Saturday, June 8, 2013

Another Adventure in Goldstone Wood!

There are several reasons this is an exciting time for fans of Anne Elisabeth Stengl's work:
  1. Dragonwitch is coming! In case you haven't seen the blog button in my sidebar announcing this fact, the fifth book in the "Tales of Goldstone Wood" series is releasing in July! From the cover art and the description of the book, it sounds like this will be a very different and unique addition to the series, as it appears to include a lot of characters I have yet to "meet." Looking forward to reviewing it in about a month!
  2. The sixth book in the series, Shadow Hand, has a cover - and it is beautiful!! 
  3. The description of the sixth book includes Daylily and Foxbrush, and it sounds great! Can't wait to find out what's in store for these characters who didn't gain the spotlight in a previous story or two...
Care to see that beautiful new cover??


Oh my goodness - I believe the cover for Shadow Hand is my favorite of the series so far!! And it has some tough competition, as the covers are all very enchanting and intriguing (and Starflower is especially lovely). But the colors on this one are absolutely stunning. The browns and reds speak of fire and danger; the blues speak of a depth permeating the story and a calm waiting to be found; and the green speaks of growth awaiting the characters in this wild land.

The symbolism and tie-ins with previous covers and stories are incredible. The round frame of the rock brings to mind the cover of Heartless, as well as some familiar characters' stories coming full circle. The thorns are subtle - almost overlooked because the background is so bright - but still reaching out and perhaps causing the heroine to have that sense of foreboding hovering in her expression. Yes, the thorns are reaching up, but the trees and the bird (oh, that faithful bird - perhaps the same one depicted on the cover of Heartless?) are reaching higher. The heroine's dress is so ethereal - gorgeous but ghostly, like she just might prove elusive. And her hair suggests a fiery spirit that could both burn and ignite. The colors blend seamlessly together, giving the sense of a story that is full of imagery and meaning and life, as I'm sure it will be.

About the Book

"'She Will Take Your Own Two Hands 
To Save Your Ancient, Sorrowing Lands.'

By her father's wish, Lady Daylily is betrothed to the Prince of Southlands. Not the prince she loves, handsome and dispossessed Lionheart, but his cousin, the awkward and foolish Prince Foxbrush. Unable to bear the future she sees as her wedding day dawns, Daylily flees into the dangerous Wilderlands, her only desire to vanish from living memory.

But Foxbrush, determined to rescue his betrothed, pursues Daylily into a new world of magic and peril, a world where vicious Faerie beasts hold sway, a world invaded by a lethal fey parasite...

A world that is hauntingly familiar."

Learn more about the book at www.shadowhandnovel.blogspot.com.

Giveaway!

Anne is giving away a "Tales of Goldstone Wood" coffee mug to celebrate the cover reveal! It has a banner depicting all the lovely covers on it:


Enter using the Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

16 comments:

Lisa Medeiros said...

The covers are beautiful... I have to say thought the last three are my favourite! :)

Bookishqueen said...

I love this cover!

Grace said...

I look forward to this book, though Daylily was not my favorite character. Maybe I'll get a better understanding of her in this book.

Grace

Sarah Rebekah Richmond said...

I love all the covers! I would love to win! Thanks for the giveaway and God Bless!
Sarah Richmond
sarahrichmond.12@gmail.com
N.C.

Bluerose said...

You are the BEST at finding the symbolism of a cover and all it's details! It's always a pleasure to see your cover reveals!! :)

I especially love that little bird on the cover!

I don't recall overly liking Foxbrush or Daylily, but I was excited to see that they were a big part of Shadow Hand. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them.

Amber Holcomb said...

Lisa,

Aren't the covers so beautiful?? The last three have been exceptional, and I'm looking forward to seeing Dragonwitch in person soon. :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Bookishqueen,

Me, too!! :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Grace,

I'm looking forward to reading it, too. :) It's always hard, when you're rooting for other characters, to have an appreciation for the ones getting in their way, but I'm eager to see how Anne will give us insight into these characters' hearts. :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Sarah,

I love them, too! Be sure you note on the Rafflecopter form that you left a comment so you'll be entered for the drawing - and good luck! :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Bluerose,

Awww, thank you!! *blushes and grins* :)

Isn't that bird such a perfect touch?? Love the whole cover concept!

I was excited to see that they were the stars of this one, as well - I'd like to see their characters grow and understand a little more about them. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

~Amber

Tales of Whimsy said...

O very cool.

I need to try this series soon.

Amber Holcomb said...

Juju,

Isn't it such a cool cover? I love it!

This series is very literary in nature - full of symbolism and depth and epic qualities. They're not quick, fun reads, generally, but they're really lovely to read, and a couple of the books brought tears to my eyes! :)

~Amber

Unknown said...

'Shadow Hand' is definitely my favorite. Love the colors!

Amber Holcomb said...

Miranda,

Agreed on both counts!! :)

~Amber

Sandra Leesmith said...

Beautiful cover. Your cover reveals are fun Amber.

Amber Holcomb said...

Sandra,

Isn't it, though? I LOVE it! :)

And thank you so much! I have fun putting these types of posts together. :)

~Amber