Top Ten Tuesday: Covers We Wish We Could Redesign

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event, hosted by The Broke & the Bookish, where we talk about our top ten book related topics.

This week's topic is top ten book covers we wish we could redesign

1. Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder: This cover just isn't as strong as her other covers, covers that made me want to read the books right away.
2. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige: This book sounds amazing, but the cover lacks a lot. It's such a harsh title, I expected seeing a harsher cover.
3. Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano: This book was incredible, and although I do love the stars and trees on this cover, the model looks like a little girl and doesn't capture Morgan as much as I'd like.

4. The Shade series by Jeri Smith-Ready: Another great series, though the covers don't tell you anything about what you'll find in the books. There is no hint at ghosts or the paranormal world Aura lives in.

5. The redesigned Delirium covers: The first cover of Delirium was one of the reasons I picked this series up. It was shiny and this gorgeous blue and just tantalizing enough to make me curious about what was inside. These ones have just become another series with a pretty girl on the cover.

6. Cinder by Marissa Meyer: This cover almost stopped me from reading this book, though I'm glad it didn't. The other two covers so far are fabulous, and even though this makes a lot of sense to the story, I just don't like it that much.
7. Sever by Lauren DeStefano: Wither's cover was amazing! Fever's was less than perfect, but this one just lacks everything the other covers had. There were hidden treats in the other two, but this one just looks like the model is sitting in front of a green screen.

8. Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood: The original cover of Born Wicked was gorgeous, the redesigned one was pretty, but there's something about this one that I don't like. It doesn't seem magical enough.

9. The new Starters/Enders covers by Lissa Price: The last image is the original cover. So creepy right? This cover helped the story so much and the new ones just look blah.

10. The Paranormalcy series covers: Evie is an hilarious heroine. She loves pink, takes her TASER everywhere and doesn't take crap from vampires. I don't see any of Evie on these covers even though she graces all three of them. They're pretty yes, but just not right for this series.

Anyone agree? Disagree? I'd love to see your picks!

Review: Endlessly

Endlessly
Author: Kiersten White
Published: July 24, 2012
385 pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate. The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands. So much for normal.

Evie's voice has been what's keeping me interested in this series. She is one of a kind and everything she says makes me laugh. When I first met her and her love of pink, I knew I was going to like her. Sure enough, throughout Paranormalcy, she made me laugh and I loved how her story was playing out. In the sequel, Supernaturally, she was still funny, but her personality was disappearing behind all the madness happening around her. By this book, the final in the series, there was no more humour in her voice, for good reason, but I didn't feel any of her personality. She got stuck behind her feelings for Lend, her relationship with her sister, Vivian, and the fact that she is the only one who can send the paranormals back to their own worlds. Maybe it's because I waited too long between books, but for me, this last book lacked what I loved about the series. It quickly turned into a book about faeries that I've read before.

Still trying to live her normal life, Evie is planning out the winter formal when she's thrown right back into the life she's been trying so desperately to get out of. Someone new has taken over the IPCA and Evie is determined to find out what's happened to Raquel. On her way, she encounters the Unseelie Queen, a woman who knows what she wants and she wants Evie. If she has Evie, her sister, the Seelie Queen, can't open the gate to help the paranormals go back where they belong. Thus Evie is tossed between faeries, werewolves and trying to keep in touch with her only human friend. 

I wish the main characters stuck out more for me. Evie used to be charming, but this time I found her somewhat annoying. Lend didn't do much and I felt more for Reth this time, he was quite swoon-worthy in this book and he redeemed himself for everything he's done to Evie in the previous books. Jack was also hilarious, keeping me on my toes and wishing for more scenes with him. There were a lot of things that seemed strung together and didn't really get resolved. I liked the concept for the finale, having Evie need to open the gate, but it all seemed rushed and I feel like it could have made more of an impact if there was more detail about it. 

I'm glad everyone got their happily ever afters, a bittersweet ending for some, but it turned out how I thought it would. I wish I had been more into this one, as I was with the previous books, but I sort of just wanted it to be over with and I hated that feeling. It was predictable and cliche and I wish White had stayed away from the Seelie/Unseelie aspect. There are enough books about faeries out there already. I liked that this one was different from the rest. I'll remember Evie for her pink Taser and high heels and witty charm. 

