Obsessed With Covers #14: Zomburbia, Frozen, Snow Like 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.

This is suuuuch a creepy cover! I love it!! The blood, the slash on her cheek that gives the illusion that she's half grinning, her light-colored eyes are staring directly at you, it seems like she's looking at your soul. Or eyeing her next meal. Then there's the blood, the wound on her forehead and her creepy color...It all makes this cover amazing.










Zomburbia - Adam Gallardo

This is such a simple cover, which is actually why I like it. Of course, looking at the different editions, I found another one that I loved, that I had to include in this post as well...Now I'm torn, because if I ever decide to read this series, I'll have to seriously ponder on which edition to buy. There's the first version, which is more appropriate for the title, with the icy background and the icy-blue dragon that looks like he's very, very cold, poor thing. Then there's the second version, where the dragon looks like a pendant and it's rising over the sea or it's a portal to a different world / dimension.... So yeah, I've no idea what should I choose... The important part is that both covers are amazing and beautiful and maybe I'll buy both versions, just for the prettiness of them both.

Frozen: Heart of Dread by Melissa De La Cruz & Michael Johnston

I love the duality of this cover. The yin-yang showing both summer/spring and winter landscapes and the ashes on the ground that look almost like waves. I'm also curious about the title and how the cover fits with it... I might add this book on my TBR based solely on the cover.










Snow Like Ashes - Sara Raasch

August Random Reads (2): The Outsider by Melinda Metz

I decided to join in on Sarah's meme and I'll let Random.org choose my books for me because I seriously need to make a dent in my TBR mountain. Though I secretly believe my TBR mountain is a direct descendant of the Hydra, because no matter how many books I read from it, the pile keeps getting bigger and bigger. Anyway...

The rules are pretty simple:

1. If you’re on Goodreads enable sorting to your to-read shelf
2. Go to Random.org and type in the Min as 1 and the Max as how many ever books are on your to-read shelf.
3. Scroll down to the book matching the number Random.org picks.
4. Link up to your Random Reads post. If you choose more than one book per month, be sure to put a number by your name in the list so it doesn’t look like a duplicate.
5. Read and be merry.

Here's what Random.org chose for me: 75 *drum roll* That means I'm going to read The Outsider by Melinda Metz. Nice! I've had this on my TBR since I saw Roswell and found out that it's based on a series of books. Now I'm really excited.

Release Blitz: Upside Down by Lia Riley

Title: Upside Down
Author: Lia Riley
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Series: Off the Map #1
Publication: August 5th, 2014 by Grand Central

If You Never Get Lost, You’ll Never Be Found

Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she'll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.

Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He's never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime . . . or if they were meant to live a world apart.

Purchase

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About Lia

Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult Romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live in Northern California.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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Excerpt

“That’s it, Talia,” Bran’s voice is encouraging. “You’re holding tight, that’s great. Now, I’m going to need you to release your left hand and reach up a few inches to grab the next hold.”

I grit my teeth. The way he talks, you’d think I’m scaling Everest. Or at least Kilimanjaro. Instead—

“’Scuse, us, we’ll be by in a tic. That’s the way, Andy, right around the lady.”

I’m the lady. Andy is a kid who doesn’t look a day over seven who scrambles past me in a flurry of Spider-Man shoes and gap-toothed smiles. His parents bring up the rear, smiling up at their wild monkey child with obvious pride.

And they aren’t the first group to pass me.

Five Swedish women, a couple, and a guy who looked to be in his mid-seventies have also shot past me during the course of the last quarter hour.

The top is so close I can taste it. Bran is being nothing but encouraging, but below me is a twenty-foot drop. Not enough to kill me, unless I fall with some sort of suicidal intent, but enough to make me feel incredibly uneasy about the boulder field.

Bran eases toward me. “Talia, take my hand.”

“Can’t let go.”

“Talia.”

“No.” This is it; this is the reason. Bran isn’t going to admit it here, while I’m bordering on a panic attack on a trail being conquered by elementary school children and senior citizens, but there’s no doubt this is A REASON to lose interest in me. I’m giving him a big capital-lettered reason, but I can’t stop. I physically can’t let go.

“Talia. Take a deep breath.”

“Breath taken.”

“Another.”

“Okay.”

“Give me your hand, no bullshit. I want your fingers in mine. You’ll be safe. I’m going to keep you safe. I need you to trust me.”

Somehow I do it. I give him my fingers. He assists me up. We’re doing this together. My head clears the boulder and I can see the steel marker that identifies the summit ahead. Holy shit, he’s right. I’m going to reach the top.

A few more steps, easy now, and we’re there. The kid in the Spider-Man shoes munches a Vegemite sandwich. I want to scoop him up in a smooshy squeeze. Except his parents would likely object, so I switch gears to give Bran a long and passionate kiss.

“I knew you’d get here,” he says.

“I didn’t.”

He turns me to see the view, his hands tight around my waist. “Your place is here, Captain, in the sun,” he whispers in my ear. “Don’t ever forget that.”

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