You see this cover? Doesn't it make you think, "Oooo, trashy romance novel about some random medieval chick and a Fabio inpersonator!"? That's what it makes me think, and I've read the book, though my copy has the (gorgeous, distinctive) original cover.
This cover says, "I am a beautifully written, elegant retelling of the Robin Hood tale, focused more on Marian's perspective than the traditional of Robin's viewpoint." That's a well-spoken cover right there. From the first pages, in which Marian explains to Nottingham why she will never, ever, ever belong to him, regardless of what he does to her, or where he keeps her, the rich language feels more like poetry than prose in its imagery.
GET. THIS. BOOK.
Amethyst
Chime by Franny Billingsley is one of the most gorgeous books I've read in a long while, and yes, the cover is gorgeous too, when I picked up the book from my library, I really didn't think it would have much depth to it.
Boy, how was I wrong! The narrator, Briony, tells the story of herself, her father, her addled twin sister (Rose), her late step-mother, the new boy in town, and to top it all off, the very real swamp bogies in their backwoods, turn-of-the-century English villiage (in fact, kind of think of Shamalyan's The Village). Briony's voice has a wonderful point and counter-point to it, using rich language, but in a stark, staccato rhythm I found absolute wonderful. This voice matches the way Briony views herself, on one hand gifted with Second Sight, while loathing herself for her selfishness and desire to break free of her responsibilities.
I can't properly describe how the adjective "flat" can be desirable or even complimentary, so you'll totally have to go BUY this book to see what I mean.
