My heart did a jubilant two-step the moment the cover of Leigh Bardugo‘s Shadow and Bone caught my eye.
I love the limited, muted color palette; the bold shades of red. I adore the text, twining with the bare brambles, and the way it frames that topmost tower. For all its deceptive simplicity, I find this cover to be oh-so evocative. So very, very promising.
It’s gratifying to note that the story follows in the footsteps of the cover in terms of appeal.
Publisher’s Summary:
“Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, all she’s ever been able to rely on is her best friend and fellow refugee, Mal. And lately not even that seems certain. Drafted into the army of their war-torn homeland, they’ve been sent on a dangerous mission into the Fold, a swath of darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh.When their convoy is attacked, all seems lost until Alina reveals a dormant power that not even she knew existed. She is torn from everything she knows and whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. He believes that she is the answer the people have been waiting for: the Sun Summoner. Only her power can destroy the Fold.”
As if my craving for this book was not intense enough, Leigh Burdago posted some of the interior art on her blog, which has left me in a state of ‘Oh, dear. You mean it is not June 5th yet? But you cannot possibly expect me to wait that long.’
You’ll want to see the rest of the interior art, no doubt; satisfy your curiosity by going here. And while I’m pointing you in various directions, also make sure to take a look at the map Keith Thompson – who, you may recall, was responsible for the AMAZING illustrations in Westerfeld’s Leviathan – created for Shadow and Bone. Rather fantastic, wouldn’t you say?
Holy crap, Chelle. SO PRETTY!
My reaction exactly. Both the ‘Holy crap’ and the SO PRETTY!
The cover is simply brilliant. I love the colours, the font, everything is so perfect about it. And I’m such a sucker for covers..
When this book is finally in my hands I might just hold it and stare for a bit.
Ooooh, I love the cover! I’m a big fan of everything Russian, and it looks like I may need to check this one out…
Someone needs to go shake the hand of the man/woman responsible for this cover. It certainly accomplishes what it sets out to do: make readers want the book yesterday.
I agree, both the cover and the synopsis of the book are great. I hope that the content will be just as good.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed. And maybe read the first few pages with one eye closed. You know, until we can tell for sure.
I’m glad that the cover reflects the story and that it’s not just another girl wearing a pretty dress (although I’m not COMPLETELY adverse to those covers, lol). The colors and the style remind me a little of Jackson Pearce’s SISTERS RED.
Designs like this kind of leave me weak in the knees. They strike a perfect balance, I think, between being artistic and representative of what’s between the covers.
Yes, exactly. These designs fit the story and aren’t misleading–I hate when that happens.
Oh, I also happened to receive the book in the mail (*dances!*) so if you ever want to borrow it, just let me know. I’m planning on reading it soon once school lets up a little.