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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Black City Cover Reveal & Giveaway!

Hi guys! So today I am very excited to show off the GORGEOUS cover for an upcoming YA book called Black City by Elizabeth Richards. It is the first novel in a new sci-fi dystopian trilogy, set to be released this November. Scroll down to also get a sneak peek at the first chapter and enter to win a chance at an ARC of Black City as well-- it's international so all can enter! :)
Aaaaaaand....... Here it is!

Author: Elizabeth Richards
Publisher: Penguin Books
Series: Black City Chronicles #1
Release Date: November 13, 2012
<---- CLICK to see it bigger!!
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Summary: In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection, that causes Ash’s long dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong. When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

Ah! Not gonna lie, this is a flipping sweet book cover! I absolutely adore the colorful explosion of petals and how it looks like shattering glass, it's just like-- BAM! And then you have the cityscape at the bottom, I really just love it. The futuristic, forbidden-love story sounds very intriguing as well-- this is definitely a book that I am looking forward to getting my hands on!

Interested in learning more about the Black City Chronicles? 

Well you're in luck because here is a sneak peek at the first chapter of Black City!

CHAPTER 1: ASH

An air raid siren wails in the distance, alerting Black City citizens to lock their doors and turn out the lights. They don’t want to be out in the dark alone. They might meet something dangerous. Something like me.
I head under the canal bridge and wait for the girl, taking a packet of Sentry-regulation smokes from my back pocket and sparking up. The nicotine courses through my veins, making them throb with adrenaline; the sensation is almost like a pulse . . . almost.
Footsteps approach the bridge, and a short girl with straggly black hair appears from the shadows, dressed in men’s work boots, tight black trousers and a tailcoat made from a patchwork of clashing fabrics. Her hazel eyes gaze up into mine. She’s brave. Not many cherry-poppers have the courage to look me in the eyes. She hands me an old playing card with two hearts on it, one red, one black. It’s my calling card. It seemed an appropriate choice; that’s what I’m selling her after all, an illusion of love. I slip it into the pocket of my dark green military jacket.
“You’re late,” I say. “Last thing I need is to be caught out here after curfew by a Tracker. They’re just begging for a reason to throw me in jail.”
“Sorry, they’ve put up extra checkpoints, stopping everyone. There’s tanks everywhere!” she babbles. “I guess they can’t be too careful with the Sentry Emissary back in the city, what with the boundary negotiations with the Legion and—”
“You paid Beetle?” I interrupt.
The girl nods.
“Terms and conditions,” I say. “No refunds. You don’t enjoy it, you puke, you freak—not my problem, okay?”
She nods again.
“You pregnant?” She blushes furiously. “I’ll take that as a no. It may cause drowsiness, so don’t drive or operate any heavy machinery.” She smiles at this, and I grin. They always like that. “And no repeats for at least two weeks, all right? I mean it.”
“That all?”
“No kissing. Strictly business, okay?”
She seems a little disappointed by this, but I don’t like to mix business with pleasure. She shyly unbuttons the collar of her coat, revealing her slim, pale neck. Hunger grips my stomach at the sight.
“What do I do?” she asks.
“Lean back,” I say.
She obeys like a good girl. I place a hand against the wall and slip my other hand between her thighs, gently easing her legs apart. Touching her doesn’t turn me on, but I groan like it does, knowing she’ll enjoy that. They all do, even the guys—it’s why they come to me instead of the Haze dens. I slide my body between her thighs so we’re face-to-face. Her shallow breaths are warm against my cool skin.
“Relax, okay? It’s more enjoyable if you relax.”
“My heart’s pounding a mile a minute.” She gives a nervous laugh.
“Can’t say I know how that feels,” I admit.
She tentatively presses a hand against my chest, and her eyes widen. “So it’s true, then? You don’t have a heart?”
“I have a heart,” I growl, shoving her hard against the wall. It just doesn’t beat.
A small tear snakes down her cheek, her thin lips trembling.
“Sshhh, it’s okay, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” I gently wipe her tear away. “Forgive me?”
She nods, then tilts her head to one side, exposing the smooth whiteness of her neck. The poison sacs behind my fangs swell with venom.
Focus, Ash. Don’t blow your load.
I lean toward her, pressing my lips against the soft flesh on her neck, just below her ear. Her pulse flutters under my lips, and I nearly lose it. I begin to nibble on the flesh, tickling the tiny hairs on her neck with my tongue, making them wet with my saliva.
“Do it,” she whispers.
So much for foreplay. I sink my fangs into her jugular. Hot blood spills over my tongue, making my taste buds burst with its sticky sweetness. Man, I love the newbies; they always taste the best. She sighs as my venom enters her bloodstream. I wait for the Haze to take effect before I start to drink from her. That’s the bonus of Haze; my clients get high from me, and I get high from them by drinking their drugged blood. It’s win-win.
A sour, bitter flavor suddenly floods my mouth, and I gag, leaping back.
“What the—” I spit up blood.
The girl stares at me with glazed eyes, blood trickling down the two puncture wounds in her neck.
“Everything’s sparkling,” she says dreamily.
“Didn’t Beetle tell you I don’t take clients on meds?”
She lurches toward me, and I grab her before she falls into the water.
“I love you,” she slurs, trying to kiss me.
I shove her, hard. She falls back against the wall and slides to the floor. Her eyes roll back into her head, and she begins to spasm, white foam bubbling out the corners of her mouth.
“No, no, no! Wake up.” I kneel down and shake her, panic rushing through me.
The girl jerks, her boots leaving black scuff marks on the cobblestones. Fragg! This is why I don’t take clients on meds. You can never tell how they’re going to react to the Haze. I shrug off my jacket and place it under her head.
A Sentry tank rolls over the bridge, and I shut my eyes and wait for it to pass. Even though the war is officially over, I still get chills at that sound. Wherever they went, Death followed. I had a few close scrapes during the war. During those days, the fact that I was a legal citizen and half human didn’t mean much to them. If you weren’t 100 percent human, you were the enemy. Every day was a fight for survival. Not much has improved since then; I’m still the enemy in most people’s eyes. All they can see is the Darkling in me. The tank turns down Bleak Street toward the Sentry Emissary’s headquarters.
The girl groans. It’s too dangerous here; I have to go. I could just leave her . . . No, that’s not an option, but I can’t take her to the hospital. I’d get in so much trouble.
Beetle!
I peer down the canal. A yellow barge is moored about one hundred feet away. The lights are off. Where is he? He’s meant to be my wingman; that’s why I came to the bridge in the first place. Can this get any wor—
An explosion of pain bursts inside my chest, and I clutch a hand over my lifeless heart. I sense someone behind me and turn.
A girl stands by the entranceway, lit by the headlamps of a passing truck. In the fleeting light, I catch a glimpse of cornflower-blue eyes flicking between me and the Hazer writhing on the ground.
Her gaze finally fixes on me.
I fall back, struck down, as the pain in my chest blooms again.
Shivers run through my body, rushing toward a single point in my chest. There’s a spark of electricity and then:
A flutter.


