Shelf Candy Saturday #2: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor

This wonderful book meme/blog hop

is hosted by

Stephanie @

Five Alarm Book Reviews!!

The purpose of this feature is to display a favorite

book cover, with information, if available,

about the cover illustrator, photographer,

and/or designer.

For all the participation rules just click

HERE.

This week, I'm showing some

cover love to:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Laini Taylor

Hardcover, 418 pages

(U.S. Cover)

Little, Brown & Company

September 27, 2011

I really should have featured this cover for my first post, since I'm so in love with the color blue.   Also, I'm very particular about the shades of blue that I consider most beautiful.   The ones on this cover completely enchant me!  The mask worn by the enigmatic-looking girl pictured here contains two shades of blue, along with a silvery sheen that is most visible when the book is tilted at an angle, either up or down.   This gives the image a magical quality that's totally in keeping with Karou's personality.   She's the book's main character.

Adding to the mystery is the fact of the mask itself.  Karou has long wanted to know who she really is, and has not found any answers.  She stares directly at the viewer, one eye plainly visible, the other shrouded in darkness.  This hints at the fact that she has one foot in the real world, and another in a strange, fantastical one.  She's almost daring the viewer to discover her true identity...  Her expression has a rather disturbing, haunting quality about it.

The lettering is simply beautiful, and just as striking as the cover image.  I love the contrast between the flowing, poetic script that spells out "Daughter of" and the stark, military-looking letters of the rest of the title, "Smoke and Bone".   This contrast reveals Karou's dual nature as a sensitive, artistic soul, as well as a fierce warrior.

This is the U.S. cover, by the way.  I have seen the U.K. version, and I must say I don't like it as much as this one.   Sometimes I do prefer the covers of foreign editions, but not this time!

This stunning cover is the result of

a collaborative effort

between very talented photographers

and designers.

It was produced by the

Hachette Book Group, Inc.

 

The photo of the girl

was provided by

Lea Bernstein/arcangel-images.

This is a stock photo service catering

specifically to the international

publishing industry.

The photo of the mask

was provided by Shutterstock,

another stock photo service.

The cover design is by

David Caplan, Senior Art Director

at Little Brown (formerly at

HarperCollins), and

Alison Impey, book designer.

Here's one of several book trailers made about this book:

                                        

TGIF at GReads #2: Must Reads

It's TGIF time!!!!

Happy Friday,

Fellow Book Bloggers!!!!!

This blop hop is hosted at the awesome

GReads!

Each Friday, a question is posted, and the week's

blog posts are re-capped.

To join in the fun,

just publish your own post,

and then link up to the hosting blog's hop page!

Here's this week's question:

2012 Must Reads:
Which books are at the top of your list 

to be read this year

(new or old releases)?

I've been accumulating books for years now, and I think it's high time I read at least some of them!  That's why I'm participating in the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge (see my sidebar), which is aimed at whittling down one's mountain of books to be read.  I have so many terrific books I'd like to read, too...both fiction and non-fiction! 

There are books I do feel I must read, whether or not they've been in my library for years, or have just joined their 'older siblings'.  Okay, here are the ones that are calling out to me most strongly:

The Iron Queen

(Iron Fey #3) 

Julie Kagawa

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Stephenie Meyer

The Fallen and Leviathan

(The Fallen #1)

Thomas Sniegoski

Aerie and Reckoning

(The Fallen #2)

Thomas Sniegoski

Inheritance

(Inheritance #4)

Christopher Paolini

Forsaken

(The Demon Trappers #1)

Jana Oliver

Rapture

(Fallen #4)

Lauren Kate

Bloodrose

(Nightshade #3)

Andrea Cremer

The Charmed Sphere

(Lost Continent #1) 

Catherine Asaro

The Misted Cliffs

(Lost Continent #2)

Catherine Asaro

The Dawn Star

(Lost Continent #3)

Catherine Asaro

End of Days

(The Fallen #3)

Thomas Sniegoski

Until I Die

(Revenants #2)

Amy Plum

The Printmaker's Daughter

Katherine Govier

The Obsidian Blade

(Klaatu Diskos #1)

Pete Hautman

Possession

A.S. Byatt

Starcrossed

(Starcrossed #1)

Josephine Angelini

Divergent

(Divergent #1) 

Veronica Roth

Torrent

(The River of Time Series #3) 

Lisa T. Bergren

Entwined - Heather Dixon

Emerald Magic:

Great Tales of Irish Fantasy

Andrew M. Greeley, Diane Duane,

Fred Saberhagen, Peter Tremayne,

Cecilia Dart-Thornton,

L.E. Modesitt, Jr., and more

The Hunt of the Unicorn

C.C. Humphreys

The Swan Kingdom

Zoe Mariott

Shadowspell

(Faeriewalker #2)

Jenna Black

So these are some of the books I would like to read this year.  I haven't featured the non-fiction books I'd also like to read, mind you!  I might do a separate post for them!

HAPPY READING,

FELLOW BOOKWORMS!!!!!


