Uncovered (118): A Little Something Different

Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? While it isn't always the marker of a good book, it certainly helps when I am making a decision at the bookstore. Uncovered is my weekly post that pays homage to great book covers. Each week I'll talk about one of my current cover loves.

This week's cover love goes out to A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall. I don't know much about this book except that it seems like a quirky romance. I really like the cover though. It looks almost like an embroidery sampler or a drawing from a sketchbook. Unfortunately I can't really see the small details of it so I am not sure how the image is made, but it looks like it's a sketch style drawing. I really like this one because it looks a little handmade. Blue and red are two of my favorite colors together and I like how the red pops next to the dark blue. This is a cover the invites you to look closer so you can see more of it and pick up the small details. The cover includes books, coffee and tiny squirrels, all of which I am a fan of. I also like how the title is framed by the branches so that it stands out on the cover.

This looks like a very cute book and I'd definitely pick it up based on this cover.

Uncovered (117): Falling Into Place

Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? Uncovered is a weekly post where I show some cover love. Hope you enjoy!

I was hopping around Goodreads recently (as one does) and came across the cover to the upcoming novel Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang and immediately fell in love with it. First, it's illustrated so it already gets points in my book. I love how the title tells its own story in the way that it's written and drawn. The color palette is great and I love how the red pops against the greenish background. If you read the synopsis of the book, this cover makes a lot of sense.

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road.

Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect? Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.

I think a lot of covers these days can be pretty generic, trying to appeal to a mass audience, and not saying much about the book. I like that this one tells a story and invites the reader to find out more about what that story is.

Unfortunately this one does not come out until September, so I will have to wait until then to see this cover in person. But I am adding it my wishlist now so I don't forget about it. Is anyone else looking forward to this one?

Audiobook Review: I Don't Know What You Know Me From by Judy Greer

Title: I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star

Author: Judy Greer
Narrated by: Judy Greer
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Publisher: Doubleday, audio by Books on Tape
Genre: Non-Fiction/Celebrity Memoir
Find It: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository; Audible
Source: Purchased

You know Judy Greer, right? Maybe from The Wedding Planner, 13 Going on 30, Carrie, Arrested Development, orThe Descendants. Yes, you totally recognize her. And, odds are, you already feel like she’s your friend.

In her first book of essays, I Don’t Know What You Know Me From, Greer writes about everything you would hope to hear from your best friend: how a midnight shopping trip to Walgreens can cure all; what it’s like to wake up one day with stepchildren; and how she really feels about fans telling her that she’s prettier in person. Yes, it’s all here—from the hilarious moments to the intimate confessions.

But Judy Greer isn’t just a regular friend—she’s a celebrity friend. Want to know which celebs she’s peed next to? Or what the Academy Awards are actually like? Or which hot actor gave her father a Harley-Davidson? Don’t worry; Greer reveals all of that, too. You’ll love her because, besides being laugh-out-loud funny, she makes us genuinely feel like she’s one of us. Because even though she sometimes has a stylist and a makeup artist, she still wears (and hates!) Spanx. Because even after almost twenty years in Hollywood, she still hasn’t figured everything out—except that you should always wash your face before bed. Always.

I've been a fan of Judy Greer's for a while now. While she may not be instantly recognizable to some, her acting resume is impressive and varied. She's been in Thirteen Going On Thirty, The Wedding Planner, Arrested Development, The Village and 27 Dresses. One of my favorite roles of hers is Cheryl/Carol from the animated series Archer, in which she plays a psychotic railway heiress who likes auto-erotic asphyxiation, bobcats and country music. She often plays the best friend or kooky co-worker, which suits her well as she seems like she would be a really great girlfriend. In my imaginary celebrity life, she, Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Garner would be a part of my bestie girl crew and we'd have epic dinner parties and sleepovers complete with a dance montage (I said it was imaginary).

