Saturday, October 13, 2012

Shelf Candy Saturday #39: Flesh and Blood, by Kristen Painter






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!




(House of Comarré #2)
Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Orbit
November 1, 2011
Genres: Paranormal Romance,
Urban Fantasy


Why do I love this cover?


The first thing that caught my eye was all the intricate detail.  I love that!  It's the sign of a very skilled artist.  And there's plenty of it all over this cover, too -- the sword hilt, the scabbard, the woman's dress...and, remarkably, it's mostly done in a dark gray tone, with black shadows that make everything stand out in bold relief.  The designs on the sword, which stand out against a red background, echo the lacy decorations of the woman's dress, as well as the ones on the frame surrounding this dynamic image.  The frame actually looks as if it were made of pewter.  The red ribbons streaming from the sword not only create movement, but a beautiful contrast to all the dark gray, as well.

As for the woman herself, she's beautiful, but it's very apparent that she's also very determined and courageous.  She stares defiantly at the viewer, ready for action if necessary.  Her attire and meticulous makeup belie her strength and determination -- although she looks quite glamorous, with that strange pin in her carefully-coiffed hair, she can indeed be deadly.  Her gold-colored tattoos are another strange addition to her attire, but fit right in with all the detail.

The title of the novel is done in a classical, red-colored font, which picks up the color of the ribbons.  The author's name is done in what looks like an Art Deco font, if I can call it that.  Both lines of lettering perfectly offset all the detail in this cover.
Although I don't yet own this book (it's on the way, thanks to Amazon), I do own the first one, Blood Rights, which I'm currently reading.

This particular cover is my favorite one in the series.  Not to say that the others aren't stunning, as well, because they are.  This one, however, has that extra 'something' that makes it really stand out for me!  I think it's the perfect fusion of everything I've mentioned so far, as well as the very dynamic composition, which is full of angles.  This creates visual tension, giving an effect that's anything but boring.


Who created this amazing cover?
Well, the illustration itself
is by an artist using the name
Although some of the images
you will see when you
click on this link are a bit
disturbing,
there's no denying this artist's skill!

Artist's Bio
 (from his website)

Nekro ( O Grove, Spain. 1983 ) Illustrator & Digital Artist.

With a unique and personal style, marked by a desaturated color range with small touches of color, works especially with photocomposition.

Author of "13 inches", published by Norma editorial. He usually works as a cover artist of the best publishers of the world and his illustrations can be found in the most important compilation books.

 At this moment he combines his work as cover artist with a new personal project called "Skeleton Key" which will be published by Norma editorial in 2013.
The cover design is by
who is obviously highly-talented
as well,
judging from her awesome website!




What do you think of this
fascinating cover?
What beautiful covers are you
featuring this week?






10 comments:

  1. Oh wow this one is gorgeous!! I like the color combo, the details, and the fact that she's making armor look hot :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Jen!

    Yes, indeed! Everything you've said is true! I can't wait to start reading this. I'm on the first one now.

    Going over to your Shelf Candy post.

    Thanks for participating and commenting!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. This cover is striking! I am struggling for the right word, but there is something about the black parts. They look almost 3D and seem very "weighty". It contrasts perfectly with the white and the red.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the covers from this series. They are beautiful, eye catching and she looks fierce and feminine in this one. Another great choice!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, Brian!

    Yes, I agree -- the black decorations do look three-dimensional, as well as 'weighty'. I know exactly what you mean!

    Everything about this cover is just PERFECT. You know, when I look more closely, I notice that the predominant color is actually a dark gray, although the shadowy areas are black. This is what gives the entire cover that 3D effect. It also makes it look as if it were made of pewter. Also, at first glance, the woman appears to be wearing a dress. But Jen commented that it's armor. So, yes, on closer inspection of this, too, I now see that it does indeed look like armor -- well, to an extent. Perhaps it's like some sort of 'armored dress'. WOW! What a concept!

    I also agree that the colors balance each other quite well.

    I'm glad you like this stunning cover! Thanks for commenting!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, Lis!

    Thanks for complimenting my choice! I agree -- these covers are ALl stunning! This one is definitely my favorite, though, and one of the reasons is what you've mentioned -- that the woman looks so fierce, yet so feminine. Hey, I'd LOVE to have her outfit, her hair, and that sword! Lol.

    Thank you so much for commenting, and participating in this meme!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes! This is a book I would buy just to have on my bookshelf. Stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi, Lizzy!

    Oh, I feel the same way!! When I first saw these covers, I couldn't believe how GORGEOUS they were. But I also wanted to see if these books offered more than just stunning covers, so I went ahead and ordered the first one from Amazon, to see if I would like it. Well, I'm currently reading it, and I LOVE it!! I've just ordered the second and third, which also has a magnificent cover.

    BTW, I hope you consider joining thie meme. Sure would love to have you!

    Thanks so much for commenting!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  9. I still love this cover. I came back to see if anyone else linked up and ended up inspecting the cover you posted all over again.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi, again, Jen!

    I think this is probably one of the BEST covers I've ever featured! I'm surprised more people didn't link up and/or comment.

    Thanks for coming back and commenting again!! : )

    ReplyDelete

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