This week at
A Night's Dream of Books:

Shelf Candy Saturday #1: Bloodrose

Wrap Up: The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

On My Bookshelves #13

Waiting On Wednesday #26

Waiting On Wednesday #26: Echoes of Betrayal, by Elizabeth Moon

This is a weekly book meme, hosted by

Jill @  Breaking the Spine,

which features future releases that we book bloggers

are eagerly anticipating!

Here's my pick for this week!!

Echoes of Betrayal

Elizabeth Moon

Hardcover, 464 pages

Del Rey

Expected Publication Date:

February 21, 2012

Genre: Fantasy

From the Goodreads Synopsis

This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind.

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. A finger of suspicion has been pointed toward his grandmother, the queen of the Ladysforest elves, and that suspicion has only intensified with time and the Lady’s inexplicable behavior. Clearly, she is hiding something. But what? And why?

I have just discovered this series!

It definitely sounds very, very exciting,

so I have to go back to the first volume and

get started on it!

I don't think I'll be sorry, from the looks of this one!

Needless to say, that stunning cover

just pulled me in!

What awesome books

are you all

eagerly anticipating

this week?

On My Bookshelves #13

My new weekend book meme

highlights the books that I have somehow

never gotten to,

as well as those wonderful books

I would love to re-read!!

Here's my special list

for this week!

The Charmed Sphere

(Lost Continent #1)

Catherine Asaro

Trade Paperback, 384 pages

Luna

Published February 1, 2004

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

From the Barnes & Noble Review

Originally a novella entitled "Moonglow" in 2003's Charmed Destinies anthology, The Charmed Sphere is the much-expanded story about a reluctant mage and an equally reluctant heir. Chime is living an idyllic life with her family in the rural hamlet of Jacob's Vale. But her life is turned upside down when one of the King of Aronsdale's most trusted advisers, searching the kingdom for shape-mages, identifies her as a promising mage with powerful undeveloped ability. Chime reluctantly agrees to travel to Castle Suncroft, where she is to be trained in the art of magecraft -- and also groomed for her marriage to Prince Muller, the heir to the throne of Aronsdale! Muller is the nephew to the king, and the last thing he wants to do is get married and rule a kingdom.

The Misted Cliffs

(Lost Continent #2)

Catherine Asaro

Trade Paperback, 352 pages

Luna

Published July 1, 2005

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

The promise of peace rested on this young woman's noble vow: to marry Cobalt the Dark -- heir to a family of legendary cruelty. With only her uncontrolled spells to guide her, isolated in Cobalt's solitary home in the Misted Cliffs, knowing poisoned blood ran through her husband's veins, Mel struggled to embrace her unexpected mage powers and unveil the light in her shadowy new world -- including the radiance hidden in her husband's soul. For her enemies were gathering strength and they would soon unleash the darkest of evils in the name of war.

The Dawn Star

(Lost Continent #3)

Catherine Asaro

Trade Paperback, 448 pages

Luna

Published July 1, 2006

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

  

With no teacher to guide her, no mentor to discourage her from the impossible, Mel Dawnfield pushed her magic to its limits — and surpassed them. Only to find that her powers aren't enough to halt burgeoning rebellion within her husband's fledgling realm — or a plot devised to strike at the very heart of Mel's family.


 

I began reading the second book

in this trilogy, The Misted Cliffs,

a couple of years ago,

but did not finish it,

because I wanted to get the first

volume, and then somehow

never did...

I have owned all three of them

for some time now,

so I'm getting them under

my belt this year!

(And oh, these book covers

are luscious, especially

the first one!)

For more information on

this Nebula Award-winning author,

who is a former physics professor

and ballerina,

visit the following sites:

Catherine Asaro

Physics Central

Catherine Asaro - Fantastic Fiction

Catherine Asaro

(Born 1955)

Wrap Up: The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

November 21, 2011 - January 6, 2012

I greatly enjoyed participating in this wonderful reading challenge!  I'm so glad I found out about it, too, before I ran out of time in which to join in.   I jumped on it as soon as I came across it, because Christmas is my very favorite time of year!  When Thanksgiving rolls around, I love to start reading Christmas-themed romance novels and/or short stories.  I think that romance and the Christmas season go together perfectly!  Of course, I also enjoy reading other types of Christmas-themed books, like books about Christmas decorating, and Advent devotionals.  However, I do prefer to read Christmas romances.  They give me that warm, cozy feeling...

I chose to participate at the Mistletoe level, which meant I had to read from 2 to 4 books.  All of the books I ended up selecting were Christmas romances, of course!

Here are the books I read:

Mistletoe Level

It Happened One Christmas

Kaitlin O'Riley

A Regency Christmas VI

Mary Balogh, Sandra Heath,

Emily Hendrickson, Emma Lange,

Sheila Walsh

Comfort & Joy

Kristin Hannah

Under The Mistletoe

Mary Balogh

Fa La La La Film Level

I also watched one Christmas movie.

This one is based on a

Debbie Macomber novel of

the same name.

Mrs. Miracle

(2009)

James Van Der Beek, Doris Roberts,

Erin Karpluk

Many thanks to Michelle at

The Christmas Spirit!!

I'm really looking forward to 

joining the challenge again this year!!