Blog Tour: From Sketch to Cover Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban‏

Welcome to my stop on the Harry Potter blog tour celebrating the new cover for The Prisoner of Azkaban! If you follow my blog you'll know by now what a massive Potterhead I am and so I'm thrilled to have some exciting Harry Potter goodness to share with you today. But for now, the reason that we're all here, can we all just take a moment to admire the absolute beauty that is the new cover...

and the artwork on the back cover is equally wonderful!

Blurb from the back of the book
When the Knight Bus crashes through the darkness and screeches to a halt in front of him, it’s the start of another far from ordinary year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter. Sirius Black, escaped mass-murderer and follower of Lord Voldemort, is on the run – and they say he is coming after Harry. In his first ever Divination class, Professor Trelawney sees an omen of death in Harry’s tea leaves ... but perhaps most terrifying of all are the Dementors patrolling the school grounds, with their soul-sucking kiss...

 From Sketch to Cover 

See Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban develop before your eyes in this amazing GIF!

Three exclusive facts from Jonny Duddle 
Jonny Duddle, jacket illustrator for the new Harry Potter children’s editions reveals three facts about the cover of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:

·This was the only cover for which I had a clear vision in my head of how I wanted it to look, before I even started the rough. 

·To get good reference photos of the cape, Sammy’s little sister shook the cape continuously, whilst he stood in position. 

·Harry, Hermione and Sirius are all in the background, surrounded by dementors. 

I think that Jonny Duddle has done a fantastic job of capturing the magic of the Harry Potter books. I'd even go as far as to say that they are my favourite editions to date! I have no doubt that these stunning covers will convince a whole new generation to discover the magic for the very first time. In case you haven't read the series yet and need any more convincing to check out this beloved series multi award-winning British children's writer Annabel Pitcher is here today to talk about why the series means so much to her.

Annabel Pitcher and Harry

When I was a teacher browsing the Times Educational Supplement, a secret part of me was always disappointed that there was never a post advertised at Hogwarts. I would have grabbed the first available owl and applied for it in a shot, packing my bags faster than you can say Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore. That I believed it were possible is why I fell in love with Harry Potter in the first place. 

In the opening pages, we are not thrown into a fantasy universe. We are shown our world, with all its square-house, suburban drudgery. We see ourselves as muggles and recognise the worst parts of being human in the curtain-twitching, hosepipe-toting Dursleys. We feel Harry’s frustration because it is our frustration, and together we both long for there to be something – anything – more. And then the owls come, and with it the promise of adventure in a world skilfully interwoven with ours. This is magic, almost within our grasp. It is a wall in Kings Cross. An innocent-looking red phone box. An invisible house on an otherwise ordinary street. That is the charm of the series for me. Harry’s universe is so tantalisingly close and intimately recognisable that it feels as if it really does exist.

Bloomsbury Publishing has relaunched its Harry Potter website to support the new children’s editions. The new Harry Potter site uses the Jonny Duddle artwork from the new children’s editions and includes pages of information on the bestselling series as well as exciting new content from Magical Downloads to a Harry Potter Quote Generator. Check out the new site at: http://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/

Make sure you stop by Readaraptor tomorrow for the next stop on the blog tour!

Exclusive Reveal! The Manifesto on How to be Interesting by Holly Bourne‏

So if you've followed the blog for a while you'll know that I've been a huge supporter of Holly Bourne's since before the publication of her debut novel Soulmates and so it's such an honor today to be exclusively revealing the title, cover and synopsis for her upcoming book *drum roll...*

The Manifesto on How to be Interesting

I absolutely love this bright coral neon cover and sprayed edges! It's definetely going to catch eyes in bookshops! And here's the synopsis for the book which sounds just as fab as the cover!

The Manifesto on How to be Interesting is a fearlessly frank take on school cliques, crushes and fitting in.

Bree is a loser, a wannabe author who hides behind words. But when she’s told she needs to start living a life worth writing about, The Manifesto on How to be Interesting is born. Six steps on how to be interesting. Six steps that will see her infiltrate the popular set, fall in love with someone forbidden and make the biggest mistake of her life.

Sounds great, right? So I bet you're wondering when you can get your grabby hands, that I just know you're all making at the screen, on a copy. Good news! The publication date has been brought forward to 1st August 2014.

AND THAT'S NOT ALL! 

If you're a fan of Holly's then you probably already know that she'll be at YALC on Saturday 12th July and I'm excited to reveal that copies of The Manifesto on How to be Interesting will be joining her! The book will be on sale early so fans attending YALC will be the first people to be able to buy and read the book.