Elizabeth Richards is an award-winning journalist and debut author, who spent her early career writing for videogame publications such as CUBE, P2 and GamesTM,and now works as a website editor. Previously, she ran a successful lifestyle website aimed at teenage girls. She won the Jane Hayward Young Journalist of the Year award for her feature on girls in the games industry, and was named 'Editor's Choice' in the industry trade magazine, MCV.

Elizabeth Richards lives in Buckinghamshire, England and can be found online at her blog, The Red Pen of Doom
Isn't she so pretty?!? ------------------------->


~The Giveaway~

And now for the MOST awesome part: As part of this cover reveal, Penguin Books is sponsoring a fabulous giveaway for an ARC of Black City AND a chance to win a unique drawing of the main characters Ash and Natalie, created and signed by Elizabeth Richards herself!

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RULES:

All you need to do to enter are THREE simple things:

1.) Be a follower of LC's Adventures in Libraryland (GFC, Linky, whatever you use!)
2.) Fill out the form at the bottom of this post (just click the button)
3.) Leave me a comment below about what you think of Black City's cover! (IMPORTANT: MUST leave a comment to be eligible! :)

EXTRA ENTRIES:

Anaand... of course, because I'm an extra entries kind of gal, there will be some ways to increase your chances of winning this awesome YA debut. To make things easy, you can click on the pink links below or look in my sidebar!

