Cover: The True North series by Sarina Bowen

I'm taking it easy today! Decided to share with you the covers of Ms Bowen's new series, True North. I know the covers have been floating around in blogland for a few weeks already, but I also want to know what you think about them!

Here are the covers:

Personally, I'm a bit ambivalent about these covers. If I didn't know Ms Bowen, I'm not sure I'd pick up these books based solely on the covers ^_^; I like that there are common elements throughout the three covers that mark them as part of the same series and I think the fir trees as the series' brand is well-thought out and eye-catching :) I like the title font; however, the color choices for Steadfast and Keepsake are a bit too neon and clash with the color scheme of the covers in my opinion. Also, I'm not sure it really matches the series... because from the darkness of the covers, my impression is that these books are going to be quite angsty and the titles looks to be, hmmmm, more cheerful. It's a good font for New Adult books though. Then again, I haven't read the series, so I have no idea what the mood of this series is going to be LOL.

I'm not a huge fan of the models chosen for the covers. Yes, they have great physiques, but men with naked torsos, bulging muscles and tattoos seem to be very in overabundance lately, especially in self-published books. Then again, that's my personal tastes ^_^; I'm sure a lot of fans are enjoying the eye-candies. Plus, the fir trees and sky backgrounds keep the covers from being too generic.

So there you have, my two cents for these covers :) Final verdict is that no matter what the covers look like, I'll be picking up these books because they are written by Ms Bowen LOL. Luckily, Bittersweet is released in less than a month, on June 14!

What about you? Your thoughts?

Switching of genres: an evolution?

Hi everyone :)

how are you doing? Did you have a nice week-end? I hope you're getting as nice weather as I am! It's really gorgeous outside :) Sunny and not too hot - perfect really. So Saturday was my aunt's surprise party and she was surprised!! LOL, we were sure my uncle would give it away - he's not really good with keeping secrets and lying, but he pulled it off, so kudos to him :) LOL, my cousin thinks it's more like my aunt is naive... Could be a bit of both. I guess it did help my aunt's b-day is actually a month away.

The funny story of the evening was our gift to my aunt :) We actually bought her tickets for a show we knew she would enjoy on the week-end of June 15-16 (think Quebec's version of American Idol). We told my uncle, because we wanted to be sure it'd be a hit with her and also, to know which date would be better. Well turns out when my aunt saw the ads for the show, she asked if my uncle was interesting and my uncle said "No, no." You have to know my uncle: sweetest man on the face of Earth and he rarely says no LOL. So she thought my uncle and cousin was organizing something for her that week-end!! LOL, so now she knows why he said no :P What's funny is my uncle thought it was weird my aunt didn't argue more about going to see the show LOL. Now, everyone's happy :)

***

Before I get to the main discussion topic, I'd like to give you a little update on my dilemma concerning which edition of Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong I was going to get. Remember? Well thanks to Li, I've finally made a decision  and... surprise, surprise, I'm going with the Canadian edition!!

Why you ask, when the Canadian cover was clearly my least favorite... and the weirdest? LOL. Well Li sent me a link from Ms Armstrong's forum about the cover and turns out that Random House has something really special planned!! Here are the details.

First, the edge is going to be dyed red and patterned to match this image:

LOL, I had to look up Jennie's post about Fun Book Vocabulary to ascertain what the edge was. If I'm not wrong, it's the pages on the side of a book. I wonder how thick the book is for it to be patterned with that image...

And then, the image imprinted on the actual book cover is the following:

This I really love!! If this had been the cover jacket, I would have gone with this one without a doubt :)  It still doesn't go with my other books covers, but I think it's pretty and the mood it conveys fits in my opinion.

And you'll have the cover jacket that we've all seen:

The neat thing though is apparently, the jacket will be in vellum, i.e. thin and semi-transparent, and therefore, the image imprinted on the cover will show faintly! As for the text on the cover jacket, it'll be silver and red. Obviously, it'd be better if we could see the effect right now, but so far it sounds really cool... And if it still doesn't work for me, I'll just remove the cover jacket :P

So problem solved!! And a big, big, big thank you and hug to Li for sending me the link! Otherwise, I would have pre-ordered the UK version! Thanks Li!!!

***

So now, onto today's discussion topic :) Not too long ago, I asked what was your definition of Women's Fiction. Well the reason is I wonder if Women's Fiction is the natural evolution for authors who write contemporary romance. This is not the first time this question has popped up in my mind... and I decided this time, I'd asked for your thoughts :) However, it's much harder to put it into words than I expected!!