I Don't Know What You Know Me From tells the story of Greer's childhood and eventual rise to Hollywood co-stardom. She takes us from the suburbs of Detroit all the way to Hollywood, telling her story through funny anecdotes, letters and journal entries. Greer has a dry wit and self deprecating manner that make you like her, not hate her for getting to make out with the likes of Ashton Kutcher and George Clooney. Greet tends to ramble a little bit, which can be endearing or annoying, depending on your view. I didn't have a problem with it though. The book jumps back and forth in time a lot which I found a little bit confusing at times but didn't detract from the overall experience.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book which is narrated by Greer herself. Greer is a voice over veteran and there is no one better to narrate her story than herself. Listening to her, I can easily imagine that we're just two good friends having a late night chat. I admit that I was a little sad that she didn't yell out any quotes from Archer, but I'll get over it. 

This book is very similar to how I imagine Greer to be - sweet, funny, and down-to-earth. Greer doesn't take herself too seriously and seems genuinely happy and grateful for the career she has. While this book isn't really going to give you any deep insight into the Hollywood system or tons of juicy celebrity gossip, it's a light and entertaining read that made my weekly commute a bit more bearable. I would recommend the audiobook if you can get it, as I think hearing Greer's story in her own voice made for a better read.

*All images are property of the respective film and television studios. Images are meant merely to illustrate Greer's career and no harm or infringement is intended.

Nalini Sigh #BingeReads Giveaway (US - Ends 7/31)

Hi, everyone! I have a really fun giveaway for you guys today.  A few weeks ago I won a contest on the Binge Reads Facebook Page to become a Nalini Singh Ambassador. Those of you who follow this blog or know me probably already know that I am a big Nalini Singh fan. I just love her writing and think everyone should give it a try. It's got romance but also really great world building. She is one of my auto-buy authors and I am hoping to make her one of yours, too. 

So what am I giving away? So glad you asked. I am giving away 5 copies of the first book in Singh's Psy-Changeling series, Slave to Sensation. That means that there will be 5 winners! Since this giveaway was sponsored by Singh's US publisher, I am going to limit the giveaway to US residents only. Usual giveaway rules apply. Good luck!

Giveaway Rules:

1. Open to US residents only. 
2. We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items. 
3. One set of entries per household please. 
4. If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address. 
5. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends. 
6. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner. 
7. If you have any questions, feel free to email us. You can review our full contest policy here. 
8. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find. Thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacked (115)

Inspired by Pop Culture Junkie and The Story Siren, Stacked is a weekly post where I share with you the books that I've bought, borrowed or received for the week.

Hello again! I hope you all had a nice weekend. No big plans for me this weekend, which is kinda nice. I really need to catch up on my reading and knitting so the free time is needed. I still have a mountain of ALA books to read so I haven't acquired too many books this week (at least not physical ones). I received one book for review, which I am really excited about and stocked up on audiobooks.

For Review

Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews - I had a mini freak out session when I saw this one on Edelweiss and saw that I was also auto-approved. Yes, please! I am a huge fan of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews series and was excited to hear that the duo was writing a straight up romance this fall. While I am not a huge fan of this cover, I am very excited about the insides of this book. 

Bought

I used up all of the Audible credits langushing in my account and purchased on audiobook for super cheap. Guess I need to actually start listening to some of these on my commute now.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell - I was going to hold out and get this in hardcover but funds are a bit tight and I had a bunch of Audible credits. Hoping that the audio version is good.

One More Thing by B.J. Novak - Another celebrity type memoir/book that looks promising. I really like BJ Novak's work on The Office and hope that it translates in to his writing. He also reads it which is a bonus.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson - I've been meaning to reach one of Matson's books for a while now and this looks like a good summer read. It was also on sale for just $3.99 on Audible.

Tangled by Emma Chase - I've never listened to any type of romance book before and thought I'd give it a try. I've heard good things about this one.

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick - I really loved The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series and wanted to jump back into that world. It's also read by the actress that played Lizzie in the web series which should be fun. 

