The Best and Worst of Covers (11)

Every Saturday, I post book covers I love and dislike from books I've read or currently reading. I include the information for each book: the edition, summary, publisher, number of pages, reading level, and my thoughts of the cover. This week I only have a cover I love...again. The cover I love is Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I just reviewed this amazingly fantastic book, and you can find the review here.

The Cover I Love: 
Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 1, 2009
Pages: 576 
Edition: Hardback 
Reading Level: Young Adult

Summary (from Amazon):
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
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.

Thoughts of the Covers:

The cover of Beautiful Creatures is gorgeous and very mysterious! When holding the actual book in your hands, the purple font is raised up and is nice and shiny. The background is really cool also with the trees and black background that has a hint of glimmer. This great cover is so perfect for such an amazing book. The font of the title is very pretty and goes perfectly with the background of trees. I really love this cover and want to read the sequel so badly! I highly recommend buying this book, so you can see for yourself the fantastic cover and read a great story.

What are your thoughts on this cover?

Beautiful Creatures Review

Title: Beautiful Creatures 
Authors: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: December 1, 2009 
Pages: 626 
My Edition: ARC Paperback 
Reading Level: Young Adult 
Where I got it: Hip Scouts 

Summary from Beautiful Creature's website:
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.  

Review:

Wow, I loved this book so much! It is so unlike any other Fantasy book I've read, and it's probably my new favorite. Beautiful Creatures is definitely one of the best books I've read in 2009. The characters are so well described and likeable which will make you fall in love with the story. By the end, you will be rooting for Lena and Ethan to be together...forever.

The plot and story line are very unique, and it put a new twist on the whole idea of witchcraft. I couldn't put down Beautiful Creatures for a second, even though it's really long. All throughout, I never knew what was going to happen. By the end, you will be sitting on the edge of your seat ready to finally find out what will happen at the end of Lena's birthday. The ending is perfect and leaves it open for a sequel. I really hope there will be a sequel, and recent news says that is going to be made into a movie. As debut authors, Kami and Margret did an amazing job! I'm really looking forward to reading more from these amazing new authors.

Rating:

IMMB (13)

The IMMB meme was started by The Story Siren. This week was really good because I received many amazing books in the mail! From contests, I won the three Elite series books at Katie's Book Blog, A Brief History of Montmaray ARC at Random Buzzers, and Secret Society ARC at Bites. Also, I got Beautiful Creatures ARC from HipScouts!! I'm so excited to read all of these books. Too many books, so little time... : )

The Elite series: The Elite, In Too Deep, and Simply Irresistible
By: Jennifer Banash ~ The Elite Summary from Jennifer's website:
Small-town girl turned Big Apple beauty, Casey McCloy is really beginning to enjoy the high life in her high-rise. She's climbing the social ladder, to the dismay of her neighbor and rival, Madison Macallister. And Casey could end up as popular as Madison now that the two are set to star in their own reality show, "De-Luxe." But reality TV can be so unreal…
Madison loves the attention, but having every bit of her life caught on tape is often less than glamorous. Yet fame comes at a price-and she's willing to pay. Meanwhile, now that Casey and her almost-boyfriend Drew Van Allen are currently more off than on, she's beginning to wonder if everything in her life is just an illusion-and how much longer the illusion can last.

A Brief History of Montmaray
By: Michelle Cooper ~ Summary from Amazon:
On a remote island kingdom of Montmaray live the last of the FitzOsbornes, a royal family of scrappy (but dignified) orphans teetering on the edge of poverty in their crumbling castle. It’s 1936, and sixteen-year-old Sophie occupies her days with mundane household chores, half-hearted study in the family library, raising her unruly tomboy sister, and keeping a diary of distant hopes and longings. Her older cousin Veronica—a budding scholar—writes a history of the Montmaravians while keeping close tabs on the current political signs that point to another world war. One of those signs--in the form of a boat carrying Nazi "historians"--lands on their shores. The arrival of the Germans sets in motion a chain of events that rivals any of the high adventures of the princesses’ colorful ancestors.

Secret Society
By: Tom Dolby ~ Summary from Amazon
Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets hurt someone. . . .
An eccentric new girl. A brooding socialite. The scion of one of New York's wealthiest families. A promising filmmaker. As students at the exclusive Chadwick School, Phoebe, Lauren, Nick, and Patch already live in a world most teenagers only dream about. They didn't ask to be Society members. But when three of them receive a mysterious text message promising success and fame beyond belief, they say yes to everything—even to the harrowing initiation ceremony in a gritty warehouse downtown and to the ankh-shaped tattoo they're forced to get on the nape of their necks. Once they're part of the Society, things begin falling into place for them. Week after week, their ambitions are fulfilled. It's all perfect—until a body is found in Central Park with no distinguishing marks except for an ankh-shaped tattoo. Tom Dolby makes his teen fiction debut with this riveting novel about a dangerous society so secret that once you get in, you can never get out.

Beautiful Creatures 
By: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl  ~ Summary from Amazon

There were no surprises in Gatlin County

We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
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.

What great books did you get this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that I'm eagerly awaiting. This week I can't wait for Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl which sounds really good. Beautiful Creatures comes out 12/1/09.

Beautiful Creatures By: 
Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Summary from Amazon:

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought.Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.
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.