+2 Tweet about this giveaway (with a link to this post)
+2 Subscribe to me on YouTube
+2 Follow me via Networked Blogs
+2 "Like" LC's Adventures in Libraryland on Facebook

OTHER INFO:

Giveaway is international
Giveaway ends March 7th, 2012 at 11:59PM EST
ONE (1) winner will receive ONE ARC of Black City AND a chance to win a signed copy of one of five unique drawings created and signed by Elizabeth Richards, author.
Winner will be notified by email on March 8th, 2012 and their contact info will be forwarded to Penguin in order to receive their ARC
All galleys generously provided by Penguin Books for Young Readers 

Good luck everyone and Happy Reading!!
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72 comments:

  1. WOW you always have the most epic giveaway!

    melissa

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  2. The cover is gorgeous, love how the rose is shattered.

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  3. The cover fits the blurb to a T. Beautiful!
    Haven't seen one like this in a long time.
    Thank you for the giveaway.

    Sasse (_yay_)

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  4. wow thank you so much for this internaitonal GA! I just love the cover and I'm so curious to read more about Ash and Natalie! :)

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  5. I love this cover!! It's breathtaking

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  6. I like the cover a lot! Sounds like just the kind of story my teenage daughter and I would both love to read.

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  7. the cover is so perfect,im a cover person if the cover catches me ill read it.

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  8. I love the cover. It really caught my attention.

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  9. I love the cover! It's really awesome! The book sounds really great.

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  10. The cover is interesting, the exploding rose is really nice against the city. I think it will attract readers to pick it up. :3

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  11. The cover is what caught my eye when I first loaded this page and scrolled down. I first thought it was rain or shattered glass falling on the city below, but then I realised that it was actually bits of shredded rose petal. Very interesting! I love the premise as well!

    Sarah Bibi Setar

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  12. Thank you so much for the giveaway! I haven't heard of this before today, but I already want to read this so, so badly! *Crosses fingers*

    I adore this cover. I like the way it's a flower, but it's shattering, which makes it so unique! Plus, I love the addition of a city, which adds the dystopian flare!

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  13. I had not heard of this book before, it sounds amazing! I love the cover, it really catches the eye!

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  14. Love it, though it took me forever to figure out it was a rose that was bursting! :P

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  15. Thank you for the awesome chance to win!

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  16. I love the way the roses is being shattered over the city skyline.

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  17. What a stunning cover! I hadn't heard of this book before, but the cover alone made me add it to my TBR pile. :)

    Thanks so much for this giveaway!

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  18. Amazing Cover, it had caught my attention from very begnning, it looks so mysterious. It looked like glass exploding so it took me by suprise to realize that it was Rose. I'm pretty sure that it will capture alot of reader's attention.

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  19. The cover is really cool! I haven't seen anything like it before. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!

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  20. Gorgeous cover! Gosh there have been some awesome cover reveals lately! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity:)

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  21. The cover is breath taking! it draws your eyes and doesn't want to let go. Honestly best book cover I've ever seen! I love the hidden meanings it has.

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  22. I love the cover. The contrast is wonderful. This is one of the best covers I've seen on a book.

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  23. I totally agree with you of the cover. I love the affect of the shattered flowers. When i first saw it i thought my eyes were going to pop out! I'm definetely adding this to my TBR pile.

    Thanks for the give away!
    =D

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  24. Oh this is beautiful! Congrats Elizabeth. The book sounds fantastic!

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  25. OMG! I think it's gorgeous. Thanks for making this international! I can't wait to read this!

    - Samantha :)

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  26. Love the cover ^^ !!

    Thanks for the giveaway ! :')

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  27. I LOVE the cover especially the floating petals! Its got such a more unique cover than most YA books with only the models at the front.

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  28. Love the cover. It's just so.. Simple.. And of course beautiful :)

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  29. I love the cover! It's beautiful, really unique and really eye-catching - it makes me want to read it ;]

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  30. This cover is SO GORGEOUS, and not a lot like the dystopian covers out there. Eek, so excited to read Black City. :)

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  31. Gorgeous cover. Definitely caught my eye.

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  32. This book looks soooo0 great! The first chapter leaves you hanging!!!!

