Top Ten Tuesday (77)- My Top Ten Book Covers I Wish I Could Redesign

Hi thanks for stopping by!!! And welcome to my Top 10 Tuesday post! 

Thanks to the lovely ladies at The Broke And The Bookish for creating this weekly meme!

Here's this week's topic.

August 9: Top Ten Tuesday REWIND-- go back and do a topic you missed over the years or recently or a topic you really want to revisit.

I chose a topic from April 2011, Book Covers I Wish I Could Redesign. These are all books I've read, loved, and hated the covers or books that I've read that had an amazing original cover that the publisher decided to redesign and was an awful redesign.

I'll add book covers so click on the cover to be taken to their Goodreads links. Also if the cover is a redesign I'll post both the original cover and the bad redesign. You'll notice that all the redesigns I hate are Penguin or Simon & Schuster redesigns. I have no idea why they feel the need to redesign perfectly good book covers.

1. I just recently read this one and I really enjoyed the story! I can't stand this cover though.

2. Loved this story but man do I hate this cover something fierce!

3. Ok here's one that's gone through a cover change. There was nothing wrong with the first and it's by far my favorite.

Original Cover

New Cover

4. Another Andrea Cremer book. Such a good book and such an ugly cover.

5.  Another redesign I hated. But I am obsessed with this series!

Original Cover

 New Cover

Original Cover

New Cover

6. Another bad redesign. I loved this book too!

Original Cover

New Cover

7. And one last Andrea Cremer one which had a horrid redesign. Book 2 was redesigned as well but I didn't like that original cover.

 Original Cover

New Cover

8. And I think these are the worst offenders when I comes to redesigns! I feel really bad for the author too! Talk about a bad knock off of the Throne of Glass Covers!

 Original Cover

New Cover

  Original Cover

New Cover

  Original Cover

New Cover

9. I love this series but this redesign really made me upset. The original covers were so pretty! 

Original Cover

 New Cover

Original Cover

 New Cover

10. And last but not least! I lost count how many redesigns this series went through and I still think the original cover for book 1 was the best!

Original Cover

New Cover 1

 New Cover 2

 Original Cover

 New Cover 1

 New Cover 2

So what about you? What are some covers you wish you could redesign? And check back next week for my Top Ten Books With X Setting (top ten books set near the beach, top ten book set in boarding school, top ten books set in England, etc)! 

Hugs,

Jaime

Blog Tour- JUBILEE MANOR by Bethany Hagen A Playlist and A Giveaway!

I am so excited to be hosting a spot on the JUBILEE MANOR blog tour! I adore this series it's full of mystery and romance and swoonworthy boys! I have Bethany's playlist to share with you today and of course I'll share the videos for them! And make sure to enter the giveaway to win a paperback of LANDRY PARK and an ARC of JUBILEE MANOR of the book!
Haven't heard of JUBILEE MANOR ? Check it out!

Title: JUBILEE MANOR

Author: Bethany Hagen

Pub. Date: August 11, 2015

Publisher: Dial Books

Pages: 400

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

The thrilling conclusion to Landry Park is full of love, betrayal, and murder--perfect for fans of Divergent, The Selection, and Pride and Prejudice.

In Landry Park, Madeline turned her back on her elite family, friends, and estate to help the Rootless. Now, in Jubilee Manor, she struggles to bring the Gentry and the Rootless together. But when Gentry heirs—Madeline’s old friends—are murdered, even she begins to think a Rootless is behind it, putting her at odds with the boy she loves and the very people she is trying to lead. If she can’t figure out who is killing her friends and bring them to justice, a violent war will erupt and even more will die—and Madeline’s name, her estate, and all the bonds she’s forged won’t make any difference.

This conclusion to Landry Park, which VOYA dubbed "Gone with the Wind meets The Hunger Games,” is a richly satisfying, addictive read.

Now on to the playlist! 

Jubilee Manor Book Playlist

I had a lot of songs that I listened to while writing Jubilee Manor, and while some of it was the same music I listened to with Landry Park, a lot of it was very different since Jubilee Manor, in a lot of ways, is a much darker and more violent book.  And these are in no particular order, since I listened to all of them a million times!

1.       Ludovico Einaudi, any song from Divenire or In a Time Lapse.  There’s something so sweeping and cinematic about Ludovico’s music that just makes it perfect for writing fiction.  His music sweeps from urgency to beauty to quiet reflection, much in the way that my brain progressed while writing Jubilee Manor.

2.     Dario Marianelli, Jane Eyre.  This haunting soundtrack is full of introspection and raw emotion, toggling between a lonely piano and a lonely violin.  I probably listened to this soundtrack a thousand times while figuring out the initial storyline for Jubilee Manor, and I think something of the fear and longing in the music can be felt in certain parts of the book.