Even though I have a long commute now, I don't listen to a whole lot of audiobooks. Clearly this needs to change and I have a whole slew of them to get through. Big thanks to Lucy at The Reading Date whose blog I mined for audiobook recs. Besides just having a great blog, Lucy listens to tons of audiobooks and reviews them. Her blog is a great resource when you need an audiobook rec. 

Thanks for hanging out, everyone. Have a great Sunday!

Uncovered (116): I'll Give You the Sun

Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? While it isn't always the marker of a good book, it certainly helps when I am making a decision at the bookstore. Uncovered is my weekly post that pays homage to great book covers. Each week I'll talk about one of my current cover loves.

This week's Uncovered post is all about I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. I fell in love with the cover the second I saw it. It's a very simple cover but one that pushes all of my buttons. I love a good rainbow and this is a beautiful rainbow hued cover. I love the simplicity of it and the radiating lines give the cover a feeling of something bursting or exploding. The title is front and center and I like that the blurb and author's name follow the lines of the color rays and don't interrupt the flow of the cover.

There's not much else I can say about this. It's very simple but extremely pretty and eye catching. I can't wait to get this one!

ALA 2014 Recap + Giveaway

Hi, everyone! Sorry this post is a bit late but I feel like I needed a little time to recover from ALA and the Fourth of July weekend. I can't believe that ALA is over. I had been planning the trip with my friends since the last time ALA was on the west coast (2012). I'll try to keep this recap somewhat brief, though there will be lots of pics and fangirling.

I headed out to Vegas the Friday before the ALA weekend with my friend Crystal from Books Unbound. She was able to get an SUV for the trip which was great because that meant we could take a lot of books home with us. :) I didn't take too many pics of the drive there. It was hot and pretty boring, though we did find a Dunkin' Donuts when we stopped for a bathroom break. And what does one do when faced with a rare on the west coast Dunkin' Donuts? Why buy a dozen of course (not pictures are the munchkins and iced coffee I also bought).

In my defense, we were also meeting 3 other people in Vegas so this wasn't all for us. There was also a short detour to an outlet center, where I was quite restrained and only purchased one thing (some of my friends were less restrained). We made it to Vegas in about 5 hours and settled in to our lovely suite at the Holiday Inn Resort. Our hotel was only a couple of miles from the convention center and had a full kitchen and 3 pools!

After unpacking we rushed over to the convention center to get our badges and to see if we could catch the last hour or two of the convention floor. The registration line went by very quickly and we were on the floor in no time. I had a couple of books that were really high on my wishlist that I wanted to try to get on Friday. They were Heir of Fire and Mortal Heart which, luckily, I was able to snag that night.

abrams booth

image comics

I know everyone always talks about the books at events like these. And don't get me wrong, the books are awesome. But what's really awesome is getting to see all of the publisher booths and speak to the reps. I think I am a little unusual as a book blogger because almost all of my ARCs are digital so I don't have much contact with the actual publishing reps. But it was really nice to meet a lot of them and just chat about what their favorite books are and what they're excited about. I definitely came home with several books I might not have requested on my own but sounded great after speaking with a rep. It was also nice to see that some of the comics publishers had a presence this year (you can see part of the Image booth above) as well as Entangled Publishing, who was attending their first ALA. It was also nice to talk to other bloggers as well as librarians and teachers. There was a lot of standing in line so I made the most of it by getting to know my neighbors. 

Of course there were some great authors in attendance as well. One of my biggest fangirl moments was when we got to meet Ann M. Martin, author of The Babysitter's Club series, which I loved as a child. I think I checked out every copy that the library had when I was a kid. Ann was there signing her new book Rain Reign, and was quite gracious when my friend and I kind of flipped out.

I also got to meet Jeaniene Frost, author of the Night Huntress series. I am a big fan and have never met her before. I had no idea that she was going to be at ALA so it was a nice surprise to see that she was signing. Her new YA novel, The Beautiful Ashes comes out in August.

