Swag Giveaway Winners!

So yesterday I had a little impromptu Never Enough/Losing Faith swag giveaway and I asked if you guys wanted to be surprised or if you wanted me to post the winners list. Most people said for me to post the list so here it is:

Cathee H.
Alexandra T.
Maria S.
Rachelia @ Bookish Comforts
Lulu S.
Yiling
Erin D.
Jenny C.
Vy L.
Victoria S.
Erin W.
Tiffany O.
Sarah

So those are the winners! Hopefully I'll get around to sending out the swag sometime later this week.

Also I noticed after I posted about the giveaway that half the bookmarks are signed and the other half aren't. Phooey. However I have some other signed swag and a few stickers so if you get an unsigned bookmark you should either get a signed postcard or a sticker to make up for it. I hope that's fine with everyone. :P

Anyways congrats guys!

Julia :)

Who wants some signed swag?

Hey guys!

Today I've got a little impromptu first come, first served giveaway! Several months back the lovely Denise Jaden sent me a bunch of signed Never Enough bookmarks, postcards and some Losing Faith stickers. Sound awesome? Well good because today they can be yours! You just have to be one of the first 20 people to fill out the form below and I'll send you some swag. Plus this is open internationally so anyone can win!

After 20 people have filled out the form I'll send out all the swag! Do you guys want me to post a list of the winners or just have it arrive by surprise in your mailbox? Let me know. :)

If you're interested in learning more about Denise Jaden's new novel Never Enough (which is phenomenal by the way!) be sure to check out the summary below.

Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special… even if that means betraying her sister.

But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship —and her sister—before it’s too late?

Julia :)

Kawaii Monday: Fox Amigurumi

I've got something SUPER cute to share with you guys this week! So my friend crochets and sells her stuff on Etsy and just recently she put up for sale, wait for it, an amigurumi fox. Okay so you may be scratching your heads going "What the heck does amigurumi mean?" so allow me to explain.

Amigurumi: A crocheted or knitted stuffed toy

Therefore: Amigurumi fox = A crocheted or knitted stuffed fox.

Starting to sound cute? You have no idea. Check it out:

woiejwonakrhwiehoiajlkadjowjeoi!!!!!!

Yeah basically that was my response when I saw it pop up in my Facebook newsfeed. Of course I knew I HAD to share it. It's just too cute not to share right? I mean his little ears, and adorable eyes AND LOOK AT HIS CUTE LITTLE TAIL IN THIS PIC!!!!

It's settled. Ferdinand is ADORABLE. And yes, even his name is cute. >.<

You can purchase little Ferdinand on Etsy here.

Julia :)

Cover Comparison: Summer Lovin' Edition [1]

Since summer is upon us I thought it would be great to feature some summery reads for cover comparisons! Hence: Summer Lovin' Edition! I'll be attempting to do this all summer long but we'll see if I run out of summery books and covers for me to compare. I don't think I will but ya never know. What do you guys think of this idea? Like it? Hate it? Let me know! Anyway, on with the comparison. :D

So this week I was going through my blog reader when I stumbled upon a picture of the UK cover for We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han. It was a total double take moment guys. Seriously I didn't even know this series had alternate covers. Of course once realizing they did I knew that I HAD to do a cover comparison for them especially since summer is basically upon us! So here it is: The cover comparison showdown between the US and UK covers of The Summer Series by Jenny Han!

                                                                  US Covers                                                      

                                                                  UK Covers


US Covers: I love the beachy/summery feel of these covers. The whole white background with pastels color scheme works really well and I think the font choice is perfect. However I do think that the best cover was The Summer I Turned Pretty and that INSWY and WAHS don't work as well. They just feel a bit more blah to me. Maybe it's because they don't have the sun glare like the first one? I don't know. One last thought: Am I the only one who noticed that even though Conrad (the older brother) is supposed to be brunette and Jeremiah (the younger brother) is supposed to be blonde the cover models don't match up age wise? I mean the blonde is clearly older than the brunette so it's like they switched them around. That always bugged me. :P

UK Covers: I love, love, LOVE these covers! I've noticed that UK covers tend to be a bit more stylized than US covers (especially with contemporary novels) and it totally works for this series. The simplicity of the design and colors are just gorgeous. I especially like that they chose different objects for each cover. First flowers, then hearts, and finally horseshoes and wedding bells! I'm not really sure why horseshoes (is there something important I'm forgetting about the series?) but I think it's cool nonetheless. The one thing I don't really care for is the tag lines. They sound like they belong with some super cheesy soap opera or something. Especially the one for It's Not Summer Without You. Can't you just imagine some horrible voiceover saying: "One Girl, Two Brothers, WHICH WILL SHE CHOOSE?!?!" while some terrible overdramatic music plays in the background? Yeah, I'm cringing too. >.<

So Who Wins? This is a tough one because honestly like both sets of covers but I think the UK covers just barely eek out a win. They're artistic and beautiful while still giving off that nice summery vibe. They aren't as beachy as the US covers which is a bummer (especially since the beach is such an important part of the summer series) but oh well. You can't have everything right?