“Sometimes it takes a little chaos for things to work themselves out. When we make it through the chaos, we can use it to shape the world around us into something better than it was before” 

Review: Supernaturally

Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2)
Author: Kiersten White
Published: July 26, 2011
336 pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be...kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

Just when Evie finally gets her normal life together, she gets thrown back into her old, paranormal life just in time for things to take a turn for the worse. White doesn't make us wait either. Taking place six months after Paranormalcy, we find Evie going to high school and trying to fit in but feeling a tad bored with it. Evie being Evie, gets herself into a situation no one can really explain. Before she knows it, she's back in the IPCA Centre tagging vampires and jetting through the faerie paths once more. Trying to keep a normal relationship with her boyfriend, Lend, and keeping her new job under wraps, Evie soon discovers that being normal isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Evie is her usual fun self. She is one of my favourite characters to read. Her sense of humour is great and the way that White writes her suits her perfectly. She reacts to the crazy situations in her own way and it's nice to see that aspect kept throughout the books. Lend, on the other hand, isn't as vibrant as he was in the first book. He's turned into the pesky boyfriend that doesn't approve of anything Evie does. Mind you, she does lie to him throughout the whole novel so it is understandable, but I preferred him when he was the captured paranormal that lived to figure Evie out. Reth, her faerie ex-boyfriend, also looses some o his charm. He only shows up a few times, but he doesn't seem threatening anymore and that's sort of what I loved about him. We do get to meet a new boy, Jack, who is chalk full of mysteriousness and adorability. He reminded me of Tod from Soul Screamers, annoying and loveable all at once. He added a nice touch to the story. 

I enjoyed the plot in this book. Evie is still trying to figure out what being an Empty One means and now that she has felt the depth of having souls inside of her, she just wants to feel it again, even if she knows it's wrong. The way she acts and the thoughts that go through her mind are so realistic that you fall right into it with her. You understand why she wants to do what she does. How do you give up such great power after feeling what it can do? I'm also so glad that even though faeries are a very large part of this series, Evie will never be their queen, she is not really a faerie, and nor does she even like them. It's refreshing to see a new take on the faerie lore since they all seem to go the same route these days. Because it's true, faeries want nothing more than to ruin human's lives.

I can't wait to read the final chapter (which is sitting on my bookshelf already) so I can see what will become of Evie. Will she fill her soul at the cost of others? Will she finally rid herself of the nuisance of faeries? Will she get her happily ever after? Thankfully I don't have to wait a year to find out!

“Sometimes I wanted to take a memory - one perfect memory - curl up in it, and go to sleep.” 

“Yeah I know you're a creature of the night. Bringer of death, sucker of blood, needer of tans, so on and so forth. And oddly enough, I'm still unimpressed.” 

Review: Paranormalcy

Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Published: August 31, 2010
335 Pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Evie's always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours.

But Evie's about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Evie Green is a breath of fresh air in a sea of boring, frigid heroines. She's funny, sarcastic and has a mean sense of fashion. Plus, she kicks serious paranormal butt. The opening lines to this book says it all - 

“Wait- did you-- You just yawned!” The vampire’s arms , raised over his head in the classic Dracula pose, dropped to his sides. He pulled his exaggerated white fangs back behind his lips. “What, imminent death isn’t exciting enough for you?”

“Oh, stope pouting. But, really, the widow’s peak? The pale skin? The black cape? Where did you even get that thing, a costume store?” 

This was hilarious! And it certainly set the pace for the rest of the novel. Evie deals with some serious stuff and deadly beings but she hardly shows any fear. In fact, the only thing that scares here is Reth, her ex-faerie-boyfriend-thing. And you can't blame her because he has some serious mojo over her and I'd be scared to sleep too. But even with that fear lurking around her, she doesn't let it stop her from working and making friends, especially with the new kid that broke into the centre (the IPCA, which helps keep paranormal beings stabilized). Lend, a shape shifter, catches Evie's attention immediately. He is a supernatural being that she's never met before and he feels the same way about her. 

See Evie isn't entirely human. She can see through glamours, the mist that paranormal beings use to make themselves look normal to humans. She has always been able to see whats underneath, but she thought it was just a gift. Soon, with the help of Lend, she realizes she's much more than that. And with someone out attacking paranormals, Evie isn't sure what's safe and what's not anymore. The centre has forever been her only home and she's desperately wants to be a normal teenager. but by the looks of it, that's not going to be happening anytime soon. 

As Evie tries to live a normal life, hell breaks loose around her. Reth is still trying to take her heart and this rampaging paranormal showing itself to her. Add in Lend, vampires and werewolves and Evie's life is far from normal. This book was super easy to read and it threw me into a world that I didn't want to leave. I can't wait to pick up the next instalment, Supernaturally, to see what will happen next in Evie's crazy life. 

“Tasers are a one-size-fits-all paranormal butt-kicking option. Mine’s pink with rhinestones.” 

“I hate the vamp jobs. They think they're so suave. It's not enough for them to slaughter and eat you like a zombie would. No, they want to be all sexy, too. And trust me: vampires? Not. Sexy.”