Obsessed With Covers #7: Glamorous Illusions, Black and Blue, Lady Of Ashes

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

I love the colors in this cover. And I love that there's no one else in the cover besides the girl. Though it looks deserted, I'm curious about the "illusions". And the sky is gorgeous.












Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren

 Wow! I love the sapphire blue and the fact that besides the black and white there's no other color. And she has blue lipstick! How cool is that!! Now I want a blue lipstick *le sigh*

Black and Blue by Gena Showalter

I love how we can't see her face and I love the shapes and shadows behind her. I also love the foggy rays of sun and the red rose she's holding behind her. I wonder who she is. I need to read this book.












Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent


What pretty covers did you discover recently?

Sunday Book Soundtrack: Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Sunday Book Soundtrack is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books, where I share some of my bookish soundtracks. Since I discovered my passion for reading years ago, I've discovered that more and more of the songs I loved remind me of certain books. So I thought I'd share my playlists with you. If you want to listen to the songs, I'll post a link to a Youtube videos for each and every title. No copyright infringement intended! I'll try to find the official videos for each song. There's no set number for each playlist, sometimes I might have 10, sometimes 5, sometimes if I'm one of my moods I'll have 15. If you want to read more about this feature, click the "show more" button below. 

I read with music. If there's no music, I can't read. And not just read, but almost anything, like studying of cooking or doing chores around the house. The only time I don't have music is when I sleep. And during exams, but that's a different story.

Sometimes it happens that a certain song and a book or a scene from the book I'm reading sort of... click. It's like they were made for each other. At least for me. And so I will almost always think of that particular book when hearing that song. I thought I'd share my book soundtracks with you.

Keep in mind that I have a very... weird taste in music. You'll find mostly rock music, country or the 80s-early 90s music in these lists. I might use some "contemporary" songs from now and then, but don't bet on it being something other than those particular genres. Also, not always the songs will be in English. If I have a link to a translation for the lyrics, I'll post it. If you like a song I'm using, that's fine. If not, that's fine too, just don't say I didn't warn you.

The songs aren't always on a book's playlist for their lyrics. Sometimes they're there for an instrument or for a feeling I get when hearing them. Also, I won't always mention what scene I used them for. If it's not a spoiler, I'll share the scene, if it is a spoiler, I'll let you guess.

Anyway, I hope you like my playlists :)

This week's book soundtrack is Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland (read my review here).

I know I said it in my review, but I need to say it again: I loved this book. I really, really did. So much in fact that I really couldn't wait to share this soundtrack with you. About the soundtrack: I won't give you any hints on what made me think a certain song was perfect for a certain scene. Here's my list (will tell you more after I share the songs :D ):

1. Kenny Chesney - Shiftwork
2. Kenny Chesney - No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems
3. Taylor Swift - Our Song
4. Kacey Musgraves - Undermine (feat. Trent Dabbs)
5. Lady Antebellum - Dancing Away With My Heart

Now. In case you think your eyes are working wrong, they're not. Yes, the list is made only by country songs. Yes, I do listen to other genres than rock (plus, I love country music) *gasp* LOL. Anyways, I hope you read this book and I hope you liked my playlist. 

Happy reading (and listening)!

Early Book Review: Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Author: Leila Howland
Series: N/A
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: May 7th 2013
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: NetGalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):


For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

When I first saw this book on Goodreads I thought "Man, I miss summer!" It took me a while to look at anything else besides the blue sea in the background or sand. It's true, the cover caught my eye. The story though, it made me fall in love.

Cricket reminded me of being a teenager (yes, it was a bit awkward, 'cause I was an awkward teen :P). It was all there: the endless conversations about the boy you're having a crush on, the plans you make for the future with your BFF, passing notes to one another or caring so much for your friend, you'd do anything and everything for them (even though maybe they don't need/want your help). I honestly couldn't help loving Cricket. She's honest, she's true, she's a loyal friend and she does the things you'd want any teenager to do. And if you take the Cricket from the end of the book and the girl we meet in the first pages, you can see she grew up a lot during the summer.

Some things that happened were a little predictable, but I think it was done beautifully. I loved the story about Cricket's mom and her life in Nantucket. It was very interesting and I think it helped Cricket understand her mother a lot more.

