3.07.2014

Cover Reveal: MORTAL GODS by Kendare Blake

Today, it is my pleasure to be part of Kendare Blake's on-going cover reveal for Book 2 of her latest GODDESS WAR series: MORTAL GODS.

Most of you might be more familiar with Blake's YA horror duology ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD and GIRL OF NIGHTMARES. Both Alz and I were fans of these books because of their interesting plots, endearing characters (we adore the main character Cas and featured ghost Anna), great voice, and of course, the blood and scares.

So I was understandably excited to hear that Blake's post-Anna project would be a modern day riff on Greek gods based on a very intriguing short story she'd written previously about the slow death of said gods. Those of you who have been poking around this blog for a while will know that I am a HUGE Greek mythology fan, but I've found most YA adaptations I've heard of uninteresting in premise or not very...on point (i.e. everything seems to be a retelling of the Persephone/Hades myth, which isn't exactly happy or what I would call romantic?).

But like I said, I enjoyed Blake's original short and was excited to see how she would expand that premise into novel-length works. Plus, her version of the gods (while younger-appearing than I would have thought) doesn't gloss over the often terrible things the gods have done in myth or that they are a contradictory bunch. Blake's horror chops are put to good use here too, unsurprisingly.

Book 1 is ANTIGODDESS. The original hardcover featured a more symbolic treatment, but the paperback was redesigned so that it would match the new design of MORTAL GODS (Book 2).



And now, here is the cover of MORTAL GODS, Book 2 of The Goddess War! SHINY!



Here are Kendare's thoughts on the redesign and her new cover.

When I heard the cover was being redesigned, I got immediately more attached to the existing cover. Because of course, you fear what might become of it. I loved the dark trees and the creepy owls and the overall black and blue feel of the first cover. But I tend to roll with things, and was excited to see what the talented folks at Tor would come up with next. And it's cool. The Mortal Gods cover I like especially because of the colors. I love those golds and chocolate tones. And the lightning! And Olympus! And Cassandra loud and proud. Careful readers might notice that Cassandra is not blond in the book, but the blond hair looks great with the rest of the cover, so let's just pretend that Olympus lighting is weird and makes her blond.

Thanks for letting us be part of your cover reveal, Kendare! SO excited to read the next chapter in Cassandra's (and everyone else's) story!


What do you think of the cover? Have any of you read ANTIGODDESS?

P.S. If you haven't read any of Kendare Blake's books, I think you should remedy that. :) Happy weekend!

3 comments:

Wendy Darling said...

I totally understand the attachment to the original cover, both emotionally and purely on principle, hah. This always happens to me with redesigns, too!

I do like the new designs, though. It gives the series a more urban fantasy feel, and maybe they're a little more dynamic than the feather as well.

I have yet to read ANTIGODDESS (I know, I need to get on that), but I'm looking forward to it!

Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

Julie Dao said...

I loved the ANNA series, so I'll definitely be checking her new work out! The covers look great, too!

Gennia said...

Aw thanks! Although those bee things from the Hunger Games would totally kill me.

Can't wait to read your blog entries about juicing! ;)