Basically, I was looking for new releases by authors that I enjoyed in the past and realized my list of authors seems to be shrinking. Or at least, the list of new releases by these authors is definitively not as long as it could be. And I realized that in a lot of cases, it's because the authors have changed genres. Let's take Susan Wiggs for example. She started off as a romance author... but I felt there was a definitive shift throughout her Lakeshore Chronicles series. Actually, she seems to waver back and forth in that series between contemporary romance and women's fiction... but if you look at her two last stand-alones, Just Breathe and The Goodbye Quilt, those two are definitively women's fiction. Another author that comes to mind is Barbara Delinsky. When I started reading, Ms Delinsky's career was already well-established and I think her transition into women's fiction/fiction had already started. My first and favorite book by Ms Delinsky is Three Wishes... I think it's contemporary romance, but her subsequent releases lean more and more into women's fiction realm. However, there is no doubt she started off in romance :) Proof: Wendy just reviewed The Forever Instinct which is being re-issued in e-book format. More recently, an another author that seems to be making the transition slowly is Susan Mallery. Oh, her Fool's Gold series is definitively contemporary romance, but Almost Home and Barefoot Season are women's fiction books... and I wonder if it's the start of the end?

But aside for the fact that these authors are switching genres... my question is why? And I can't help but think deep down, it has something to do with the author's age. Perhaps they feel a disconnection to romance and draw inspiration from what they're going through in life? Or do you think it's because the two genres are so closely related, it's easy to cross into the other? Is it just a natural step in the evolution of things? I guess it doesn't limit to contemporary romance --> women's fiction. There's also romantic suspense --> mystery, paranormal romance --> urban fantasy. However, are these switches a conscious choice? I mean, when you take a closer look, authors who write historical romance are more likely to do it throughout their whole careers... or am I making generalization?

In the case of Sandra Brown or Kay Hooper, I always thought it was more about going mainstream, which is not a bad reason. Although when I consider Ms Hooper's books, a lot of her romance books had psychics and she liked her characters mysterious and intriguing... So perhaps her switch was really simply where her writing led her. Hmmmmm.

I guess my question is: Why do you think romance authors branch out to other genres? Is it simply the evolution of their writing or is there more underlying the switch? Is age also a factor? Is women's fiction the natural evolutionary path from contemporary romance?

Discussion: Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong's covers

Okay, so this isn't going to be a real discussion, but I have a dilemma and I need your opinions. I was browsing the Chapters/Indigo website, figuring out my next orders. I've taken the habits of pre-ordering the hardcovers and trade paperbacks that I want, just because the prices are so much better online and also comparing it to Book Depository to get the best deals... and I came across Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong. Now, I've seen the US and UK covers, but I think the Canadian cover is really recent and this was my first time seeing it. Below are the covers: US, UK and Canadian respectively...

What do you think of the Canadian cover? Honestly, I don't really get it and it turns me off a little ^_^; Guess I won't be getting that copy ^_^;

Now's the real question though... Which one should I get then? The US or the UK one? My problem is that the last three books of the Women of the Otherworld series: Waking the Witch, Spellbound and Thirteen are a trilogy. I wished my covers would fit together... I actually had the same dilemma when Waking the Witch came out. The Canadian cover wasn't great, so I went with the US one - although that one changed. Then, when Spellbound was released, I went with the Canadian cover... Sigh, I wished I was psychic and knew what the subsequent covers would look like.

US:

UK:

CDN:

Also, is it me of none of the editions has a continuous thread for the three covers... I mean, the first two covers match, but the one for Thirteen seems to be coming out of nowhere!

So now, I have the following:

What do you think?

Hauling Sunday VIII

This week was such a great week blogging-wise. I'm telling you, I'm getting back into my rhythm and beware whatever could screw it! LOL. I've also been reading a lot, especially this week-end :) I still haven't cleaned my room yet. Sigh ^_^; The other bad news is that one of my co-workers left to go back to school... Without her, it's going to be quiet at work :( However, as a goodbye present, she gave me (yes, yes, it should be the opposite, but this was her thank-you to me because I've been giving her rides) a giftcard to the bookstore!!

Speaking of bookstore, this week was pretty quiet. I only went once, but I got the book I was looking for:

Deeply, Desperately by Heather Webber - This is the second book in the Lucy Valentine series. It's a fun and fluffy series, something lighter and therefore different :)

Although I only went once to the bookstore, I received a very nice package, courtesy of Tabitha :) Remember the post where I compared the US and Canadian covers of Waking the Witch? This one. So yes, I decide to get the US cover... and Tabitha kindly offered to send me a copy. Of course, that's not the only book I got from her :)

And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper - I read her Jane Jameson series and it was really fun. So when I found out that she had a contemporary coming out, I absolutely wanted to get it. Except, for some reasons, it's not readily available in Canada. You have to order it online. Wonder why.

Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong - I love, love, love Kelley Armstrong... but for some reasons, I still haven't read this one. Even though I got an ARC at RT. Crazy right? I hate it when it happens. You look forward so much to a book and when you get it, you just can't seem to pick it up :(

Husband for Hire by Susan Wiggs - Very old book by Ms Wiggs. I wanted to try it out :)

Return to Me and Rescue Me by Christy Reece - Seems like I still am in a romantic suspense mood :)

A very big thank you to Tabitha, as the last 3 books are from hers :) I love the romance blogland community! :)


Oh, I'm going on a tangent here... but did you see how different the cover of Waking the Witch is? I mean, the final version and what I posted back in March? It's always fun to see the publishing house playing with covers... because that version back in March is now Jayne Ann Krentz newest release Midnight Crystal!

Hauling Sunday II

Phew, this week's purchase was a bit more tedious than usually ^_^; Basically, the bookstores are having the "Buy 3, get the 4th free" promotion. Yay! This is probably the best promotion money-saving-wise :D My only issue was that for some reasons, James' bookstore only received two out of the four books I wanted! So basically, I've been stalking the online indicator for a week ^_^; It was especially annoying, because they all had the same release date and were from the same publishers... So why?!?! I could have gone to other bookstores, but I felt bad, because some were on my list, so they would be put aside for me at the bookstore automatically. I've been told that I can not buy them if I want, but still ^_^; I finally decided to take my chances on Friday and they were there!!! Turns out that someone has ripped off the address or shipment information on the box, delaying the delivery :( Lucky I waited a few days, so I was able to get them :)

So, here is my week's haul, all HQN Books/Mira releases :)

Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery - I read the eARC and decided it was good enough for me to get the print copy :D

A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr - I'm a huge fan of Robyn Carr, even though this one sounds more like woman fiction than romance. I guess I'll have to wait and see :)

Torn Apart by Sharon Sala - Again one of my favorite author :) I do hope this is better than Blown Away ^_^;

Crazy for Love by Victoria Dahl - I've only read one of Ms Dahl's contemporary romance book (Talk Me Down)... the two others are waiting in my TBR pile ^_^; However, I did enjoy the one I read and the blurb sounded good :)


The coming week is going to be tricky for me. First, this Thursday is a holiday, so that means the delivery schedule might be messed up :( Plus, there are basically four promotions going on: (i) Buy 3, get the 4th free, (ii) 5$ off on a purchase of 35$ and over, (iii) renew your i-reward membership card and get 20% off on books for that purchase and (iv) 25% off on one item (birthday coupon). The latter three promotions end on June 30, while the "Buy 3, get the 4th free," on July 4. I have a few books coming out this week, so it'll be a lot of juggling around, but I'm crossing my fingers :)

One of the books I want to buy is The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg, a YA recommendation from Ames. I was going to use the 25% off coupon, but then, the "Buy 3, get the 4th free" is definitively the more advantageous promotion... so, I need suggestions, recommendations peeps! What are the good books you've read lately? In particular in trade-size format (urban fantasy, romance, etc.) and YA hardcover :P

Hauling Sunday I

Welcome to my new feature: Hauling Sunday :) Basically, each week, I'm going to be sharing my new precious with you :)

This week I'll be cheating and cover the books I've got a few weeks ago as well :D

Chimera by Rob Thurman - I love Rob Thurman :) She's a great author and she writes great brother/brother relationship and Chimera is all about it :D

The Demon in Me by Michelle Rowen - I met Ms Rowen while I was at RT, actually while I was waiting for the plane to go to Columbus! :) As a result, I wanted to try this book of hers :)

Hallowed Circle by Linda Robertson - Ms Robertson has been on my radar for a few months. I've finally read Vicious Circle which is the first book of the series and enjoyed it enough to get the second :)

The Night She Got Lucky by Susan Donovan - Ms Donovan's books have been hit and miss, but I still buy her books, because when they're hits, they're really great :D Although these are older heroines and I'm not sure about it. Sigh.

Hunted by the Others by Jess Haines - I was browsing the bookstore and saw Hunted by Others. I remembered seeing good reviews for it, so I picked it up :D

His At Night by Sherry Thomas - Kristie simply devoured this book while we were at RT. I've never read a Sherry Thomas, mostly because of the storylines... but this one seemed to suit me, so I was definitively going to try it out :)

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie by Suzann Ledbetter - I got this book because the cover was so cute LOL
One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare - I think everyone has seen the book trailer by now :) It's simply great and so I've decided to give this new trilogy a try :)


The new books this week :

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson - I got this thanks to Ames :) This is one of her top books in 2010 and she convinced me I had to try it out LOL. I don't often read contemporary YA, but we'll see how it goes with this one :)

In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady by Gayle Callen - Lori really enjoyed this book. I read the ending at the bookstore and thought it was looking good :)

This and that...