3.     Snow Patrol, “The Lightning Strike.” I first heard this song when I was in college, and it’s one of those songs that once you hear it, you feel like you’ve always known it, because it just fits that perfectly with you!  This one I listened to a lot (mostly the beginning section, “What If the Storm Ends”) while I was writing scenes where I had to visualize a lot of moving pieces—a ball or the massive fireworks celebration towards the end.  I really like music that makes me feel like I’m envisioning a movie in my head, and this is definitely that kind of music.

4.    Alt-J, “Tessellate.”  This is one of my favorite songs to write kissing to (I have many.)  There’s something really physical and raw about the way he sings and breathes in the song, and it reminds me of how intimate the act of kissing is—sharing air and sharing space.  Alt-J actually has a lot of fantastic kissing songs, now that I think about it. 

5.     Sonic Area, “Never Ever More.”  This is a creepy song.  This is my dead bodies song. Whenever it was time for me to think about dead bodies, I’d turn on Music for Ghosts.

6.    Melanie Martinez, “Toxic.”  I’m a huge Britney fan, and this cover just gave me the chills, it was discordant and girlish all at once—which was why it was a perfect Cara Westoff song.

7.     Ben Howard, “Call Me Maybe.”  This is another chill-inducing cover that I played on repeat, especially with David and Madeline scenes that would have both elements of conflict and connection, which is what I hear so much of in this version of the song.

And that’s my essential Jubilee Manor playlist!

photo by Ritu Nanos

About Bethany:

Bethany is a a former librarian living in the Kansas City area with her husband and two children.

Her debut novel Landry Park came out from Dial/Penguin in 2014, and the sequel, Jubilee Manor, will be out August 11, 2015. She is am represented by Mollie Glick of Foundry Media.

Find Bethany:

 website | tumblr | pinterest |twitter

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a paperback of LANDRY PARK and an ARC of JUBILEE MANOR. US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the Tour Schedule!

Week One:

8/3/2015-The Bibliophile Chronicles- Interview

8/4/2015- Fiction Freak- Review

8/5/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

8/6/2015- Seeing Double In Neverland- Review

8/7/2015- Wishful Endings- Interview

Week Two:

8/10/2015- The Eater of Books!- Review

8/11/2015- Fiktshun- Guest Post

8/12/2015- WinterHaven Books- Review

8/13/2015- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Interview

8/14/2015- The Reading Nook Reviews- Guest Post

Top Ten Tuesday (35)- Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds

Hi thanks for stopping by!!! And welcome to my Top 10 Tuesday post! 

Thanks to the lovely ladies at The Broke And The Bookish for creating this weekly meme!

Here's this week's topic.

July 28: Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds (love reading, are writers, work at a bookstore, etc.) 



This one is hard but I will try my best. Since I don't read contemporaries none of my characters work in bookstores but, everyone on this list is an avid reader or storyteller heck some use a book as a portal, one is a book blogger, and another lives in a library!

1. Madeline Landry from Landry Park Series by Bethany Hagen.

2. Iolanthe Seabourne and Titus from The Elemental Trilogy by Sherry Thomas. 

3. Shahrzad from The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh.

4. Echo from The Girl At Midnight by Melissa Grey.

5. Seraphina from the Serpahina series by Rachel Hartman.

6. Olivia Mead from The Cure For Dreaming by Cat Winters.

7. Sydney Sage from The Bloodlines Series by Richelle Mead.

8. Katy from the Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

9. Celaena Sardothien from The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas.

10. Raven Weathersby from The Artisans by Julie Reece.

So this is my list. What about you? What were the last books you received or bought?

And come back next week for my Ten Fairytale Retellings I've Read/Want To Read (this one will be easy I love fairy tale retellings)!

Hugs,

Jaime

Top 10 of 2014 Day 3- Best Debut Authors Of 2014

Merry Christmas Eve!!!! Today’s topic is Best ________ Of 2014 (Readers/Bloggers choice. Please fill in the blank with ONE or more of these topics - Villains, Contemporaries, Dual POV's, Novellas, Adult titles, New Adult titles, Love Triangles, Couples, Bad Boys or Debuts. REMEMBER - this list MUST be from books you've READ in 2014)

And make sure to stop by my co-hosts sites Reading YA Rocks, Tales of a Ravenous Reader, and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for their lists! Oh and make sure to sign up with the linky to share your lists! And don’t forget one of us is hosting a giveaway today! Who you ask? You'll just have to visit each site to find out ;)

I decided to do Debut Authors since there are so many good ones this year! All of the links go to their twitter accounts so if you don’t follow them go do it! They are definitely not in order. If I could I would have made them all #1!

