Cover Candy Special Edition #2: Next in a series Cover Love!

Time for another special edition of Cover Candy! Today I'm focusing on those all important second in a series books. Second in a series books can be tricky, and can sometimes make or break a series for me. I'm not saying I'll pick up a second in a series book if I didn't like the first just because of the cover, but the pretty never hurts, right? :)

What's your favourite cover amongst these?

Which book are you most excited for?

*Please Note: Spoilers may be included for the first book in the synopsis for the second book.

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I simply love the cover for Perception, the sequel to Clarity by Kim Harrington. I loved the cover of the first book too, and I love the sound of the series with it's beach community setting and paranormal elements. So why haven't I read it yet? I dunno. No excuses. I'm moving Clarity to the top of my TBR pile as of today. I don't know why I've left it so long. 

Perception by Kim Harrington

Publisher: Scholastic

Release date: March 2012

Ages: 14+

When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

I admit, I didn't exactly fall in love with Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon, but I was left with so many questions at the end of that one that its sequel, Life Eternal, is one I will be checking out.  For those of you who are interested, this one is available to request on NetGalley at the moment. 

Life Eternal by Yvonne Woon.

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion.

Release date: February 2012

Ages: 12+

Renée Winters has changed. When she looks in the mirror, a beautiful girl with an older, sadder face stares back. Her condition has doctors mystified, but Renée can never reveal the truth: she died last May, and was brought back to life by the kiss of her Undead soul mate, Dante Berlin.

Now, her separation from Dante becomes almost unbearable. His second life is close to an end, and each passing day means one less that she will spend with the boy who shares her soul.

Just when Renée has almost given up hope, she learns of the Nine Sisters-brilliant scholars who, according to legend, found a way to cheat death. She can't shake the feeling that they are somehow connected to her dreams, strange visions that hint at a discovery so powerful, and so dangerous, that some will stop at nothing to protect it.

Renée thought she knew the truth about life and death. But there is a secret woven through history that holds the only hope for Dante and Renée. Unless they find answers soon, their time together is doomed to be cut short.

I love this cover for Darkness Falls the second book in the Ravenwood series by husband and wife team, Mia James. Another confession - I haven't yet read the first book,  By Midnight, but I have a copy and hope to get to it soon. I'm thinking it might make a good Halloween read!

Goodreads has five copies of By Midnight up for grabs at the moment if you want to try your luck in their competiton. It ends July 14th, so get those entries in!

Darkness Falls by Mia James

Publisher: Gollancz

Release date: September 2011

Ages: 14+

April Dunne is having a rough time. There are vampires in her school. Not Goths, or Emos in fancy dress. Dangerous, blood-sucking semi-immortals. They run the school. They pretend to be students at it. And they're using their influence to recruit smart, rich students - aka 'bleeders' - to their own cause. What is that cause? April isn't sure. But she knows they killed a rock star for it, and innocents who got too close to the truth. One of them almost killed her. But that's nothing to what's coming next. Gabriel, her kinda-boyfriend, is dying and unless April can find a cure then not only is she going to be boyfriendless, she's also going to lose one of her major allies in the school. And she really needs allies. Because it turns out April has an ability of her own, one that could prove lethal to the 'Suckers' who've taken over the school. If any of them figure out what she is, then losing her boyfriend will be the least of her problems ...

It looks like there's a whole new look for Pandemonium, the follow up to Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  HarperTeen gave the special edition of Delirium a cover makeover, and it looks like they're sticking with this look for the rest of the series. I prefer the new cover of Delirium to this one, but overall I'm a fan of this change in direction as I wasn't a big fan of the original cover of the book.

 Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release date: March 2012

Ages: 14+

Lauren Oliver captivated readers with Delirium, the first book in a thrilling dystopian trilogy in which Lena Haloway dared to fall in love with Alex and escape the cure, the government-mandated procedure that renders a person immune to the disease of love. Lena and Alex staked their lives on leaving their oppressive society, but only Lena broke free.

Pandemonium continues Lena’s gripping story. After escaping from Portland, Maine, Lena makes it to the Wilds and becomes part of an Invalid community, where she transforms herself into a warrior for the resistance. A future without Alex is unimaginable, but Lena pushes forward and fights, both for him and for a world in which love is no longer considered a disease. Swept up in a volatile mix of revolutionaries and counterinsurgents, Lena struggles to survive—and wonders if she may be falling in love again.

Full of danger, forbidden romance, and exquisite writing, Lauren Oliver’s sequel to Delirium races forward at a breathtaking pace and is sure to appeal to fans who crave the high-stakes action of The Hunger Games and the bittersweet love story of Romeo & Juliet.

  

Bloodlines, Richelle Mead's new Vampire Academy spin-off is one of my most anticipated titles of the year. I am so excited to read it!  I've read a couple of spoiler-free reviews already, and I have to say it sounds amazing! Can't wait for my Adrian fix! The cover for the next book in the series The Golden Lily has been released already. This releases in March 2012 from Razorbill.

* Please note: These covers may not be  final and may be subject to change. 

** Please note: All of these covers, apart from Darkness Falls are the US covers for these books. I'll feature the UK covers once they are released! :)