Which set of covers for The Summer Series is YOUR favorite? Be sure to vote in the poll below and sound off in the comments about why you made your decision!


Do you have any suggestions for future cover comparisons? Leave them in this form!

Julia :)

When Book Covers Get a Mid Series Makeover

You've probably experienced it before. That frustrating moment when you realize that one of your favorite book series got a cover makeover and now all your copies of the previous books in the series will no longer match the copies of the new books in the series. You look at the old covers on your shelf and then look back at the new ones and you start shaking your fist at the computer screen (or bookshelf as the case may be) saying "WHY PUBLISHERS WHY?!?!"

These cover makeovers tends to happen after the first book in a series hits and normally is revealed along with the sequels cover. AKA right after you've had plenty of time to purchase and get attached to the first cover so now you're only options are:


A. Dropping $20 on a second copy of the book because, lets be honest, you want copies of both covers AND you're a bit OCD and want your copies of the books in the series to have congruent covers.

or

B: You save yourself $20 and resign yourself to the fact that your copies of this book series will have inconsistent cover designs.

If you're anything like me (and I think you are) then you do not want to pick option B. So why is it that publishers so often do this? Why do they feel that a book series needs a mid series face lift? Is it that they think the original cover design isn't "marketable" enough? Possibly they're having a hard time coming up with a similar cover designs for the sequels? Or maybe it's that they want to make more money off of us bookish people by getting us to buy multiple copies of their books? Hehe. :P

 Whatever the reason I'm not a big fan of book series makeovers.

Here are just a few examples of a book series that have gotten makeovers midway through their publication:

The Nightshade Series by Andrea Cremer

                                                                 Original Covers

                                                                     New Covers


I remember when these covers got redesigned a few years back and it felt like the entire YA book community was up in arms over it and people were holding onto their Wolfsbane ARC's with the original cover like it was their lifeline. There were petitions and people were emailing the publisher like crazy but it didn't make a difference: The covers still got changed and the original Wolfsbane cover never did become a hardcover reality. I think this is definitely one of the stranger cover change decisions. The original Nightshade and Wolfsbane covers are undeniably GORGEOUS so why did they decide to change the design especially with so much public outcry? I think I read somewhere that they felt that the original covers weren't truly portraying the essence of the books but I think that's kind of a lame excuse especially when the new covers appear sorta tacky. But that's just my two cents. :P

The Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver

                                                                Original Cover

                                                                  New Covers

When I found out that the Delirium cover had been redesigned and that HarperTeen had trashed the old cover theme I was pretty disappointed. I really like the original Delirium cover and I think it would have been awesome to see the whole series designed in the same way. However they did do a really good job with the new cover designs so no complaints there. Plus it helps that I happened to win a copy of the original Delirium hardcover so I didn't feel as guilty buying another copy with the redesigned cover. Yep: I have hardcover copies of both Delirium covers. >.<

The Ashes Trilogy by Ilsa J. Bick

                                                                  Original Cover

                                                                   New Covers


The original Ashes cover is totally awesome. It's eerie and creepy and goes perfectly with the story. Because I do like the original cover so much I'm pretty bummed they redesigned it and are going with a different cover theme for the rest of the series. The new covers just don't have the same vibe that the original had. THEY JUST AREN'T CREEPY ENOUGH! Plus now my copy of Ashes isn't gonna match up with Shadows unless I buy the new design. Phooey! :P

Oh and is it just me or does the new Ashes cover totally have the same feel as the new cover for White Cat by Holly Black?

Yeah maybe they aren't THAT similar but I still can't see the new Ashes cover without thinking "That reminds me of White Cat." :P

So what do you guys think when a book series gets a cover makeover? Are you like me where want the book covers in a book series to be consistent? Or do you not care? Do you even notice? And why do you think publishers redesign covers like this?

Julia :)