Top 5 Best Book Covers: August 2015

Top 5 Best Book Covers is monthly meme created by The Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The rules are simple: on the first Saturday of every month, post your 5 favorite books covers that are being released in the current month!

#1
MECHANICA
Author: Tera Lynn Childs (Twitter)
Genre(s): YA, Steampunk, Fairytale Retold
Release Date: August 4, 2015

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.

But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

 

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Talon by Julie Kagawa

Hosted By Breaking the Spine

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights eagerly-anticipated upcoming releases.

My Pick This Week: 

Title: Talon

Book Series: Talon, Book #1

Author: Julie Kagawa

Genres: YA, Fantasy, Shapeshifters

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

First of all -- this cover is everything! So gorgeous. I love the vibrant red; it feels so alive. It looks even more amazing with the gold titles and dark shadows. I love the "talisman" dragon; I hope it's central to the series. This isn't my typical genre; I'm not much of a traditional fantasy girl. But I will give this one a go.

Book Review: Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis

Book Series: (The Grey Wolves, Book #1)
Author: Quinn Loftis
Genres: Paranormal, Shapeshifters, YA
Format: Nook Book (Barnes and Noble)
Length: 230 pages
Book Club Pick: Never Too Old For Y.A. & N.A. Books (Goodreads)

My Ranking:

Jacque Pierce was just an ordinary 17-year-old girl getting ready to start her senior year in high school in Coldspring, Texas. When a mysterious foreign exchange student from Romania moves in across the street, Jacque and her two best friends, Sally and Jen, don't realize the last two weeks of their summer are going to get a lot more interesting.

From the moment Jacque sets eyes on Fane she feels an instant connection, a pull like a moth to a flame. Little does she know that the flame she is drawn to is actually a Canis lupis, werewolf, and she just happens to be his mate; the other half of his soul.

The problem is Fane is not the only wolf in Coldspring, Texas.

Just as Fane and Jacque are getting to know each other, another wolf steps out to try and claim Jacque as his mate. Fane will now have to fight for the right to complete the mating bond, something that is his right by birth but is being denied him by a crazed Alpha. Will the love Fane has for Jacque be enough to give him the strength to defeat his enemy, will Jacque accept that she is Fane's mate and complete the bond between them?

I enjoyed this book. But the same time, I didn't really get it until about halfway it. Maybe not "get it", as in the story, but "get it" as in that instant connection between these two mates. It was just too fast, too underdeveloped. However, after getting to the end of the book, I realized this may have been because Loftis had a lot of ground to cover and just hit the ground running.

That fact, and being exposed to a new world, caught me off guard. It made everything a lot harder to swallow. But now that I've made it to the end, I could care less. I really did believe in the connection between Fane and Jacque. It was simply beautiful. Yes things did happen fast - very fast - but after the whole experience with Lucas Steele, and seeing how he behaved with Jackie, it just solidified the true meaning behind true mates in this story.

Now for the characters. I really liked Jacque. I sometimes have a hard time liking with female leads in YA books. Especially, since a great many are portrayed as a little bit silly, whine a lot, and make ridiculous, completely asinine decisions to just to keep the plot moving forward. That really, really irks me. But Jackie was spunky and had a firm backbone, which was awesome. Especially since she's eventually going to be an Alpha female.

Fane was a pretty hot, I have to say. I really liked his personality, and I myself, got giddy at the things he was saying in Romanian. Sometimes words, any word, just sounds hotter when said a different language.

I really liked all of the supporting characters: the helpful Henry's; Sally and Jen, Fane's parents, everyone. Sally and Jen especially brought a really great lightness to the entire story. Their relationship with Jacque was pretty refreshing, and hilarious, at most times. This story easily could've been very dark, but having these three wonderful, quirky characters - with all of their witty banter and all of Jen's sexual inappropriateness – in the story just made it more complete.