1. Martina Boone. Compulsion was an amazing book and Martina is such a sweetheart and someone I consider a good friend.

2. Rosamund Hodge. I adored CRUEL BEAUTY and I can’t wait to read her next book CRIMSON BOUND!

3. Bethany Hagen. Landry Park was a fave of 2014 and she’s such a sweetie!

4. Sara Raasch. She’s your go to gal for an amazing High Fantasy!

5. Melissa Landers. Killer sci-fi writer especially if you love hot aliens!

6. Ryan Graudin. She wrote a beautiful fae story and then in the same year wrote a thriller! She is so talented and an awesome person!

7. Lynne Matson. Loved NIL and if you like goodies she’s always giving away something on twitter!

8. Kristi Helvig. I loved BURN OUT and can’t wait for it’s sequel!

9. Amy Talkington. She wrote LIV FOREVER it was an amazing ghost story. I’m not normally a fan of those but she did this brilliantly I cried ugly tears!

10. Jen Alexander. A gamer girl after my own heart! Oh and she wrote a pretty kick ass book too J

Did any of my favorites make your list? Fill out the linky and let me know! And good luck with the giveaway! 

And remember to stop by my co-hosts sites Reading YA Rocks, Tales of a Ravenous Reader, and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for their lists and one of them is hosting a giveaway today but I'm not saying who you'll just have to visit all 3! 

Top 10 of 2014 Day 2- Best Book Covers of 2014

Welcome to day 2! Today’s topic is Best Book Covers of 2014 (MUST be a book released in 2014. Would be best if it's a book you've READ in 2014, but it's not required) and this year publishers finally decided to do something other than a girl in a pretty dress (Thank you Publishers!). I did add a few pretty dress covers but there's more to the covers than just the dresses. :)

And make sure to stop by my co-hosts sites Reading YA Rocks, Tales of a Ravenous Reader, and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for their lists! Oh and make sure to sign up with the linky to share your lists! And don’t forget one of us is hosting a giveaway today! Who you ask? You'll just have to visit each site to find out ;)

1. A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU by Claudia Gray. This one has already won a bunch of best covers of 2014 and it totally deserves it!

2. CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge. A rose and an endless staircase it's one of the most beautiful covers I've seen!

3. WINTERSPELL by Claire Legrand. I love the wintry feel of this and it suits her Nutcracker tale perfectly!

4. ALIENATED by Melissa Landers. I love that they're facing each other like they're on different planets! And I love the colors!

5. CROWN OF ICE by Vicki L. Weavil. I loved this story and the cover artist did an amazing job! It fits the book perfectly.

6. THE JEWEL by Amy Ewing. Yes there's a dress but if you look close it's more than that there's a jewel shape to it. Besides that dress is gorgeous.

7. BONESEEKER by Brynn Chapman. I love the creepiness of the cover! And the gray-scale works perfect with this historical Sherlock Holmes-ish story!

8. LANDRY PARK by Bethany Hagen. I know the did a new cover of this but I love this one, the original. It's beautiful in it's simplicity!

9. HER DARK CURIOSITY by Megan Shepherd. Yes another dress but that's now what I love about this one! I love the background!

10. ELUSION by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam. I love the colors on this one!

Did any of my favorites make your list? Fill out the linky and let me know! And good luck with the giveaway!

And remember to stop by my co-hosts sites Reading YA Rocks, Tales of a Ravenous Reader, and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for their lists and one of them is hosting a giveaway today but I'm not saying who you'll just have to visit all 3! 

Top Ten Tuesday (9)- Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014

Hi and welcome to my Top 10 Tuesday post! Looks like I'll be sticking with this one for a while since I'm enjoying this!

Thanks to the lovely ladies at The Broke And The Bookish for creating this weekly meme!

Here's this week's topic.

December 9: Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014.

All of these authors were debut authors in 2014!

1. Rosamund Hodge I loved CRUEL BEAUTY!

2. Sara B. Larson wrote the amazing high fantasy DEFY!

3.Melissa Landers. ALIENATED rocked!

4. Bethany Hagen. LANDRY PARK was a favorite of 2014!

5. Ryan Graudin. ALL THAT GLOWS was an awesome fantasy with Fae!

6. Elissa Sussman. STRAY was another great high fantasy!

7. Sarah Raasch. SNOW LIKE ASHES was probably my favorite high fantasy of 2014!

8. Martina Boone. Loved COMPULSION and I adore Martina.

9. R.C. Lewis. She wrote a Sci-Fi Snow White Retelling, STITCHING SNOW and it wad awesome!

10. Emily Engel. I admit I hadn't planned on reading THE BOOK OF IVY for a few reasons. But I won a copy and figured heck why not. I really liked her writing style and can't wait to read the next book.

So this is my list. What about you? What authors were new to you in 2014?

And come back next week for the Top Ten Books I Read In 2014!

Hugs,
Jaime