It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 22 June 2020

 

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy Monday Bookdragons! It's eight days until moving day and I'm so excited. On the other hand my reading time has dwindled as I pack up my remaining books and get everything ready to go.

What I Read Last Week: 

Warmaidens by Kelly Coon

I was granted an eARC of this last Thursday and planned to binge it over the weekend. But I couldn't wait and started it right away instead. I really enjoyed Gravemaidens (book 1) but Warmaidens was even better! 

(Full review to come closer to the October release date)

Currently Reading:

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco 

I really wanted to reread this series so I'm listening to the audiobook of SJTR. Funny story... I actually read Hunting Prince Dracula before Stalking Jack the Ripper the first time around - both in physical format - so I'm enjoying the audio narration right now. 

Next Read:

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

I've been holding off reading this one for a while and I think now I'm finally ready to tackle it. 

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What have you been reading lately?

I Can't Wait For... Gravemaidens!

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.

I've been excited for this book since I first heard the title, even before I knew a thing about the book. When I heard I could sign up for the street team I applied and can proudly say I am a member of Kell's Skeleton Crew! My eARC of this just landed on my Kindle yesterday and I am so, so excited to start reading! To kick off my May TBR I'm starting Gravemaidens and you definitely should preorder...

Gravemaidens

Duology
By Kelly Coon
YA Fantasy
eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 416 Pages
October 29, 2019 by Delacorte Press


Blurb

The start of a fierce fantasy duology about three maidens who are chosen for their land's greatest honor...and one girl determined to save her sister from the grave.

In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame.

When Alu's ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister, Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the afterlife. It’s an honor. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from her.

But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is—a death sentence.

Desperate to save her sister, Kammani schemes her way into the palace to heal the ruler. There she discovers more danger lurking in the sand-stone corridors than she could have ever imagined and that her own life—and heart—are at stake. But Kammani will stop at nothing to dig up the palace’s buried secrets even if it means sacrificing everything…including herself.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository

What do you think? Will you be checking this one out?

Behind the Cover... A Look at GRAVEMAIDENS by Kelly Coon's Cover Artist Sammy Yuen

Earlier this week you might have seen Get Underlined's Cover Reveal of Kelly Coon's upcoming debut, GRAVEMAIDENS. The cover artist is none other than illustrator and designer, Sammy Yuen! I, and my blog partner for today, Morrisa from Mo's Mind will be spotlighting Sammy and talking about some of our favorite covers designed by Sammy. But first, if you haven't seen the gorgeous cover of Gravemaidens yet, allow me to show you...

About Sammy Yuen

Sammy Yuen loves to tell stories through his work and feels that art is the perfect blend of technology, aesthetics, and psychology.

He is an accomplished designer, illustrator and animator with over 15 years of experience working with all the major book publishers. Sammy creates everything from book covers (35 New York Times bestsellers) to website design, user interface design for apps, marketing/advertising graphics, and animated videos.

Sammy has a high-level of proficiency in programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D. He lives and works in New York City and loves to share his office with his two children.

Connect with Sammy:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Insights

From bright, eye-catching color to bold fonts, and gorgeous stock and illustrations spanning across multiple book genres one thing is certain, Sammy's work was crafted to draw your attention. 

He's created covers for everyone from Scott Westerfeld and Rae Carson to Holly Black and Laini Taylor for the top publishers but his talent spans beyond book covers into interactive websites for authors, publishers, bands and venues to eye-catching web ads and promo art. 

My Blog Partner's Favorite Covers

Morrisa and I got together and discussed our favorite book covers by Sammy Yuen. You'll find my favorites on Morrisa's blog but read on for Morrisa's faves...

"I’d like to note that seeing that Gravemaidens shares the cover artist for the below mentioned books was AMAZING because I love the below covers/books and I’m glad Gravemaidens got such an amazing and talented artist like Sammy!" - Morrisa

• Dreams and Gods of Monsters by Laini Taylor (I was surprised to see he’d done this one - Daughter of Smoke and Bone is one of my all time favorite series)
• The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (Another favorite series of mine, and I love this cover)
• Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (I haven’t read this series but it looks steampunk and I love steampunk)
• The Six by Mark Alpert ( I LOVE the sci-fi vibes)
• The Tattooed Heart by Michael Grant (Not really a fan of Grant anymore, but I’ll admit this cover is beautiful)