The Friday Face-Off: Orange/Hot

      

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme 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.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

Orange/Hot

There are a surprising number of books with orange-y covers, but not a lot that seemed to have a nice variety of editions. Fortunately one of the first books that popped into my head–The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse–is orange and evokes the idea of 'hot' because of 'burning' in the title. A perfect fit! I was really intrigued by all of the editions out there, especially since a nice bold blue appears to be the other color choice for this book, which is quite a dramatic difference, haha. Let's check out these covers!

2019 US Hardcover | 2020 US Paperback | 2019 UK Paperback

2018 Dutch | 2020 French | 2020 German

2019 Dutch | 2019 Italian | 2019 Slovak

My choice(s):

I just really love the colors and the way it looks like abstract flames of the original US hardcover edition. I enjoy the simplicity of the French edition as well!

What cover(s) do you like the most?

First Chapter Tuesday: Sepulchre by Kate Mosse & The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

I haven't done a First Chapter Tuesday post in ages, so I thought I'd share the beginnings of two books that I'm reading right now (and very much enjoying!). I also apparently am a rule-breaker (who knew?) and always share more than just the first paragraph because I can't help it when there's a good intro!

Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
 

Excerpt:

Prologue

"Wednesday, March 25, 1891 This story begins in a city of bones. In the alleyways of the dead. In the silent boulevards and promenades and impasses of the cimetière de Montmartre in Paris, a place inhabited by tombs and stone angels and the loitering ghosts of those forgotten before they are even cold in their graves. 

This story begins with the watchers at the gates, with the poor and the desperate of Paris, who have come to profit from another’s loss. The gawping beggars and sharp-eyed chiffonniers, the wreath makers and peddlers of ex-voto trinkets, the girls twisting paper flowers, the carriages waiting with black hoods and smeared glass. 

The story begins with the pantomime of a burial. A small paid notice in Le Figaro advertised the place and the date and the hour, although few have come. It is a sparse crowd, dark veils and morning coats, polished boots and extravagant umbrellas to shelter from the unseasonable March rain."

Chapter 1

"Paris | Wednesday 16 September 1891

Léonie Vernier stood on the steps of the Palais Garnier, clutching her chatelaine bag and tapping her foot impatiently. 
Where is he? 
Dusk cloaked the Place de l’Opéra in a silky blue light. 
Léonie frowned. It was quite maddening. For almost one hour she had waited for her brother at the agreed rendezvous , beneath the impassive bronze gaze of the statues that graced the roof of the opera house. She had endured impertinent looks. She had watched the fiacres come and go, private carriages with their hoods up, public conveyances open to the elements, four-wheelers, gigs, all disembarking their passengers. A sea of black silk top hats and fine evening gowns from the showrooms of Maison Léoty and Charles Worth. It was an elegant first-night audience, a sophisticated crowd come to see and be seen."

Goodreads

This is my first Kate Mosse book and I've been so excited about because I've heard amazing htings about her books. I actually picked up a secondhand copy at a Savers probably almost a year ago by now, so I definitely took my sweet time in getting to it, but thus far I've been really loving it.

Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

 

Excerpt:

Chapter 1

"They say the day the Governor arrived, the ravens did too. All the smaller birds flew backward into the sea, and that is why there are no songbirds on Joya. Only huge, ragged ravens. I’d watch them perch on the rooftops like omens, and try to squint them into the chaffinches and goldcrests Da drew from memory. If I imagined hard enough, I could almost hear them singing. 

“Why did the songbirds leave, Da?” I’d ask. 

“Because they could, Isabella.” 

“And the wolves? The deer?” 

Da’s face would darken. “Seems the sea was better than what they were running from.” 

Da would tell me another story then, about the girl-warrior Arinta, or Joya’s mythical past as a floating island, and refuse to say more about the wolves and the backward birds. But I kept asking, until the day came when I found my own answers."

Goodreads

This is a book I found via a friendly follower on Tumblr and it's been so interesting so far! It's middle grade and for some reason it just feels so nostalgic and adventurous, but it's also pretty heavy so far and now exactly 'happy.' (I think it partly feels nostalgic because the pages used in this binding smell and remind me so much of all the middle grade books I read as a kid!) I'm loving this one so far as well, and I actually have Hargrave's latest The Mercies out from my library (at this point I've had it nearly two months since the library is closed) that I'm still hoping to get to.

Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

The Friday Face-Off: Feathers

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. You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:
“The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagles own plumes” – a cover featuring feathers

I had more than a few book covers pop up in my head for this topic, but the cover for the edition I own of The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse stood out to me the most. I do wish more of the covers kept the feather theme prominent, but nonetheless I still had a great time looking at all of these covers.

  

2014 UK | 2015 Dutch | 2016 Greek

2017 German | 2016 US |  2014 US Kindle


2016 US Large Print | 2017 French | 2013 Dutch


My choice:

I love a lot of these choices, including the UK, German,Greek,  and Large Print! (And, well, the others are pretty good, too.) I picked this as my favorite because this cover absolutely grips me and I know if I saw this in a store I would immediately gravitate towards it and want to buy it--it's just so dark and ominous!

What cover(s) do you like the most!?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse & Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

 

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlight is: 

The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse

Publication: June 18th, 2019

Minotaur Books

Hardcover. 592 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"France, 1562: Nineteen-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father’s bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE. 

But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, and he will need Minou’s help if he is to stay alive. 

As the religious divide deepens, and old friends become enemies, Minou and Piet both find themselves trapped in Toulouse, facing new dangers as tensions ignite across the city. 

All the while, the shadowy mistress of Puivert Château—obsessed with uncovering the secrets of a long-hidden document—strengthens her power and waits for the perfect time to strike..."

In a beautiful coincidence, an ARC of this one turned up on my doorstep today and I cannot wait to read it! I have been dying to read some good historical fiction lately, and who better than Kate Mosse? Everything about this synopsis screams intrigue, so I look forward to diving into it!

and...

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Publication: June 4th, 2019

Margaret K. McElderry Books

Hardcover. 464 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power. 

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them. 

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined."

"Magical grimoires" is usually the only phrase I need to hear to decide I want to read a book, but the rest of this plot synopsis sounds pretty damn good as well, so I'm really looking forward to this one. I also don't generally care for people on covers, but I actually really love the artwork for this cover!

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?