Cover VS Cover: Vampire Academy

Cover VS Cover is a semi-weekly meme here at A Myriad of Books that I started because I've long been fascinated with the different international covers of the books we all know and love to read.  This week I'm taking on a pretty extensive series, which makes for the longest Cover VS Cover post yet: the Vampire Academy books by Richelle Mead.  I always try to feature every book in a series for these posts, but in this case I've decided to split the feature in half because of the sheer volume of covers out there.  This week we're looking at some of the many, many faces of the first three books-- Vampire Academy, Frostbite, and Shadow Kiss. 

US

The two sets of US covers are very similar, yes.  I think the second set with the expanded gates is newer.  Those are the covers I have, so I personally prefer them.  The only major difference is Dimitri's presence on the third cover.  

UK

The first covers are so close to identical to the US covers, except for the swirly black backgrounds.  The red UK covers may be my personal favorites, because I'm just a sucker for covers with emblems or symbols on them.  Particularly like the snowflake on the Frostbite cover.

German

The German covers definitely have a darker feel to them.  St Vladimir's looks like Count Dracula's castle in the background there.  They're alright, though. 

Swedish

Tsk, tsk.  When will these Swedish cover designers learn: you can't transpose the same image of a girl's face onto all three books in a series, change the colors around a little bit, and call it a unique design?  (See the Swedish covers for the Hunger Games.)

Dutch

I kind of like these covers... but don't really see what most of them have to do with Vampire Academy.  Maybe it's been too long since I read the first few books, but I don't remember any butterflies or girls with swords facing down very friendly white wolves.  Ah, well, at least they're eye-catching.

Greek

Reminiscent of the US covers... I like the computerized look of the model, for some reason.  The pose on the third book is an odd one, but the other two seem to work.  Meh.

Russian

Well, this girl doesn't resemble Rose, nor Lissa.  And what's with the bat tattoo?... I thought Rose had marks on the back of her neck for each of her Strigoi kills.  Now that would make a cool cover for Blood Promise, the fourth book: the Strigoi marks tattooed into the back of a girl's neck.

Turkish

Gee, I didn't realize Dimitri was Edward Cullen's long-lost, Russian brother.  They blatantly switched models for him, too.  And Lissa's (??) eyes on the first cover are weirdly sunken in.  She looks like a Buffy vamp with her game face on.  Not really a fan of these.

Japanese 

The manga art style on Japanese covers is something I'm personally always a sucker for... but here Rose and Lissa look about eight and half Dimitri's height.  Oddly enough, anime Dimitri is closer to how I imagined him.  Except for, you know, the whole manga-ized thing.  I think these covers could have been a lot better.

So, that's 32 covers from 9 different countries.  I did find several more international covers for the Vampire Academy series which I didn't include due to how long this post was getting.  If you want to check out the Dutch and Italian editions, you can at Goodreads.com -- that's where I get 80% of these covers.  Hope you guys enjoyed looking at all the VA covers, and as always, let me know what you think! 

Cover VS Cover: Beautiful Creatures & The Caster Chronicles

The English-language covers of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's Caster Chronicles books are beautiful in their simplicity.  For this week's edition of Cover VS Cover, I have gathered a cadre of international editions, many of which are equally stunning.  In many countries the first book, Beautiful Creatures, is actually known as 16 Moons, and Beautiful Darkness as 17 Moons.  As always, I hope you guys enjoy checking out the different covers and don't forget to weigh in about which are your favorites! 

English

This set of covers are used in all the English-speaking countries, as far as I know.  I love the Gothic feel of the title font and especially the shading of the swamp-like trees on the first cover, which is definitely my favorite of the lot.

French

  The French cover of Beautiful Chaos/18 Moons is the only one to have been released so far, other than the English edition.  I really like it the best of this set!  I love how perfectly these three covers match, though I'm not sure why the second book has the sunflower... maybe I've just forgotten something important.  Love the first cover.

Bulgarian

One thing I've learned from seeking out covers for so many of these posts: Bulgarian YA covers=yummy.  Love both of these, especially the first one.  A lot of Bulgarian covers I've featured seem to have that imagery with a girl in a dress with long, dark hair.  

German

The German take on The Caster Chronicles... the covers would give me the impression the books are about shapeshifters, if I didn't know better.  But I love how the silhouetted crow (or raven) is now about to take flight on the second book.  I suppose it will be airborne on the third cover?  The model's eyes are really striking.

Serbian

The Serbian cover for Beautiful Creatures *drools*.  I love the slants of light filtering down and, yes, just generally everything about it.  Love the leaning trees, which do have that swampy Southern Georgian or Floridan feel to them.  It's all very Gatlin.  

Dutch

I couldn't find a very good image of the Dutch cover, not one good enough to read the tagline to the left or whatever the logo is at the top... sorry about that. This cover is exceptionally simple.  The font reminds me of the font on the English-language editions-- nice.

