Cover Story

A few recent cover discoveries! 

 

And We Stay 

by Jenny Hubbard

Delacorte Press, January 28th, 2014 

 

Into the Dark 

by Bree Despain

EgmontUSA, March 11, 2014

Neverwas

by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, & Larkin Reed

Scholastic Press, January 7th, 2014

 

Pawn

by Aimee Carter

Harlequin Teen, November 26th, 2013

See Jane Run

by Hannah Jayne

Sourcebooks Fire, January 1st, 2014

 

The Tinker King
by Tiffany Trent
Simon & Schuster, February 11th, 2014

Wayfarer

by Lili St. Crow

Razorbill, March 6th, 2014

Witch Finder 
by Ruth Warburton
Hodder, January 2nd, 2014







Alright, you cover-lovers...any new favorites among these?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for. For my WoWs, I'll be choosing a Sooner (books released in the next month or so) and a Later (books further out). Here's what I'm eagerly anticipating:

Sooner:

Destiny's Fire
by Trisha Wolfe

hitting shelves January 10th, 2012 from Omnific Publishing

description: It’s the year 2040, and sixteen-year-old Dez Harkly is one of the last of her kind—part of a nearly extinct race of shape-shifters descended from guardians to the Egyptian pharaohs. Her home and her secret are threatened when the Council lowers the barrier, allowing the enemy race to enter the Shythe haven.

As the Narcolym airships approach, Dez and her friends rebel against their Council and secretly train for battle. Not only is Dez wary of war and her growing affection for her best friend Jace, but she fears the change her birthday will bring. When Dez’s newfound power rockets out of control, it’s a Narcolym who could change her fate… if she can trust him.

Dez’s guarded world crumbles when she discovers why the Narcos have really come to Haven Falls, and she's forced to choose between the race who raised her and the enemy she's feared her whole life.

My thoughts: A little bit paranormal, a little bit steampunk...and I'm pretty sure this one is going to be ALL awesome. Love the cover, too---so glad they changed it from the original one that was released!

Later:

The Savage Grace
by Bree Despain

hitting shelves March 13, 2012 from EgmontUSA

description: A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle.

Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything.

With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders.

The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion.

My thoughts: While I'm not a huge fan of this cover (the bright sherbety pink is pretty, but her body looks strangely contorted to me---and the font is not right..should match the first two books!), I AM a major fan of this series! The ending of book two was heart-stopping and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Book News: Bree Despain's Lost Letters of Brother Gabriel

How is everyone this Thursday? :)
I want to share some cool new from Bree Despain and Egmont Publishing!

I love the Dark Divine series, so I'm completely excited about this e-book release---even more excited that a great cause is being supported with every sale!! Take a look:

A Divine Full-Moon Campaign Launches

Join in and you could win great reads and cool prizes.

Egmont Publishing is pleased to announce the publication of The Lost Letters of Gabriel. And starting at the stroke of midnight, Friday, November 11^th through Saturday, December 10^th, Egmont and acclaimed author of The Dark Divine series Bree Despain will be offering weekly prizes from books to jewelry to celebrate the upcoming paperback publication of TheLost Saint (11/22/11), book 2 in the trilogy. The final book, The Savage Grace, will be available in March.

In addition, for just $1.99 readers can purchase The Lost Letters of Gabriel, a special digital supplement to the series that will add a whole new layer of intrigue and understanding to these books. The letters, first introduced during The Dark Divine (Book 1) to help Grace understand the Urbat curse that has changed her life, were written during the thirteenth century and compiled in the eighteenth century, but some were lost. But those mislaid letters have been found and are now available wherever e-books are sold. Bree Despain is donating a portion of her proceeds from the letters will go to: Kids Need to Read www.kidsneedtoread.org, an organization that provides books to schools and libraries in low income areas.

Look for the next full moon and every full moon between now and the publication of The Savage Grace for more from Bree and Egmont, including exclusive content, additional prizes and maybe a surprise or two.

The Lost Letters of Gabriel: A Dark Divine Original

Available wherever e-books are sold

ISBN-13: 9781606843994; $1.99

To win cool prizes during the Full-Moon campaign, visit: http://www.facebook.com/EgmontUSA

Review: The Lost Saint

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

publisher: EgmontUSA

release date: December 28th, 2010

hardcover, 416 pages

intended audience: Young adult

source: received for review

sequel to: The Dark Divine (2009) - my review

rating:


Warning! Description and Review may contain spoilers for the first book in the series! Only continue if you've read The Dark Divine!
Description: The non-stop sequel to The Dark Divine delivers an even hotter romance and more thrilling action than Bree Despain's first novel. Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She gave her soul to the wolf to save him and lost her beloved mother. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven. Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot - a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities - not realizing that an old enemy has returned and deadly trap is about to be sprung. Readers, ravenous for more Grace and Daniel, will be itching to sink their teeth into The Lost Saint.

Review: The Lost Saint was an exciting and intense follow-up to The Dark Divine. Grace is slowly coming into her powers as an Urbat. Her and Daniels relationship has only been intensified by the fact that she risked her life and his to cure him of the werewolf curse, not to mention lost her brother in the process. The once stable Divine family, the center of the community, is now falling apart with her father constantly off trying to find Jude, her mother seemingly on the edge of insanity over Jude's disappearance, and the community beginning to lose faith in the leadership of their pastor. Not to mention, a strange rash of burglaries happening around town that are pulled of with impossible speed and stealth. This book definitely has a different feel from the first---like I said, very INTENSE.

Grace is still a strong and determined character is this one, allbeit somewhat stubborn and naive. She wants to use her new found powers to become a true Hound of Heaven, and when Daniel stops training her because of the obvious dangers in using the wolf powers, she finds someone who will. I found it a little odd that she would be so naive about how the wolf takes over by urging her use her powers in anger after everything she'd already been through with Daniel and Jude (Hm..where, oh, where is that inner monologue coming from? The angry voice that sounds nothing like me but encourages me to act on my most primal fears and angers? I wonder...). Still, her pursuit to learn about her new powers and her determination to find her brother and bring him home makes for an excellent story.

Daniel is just as illusive and mysterious as last time---he really is a great character. Noble and protective and loving. Grace's best friend, April, comes back into the story---still didn't like her this time around. :) She can be funny at times, but I just feel so sorry for Grace that she needs a confidant for all the serious things happening to her and all April can think of is how to design a superhero costume for her. Oh, and Talbot...the new guy. I thought I saw his place in the story coming a mile away, BUT he surprised me in the end. I liked that!

While admittedly, my attention waned once or twice in the middle of this one, the ending was phenomenal. Exciting, suspenseful, dripping with the danger of a violent battle, and Daniel's part in it can only be described as epic.

Visit Bree Despain's site here.

Purchase The Lost Saint at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository

Trailer:

The Lost Saint Trailer!

An official book trailer has been released for Bree Despain's The Lost Saint!! Have you seen it? If not, check it out here:



The Lost Saint releases in just less than two weeks, and I can't wait to get my hands on it!! I loved The Dark Divine---it was the very first book I reviewed here on Stories & Sweeties! :D

The Cover Story: The Lost Saint

Bree Despain has just revealed the cover to the next book in her Dark Divine series!! Looook!

Absolutely gorgeous!! I hope that this one will be made with accompanying nail polish as well, because I LOVE that color!! She is also having some cool contests at her blog that lead up to the book's release in December so be sure to check that out!