shallow than me (and I hope to hear from you on why you don't) but I feel confident in saying that many, many people will say they do. And with such gorgeous covers out there, why shouldn't we?

Oh, right. I can answer my own question. We shouldn't because we might miss a gem that just didn't sparkle as loudly next to the little beauty with an okay inside. So, here are a few series I would have never picked up without some nudging because I'm not wild about their covers:

But, Amber. WTFBBQ!?!?! These are some of my/your favorite books. What in the heck are you talking about? Well, that's true... But I passed over each of these books numerous times before finally picking them up because I always saw something shiner. NOW, I love all of these books plus their covers. I'm crazy for them. But they never shouted as loud on the shelf.

So I've also learned to pick up more than just the shiny ones. Being a blogger has helped with that. Goodreads has changed my life. Now I can see the cover AND the summary. All of a sudden, the shelves aren't nearly as scary because I'm not passing up lovelies because I'm not wild about their covers.

So now it's your turn. Please tell me, do you judge books by their covers? Pros/cons?



Have a suggestion on what we should discuss next? Tell me here!



Next week's question comes from my good friend Kate from That Book Blog who suggests: Bad boys vs good boys. You can bet I've got me an opinion on this one!

Book Tunes (17)

Book Tunes is a new meme that will be held on Fridays and the point is to share the book your reading and a song you think represents it. Be sure to include the novel you are reading, the summary, the song you think fits it and an explanation of why you chose that particular song. So snag yourself a button, write a post and link up at the bottom of the page!

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

From Goodreads:

A fallen angel haunted by her past.  Yearning for her immortal beloved. Forever searching for answers. Who will show her Mercy? Mercy has lost herself. She can’t count how many times she’s “woken up” in a new body, and assumed a new life, only to move on again and again. During the day she survives in the human world on instinct and at night her dreams are haunted by him. Mercy’s heart would know him anywhere. But her memory refuses to cooperate.   

But this time is different. When Mercy wakes up she meets Ryan, an eighteen year old reeling from the loss of his twin sister who was kidnapped two years ago. Everyone else has given up hope, but Ryan believes his sister is still alive. Using a power she doesn’t fully comprehend, Mercy realizes that Ryan is right. His sister is alive and together they can find her. For the first time since she can remember, Mercy has a purpose; she can help. So she doesn’t understand why the man in her dreams cautions her not to interfere. But as Ryan and Mercy come closer to solving the dark mystery of his sister’s disappearance, danger looms just one step behind.   

Will Mercy be able to harness her true self and extraordinary power in time?   The first in a dazzling new series, Mercy masterfully weaves romance, mystery and the supernatural into a spell-binding tale.

The Tune: I Can Feel You All Around Me by Flyleaf

The Lyrics:

My hands are searching for you
My arms are outstretched towards you
I feel you on my fingertips
My tongue dances behind my lips for you

This fire rising through my being
Burning I'm not used to seeing you

I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

My hands float up above me
And you whisper you love me
And I begin to fade
Into our secret place

The music makes me sway
The angels singing say we are alone with you
I am alone and they are too with you

And so I cry
The light is white
And I see you

I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

Take my hand
I give it to you
Now you own me
All I am
You said you would never leave me
I believe you
I believe

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healed 

Why this tune?:

Everyone thinks Ryan is crazy but he feel it in his bones... his twin sister is alive. Everything in him is telling him to keep searching, to continue on when everyone has given up. This song perfectly describes his drive. He can feel her, even if no one else can. It also works for Mercy since she can "connect" with people and read into what they are feeling, where they have been.

Epicness from Hot Topic

I ordered a bunch of t-shirts from Hot Topic last week because they were having this really great sale. I wanted to share them with you all. Be warned, the epicness which is to follow is hard to take in all at once. Going through them literally hurt because I was so hearts and kisses with them!

There were tons more I wouldn't have minded ordering but I got the ones I loved most that were on sale. Next I'm going for a Team Damon t-shirt AND two Hunger Games t-shirts. I'll tell you what though, I loved opening that package by my front door today though. It made my week!

Book Review: The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen

The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen

Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 450 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (April 11, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10 1461052149
ISBN-13: 978-1461052142
Source: Provided by the author
Cover: I like this cover. It's simple but it makes me interested. The violet eye against the grey background is really effective!
First Sentence: "In the midst of a dark forest, haunted by the winter's chill, I ran for my life."