Yes, Nantucket Blue is a book about those famous summer loves, about friendship, growing up, finding out what really matters and what is or isn't important. It's about all that and more. But it's also about something much more important, about owning your mistakes and facing your fears. It's a very beautiful story and I enjoyed it very, very much.

Book Review: Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Author: Jamie McGuire
Series: Beautiful #2
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: April 2nd 2013
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Source:NetGaley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Can you love someone too much? Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.

Forgive me if I start by ogling...err...staring admiring the prettiness of the cover *drools* *deep breath* Okay I'm back :D

I have to say that I liked more being in Travis's head than in Abby's. For one, we got to understand Travis a lot more. I think the beginning of this book explains a lot about why Travis is the way he is and why he has trouble committing to someone. It also helped me understand why he's so jealous and possessive of Abby. I'm not saying it's normal, but it's a good reason. 

Then there's the part that proves me that I wasn't wrong when I thought Abby wasn't the innocent girl she seems to be. I think Walking Disaster shows how completely irrational she was at times. In certain moments I felt like she was more heartless than Travis was with his previous one night stands. At least Travis was honest with what he was offering those girls he met before Abby and what they shouldn't expect from him. Abby though was all smiles one minute and then the next she was completely opposite. Again, I think that had she been fully honest and talk with Travis and tell him exactly how her childhood was instead of just saying "it was bad" most of the fights and bad moments could have been avoided. Or at least they could have been just a little bit less difficult. 

What I loved was the ending. It was different and unexpected and I think it showed that both Abby and Travis finally matured and had that long talk they needed to have to sort things out. It was unique and perfect for these two. 

Cover Reveal: Bathing Beauties, Booze and Bullets by Ellen Mansoor Collier

Bathing Beauties, Booze and Bullets by Ellen Mansoor Collier
Publication date: April 2013
Genre: New Adult Jazz Age Mystery

Synopsis:

It’s 1927 in Galveston, Texas—the “Sin City of the Southwest.” Jasmine (“Jazz”) Cross is an ambitious 21-year-old society reporter for the Galveston Gazette who tries to be taken seriously by the good-old-boy staff, but the editors only assign her fluffy puff pieces, like writing profiles of bathing beauties. The last thing Jazz wants to do is compare make-up tips with ditzy dames competing in the “International Pageant of Pulchritude and Bathing Girl Revue.”

She’d rather help solve the murders of young prostitutes who turn up all over town, but city officials insist on burying the stories during Splash Day festivities. After Jazz gets to know the bathing beauties, she realizes there’s a lot more to them than just pretty faces and figures. Jazz becomes suspicious when she finds out the contest is sponsored by the Maceos, ruthless Beach Gang leaders and co-owners of the Hollywood Dinner Club, where the girls will perform before the parade and pageant.

Worse, her half-brother Sammy Cook, owner of the Oasis, a speakeasy on a rival gang’s turf, asks her to call in a favor from handsome Prohibition Agent James Burton—an impossible task that could compromise both of their jobs and budding romance. While Agent Burton gives her the cold shoulder, she fends off advances from Colin Ferris, an attractive but dangerous gangster who threatens Sammy as well as Burton. In the end, she must risk it all to save her friends from a violent killer hell-bent on revenge. Inspired by actual events.

Also in this series:

Book 1 purchase links:
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Flappers-Flasks-Foul-Play-ebook/dp/B008QRJ0XM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359147380&sr=1-1&keywords=flappers%2C+flasks+and+foul+play
Barnes & Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/flappers-flasks-and-foul-play-ellen-mansoor-collier/1112135350?ean=2940044699434&itm=1&usri=flappers%2c+flasks+and+foul+play+collier

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AUTHOR BIO

Ellen Mansoor Collier is a Houston-based freelance magazine writer/editor whose articles, essays and short stories have been published in several national magazines. Formerly she's worked as a magazine editor, and in advertising and public relations (plus endured a hectic semester as a substitute teacher). She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Magazine Journalism, where she enjoyed both coffee and colorful cocktails. A flapper at heart, she’s the owner of DECODAME, specializing in Deco to retro vintage items (www.art-decodame.com).

Teaser Tuesday #21

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

“There was a curse.
 There was a girl.
 And in the end, there was a grave.
I never even saw it coming.”

I really can't find the words to say how much I'm loving this book. I haven't finished it yet, but I love it! Now I just need to buy the other 3 books and I'll be all happy :)

What's your Teaser Tuesday this week?