Here is Marie Lu signing her upcoming novel, The Young Elites. The line for Marie Lu was super long but it went by really fast. 

On Friday, Scott Westerfeld was signing his new book Afterworlds.

And no trip to Las Vegas would be complete without a buffet. We chose the one at The M, which was recommended to us by two Vegas residents. I have to say that it was mighty tasty. Look at those crab legs.

There was more that I didn't get pics of such as roulette, late night swimming, Thai food, lots of iced coffee, and tons of books, authors and awesome book people. If you want to see more pics, please check out my Flickr album. Many thanks to my partners in crime Books Unbound, The Windy Pages, Bookyurt, and Laura N for making it a really great trip. Many thanks as well to all of the wonderful publishers and authors who made the time to talk to us and were calm in the midst of madness. 

If you've made it this far - yay! That means you get to see the giveaway we are having. I picked up a few things that I thought you guys might like at ALA. I haven't read any of them yet except for the Lux Beginnings bind-up, which is beautiful and a very fun series. If you'd like a chance to win these books, just fill out the Rafflecopter below. As always, first entry is free. This is for US residents only. Sorry, international friends, but a big box of books will cost a lot to send overseas. We'll have an international giveaway for you guys soon. Thanks for reading and good luck!

Giveaway

Giveaway Rules:

1. Open to US residents only. 
2. We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items. 
3. One set of entries per household please. 
4. If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address. 
5. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends. 
6. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner. 
7. If you have any questions, feel free to email us. You can review our full contest policy here. 
8. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find. Thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys
 I've Loved Before #1)

Author: Jenny Han
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
Find It: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository
Source: Borrowed ARC
First published on Kid Lit Frenzy

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

I just finished this book and I have to say wow, I really liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Though I've heard lots of great things about Jenny Han (I have her Summer series one shelf waiting to be read and have met her and find her think she’s funny and adorable), contemporary YA novels aren't usually my thing and I wasn't sure how I would feel about this. However, the pretty pink cover drew me in and I decided to give it a chance, and I’m so glad I did. To All the Boys is fantastically written, with well developed characters and relationships that make for a standout novel.

It was hard for me to connect with Lara Jean when I first started reading. Her voice is a lot younger and more naive than what I expected of a 16-year-old in a contemporary YA novel. However, as the story progressed and I got into Lara Jean’s head, I found myself really liking her and relating to her in a lot of ways. Lara Jean reminds me a lot of myself at her age. She is quiet and, while not unpopular, is not a part of the cool crowd. She isn't afraid to be herself but she still cares about what people think of her. She's a little naive and is afraid to move outside of her comfort zone. In a landscape littered with cunning teen assassins and snarky mean girls, Lara Jean’s sincerity and earnestness is a refreshing change.

Another thing I loved in the book were the relationships. While I don’t have sisters, the sibling relationship between the Song sisters rang true. No one knows how love you and to hurt you as much as a sibling does. I loved how strong the family ties were and how they supported each other. There is no absentee parenting in this book. I was also happy that there was no insta-love. I am usually pretty wary of love triangles, but it worked here because all of the characters were well developed and I can see why Lara Jean would be drawn to both boys for different reasons.

The book had some good secondary characters as well, the standout for me being Kitty, Lara Jean’s little sister. She reminds me a little bit of Louise Belcher from Bob’s Burgers and I have a feeling that she will be ruling the world one day. It was also nice to see a little diversity in the book with a bi-racial main character.

My only small gripe about this book is that I wish the ending was a longer. It felt a little rushed and wished I’d had a little more resolution. I’ve heard that the finished copy of the book (I read an ARC) has a longer ending though and I am interested in re-reading the ending to see if it provides a little more closure. And good news is that there will be another book! Things were left a little open ended and I am glad to hear that there will be another book in this charming series.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a sweet, quirky coming of age story that will appeal to fans of contemporary YA fiction and romance. Now that I’ve read Jenny Han I can see why her books are so popular and I look forward to reading her backlist.

