Mar

Stephanie Perkins and Cover Make-Overs

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Anyone who’s followed my blogs or followed me on Twitter pretty much knows that I fangirl hard over Stephanie Perkins and her books. So imagine my surprise when I found out a few days ago that Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door were going to get cover make-overs to match the cover of the soon-to-be released Isla and the Happily Ever After.

When I first found out, I was really, really hesitant. I mean, covers get changed mid-series ALL the time. (Okay, these books aren’t really a series, more like companion novels, but STILL.) But I never felt so much apprehension before. I guess I just didn’t care as much before because I wasn’t as attached to these books. Now that I think about it, this might be the first time that one of my favorite books has gone through a cover change. At first, I didn’t want to like the new covers on principle, but I knew that wasn’t fair. I had to give it a chance especially because Stephanie Perkins herself was excited about them.

When I saw the new covers this morning, I have to admit that my initial reaction was not instant loathing. In fact, I immediately thought, Oh! This actually works.

Thinking back, it’s easy for me to accept the new covers of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door because I really didn’t like the original cover for Anna in the first place. It took me forever to pick up the book because I had such negative misconceptions about it. Think along the lines of, Icky girly romance book.

The new covers? Well, first of all, they seem a lot less girly now. They also seem older. I actually wouldn’t mind reading this on the subway. While I don’t really get embarrassed when I’m reading in public (I’m a public book reader/crier), I’d probably be a lot more comfortable toting these books more than the original.

Plus, I really love how each cover captures the setting of each book. I think that place has such a powerful meaning for the characters, and it’s nice to see that the covers reflect that.

I’m a bit sad that my books won’t match, but in this case, at least I know have my excuse to buy a fourth (yes four) copy of Anna.

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Permalink Category Discussion - Author: Stephanie Perkins, Book: Anna and the French Kiss, Book: Isla and the Happily Ever After, Book: Lola and the Boy Next Door | Words 538 words

Dec

Top 10 of 2011: My Favorite Characters

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My Favorite Characters from Books I’ve Read in 2011

Anna from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: What I loved most about Anna was just how much I could relate to the protagonist. I feel extremely similar to Anna which was why I really loved the book. I’d freak out exactly for the same reasons she did, and overanalyze just about everything like she did.
Lola from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: I adore Lola because she’s got impeccable style. I wish she was my best friend so I can constantly raid her closets. I’d let her give me a make-over any day.
Mary Quinn from the Agency series by YS Lee: Um, Victorian girl spy – need I say more? Quick with her tongue and not afraid to dress in disguise, Mary is one of my favorite characters in historical YA. She’s just so much fun to read about since she doesn’t quite fit the cookie-cutter mold of a Victorian lady.
Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series: I totally had a love/hate relationship at first with Rose during the first few books of the series. But once she finally stood up for herself, that‘s when she really started to kick butt in my eyes. I love strong female protagonists.
Pearl from Drink Slay Love by Sarah Beth Durst: Oh my god, I don’t think I’ve encountered such a funny narrator this year. Pearl just had me giggling. The premise does play a part in the humor, but nothing beats Pearl’s voice.
Lady Calpurnia Hartwell from Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean: Callie is one of my favorite romance characters ever. She’s witty and just so much more likeable than your usual romance protagonist.
Percy from the Percy Jackson series: I’ve got a soft spot for Percy. After reading all the books in the series, I have to say that I really enjoyed watching him grow. It’s a bit sad that I ended the series so I’ll definitely have to pick up the spin-off series soon.

I obviously could not think of 10.

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Permalink Category Memes - Author: Richelle Mead, Author: Rick Riordan, Author: Sarah Beth Durst, Author: Sarah MacLean, Author: Stephanie Perkins, Author: YS Lee, Book: Anna and the French Kiss, Book: Drink Slay Love, Book: Lola and the Boy Next Door, Book: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake, Series: Love By Numbers, Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Series: The Agency, Series: Vampire Academy | Words 485 words

Dec

Top 10 of 2011: My Book Boyfriends

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My Top 10 Book Boyfriends based on books I’ve read this year. In no particular order, of course, (except probably for Etienne…) because that wouldn’t be fair:

Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: Well duh. No one can do better than this English American Masterpiece. Swoon.

Dimitri Belikov from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead: Okay, I like older guys. Specifically, this brooding, forbidden older guy. This good guy turned bad turned good again. A Russian accent has never been any sexier.

Jack from Blood Red Road by Moira Young: my review of the book summed up everything I love about Jack – “arrogant, charming, overly-confident, but also more than meets the eye.”

Cricket Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: Cricket Bell is almost way too good to be true. He’s intelligent, super polite and nice, and very very stylish. Do guys like this really exist in real life? Well if they do, I haven’t met my real-life Cricket yet.

Aiden from Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Are you seeing a trend right now? Another broody, mysterious book boyfriend made it on the list. Aiden gets super plus points for having gray/silver eyes (yes, that’s because of my Draco Malfoy obsession. PSH. ANOTHER BROODY CHARACTER!!! :P)

Cole St. Clair from the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater: Broody and mysterious BUT also highly intelligent. Sam always gets the attention in this series, but for me Cole gets the prize as one of the top ten hunky fictional men because he’s such an underdog.

James Easton from the Agency series by YS Lee: Not your typical hero in a historical novel. James is quite witty and he’s a talented civil engineer. He’s also quite charming.

Nico Rathburn from Jane by April Lindner: Um, modern day Mr. Rochester? YES PLEASE. Did I mention he’s a rockstar? Extra points to Nico.