Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, totally worn out and screaming,
"WOO HOO, what a ride!"

Monday, February 2, 2009

Review: The Agency by Ally O'Brien


Meet Tess Drake.
She has everything she needs.
Now it's time to get what she wants...




We've had lots of discussions on book covers at different book clubs. When I was looking for the book cover to use for my review both of these came up. The second cover with the blue background is what was on my advance release copy. When I looked for it on other sites this is the one that also came up. I'm not sure what the other cover is being used for. Is it for the finished copy? I'll have to find out. There is nothing at all wrong with the first one but in my opinion it doesn't suit this book. At all. Not even close. The main character is a sexy agent in her mid-thirties in the "glamorous yet cut-throat" entertainment industry. She works at an international entertainment agency based in London. Now I ask you, which cover best conveys that message?

Tess Harper has worked for Bardwell International for 10 years and has made multimillion dollar deals. She is very good at what she does, in work and in bed. And she has been in some beds she shouldn't have been in. It's a fast pace with high stakes and Tess has made some enemies. Some of them are trying to move her out of the industry and when the senior partner of the agency dies a mysterious and dramatic death someone decides that Tess should take the fall. Cosima Tate is now the partner in charge and she would love to see it happen. Tess has been planning to start her own agency. She thought this could be the time to go for it but will she get the chance? Will she have any clients left to take with her?

There's plenty of twists and turns in this back biting, yet humorous story of one woman's ambitions. In her world betrayal can sometimes get you farther than loyalty. Tess has done both.

So I ask you again, which cover do you think is best for this book?

Thank you to Goodreads for my ARC of this book.

10 comments:

  1. From your description, I'd say the blue cover suits the book best, but I prefer the white cover.

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  2. The blue cover definitely converys feminine and sexy. The character on the white cover looks school girlish to me and what is the signifigance of the parentheses?

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  3. I prefer the white cover, but that's just me.

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  4. Different things appeal to each of us about book covers. We all like different colors, different images, some people don't pay attention to the cover at all. My issue is with the covers that don't seem to match the story and/or the characters. I read in an author's newsletter recently how frustrating it was for her when that happened on one of her early books and she had no control over it at all. It doesn't ruin a good story for me though, it's just a little annoying and misleading. It's certainly not a big deal in the grand scheme of things! :)

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  5. Interesting aspect about books that I never realized before. These are really two very different covers. From your description, I think the blue cover goes better with the book although I like the look of the other one personally.

    By the way, I tried to become a follower and can't. I listed your blog on my blog and mentioned it at LT. I hope you will visit as I am a month old blog as well. I also have a giveaway for 5 copies of THE LITTLE GIANT OF ABERDEEN COUNTY if you'd like to enter and post. So come on over and congrats on your blog!
    Bingo from http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com

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  6. Back at ya, Wrighty!
    Thanks for stopping by BOOKIN' WITH BINGO! I read and posted your comments and SURPRISE!...this morning when I clicked to follow you, it worked. Maybe because I am on my desktop instead of my laptop (my son is a computer programmer/project manager and would laugh at this silly reasoning, I am sure!). Anyway, sorry you didn't get to enter a Patterson contest but you might want to be checking back during February as I kind of dedicated that month to Mr. P. (just a hint to a friend!) Have a good day!

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  7. The blue cover, hands down. Sounds like an interesting book.

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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  8. The blue cover fits better, but if I didn't know the content of the book, I would probably pick the white cover up first.

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  9. I like the white cover, but I'm also a stickler for the cover matching the book...so I'd have to go with the blue one in this case.

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  10. I like the blue cover better. This looks like a fun read. Thanks for sharing.

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