*I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Trailer: Dracula Untold

I really had no idea that a new Dracula movie was in the works until it pooped up on my FB stream this weekend (occasionally FB does get it right). This looks like an interesting take on the Dracula mythos and Luke Evans is easy on the eyes. Not sure if Dracula Untold is going to be cheesy or good but chances are good that I'll be seeing it either way.

Dracula Untold hits theaters this October.

Manicure Monday (69): Dorothy Must Die

Hi and welcome to Manicure Monday, a weekly feature that combines my love of nail polish and reading. Each Monday, I'll showcase one of my current reads along with a matching book manicure. 

Hello, hello! Has everyone recovered from their BBQ hangover yet? I admit that I am not looking forward to working a full work week. :( Today's manicure features Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. I have been meaning to read this one for a while now and have only now found the time to start it. Unfortunately my reading time was pretty limited this weekend and I haven't gotten very far but I am liking it so far. 

This was a fun manicure to do since there were a lot of visually interesting elements on this cover to play with. I knew I wanted to have the dress on my hand so I started off with two coats of white polish (OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls) on my middle finger. Then I used black acrylic paint to paint the black around the dress shape. I would have just painted the white onto the black but I wasn't sure if the white was going to be opaque enough to cover well over a dark color. I did the same for the bow tie image. Then I went back in with some blue acrylic paint and painted on the gingham pattern. 

On my index finger, I wanted to create the yellow brick road. I started with two coats of the super sparkly Zoya Kerry. Next I used a small brush and black acrylic paint to paint in the lines of the brick. I finished off my index and middle fingers with a bit of red splatter art with Seche Signature (red) to create some blood splatters. 

For my pinkie, I could not resist using China Glaze Ruby Pumps, which was inspired by the red slippers from The Wizard of Oz.

For my thumb, I wanted to paint the white heels from the cover of the book. I used two coats of Wet N Wild Black Creme as a base. Once that was dry, I went back in with white acrylic paint to draw in the shoes. The shoes on the cover are lightly speckled with black so I added a bit of black to my nails by very lightly sponging some black polish on with a beauty sponge. I put some top coat over everything and the manicure was complete!

My favorite finger from this manicure is the yellow brick road nail. It just came out exactly how I wanted it to, which almost never happens. Hope you guys enjoyed today's look. If you've read this book, let me know what you think in the comments below (no spoilers please). :)

Stacked (114): The ALA Edition

Inspired by Pop Culture Junkie and The Story Siren, Stacked is a weekly post where I share with you the books that I've bought, borrowed or received for the week.

Hi, everyone. I hope that you are enjoying the long 4th of July weekend if you are celebrating in the US. I am really loving having so much time off. It's been uber hot her but I am managing to stay cool for the most part. I went to a BBQ and ate way too much and saw 22 Jump Street (I blame my friend K for that one). You guys all know that I went to ALA last weekend. Today I am going to show you some of my favorites from ALA. Many thanks to all of the publishers at the event who were very nice and stayed calm in the midst of book chaos.

Staring from the top left and going clockwise - 

Wildlife by Fiona Wood - I have heard so many good things about Fiona Wood, esp from Mands at The Bookish Manicurist. Unfortunately her books have not been published in the U.S. until now. Though contemp is not usually my thing, I am really excited to start this one.

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers - This was one of my top wants from ALA. I got this the first night and everything after was just icing on the cake.

Maplecroft by Cherie Priest - Many thanks to my friends K and C who saw this one and snagged it for me. Besides the awesome cover, this one looks like it's going to be a really creepy and cool read about Lizzie Borden.

Jackaby by William Ritter - Another one with a great cover, Goodreads describes this as Dr Who meets Sherlock. Sign me up!

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas - Another of my big wants from ALA. Man this book is huge and I cannot wait to dive into it.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu - The line for this book was pretty insane but it was really well organized and went really fast. Marie Lu is a pro at signing quickly while still giving everyone some personal attention. I really liked Lu's Legend series and am excited to see where her new story takes us.

