Monday, December 6, 2010

Cover Review (4) Immortal


Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by Tawni at The Book Worms where a beautiful cover is featured each week for all of us to admire. I am going to use my Cover Crazy posts as an opportunity to review a book cover I love or review any cover (even the ones I don't love) from a book I've read. This week's Cover Crazy is for a cover I both love and have read the book: Immortal by Gillian Shields

More of my Cover Crazy posts. 



Do you know the first thing I think when I see this cover?

I totally want that necklace.

Desire is a great way to draw interest, and that necklace has me completely hooked. After I get over my initial “I want that!” I start thinking a little deeper. Whose necklace is that? What is the significance of the necklace? Does it hold some sort of power?

Would the owner give it to me?

Erm, going back to the cover…There’s always been something extra magical to me about jewelry. This may go back to my obsession with all things sparkly, but beautiful pieces of jewelry just seem to hold a power that I can almost imagine I, too, can possess if I could only get my hands on the piece. All sorts of fictional witches and wizards have infused necklaces and rings with their power, making ordinary pieces of jewelry suddenly magical and mysterious. In some stories, even a regular person could pick up such a talisman and wield its power.

I may be outing myself as a gigantic dork here (Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey would understand), but when I was younger I used to pretend that my own jewelry was some witch’s lost charm. Ok, so it required a bit more imagination when all I had to work with were plastic beads and paste gems, but that necklace on the cover here? I could so easily imagine a mystical history attached to it. I couldn’t wait to dive into the book and discover that history.

Then there’s the water. Blue is such an inviting color, and the shades used here are especially striking. Water is fluid, vast, life-bringing, and deadly. I wondered which of these features the story would contain. The necklace looks like it is floating in the water, making me wonder how they are connected. Water is also an elemental magic, so the bond between these two symbols is furthered strengthened.

Finally there is the title and tagline. Immortal is such a powerful word. Combined with the watery images, I get a strong vibe of vastness and something spanning a great amount of time. I love those types of generational stories with all sorts of mysteries and histories the main character uncovers from the past. The tagline reads, “First love never dies,” which really drives home the imagery of spanning a vast amount of time and introduces an element of romance. There’s also just the slightest bit of something sinister about that tagline. Death is a strong concept to evoke, and combined with the heavy images of water and the necklace that looks like it could almost be sinking into the water like someone drowning all underscore this darker impression.

Magic, mystery, dark histories, and love! Oh my! This cover at first glance seemed so simplistic, but the more I looked at it the more I felt myself drawn to it. I wanted to uncover the secrets this cover hinted at. If you’re interested in what I found, you can check out my review or grab a copy of the book and find out for yourself!

What do you think about this cover? Do you like it? Dislike it? Does it make you want to read the book?

15 comments:

  1. That cover is gorgeous - especially the shades of blue used! And I also want that necklace.

    AWESOME pick!

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  2. Great pick, haven't seen this cover before.
    I love how you think into the cover and l also want the necklace!

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  3. Haha, glad I'm not the only one who looks at that cover and thinks, "I want!!"

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  4. lol, I used to do something similar as a child, don't worry.

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  5. That necklace kind of makes me think of Titanic haha is that weird? I've seen the cover around, but I would totally take that necklace in a heartbeat. Love this feature! :)

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  6. The cover is beautiful... But I tried reading the book and got about halfway through and for the life of me could just not finish it (and I very rarely quit reading a book)... Maybe I will have to give it another chance sometime...
    :)

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  7. Loved your analysis of this cover! It's fun to see other people look at covers as critically as I do sometimes and find things about them that I never thought to consider. I'm with you, I think this cover is beautiful, there's something about cooler blues and purples that I find really inviting. And I wouldn't mind if someone gave me that necklace either;)

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  8. Aylee, Whew! :D

    Melissa, It makes me think of Titanic, too. Especially with all that water. I keep thinking of the last scene when she drops the necklace into the ocean and you see it sinking down.

    Avery, I enjoyed the book, but it was very melodramatic for sure. Once I started looking at it as a Gothic fiction story (with all of the fun absurdity that goes along with that) I started to enjoy it a lot more.

    Jenny, Thanks! I love reading your cover critique posts. It doesn't look like the girl who started this meme is keeping up with it, so do you mind if I link to your cover posts instead?

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  9. LOL...I thought of titanic also.
    I bought this books maybe a month ago (partly because of the cover. I'm a sucker for covers also)I have yet to read it. So many books on my list. I don't know how to prioritize them. :( Great analyzing though. I don't think I've seen many people do that to covers. (Or maybe I'm just not looking in the right spots)

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  10. I think one of the biggest challenges of being a reader is figuring out how to prioritize the TBR. :P I'm like a kid in a candy store, I want it all...NOW!

    Jenny from Supernatural Snark does really funny cover reviews. Gina from My Precious does insightful reviews, too.

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  11. OH, wow! Great Cover Crazy this week! Darn I was out Christmas shopping and didn't do one, maybe I'll add it late?? Anyways, good call on the jewelry. You what it reminds me of is the necklace in the Titanic, especially since its under water. I'm going to jump over and read your review of the book right now.

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  12. Great choice! I'm loving the blues and that necklace! ;)

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  13. Hi Gina, Thanks! If you do a cover crazy post, I'd be happy to link mine up with yours. I love reading your CC posts. Haha, yes, it seems we're all thinking Titanic (I still can't believe she threw it in the water!)

    Tawni, Thanks, me too!

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  14. Ok, yes, love this cover and it makes me want to read the book. Then, add you great review and I'm EXCITED to read it! :-)

    PS: Thanks for the CC kudos. I'm glad somebody enjoys them. :-)

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  15. You're welcome. I highly doubt I'm alone in that :)

    I hope you like the book! It's a really fast read with short chapters (so you keep saying "Ok, just one more, just one more" Then ten chapters later...)

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