Ugh, my sister left her cell phone in my room and of course, she had to have a call at 7am ^_^; That's way too early for me today. Though instead of going back to sleep right away, I turned on my computer to check my email, blog-hop and now blog. What does it say about me?

I was going to right this post yesterday and complain that work has robbed me from my reading mojo... However, not sure I can still say that since I finished 2 books yesterday. The first one was Spiral Hunt by Margaret Ronald and I ended up skimming through the 2nd half. I should have just put it down as DNF, but since I haven't read a single book this week, I pushed through... then, the second was Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs and I stayed up till 2.30am to finish it. Good thing today is Sunday :P So I guess my reading mojo is not completely gone... but we'll see how today goes :)

And wow, March is almost over... by the way, the deadline for the March Re-Read Challenge will be this week - just thought I'd remind everyone. Okay, back to March is almost over. Can't believe how fast it went by! This time next month, I'll be at RT 2010 in Columbus!! Woohoo!! Can't wait, especially after this hellish week at work! Mollie who used to own Biblioharlot's Bookshelf and Teen Troves blog is back with a new blog - Book Fare Delights :) I remembered she lived in Columbus and contacted her to get some recommendations and so, she's come up with two nice nice restaurant and bookstores rec posts :D Yeah, the bookstores rec post - that's for me ^_^; I know, I know... I'm going to RT 2010, am assured to get a ton of books there, and I still need bookstores rec. What can I say, I'm sick LOL :P No, seriously, the reason I asked for bookstores recommendations is that since I'm going to the RT convention, I'm holding off buying several books such as Changes by Jim Butcher, Tales of the Otherworld and The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong, etc. I figure if these books are not available at the convention, I should still try getting them in the States, because 1) it'll be cheaper - US price < CDN price and CDN$ ~ US$ at the moment and 2) I keep getting those great coupons for Borders and Barnes & Nobles, so the book will be even cheaper! The hardcovers and trade-size books are the ones I'll be aiming for (hello, Savour the Moment by Nora Roberts anyone?)... since I'll already have lots of books, what difference does a couple more make? Okay, granted, I must not go crazy at the UBS...

Another reason that I'm determined to get Tales of the Otherworld in the States is because of the cover.

US cover on left and CDN on right

I usually like the Canadian covers  better for this series; however, they've recently re-"covered" all of the Women of the Otherworld series... Ms Armstrong calls them her Twilight covers, which have black backgrounds with mostly white and black pictures of body parts and Twilight font lettering. Some of them are made more striking with the addition of some colors. I thought some of them were very pretty (No Humans Involved, Bitten, Stolen... see them here), but others are just plain weird. The Canadian version of Tales of the Otherworld is actually not that bad, but the US cover is much prettier IMHO. So that's the one I want and that means buying it at the bookstores in Columbus if I can't find it at RT convention... However, I don't know what I'll do this summer when Waking the Witch is released...

US cover on left and CDN on right

I mean, seriously, the Canadian version is freaky and I can't decide if it's because of the dirt on her skin or the eyes. Probably both. Ah well, at least, I have an option, right? :P

Okay, going back to bed...

Re-Read Challenge Reminder

How is everyone doing? I hope well :) It's been quiet on blogland... I know, I know. I say this often, but I can't help it when it's the truth, right? I hope everyone is busy with RL and not sick like me ^_^;

For those who are wondering, I did get Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong! Yay!! It wasn't too hard either... Just two phone calls, although I have to admit, I did feel a little bit bad ^_^; But that's another story. Here are the two covers, Canadian on the right and US on the left. Which one do you prefer?

I still haven't made up my mind... In a way, I find the Canadian one a bit weird... took me a while to figure out the image. I like the black and white look with a little color. Ms Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series are being re-printed in Canada with new covers, so this one fits right in... but me, I had most of the US covers... and so the US cover would fit better... but while I like the image, I don't like the yellow background. Ah well. Can't complain too much right?

Next on my hunting list is On the Edge by Ilona Andrews...

LOL and before I forget (which would be sad, because after all, this is the topic of this post), the Re-Read Challenge is for next week! :) End of the month is Wednesday, September 30 - so that will be the official date. However, feel free to post your review anytime between September 29 and October 1st to be eligible for the 10$ gift certificate :D I'll have the draw done on Firday, October 2nd :)

So have you done your re-read? I did mine (which is why this reminder is a bit late LOL)

Have a nice week-end all!