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid - I really like road trip stories, which is what piqued my interest on this one. It's been getting a lot of buzz on the blogger front as well. Looks like it would be a fun summer read. 

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - I have heard really good things about this book and the cover is so fun and bright. I was not able to catch Nelson's signing at ALA but managed to get a copy of the ARC anyway. Hoping to start this one soon.

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost - I had no idea that Jeaniene Frost was going to be at ALA. I am a huge fan of her Cat & Bones series and was super stoked to see that she was signing her new YA book at the Harlequin booth. She doesn't tour on the west coast much so this was a rare opportunity for me to meet her. I may have fangirled a little bit. Really interested to see how she does YA. 

I can't believe that ALA is already over. My friends and I started planning it literally two years ago and now it's over. And next year it's going to be in San Francisco, only an hour from where my parents live. I need to start plotting now...

Hope you're all having a fun and relaxing weekend. :)

What Does the Bookworm Say?: Book Trailers

Hi and welcome to a new feature here on Nite Lite called What Does the Bookworm Say? that I am doing with my friends at The Reader's Antidote, Books Unbound and The Windy Pages. Each week, we will discuss a new bookish topic. This week's topic is book trailers. Love 'em, hate 'em or don't care either way.

I have mixed feeling about book trailers. I like the idea of them but, in reality, they don't really do much for me. I find a lot of them to be pretty cheesy with bad special effects and bad acting. I tend to like the ones without actors in them better though it's still pretty hit or miss. I also don't really know if I believe that a book trailer would actually get people to buy the book. For me, it's cool to see trailers for books and authors I am already excited about but I am not sure if it would get me or someone who isn't a big reader to try out a new book. I think it's great that publishers and authors want to take the time to promote these books and make trailers for them but I don't know how effective they are.

What do you guys think of book trailers? Do they make a difference in your book buying habits?

Don't forget to check out what The Reader's Antidote, Books Unbound and The Windy Pages have to say about this topic as well. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, just leave it in the comments below. 

Uncovered (115): The Swan Gondola

Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? While it isn't always the marker of a good book, it certainly helps when I am making a decision at the bookstore. Uncovered is my weekly post that pays homage to great book covers. Each week I'll talk about one of my current cover loves.

Happy 4th of July to all of our American readers. Hope you're enjoying some nice weather and a BBQ or two. This week on Uncovered, we have The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert, a type lover's dream. I saw this at the bookstore and fell in love with all of the wonderful type on this cover.  I really like how the words are framed in the banners. This reminds me of an old time flier or advertisement. The two swans on the bottom of the cover add a little something different so that this isn't just a cover full of type. I like how they are mirrored images of each other and how their curves give the cover a slightly softer look and help break up the text. Below is the synopsis for The Swan Gondola.

On the eve of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair, Ferret Skerritt, ventriloquist by trade, con man by birth, isn’t quite sure how it will change him or his city. Omaha still has the marks of a filthy Wild West town, even as it attempts to achieve the grandeur and respectability of nearby Chicago. But when he crosses paths with the beautiful and enigmatic Cecily, his whole purpose shifts and the fair becomes the backdrop to their love affair.

One of a traveling troupe of actors that has descended on the city, Cecily works in the Midway’s Chamber of Horrors, where she loses her head hourly on a guillotine playing Marie Antoinette. And after closing, she rushes off, clinging protectively to a mysterious carpetbag, never giving Ferret a second glance. But a moonlit ride on the swan gondola, a boat on the lagoon of the New White City, changes everything, and the fair’s magic begins to take its effect.

From the critically acclaimed author of The Coffins of Little Hope, The Swan Gondola is a transporting read, reminiscent of Water for Elephants or The Night Circus.

Sounds slightly magical and very unique. I have a soft spot for circus and fair settings. There's something very weird and cool about them. I think this sounds pretty interesting and I hope to add it to my bookshelf soon.

What do you guys think? I'd love to know!