Portuguese

Here is-- in my humble opinion-- the best saved for last.  I LOVE this cover-- could not imagine seeing it sitting on a bookstore shelf and not wanting to page through it immediately.  The cobweb tendrils of the tree branches is darkly gorgeous.  

Thanks for reading!  If you have any suggestions for next week's Cover VS Cover theme, be sure to tell me in the comments.  

Cover VS Cover: Harry Potter Edition

I had decided to do a special edition of Cover VS Cover featuring the various covers and international editions of the Harry Potter series, in honor of the premiere of the final HP film.  However, the task at hand immediately proved to be intimidating to say the least!  The Harry Potter books have of course been translated into not dozens, but hundreds of languages, and published extensively around the world.  So instead I'm highlighting two very different, but very beautiful, sets of the seven books for your comparison and appreciation.  Both editions are published by Bloomsbury in the UK-- the adult set is also sold in the US and other English-speaking countries.

The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone

Hey, I could have taken the pic of the quartz for the cover shot of the adult edition!  Kidding.  Seriously, there's something mystical in its simplicity, which is exactly how I always imagined the Philosopher's Stone.  The sword-wielding chess piece is simply enchanting on the children's cover. 

The Chamber of Secrets

The lettering for the Harry Potter logo on both of these sets is so different from the blocky US logo I'm used to seeing.  I do like the new fonts, though.  The entwined snakes on the adult-marketed edition of the Chamber of Secrets is really entrancing... like a knocker on the Gaunt House's front door.


The Prisoner of Azkaban

Azkaban looks somewhat like Alcatraz on the second cover-- very atmospheric and eerie.  I love the bright colors and the glow surrounding Harry's stag Patronus on the children's edition cover-- it might be my favorite of the set.


The Goblet of Fire

LOVE the Dark Mark!  It looks a bit like a Day of the Dead skull, and it's brightness prevents it from being as sinister as the real thing.  Again, I like the simplicity of the magic object featured on the adult edition, here the Goblet of Fire.


The Order of the Phoenix

Initially I was very puzzled by the orb on the first cover... then I smacked myself in the forehead.  It's the prophecy!  It's just that many people have probably come to think of it as being among shelves and shelves of others identical to it in the Department of Mysteries.  The adult cover reminds me a little of the Hunger Games, but I like it overall.


The Half-Blood Prince

Love the illustration of Harry and Dumbledore-- Dumby's looking very wizard-like indeed here.  The waves below the cliffs remind of that famous Japanese painting of the ocean.  Love the tattered quality of the Prince's textbook, too.  


The Deathly Hallows

Headstones on the front cover of a book, well that's kind of ominous to say the least!  I would've picked the dragon the trio ride to represent the last book, but I know another UK edition already used a similar illustration.  The amulet on the adult cover is very eerie and, again, perfect in its simplicity.


Both of these new editions were designed to attract new audiences to Harry Potter.  The illustrated editions are supposed to be for a new generation of young HP readers, and the adult editions are, duh, supposed to convince adults to find out what the Pottermania is all about.  In the end, I like each of the sets equally.  They are polar opposites as far as marketing goes, so it is impossible to really pit them against each other in Cover VS Cover fashion.  Hope you guys enjoyed seeing these covers, if you hadn't already.  :)

Cover VS Cover: Lament & Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

Cover VS Cover is a semi-weekly meme at A Myriad of Books that I started because I've long been fascinated with the differences between international covers.  A few weeks ago, while on the hunt for the covers of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, I couldn't help but be distracted by the breathtaking covers for Maggie Stiefvater's other, earlier books-- the Books of Faerie, aka Lament and Ballad.  So this week I absolutely had to feature them in Cover VS Cover!

If you've never heard of these two books, here's a brief synopsis: in Lament, Deirdre is a talented and painfully shy harpist who discovers that she is a cloverhand-- a human whom faeries naturally flock and gather around.  She stumbles into a world of trouble and deadly fey politics, accompanied by her hilarious best friend and bagpiper, James, and the shady yet charming Luke.  Ballad is a sort of companion novel starring James at a boarding school for the musically talented, where he makes the mistake of falling in love with a faerie girl whose only purpose in life is to steal the talent and youth of artists like himself.  Both books are definitely worth checking out.  Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the covers, and let me know what you think!

 US

 There have been two different editions of Lament released in the US.  The one with the sword and clovers is the hardcover, and the one featuring the woman the paperback.  I have the paperback, and the subtly eerie, almost ashy tones of that cover are very striking in person, although the first cover is more appropriate to the story.  I love the simple poignancy of the burning leaf on the Ballad cover.  A lot of countries have adopted that one, with only slight variations.

UK

I can't help but love these covers, despite the fact that the caged bird being set free is based on something within the books (but not apparent from the synopsis), and thus will probably leave those who find them via browsing in book stores thinking, 'Huh?'  It all makes a lot more sense once you read the prologue of Lament, though.

