Shelf Candy Saturday No. 258: Suitors and Sabotage, by Cindy Astey

Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!

This is my weekly feature

showcasing beautiful covers!

It also provides information, 
if available, on their 
very talented creators!

Here's my choice for this week!

Suitors and Sabotage
Cindy Anstey
Hardcover, 336  pages
Swoon Reads
April 17, 2018
Art, Historical Fiction, Mystery,
Romance, Suspense,
Young Adult Fiction

My Thoughts About This Cover

Here is another GORGEOUS cover in which typography is one of the important design elements, although not the only one, of course. And I LOVE everything about this cover! It's obviously a Regency romance, in the vein of Jane Austen's novels, although mystery and suspense are also included in the plot. What I think is most noticeable, though, is the romance element, due to the beautiful silhouettes. 

I ADORE all of that ornamental scrollwork all over this cover! Those swirls lead the eye everywhere, and one takes in not only the couple at the bottom of the cover, but also the nicely framed title, done in a typical, and very lovely, 19th-century font, as well as the horse and carriage at the top left, and the mansion at the very top and center. 

I would never have imagined that I would actually love a cover done in such muted colors, as I usually gravitate to those with bright ones. However, these work very well here! And I especially like how the title stands out, because it's been done in white, with the caps in light gray. Such a nice touch!

Another design element I like is how the author's name, as well as the light "cover chatter", have been so well incorporated into the overall design. In no way do they distract from it! 

The creator of this AWESOME cover design is Eileen Savage, the Senior Designer at Penguin Random House, for the Young Readers division. She is, of course, based in NYC, as that's where this publisher is located.

Savage obtained her B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Communications Design in 2011, from Syracuse University, located in the city of Syracuse, in the state of New York, USA. 

She has previously worked with the Penguin Group USA, Viking Children's Books, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, all based in NYC.

I think that, lately, I've begun to notice more covers that highlight typography in their designs. So I will definitely be featuring more of them!

Online Links

LinkedIn

Reedsy: Eileen Savage

What do you think of 
this week's cover?
Please leave a comment
and let me know!

Can't Wait Wednesday No. 37: Love, Life, and the List, by Kasie West

Welcome to "Can't Wait Wednesday"!

   

This is a weekly event hosted by

Tressa @ Wishful Endings, and inspired by "Waiting On Wednesday", which used to be hosted by

 Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

For more information, please click HERE.

As in the previous meme, this one showcases future releases  we book  bloggers 
are eagerly anticipating!!
There's also a Linky widget, so participating blogs can link up!

Here's my choice for this week!

 Love, Life, and the List

Kasie West

Hardcover,  384 pages

HarperTeen

December 26, 2017   

Art, Contemporary Romance,

Young Adult Fiction

Everyone knows Abby Turner is in love with her best friend, Cooper Wells. Including Cooper Wells. But despite what people tell her, it doesn’t affect their friendship. And she’s practically over it, anyway. What she really can’t get over is when her boss at the local museum tells her that her paintings lack heart.

Art is Abby’s passion and she hopes her future as well. She is determined to change his mind and earn her way into the upcoming exhibit at the gallery. So along with her family’s help, she compiles “The Heart List,” a series of soul-stretching experiences that are sure to make her a deeper person and better artist in six weeks or less. When Cooper decides to complete the list along with her, she realizes this list is expanding her heart in more ways than one. Maybe she needs to start another project.

Love, Life, and the List is about a girl who, in an effort to bring more emotional depth to her art, compiles a list of soul-stretching experiences to complete with her best friend — a boy she also happens to be in love with.

This is the first in a set of three standalone books with crossover characters.

Why I can't wait for this one!

This novel's female protagonist is an artist, which is something I find SO FASCINATING! She's not simply longing for  "her guy", but is actively interested in bringing more depth to her art. The fact that her best friend and crush decides to complete this wonderful list right along with her is a bonus. The most important thing, though, is that she's willing to work on herself in order to be a better artist, and thus, exhibit her work at the local museum gallery. I find this INSPIRING!! 

Another HUGE PLUS is that this book is by the author of another book I featured in a "WOW" post in December of last year -- By Your Side!!

I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels are: Pivot Point and its sequel Split Second. And my contemporary novels: The Distance Between Us, On The Fence, The Fill-In Boyfriend, PS I Like You, and By Your Side. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

 I graduated from Fresno State University with a BA degree that has nothing to do with writing.   

 I am the mother of four -- three daughters and one son.  We live in Central California where the summers try to kill us with their 115 degree stretches.  

  I love sappy alternative rock ballads and reading way past my bedtime.

Website/Goodreads/Twitter

Amazon/Facebook

Instagram

What do you think of my choice?

Leave your link below, so I can
come check out your pick(s)! 

Waiting On Wednesday No. 190: Crazy Messy Beautiful, by Carrie Arcos

Welcome to "Waiting On Wednesday"!!

  

This is a weekly event that 

used to be hosted by

Jill @ Breaking the Spine, until 

very recently.

I have continued to publish these

posts on my own, as I really 

like this meme, which

showcases future releases we book  bloggers 
are eagerly anticipating!!

Here's my choice for this week!

 Crazy Messy Beautiful    

Carrie Arcos 

Hardcover, 320 pages 

Philomel Books

February 7, 2017

Art, Contemporary Romance,  

Young Adult Fiction  

   

From National Book Award finalist Carrie Arcos–a fresh take on happily ever after, and friendship, that is anything but a love story.  

When your namesake is Pablo Neruda—the greatest love poet of all time—finding “the one” should be easy. After all, sixteen-year-old aspiring artist Neruda Diaz has been in love many times before. So it’s only a matter of time before someone loves him back.

Callie could be that someone. She’s creative and edgy, and nothing like the girls Neruda typically falls for, so when a school assignment brings them together, he is pleasantly surprised to learn they have a lot in common. With his true love in reach and his artistic ambitions on track, everything is finally coming together.

But as Neruda begins to fall faster and harder than ever before, he is blindsided by the complicated nature of love—and art—in more ways than one. And when the relationships he’s looked to for guidance threaten to implode, Neruda must confront the reality that love is crazier, messier, and more beautiful than he ever realized—and riskier, too, than simply saying the words.

Why I'm waiting on this one!

Although I really don't like this cover all that much, the plot is another matter entirely! First of all, how AWESOME is it that someone is actually named after a famous poet? AND a poet whose works deal with love? But, to make things even better, Neruda Diaz, the male protagonist, is an aspiring artist, and so is Callie, the girl who gets involved with him. Add to this a complex love story that is not supposed to be a love story, and.....well, I'm definitely intrigued! I want to know MORE!!

What do you think of my choice?

Leave your link below, so I can
come check out your pick(s)!