Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!
It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet. Often when a title is released here in the UK, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the US. So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.
We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!
Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce. The Book Wars winner for Unremembered is... the US COVER! Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.
Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.
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| Left: US - Right: UK |
Author: Tessa Gratton
Publisher: US - Random House Books for Young Readers , 432 Pages, (August 28th 2012), UK - Double Day, 416 Pages, (August 30th 2012)
Add to Goodreads: The Blood Keeper USA | The Blood Keeper UK
Order online here: USA: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository UK: Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository
Synopsis: For Mab Prowd, blood magic is as natural as breathing. She spends her days on a secluded Kansas farm with other blood witches, practicing spells for healing and trying to avoid boring lessons like algebra and history.
Wild and confident, Mab uses magic to understand her entire world. But when one of Mab's spells mistakenly taps into a powerful, long-dormant curse, she finds her magic spinning out of control - and crashing right into Will Sanger, a boy from town.
Will has always relied on the logical, tangible things in his life, like his dogs, his soccer team, and even his complicated family. So he tries to dismiss all he sees and feels around Mab. Still, the strangeness and beauty of her magic draw him in.
As Will and Mab grow closer, the unbound curse grows stronger. Hiding in the shadows of the forest, it seeks to manipulate Will and gain Mab's power - even if that means destroying everything they love.
About the author:Find Jessica Online: Website | Twitter | Tumblr
Tessa Gratton has wanted to be a palaeontologist or a wizard since she was seven. Alas, she turned out too impatient to hunt dinosaurs, but is still searching for a someone to teach her magic. After travelling the world with her military family, she acquired a BA (and the important parts of an MA) in Gender Studies, then settled down in Kansas with her partner, her cats, and her mutant dog. She now spends her days staring at the sky and telling lots of stories about magic. Monthly free short stories with Maggie Stiefvater and Brenna Yovanoff at The Merry Sisters of Fate: www.merryfates.com
Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.
Tessa
I love both covers, which is always a relief, and I like how they highlight different aspects of the book. The US brings the magic directly to the table: it's bloody and beautiful and natural, and focused on the atmosphere, the local farm feel of the book. The UK is more specific about the main character Mab Prowd, and captures her darkness very well, as well as her resemblance to her mother Josephine, the primary villain of the first book BLOOD MAGIC. I love the blood dripping from her fingers and dark forest, the crows that add those golden touches of beauty to the cover. It's very gothic, very unsettling in a way I think the book can be.
That said, if I have to choose, I choose the US version. I wanted The Blood Keeper to be the daylight version of the nighttime horror of Blood Magic. It's about nature and God and living with the magic that connects you to your past and your family history. The US cover is a barn hex, the sort of old folk magic found across America painted onto the sides of barns, and you can see the grains of wood on the cover. I asked for a seven-point star, and the purple flowers are intrinsic to the plot and symbolism, too. Everything about the US cover circles back around to something I was trying to communicate with my story.
That said, if I have to choose, I choose the US version. I wanted The Blood Keeper to be the daylight version of the nighttime horror of Blood Magic. It's about nature and God and living with the magic that connects you to your past and your family history. The US cover is a barn hex, the sort of old folk magic found across America painted onto the sides of barns, and you can see the grains of wood on the cover. I asked for a seven-point star, and the purple flowers are intrinsic to the plot and symbolism, too. Everything about the US cover circles back around to something I was trying to communicate with my story.
Lisa This is the first time I've seen the UK version of this title and while it is kind of haunting I'm not much of a fan. It is kind of simple for a cover when you really look at it. And while I'm not a fan of the UK cover I'd still read the book because I LOVED the first title in The Blood Journals - Blood Magic. This week the US cover wins my vote. I think it fits the series very well.
Michelle
I love the cover for the USA version and how contrasting the images are on it, but I also love the cover of the UK one, being able to see the character but also the birds flying and how they play a role in the story.
My vote goes to UK this month.
VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of The Blood Keeper NOW! and make sure to enter the competition to win a copy of this book.
Enter the GIVEAWAY!!!
**Please make sure to follow the giveaway policies of Much Loved Books and
A Life Bound By Books.
Giveaway is for USA, UK, and CAN entries only.
Giveaway will run for exactly ONE WEEK, starting on 20th January and ending on 26th January**
I really like the UK version. I love that they're so different.
ReplyDeleteI like the US cover the best. Thanks for having the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI like the UK better.
ReplyDelete