UK vs. THE WORLD! (6)

UK vs. THE WORLD is a weekly feature that I've recently started.

Each week two UK book covers will battle it out against their foreign counterpart as we judge them and decide which we like better because who doesn't love judging books by their covers!

UK                             vs.                         France

Firespell by Chloe Neill

Book one in The dark elite. (Magie de feu translates to Fire magic - according to Google translate)

Mist: Although these covers are simlair, the French cover is just so much cooler! lol It's edgier and darker and the fire is a lot more interesting than the candle, I do like the UK cover, the font is really cool but next to the other cover it looks kind of plain.

Ninfa: They're so very similar in colours and image,and they look very classy with the crisp contrast of colour over the black background...however, by a very small margin, I think I prefer the UK cover. I like the model better. However the fire effect on the French cover is very cool...if I could have the UK model and the French fire effect it would be perfect,lol. So, by a small fraction it's a UK win!



UK                               vs.                    Germany

Echanted ivy by Sarah Beth Durst

(Steinerne Wächter translates to Stone guardian - according to Google translate)

Mist: These are both fantastic, interesting covers, I really like in the UK she's walking into a statue and the colours on the German cover are lovely, it really is tough to decide which I like best because they're so different but I think I'm gonna go with the German one.

Ninfa: I love ther German cover, it's so Fairy Tale chic! Love the feel of it, a little dark and haunting. It reminds me of the "Pan's labyrinth" the movie and the Tim Burton "Alice in Wonderland" movie. Very nice.
The UK version looks like a bad photoshop job to me I'm afraid...so it's a German win.

Which do you prefer?

Hexbound review

Hexbound by Chloe Neill
What's it about?
Lily Parker is new to St Sophia's School for Girls, but she's already learned that magic can be your best friend . . . or your worst enemy. So they say absolute power corrupts absolutely. But it turns out even a little bit of magic can turn you to the dark side. That's why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered abilities and quickly, on top of avoiding the snobs who think they run her school, nursing a crush on a cute sophomore with a big, werewolfy secret, and fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago's nastiest nightlife - including the tainted magic users known as the Reapers. All that's even before Lily's invited to a private meeting with Sebastian. He's hot, he's powerful, and he's offering to help her harness the magic flowing through her veins in a way that no one else can. He's also a Reaper. Lily can't help but be suspicious of his offer. But she also needs his help. It seems that the line between good and evil isn't quite so clear as she thought . . .


My review:
4/5
Whilst this second book didn't have me gripped as much as the first one I still enjoyed it a lot. I love the shameless flirting between Lily and Jason and how their relationship is still early and casual, unlike a lot of books I read where the characters are intensely in love after half of the first book and the second is always about how it's doomed or forbidden.
I also really like the relationship between Lily and Scout, although after a while it did feel like there was one to many 'totallys' in the dialogue that bordered on annoying.
Although I enjoyed the book I didn't feel like it added a whole lot to the main story about Lilys parents, a couple of tiny clues is all we get, giving me the feeling this may be a story that's going to be dragged out.
The writing style is the same as the first, so it's an easy quick read and I think will be enjoyed by fans of the first book Firespell.


For more on Chloe Neill, visit her website here


                                      

Firespell review

Firespell by Chloe Neill

What's it about?
As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia's boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she'll have to face. When Lily's guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia's. Lily's ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she's hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building. The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout's a little weird - she keeps disappearing late at night and won't tell Lily where she's been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster. Scout's a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who've sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who've been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own - at least, none that she's discovered yet . . .

My review:
4/5
Well I'll start by saying that I liked this book, the story was great and flowed easy, but there were some parts that seemed 'to easy' for our lead character, such as the fact that her new bff doesn't seem to try very hard at all to hide the fact that she has a big secret even though it's pretty important, and later on when lily needs help from some reluctant people she doesn't have to do much to convince them, maybe it's a bit picky but I was expecting some kind of 'big speech' that would also set her up as our brave hero.
Never the less I liked lily Parker a lot, perhaps because she reminded me of myself a lot, she's overly sarcastic, loyal and has wicked awesome dress sense! And her new friend scout is also pretty kick-ass to, I also liked love interest Jason a lot to.
Overall I think the book was well written with enjoyable characters and I look forward to the next instalment hexbound
To see more of Chloe Neill visit her website: http://www.chloeneill.com/
Buy the book here (UK)