Apr 7, 2012

Shelf Candy Saturday (3) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater & Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Shelf Candy Saturday is hosted by Five Alarm Book Review blog.
Again this week I had a different post planned but decided to push it back (again) when I saw this first cover on A Book and A Latte blog.


The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Filled with mystery, romance, and the supernatural, The Raven Boys introduces readers to Richard “Dick” Campbell Gansey, III and Blue Sargent. Gansey has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on the hunt to find Glendower, a vanished Welsh king. Legend has it that the first person to find him will be granted a wish—either by seeing him open his eyes, or by cutting out his heart.

Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there—known as Raven Boys—can only mean trouble. When Gansey and his Raven Boy friends come into her life, Blue realizes how true this is. She never thought her fortune would be a problem. But she was wrong.





I haven't read any of Maggie Stiefvater's books yet but this one may have to be a preorder (it's due to be released in September). There are not many books about ravens out there, which is a plus. Ironically, Luminosity which I featured on my first Shelf Candy post is also about ravens and is due out a couple months after this book! Anyway, I love the cover of The Raven Boys! The raven looks like a painting, If you look at the wings and the red chest you can really see the texture/brush strokes.

Maggie Stiefvater's Website
The Raven Boys on Goodreads
Preorder on Amazon
Preorder on Book Depository




Hollow Pike by James Dawson


Something wicked this way comes... She thought she'd be safe in the country, but you can't escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she's being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn't believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn't believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you're alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps.


I recently found this cover on Falling Books blog. The cover looks fairly simple at a quick glance. But if you take a few extra seconds to look, you'll see that it's not so simple after all. I like how everything blends together...the branches at her forehead and at the bottom of the cover and the purple/black birds at the top of the cover.


Hollow Pike on Goodreads
Order on Amazon

10 comments:

  1. Wall-to-wall booksApril 7, 2012 at 7:55 AM

    OOO I like the second one! - Hollow Pike, but maybe it has something to do with it being purple.

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  2. Wall-to-wall booksApril 7, 2012 at 7:56 AM

    Oh I just noticed there are birds in her hair, that makes it even cooler!

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    Replies
    1. LRAtRandomApril 7, 2012 at 8:32 AM

      Lol. That was my reaction too! You have to take that second glance to really appreciate the cover.

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  3. CambriaApril 7, 2012 at 8:16 AM

    Wow! Great choices. I have seen Raven Boys once or twice and I like it. The contrast of the black and white is very striking.
    This is my first look at Hollow Pike but its a great cover as well. Kind of mysterious and I like the colors.
    Great choices this week!

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  4. lee @shewolfreadsApril 7, 2012 at 1:50 PM

    I like both of these. I love graphical covers and both of these books have them though I think I prefer Hollow Pike. It's beautiful.

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  5. AnonymousApril 7, 2012 at 1:57 PM

    These are both wonderful covers. The Raven boys is especially well done. I love the visible brush strokes. It makes the movement of the raven stand out. Thank you for posting these. Gorgeous!

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  6. JennReneeApril 7, 2012 at 2:35 PM

    I really like both these book covers. They are both dark and creepy in an awesome way. thanks for sharing. my SCS http://jennreneeread.blogspot.com/2012/04/shelf-candy-saturday-8-dead-is-by.html

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  7. Kimberly @ Caffeinated ReviewerApril 7, 2012 at 2:49 PM

    Love the covers..they are both on my wishlist

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  8. Maria BeharApril 7, 2012 at 4:31 PM

    Oh, these are AWESOME covers!! I love them both! They're dynamically designed -- each composition startles and makes one look again. I especially like the cover of HOLLOW PIKE, although it IS pretty creepy, too, and makes me a bit uneasy. However, the concept and execution are flawless! I also like the cover of RAVEN BOYS, but the other one has a much stronger impact on me, maybe because of "the creep factor"! Lol.

    Anything by Maggie Stiefvater has GOT to be GREAT! As for the other author, I'm not very familiar with him, although I've seen this cover before. I'll go check him out on Goodreads.

    Thanks for sharing these two great choices!! : )

    Maria @ http://anightsdreamofbooks.blogspot.com/

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  9. kimberlybuggieApril 9, 2012 at 1:41 AM

    I love these covers. The first one is so wonderful, I'm a big Maggie fan! But the second one is the one that keeps drawing my eye! I haven't heard of it before. I can't wait to check it out. That purple is striking, and I love the black and purple ravens... amazing. This is one of those books I will have to buy in hardcover because of the cover!

    Thank you for sharing. You can cehck out my shelf candy here: http://www.thewindypages.com/2012/04/shelf-candy-saturday-23.html

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