German

Ich liebe the first cover: the girl's wistful expression and the leaves and clovers strewn through her red hair.  The book looks as though it would have an interesting texture-- kind of glossy.  The expression and pose of the Ballad girl is a bit weird for me, but again I love how the little swirls match up to the first cover.  

Spanish

 

Not very much deviation from the US set here, just the addition of the sword being stuck in a log in the middle of a lake where clovers float like lily pads.  If I saw it (and couldn't read the title), I'd probably think it was an Arthurian-type novel about the Lady of the Lake or something.  The leaf is simply focused a little more on the Ballad cover.  And, no, I was unable to find an image of the second cover which was the same size as the first. (Frustrating!)

Bulgarian

I like the two Bulgarian covers very much-- especially the one for Ballad.  Though, again, we have the same elements repositioned or recombined for this set.

Dutch

There doesn't appear to be a Dutch edition of Ballad yet.  The simplicity of this one is intriguing, though I don't understand why they changed the title Lament to Heartbeat.

Latvian

Again, I couldn't find a Latvian edition of the second book.  But this one is very striking!  I love the Celtic emblem subtly overlapping everything, and the sun beaming through the dark intricacy of the tree's silhouette.

To sum it up, that's 13 covers from 7 different countries.  My favorites are probably the UK covers and the Latvian cover of Lament.  What about you guys?

Cover VS Cover: the Gemma Doyle Trilogy

Cover VS Cover is a semi-weekly meme at A Myriad of Books that I started because I've long been fascinated with the differences between international covers. This week I'm featuring a fantastic and captivating historical fantasy YA series-- the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray.  Let me know what you think, guys, and I happily take recommendations on what covers to feature!

 US/UK

Here we have the familiar US/UK covers-- I love these for their simplicity, yet the intricacy of the corsets give them a little something which is bound to caught your eye.  The first book in particular manages to capture the emotion of the MC, Gemma, perfectly.  These have been proud residents of my book shelf for a few years. 

Australian

 Quite a few of these cover sets feature models and faces-- I feel a little like I'm judging a runway competition or something!  The make-up for these girls doesn't scream Victorian to me-- it seems more modern.  But otherwise I like how the lacing on the sides of each book fits perfectly into the lacing of its sequel to form those sort of flowers.

Dutch

I really like the covers for A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels... not sure what happened with The Sweet Far Thing.  I double-checked about a billion times to make sure it indeed went along with the other two in the series!  The second cover in particular is somewhat eerie and entrancing.

Turkish

Again, the Rebel Angels cover shines.  It's much more interesting than the other two-- and I can't figure out what the heck that white object is on the third cover.  Any ideas???

German

Ugh, I strongly dislike these, despite the cool faded shots of London and Spence Boarding School.  The girl's head, fixated in the exact same expression and transposed onto all three covers, is simply awful.  It's just weird!  When I found these, I got a feeling that Jenny of Supernatural Snark could probably have a bit of fun with them in her romance novel cover critique feature.  One can only hope-- though I really would like the covers but for that transposed head! 

So, that's 15 covers from 5 different countries. Hope you guys enjoyed checking them out!

Cover VS Cover: Wolves of Mercy Falls Series

Cover VS Cover is a semi-weekly meme at A Myriad of Books that I started because I've long been fascinated with the differences between international covers.  Today we're looking at the different covers for the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater (aka Shiver and its sequels).  Seriously, this series has so many gorgeous covers in so many different countries, it was almost impossible to pick which one I liked best.  As always, let me know what you think!

US                   UK                 French

 These three are the only countries to have a complete set of covers thus far. (Linger hasn't been released in many countries, and Forever, of course, hasn't come out anywhere.)  The US and UK sets have similar themes, and though I like the more eerie feel of the UK covers, the series doesn't have that sinister feel at all, despite the fact that it's about werewolves.  I think the US cover of Shiver remains one of my very favorite covers-- it's just simple enough, just intriguing enough to work.  The French set are very interesting as well, though for me personally, they don't quite compare.  Fusion is my favorite of those three.

 German

 The titles translate to After the Summer and Rest of the Light, respectively.  Interesting.  These covers are very cute-- I like the silhouette-like figures of the girl and the wolf, and the intricate vines... they're definitely a different take than the US and UK covers, though the elements themselves are quite similar. 

 Italian

 These are neat.  The design is simple but unlike any other I've seen, despite the fact that hearts are wayy popular when it comes to YA book covers. 

 Bulgarian

 Smallish Bulgaria boasts some interesting covers, many of which contain strong influences from other covers, as we saw a few weeks ago in the Cover VS Cover for the Mortal Instruments series.  The first cover is a combination of Fallen and The Sight (check out their covers and you'll see what I'm babbling about).

 Indonesian

 Shiver is the only book of the series to be released so far in Indonesia, but what a beautiful cover it has been gifted with there!  I love the sweet sketchiness of this cover, even though the girl seems a bit too young to scream 'Grace', exactly.

In summary, that's 16 covers from 7 different countries.  I hope you guys enjoyed checking all of them out!