Mini-Review: Solid writng, an interesting premise and just a touch of betrayal makes for an exciting debut.


Book summary:

For eighteen year-old Gemma, life has never been normal. Up until recently, she has been incapable of feeling emotion. And when she's around Alex, the gorgeous new guy at school, she can feel electricity that makes her skin buzz. Not to mention the monsters that haunt her nightmares have crossed over into real-life. But with Alex seeming to hate her and secrets popping up everywhere, Gemma's life is turning into a chaotic mess. Things that shouldn't be real suddenly seem to exist. And as her world falls apart, figuring out the secrets of her past becomes a matter of life and death.

Book Review:

The Fallen Star is a promising beginning to a series that combines both magic and several different types of paranormal creatures. While it did have good characters and solid writing, it wasn't without a few minor hitches.

Gemma's predicament was incredible fascinating and I was eager to find out why she wasn't able to feel. The creatures in her dreams were just the right kind of cold creepy to be terrifying and it was so incredibly sad that Gemma had no one in her life to tell about these things. Gemma was isolated beyond comparing. Alex and Aislin's entrance really worked to shake things up and it felt believable that Gemma would be so interested in them as they were the only people that showed any kind of interest in her. Then they lead her into this interesting world full of dangerous creatures and mystery. The betrayal at the ending was biting and poignant. I was particularly impressed with the writing. Gemma's voice felt natural and the descriptions were really vivid.

However, I did feel like the writing could have used a fine toothed comb. I found quite a few typos and sometimes all the questions Gemma asked herself felt a bit redundant. More editting would have helped the novel from dragging a bit during the middle. It felt a little like it was overly long and things could have been summed up and explained more tightly. Another thing that I felt like could have been improved upon is the two main antagonists. They felt a little "all evil" for me and that made them feel one-dimensional. I would have liked for the writer to have delved into their motivations a bit more so that it didn't feel like they were doing evil because they were evil but rather because they had real intentions (whatever they were). Something about the length or the dragging made this book easy to put down.

The Fallen Star uses it's unique concept to tell an interesting story of the past and present. While it did have it's problems, it does well in showing the reader the main character's emotions and gives the reader high stakes. Gemma's predictiment was definitely interesting and the book felt like a promising beginning to a great world.

Rating:

The Time Will Come (2): Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

The Time Will Come is a weekly meme started by Books for Company which spotlights books that have been sitting unread on our shelves for too long.*

From Goodreads:

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Why the time hasn't come:


I'm convinced I might be the only in the world that hasn't read this book. It's been sitting on my shelf for almost two years because of it's size. When I take a quick break from the stuff I've requested or have been sent, I usually select a small book so this one keeps getting pushed back. It's a shame too because so many people love it, including my friend who JUST started reading YA (at my suggestion). She's read most of my library PLUS my TBR pile. Like a sponge that one. Anyways, I hear this is spectacular and fully plan on getting to it soon.


*This explanation is from the wonderful Kate of That Book Blog

Cover Alert: A Touch Morbid, The Iron Knight and Clockwork Prince

This has really been a good few weeks for covers. There have been so many gorgeous reveals that I thought I'd put up a quick post about them.

A Touch Morbid (A Touch Mortal #2) by Leah Clifford- Hello beautiful little thing! Seriously, this cover is amazing, just as pretty as the first and not even done yet. I love the contrast of the green hair and purple makeup. It's interesting and really draws the eye. Incredible!

The Iron Knight (The Iron Fey #4) by Julia Kagawa- This cover is even more gorgeous than the original three. I love that it is blue and the look on Ash's face is just wonderful. Absolutely stunning cover reveal.

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare- Alright, so granted this one is so old news but it doesn't feel right to have a book blog and not have this on there. I really love this newest cover. It looks great next to the other one and I love the Victorian garb. It's a great echo of the first with the glowy bits coming out of his hands. I am definitely a fan!

As you can see, it's been a really amazing few weeks for reveals. Bring on some more eye candy authors! I am loving it.

Winner of Darkness Becomes Her Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered my Darkness Becomes Her giveaway! I'm excited to be giving away (another) copy of this amazing novel. I have sent an email to the winner but wanted to announce it here as well. The winner is...

Asheley Tart!

Congrats to the winner! 

Be on the look out for my 1,000 Follower giveaway. I'm still adding all the entries up for that one. I had over 500!