 Do let both myself and Holly know what you think either in the comments or on Twitter @Jessheartsbooks and @holly_bourneYA 

Find out more about Holly and her books on her website www.hollybourne.co.uk

Exclusive UK Cover Reveal for Shattered by Teri Terry and Giveaway!

I'm very excited to be bringing to you today a first look at the newly released cover for the third book in the Slated series SHATTERED by Teri Terry. This has to be my favourite UKYA Dystopian series and I can't wait for this book to be released next March! If the cover reveal wasn't exciting enough I also have the lovely Teri Terry sharing her thoughts on the cover and a UK giveaway for either Slated (book one) or Fractured (book two) for anyone who hasn't had the chance to check out this incredible series yet.

Without further ado here is the moment you've all been waiting for, the gorgeous cover for Shattered!

A Word From The Author 

I’ve been SO lucky with my covers with the Slated trilogy: I love them all.

There was a long story behind the Slated cover, and I’ve blogged about it before (http://www.notesfromtheslushpile.com/2012/02/slated-getting-it-covered.html). You can see there the different versions the cover went through, and how it almost didn’t happen when the photographer couldn’t be contacted and was only tracked down at the last minute.

The photographer did a photo shoot with the same model for the next covers. Fractured didn’t go through as much evolution as Slated, now that we had the basic look of the trilogy: the only thing that changed along the way was the choice of image. But when I saw the gorgeous cover to Fractured, while I loved it, it raised one doubt in my mind. Fractured has a broken glass effect around the edges: where were they going to go with Shattered that was beyond this?

I needn't have worried: I’m pretty sure the cover to Shattered is my favourite. Originally it was more white, then into warmer colours, and the change I suggested was making the colours cooler and going into blue – I was thinking making it cold, like shattered ice. I love the effect they’ve used.

And I’ve also interviewed Haley, the cover girl, herself! So if you ever wondered what it would be like to have your face appear on book covers around the world, check it out here: http://teriterry.jimdo.com/2013/04/11/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-book-cover-meet-hayley-slated-fractured-cover-girl/ 

 End 

I have to agree with Teri - I think Shattered is my favourite of the series too! I'm so glad that they decided to go with a colder look. I'm loving the shattered ice! What do you think of the cover?

Finally to celebrate the cover reveal the publishers are providing a copy of either Slated (book one) or Fractured (book two) to giveaway to one lucky UK based winner! To enter please read the rules and enter via the rafflecopter.

 Rules 

 To enter please fill in the Rafflecopter 

Open to UK residents only 

End date: Thursday 12th September 2013 

Winner will be contacted by email and will have 1 week to reply else another winner will be selected.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Good luck to everyone entering and thank you to Teri for putting this post together!

Stunning Cover Reveals From Gayle Forman, Lauren Kate, L.A. Weatherly and More!

There has been an abundance of stunning cover reveals lately so I wanted to group together a few of my favourites from authors I love to share with you guys in case you haven't seen them yet so we can fangirl together!

  Just One Year by Gayle Forman

My Thoughts: So at first I was kinda disappointed in this cover. I really wanted a mirror image of the last book with Willem wearing the watch in the cafe and although I still personally think that would make for the BEST cover I'm still a fan of this one. It's beautifully simple and understated like Just One Day and I love the reflections in the window like the last book. Just One Day is my favourite book of 2013 so far so needless to say I can't wait for this one!

  

Teardrop by Lauren Kate 

My Thoughts: Lauren Kate really lucks out in her book covers. Her Fallen series are some of my favourite book covers ever so her new novel Teardrop had a lot to live up to and whilst it's really different to the Fallen series it's just as beautiful and is probably my favourite cover reveal of this bundle. I adore the colours used, and the magical looking city in the background, but most of all the water dress. HER DRESS IS MADE OUT OF WATER! So stunning.

 

Angel Fever by L.A. Weatherly 

My Thoughts: Lee's Angel trilogy is my favourite out of the angel series that are out there and I can't wait for this final instalment! Seb joins Alex and Willow on this final cover and he looks very similar to how I imagine him. Like with Teardrop I love the colours used for the background on this one.

 

The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin 

My Thoughts: Another final book to one of my favourite series! I'm a huge fan of the Mara Dyer covers. I still remember when I saw the cover for the first book and I was all of a flail over it. The way Noah is clutching Mara and with them hitting the bottom of the water now just seems so fitting for the final book and I absolutely love it!