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  33. I like the shattered effect but not the solid part of the rose on the left. Like the city skyline on the bottom as well

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  34. I love the cover, it looks like a flower blowing up.

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  35. I really, really love it. While I'm not crazy about the text and its placement, the rest is too gorgeous for me to care. The splintering rose is stunning and eye-capturing, and the dark city below sets a wonderful, eerie mood.

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  36. awesome cover - its the reason i wanted to read it in the first place :p

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  37. The cover is absolutely GORGEOUS! I love how it's mostly black with that pop of color! <333

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  38. The cover is brilliant and full of beautiful colors which make it pop and draw the eye. I love it!

    - Beckie (GFC - Chi Kittie)

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  39. The cover is simply wonderful & the first chapter...OMG! Can't wait to read it.

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  40. What a gorgeous cover! Thanks for hosting this giveaway -- and for making it international! Canada thanks you too =)

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  41. i'm seriously obsessing that handwritten drawing.

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  42. I loved the cover..it's different and pretty!

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  43. I said it before, and I'll say it again: the cover is absolutely stunning! :)

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  44. The cover is absolutely beautiful!

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  45. i am in love with the cover! it is gorgeous!! and i cannot wait to read the book : )

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  46. The cover is beautiful. I love the symbolism. Thabks!

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  47. I really like the cover, it's so eye-catching. Thanks for a chance to win!

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  48. I saw the cover in my Goodreads timeline and immediately went to see what it was - love it, it's so dramatic, like an exploding crystal.

    Thanks for the opportunity to win it. :)

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  49. Love the cover!! It does look like shattered glass, the contrast is very eye catching!!

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  50. The cover is just so gorgeous. Catches my attention.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  51. I think I've seen this around, but haven't seen the cover. The summary sounds really interesting, I LOVE Dystopian. =) I added it to my Goodreads. And WOW to the cover! It's beautiful! And I didn't even notice the city on the bottom of it until you mentioned it! Thanks for the giveaway and thanks for sharing! =D

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  52. Loving the concept of this story! And the cover? AWESOME! I'm gonna put this on my possibly-to-buy list, though only due to lack of money in thy back account, BUT I WILL buy it without a doubt ;)

    Thanks for this giveaway opportunity,

    - Megan
    GFC: Megan Conway

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  53. I seriously love this cover! It's absolutely gorgeous. And it sounds seriously good!

    Thank you so much for hosting the giveaway:)

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  54. I love the cover. It's gorgeous! I would love to read the book! Thanks for the great giveaway and for making it international.

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  55. The cover is amazing! It looks like it's a slow motion picture of a rose being shot. It's really unique and definitely would get my attention sitting on a bookstore shelf.

    Thanks for the giveaway!!!
    Danielle
    http://knowntoread.blogspot.com/

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  56. It's pretty cool, a broken rose,

    what does it have to do with the book I wonder?

    =)

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  57. I love the cover! It'll stand out on the shelves, that's for sure! And I love the colors, too! Yay for no prom dresses!!!!

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  58. I love the cover! And the excerpt! Cannot wait for this one!

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  59. I LOVE the Black City cover! It's gorgeous! Can't wait to read this one ^.^

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  60. I absolutely love the rose shattering over the city. Whoever did the cover art is amazing! Thank you for the chance at winning this. It sounds like it will be a great read!
    Shellie @ Creative Reads

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  61. I love it! As soon as I first saw the cover I had to pin it to my board on Pinterest!

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  62. Totally in love with this cover. I love the bursting flower. It's defintely differently from other book covers. I am super excited for this one. Thanks for the giveaway!

    jacqueline.s.chapaman(at)gmail(dot)com

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  63. The cover is really really pretty. The idea is great, and put together well. Very original, and a really nice one.

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  64. Now, i know that the giveaway has ended it and really doesn't matter, I'm just here because I have read (for the first time) the excerpt you posted and I must say this: I AM BOWN AWAY! This really sounds awesome! I was skeptical at first when people started raving about this book, but yeah, I am sold now. Thanks so much for posting it! i really need to get my hands on a copy of this pure gorgeousness! <3

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    Replies
    1. I know I cannot wait to read this one! I usually wait until closer to the release date but this isn't till November and I don't think I'll make it that long lol :P

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