The Friday Face-Off: A Cover Featuring Wolves

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.

I felt that it was time to join in another Friday Face-Off, so here we go!

This week's topic is:

‘“He had killed man, the noblest game of all, and he had killed in the face of the law of club and fang.” – A cover featuring a wolf or wolves

When I first saw this topic, I though "perfect! I love wolves and I know I've read books with wolves, so this shouldn't be a problem at all." Well, not for the first time, I was wrong.
A lot of the books I've read that have wolves on the cover only have one or two editions out, so that was a problem.  I did notice that there a lot of books with foxes, tigers, and bears, though (a lot of foxes), and I'm sure I'm just not thinking of some wolf ones. The only one I found with multiple editions was The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, and even then it was few. To combat this issue, I decided to share a few of the covers with wolves that don't have many editions and then share a few of the Angela Carter editions. I don't know how to go about judging. Favorite overall? No judging? Who knows! Let's just enjoy the covers. :)

Various Wolves on Covers

   

The Wisdom of Wolves by Jim & Jamie Dutcher || The Wolf by Leo Carew || American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee || Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

The Bloody Chamber editions by Angela Carter

  

US anniversary paperback | Vintage paperback | Estonian edition (NSFW?) | Hardcover Vintage Classic

My choices

 

I like all of these covers, but I'm partial to The Wisdom of the Wolves because it shows the entire gorgeous wolf itself. And I just love the detail in this edition of The Bloody Chamber, though I love the hardcover as well.

Which covers do you like best?

Bonus:
Here is one picture of me (and my  mom, but she looks fine) looking weird and oddly unperturbed by a huge wolf's open mouth pointed at my head and another of a lovely wolf that loved the smell of my head. It also licked my face. I let it, because you let wolves do what they want. (I look half-dead because it was so cold.)

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Book Recommendations: If You Like... You Might Also Like... (Part 2 of ?)

So back in December of last year I made a 'if you like/you might like' post with the full intention of making more fairly regularly... and, well, that didn't happen. Regardless, I've been wanting to make a new one for a while, so here we are! I already have books and ideas for another, so hopefully I'll have another one up sooner rather than later. For today's post, I tried to include a small variety of genres so that there's a little something for everything. Let me know if you've read any of these books or what books you would recommend in comparison to these!

If you loved the intensity and compelling storyline of the popular book The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, then you should check out We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson and Kings of Paradise by Richard Nell. Both We Ride the Storm and Kings of Paradise have similar non-European settings and vibes and also really strong casts of characters that add so much to the story. And if you liked having an awesome female protagonist in The Poppy War, then you'll be happy to know that there is an incredible female lead in We Ride the Storm as well.

The Poppy War: Amazon | Book Depository

We Ride the Storm: Amazon | Book Depository

Kings of Paradise: Amazon | Book Depository

If you like your dystopian-esque worlds that sometimes feel all too real and seem especially horrifying for women (why do we do this to ourselves again?) in books such as Red Clocks by Leni Zumas, then I'd like to recommend Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed and Vox by Christina Dalcher. Red Clocks features a future United States in which abortion of all kinds and IVF are illegal, Gather the Daughters features a society in which women are solely around for the sake of breeding, and Vox features a United States in which women are only allowed to speak one hundred words a day. There are some very similar themes running through these books, and if you like one, I'm sure you'll be interested in the others.

Red Clocks: Amazon | Book Depository

Gather the Daughters: Amazon | Book Depository

Vox:  Amazon

 

I've only just recently read Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell, but I found it to be a really fun, adventurous fantasy that was both serious and not-so-serious at the same time and was a perfect book to relax with. This made me think of Robert V.S. Redick's The Wolf Conspiracy, which also features a young male protagonist who is still figuring things out in his life, much like Kellen in Spellslinger. Red Wolf is also just as exciting and adventurous (if not more) and full of exciting plot twists.

Spellslinger: Amazon | Book Depository

The Red Wolf Conspiracy: Amazon | Book Depository

Living up to the sheer size, mind-blowing magic system, and world-building of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is a hard thing to try to live up to, but I found that A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne and Soul of the World by David Mealing left me just as impressed and yearning for more as I was for more Stormlight Archives books. Both books have fascinating and complex magic systems as well as a compelling cast of characters and well-constructed world-building. For some reason I don't see these books mentioned much, but I really can't recommend them enough. 

The Way of Kings: Amazon | Book Depository

A Plague of Giants: Amazon | Book Depository

Soul of the World: Amazon | Book Depository

If you loved the subtle and somewhat disturbing atmosphere of The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani, then you'll love the deceptively horrifying book You Were Made for This by Michelle Sacks and the emotionally draining I Love You Too Much by Alicia Drake! Am I selling these books or what? In all seriousness, I found my emotions played with a lot by these books, all of which share various unlikable and rather horrible characters, in addition to innocent bystanders that must face the consequences of others' actions. And just as a warning for I Love You Too Much--I was practically crying throughout the entire book, and I almost never cry while reading.

The Perfect Nanny: Amazon | Book Depository

You Were Made for This: Amazon | Book Depository

I Love You Too Much: Amazon | Book Depository

Okay, so this was just a fun one that I couldn't help throwing in. If you managed to slog your way make it through the famed Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and actually enjoyed it, you should absolutely try Jerusalem by Alan Moore! Both have a somewhat rambling style at times with immense detail that requires careful reading and they both are of course over 1,000 pages. Personally, I think you might like Jerusalem even if you didn't like Infinite Jest (ahem, such as my own situation), but I think you might be especially interested in Jerusalem if you enjoyed Infinite Jest. Though the stories are vastly different, there are still incredibly quirky and memorable characters in each and they have storylines that aren't abundantly clear at first, but make more sense in the end.

Infinite Jest: Amazon | Book Depository

Jerusalem: Amazon | Book Depository

Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts?

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Anticipated August 2018 Releases!

         

Well, July is speeding by and now it's just about time for some August new releases. I'm not entirely sure when it decided to so late in the year so quickly, but here we are. There are some fantastic looking books coming out next month (literally--have you seen those covers!?) and I can't wait to dive into some of them! I know I've missed a few, but here are some of the ones I'm most looking forward to.

As always, I've compiled a very small list out of the many awesome books coming out to share with you all. What books are you guys looking forward to next month?

     
    
    

  

The Tower of Living and Dying by Anna Smith Spark || August 7th -- Amazon | Book Depository

The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien || August 30th -- Amazon | Book Depository

Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson || August 7th -- Amazon | Book Depository

Shadowblack by Sebastien de Castell || August 21st -- Amazon | Book Depository

Blood of the Gods by David Mealing || August 21st -- Amazon | Book Depository

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett || August 21st -- Amazon | Book Depository

The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell || August 7th -- Amazon | Book Depository

Our House by Louise Candlish || August 7th -- Amazon | Book Depository

A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan || August 14th -- Amazon | Book Depository

These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch || August 7th -- Amazon | Book Depository

King of Assassins by RJ Barker || August 7th -- Amazon | Book Depository

Mirage by Somaiya Daud || August 28th -- Amazon | Book Depository

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames || August 28th -- Amazon | Book Depository

The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis || August 7th -- Amazon | Book Depository

The Last House by Minette Walters || August 7th -- Amazon | Book Depository

What are your anticipated August releases?

Planning to purchase a book or two? Consider purchasing on Book Depository through my affiliate link! Book Depository has worldwide free shipping and millions of titles to choose from.

I am also an Amazon affiliate, so if you'd prefer to shop through Amazon, just click the banner on the upper right hand side of my blog! (above the 'Follow by email' box, you may need to turn off adblock to see it!)

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