 

Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne 

My Thoughts: I loved Tanya Byrne's Heart-Shaped Bruise and have been eagerly anticipating her next release. I think the cover works really well with this title as it looks like we're following the character into this dark forest. I love the colour of the Autumn leaves framing the image and think the bright orange gives a pop of colour to a gloomy cover whilst still keeping the dark and spooky theme.

These are the covers that have really stood out to me lately and they are all books that I'm really looking forward to being released. Are you loving any of these beauties? Which one is your favourite? I can't wait for them all to be released so that they can look gorgeous on our bookshelves!

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon: Monday's Mini Challenge!

Seems as I'm currently in between reads (one book down, yay!) I decided I'd reward myself with some internet time whilst I'm absorbing my last read and then after dinner I'll be cracking on to book two! But seems as I'm online I thought I'd do todays mini challenge hosted over on http://ibbookblogging.net/

Question 1: What is your favorite cover that has been revealed this summer and why? Post a link or picture of the cover if you want.

Oh so many gorgeous covers! But I'd have to say my recent favourite is Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton. I just love everything about it! I have some serious hair envy going on with the model - such big, glossy, bouncy, curls! I love how her dress swirls off into a smoke-like mist and the dark smoke gathering around her gives this book such a dark and sultry feel. I loved the first book Everneath and I can't wait to see what happens next in Everbound!

Question 2: Do you rely on the cover to help you choose whether you want to read a book or not? A lot of factors go into me deciding on whether I want to read the book before the cover like reviews from blogger friends, online hype, whether it sounds like something I'd enjoy, the synopsis etc. But if I’m in a bookshop browsing does a pretty cover catch my eye? Certainly! If the covers a bit naff and the e-books way cheaper then I'll end up buying the e-book, if the covers gorgeous and will look amazing on my bookshelf then I'm willing to pay the extra money for it! 

Are you taking part in the Once Upon a Read-a-Thon? How’s it going so far? Stay tuned for more updates and bookish fun from me and if you’re not taking part but want to let me know what you think of the cover for Everbound or your favourite cover reveal so far this summer feel free to leave a comment!

Bookish News! Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick Cover Reveal!

Just a quick, unexpected, post to share with you guys the UK cover for the final book in Becca Fitzpatrick’s hugely popular Hush, Hush series Finale! I just got the email from the publishers this afternoon so this cover is hot off the press!

Synopsis
"Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen angel or not, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean that they will always be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. But now they face their biggest challenge. Can their love survive a seemingly insurmountable divide. And in the end, will there be enough trust left to rebuild what has been broken? The lines are drawn - but which sides are they on?"

Pretty right? I think the covers to this series are absolutely stunning and this one is no exception! Finale will be out in the UK on 23rd October 2012, feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!

Divergent gets a make-over! And INSURGENT UK cover reveal!

Some of you may know the Divergent and Insurgent cover’s as this…

and this...

However here in the UK the publishers are giving this series a make-over with completely new covers and here they are!

Divergent

Insurgent

I think the new covers are absolutely gorgeous and will definitely appeal to UK YA fans, but for me personally there’s just something so striking and unique about the US and original UK covers that really made them stand out to me. I do however LOVE the burning leaves on Insurgent and I’m a sucker for a purple cover!

What do you guys think of the cover change and which set do you prefer? Insurgent is out in the UK on the 1st May of this year and I for one can’t wait!

Cover Reveals for Lauren Kate’s Rapture and Fallen in Love PLUS Sneak Peak!

I do love a good cover reveal and I think we can all agree that Lauren Kate’s in particular are always very exciting in deed! The cover’s for all of her books are absolutely stunning and so it gives me great pleasure to be bringing to you today the cover reveal for not only Rapture- the thrilling final instalment of the Fallen series- but also Lauren’s upcoming Fallen in Love a book made up of four romantic short stories featuring the characters from the Fallen series. The stories include Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles , Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane; and Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda. I’m not usually a fan of short stories but think this one will be fab as we already know and love all of the characters! Plus this will be coming out just in time for Valentine’s Day so I think this will be perfect for some romantic reading! Exciting stuff right? So without further ado check out the covers!

Rapture by Lauren Kate

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

Pretty right? I think they can both stand proudly next to the rest of the Fallen series and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove! If that wasn’t enough excitement you can also read a SNEAK PEAK of Fallen in Love RIGHT HERE, right now. I’m so excited for both of these books and can hardly wait first for the 2nd February for Fallen in Love and then for 12th June for the much anticipated Rapture!

What do you think of these new covers? And if you read the sneak peak of Fallen in Love let me know what you think in the comments!