Welcome to
Shelf Candy Saturday!!
This weekly meme/blog hop, hosted here,
features beautiful book covers!
It was originally hosted by
Stephanie @
Five Alarm Book Reviews,
a blog I really miss...
If you'd like to participate, just grab my button (or create your own), write your own post, and link up in the Linky widget at the bottom of this post. Just be sure to click on "Read more" so that the entire post will open up.
As a bonus, you can include information on the artist, designer, and/or photographer in your post, but it's not required. You can simply feature a cover and explain why you love it!
Here's my choice for this week!
Trade Paperback, 276 pages
Kensington
September 1, 2001
Genres: Paranormal Romance,
Urban Fantasy
Why do I love this cover?
I think it's more than obvious, right? The model on the cover is, quite simply, a gorgeous man! Furthermore, not only are his features very pleasing to the female eye, but his facial expression is, as well. That penetrating gaze, which promises danger as well as excitement...
The man's clothes accentuate his masculinity; I love the meticulously-tied cravat, the Maltese cross hanging from his neck, and the close-fitting jacket that hints at broad shoulders.
The background and lighting are just perfect. The huge moon behind him is enveloped in a reddish haze. A reddish tone also lights the man's face, moving over the rest of the cover.
The predominant mood here is one of mystery and dangerous romance -- a perfect combination for Halloween! However, there's also a hint of tenderness, which is evident in the man's sensuous mouth, but also present in his gaze. This is not a vampire of Dracula's ilk, but one who will give a woman his very being, as well as the gift of immortal life...
The font used for the letters in the title and authors' names is very effective, and complements the cover quite well. It's not too ornate, which would detract from the man's figure. Instead, it's bold and stark -- just like the man himself!
Unfortunately, the cover illustrator and designer are not credited by the publisher (I own this book, and I looked everywhere, to no avail...), so I was unable to get any information about them. Whoever the illustrator is, he (or she) is highly talented, because the vampire's figure is very realistically done, and the lighting is superb, creating the right atmosphere. Perhaps this is a photograph, although there are artists who are able to create a photographic effect with paint and brush.
I don't like it when a publisher fails to give proper credit to a cover artist. Although a book's content is more important than the cover, where a novel or short-story anthology is concerned, it's the cover that draws people in to find out what the book is all about. It's the cover that sells the book, in most cases. So I'm happy to feature this particular cover as a great example of beautiful art and design, and give kudos to those who created it!
What do you think of my choice?
What beautiful covers
are you featuring this week?
Ha , Ha Maria. I cannot say that I appreciate the same aspects of this cover that you do. Your commentary did bring a smile to may face.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree over your dismay over the lack of credit to the artist. I am actually surprised over that.
Hey, Brian!
ReplyDeleteOf course not! Lol. But you can see that this is a FABULOUS cover, nevertheless, and I'm glad you do appreciate it!
I'm glad I made you smile. I guess guys aren't used to reading about a woman's visual appraisal of a man'e physical attractiveness...lol.
All kidding aside, though, this is definitely a great cover. Thanks for agreeing with me on publishers crediting cover artists. I think they should be totally ashamed of themselves when they don't.
Thanks for a terrific comment, as usual!! : )