I am not a cover designer but I can agree that cover layouts play an important role in the overall presentation of stories and I must admit, often times I first judge a book by its cover.

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About the book:

A Darker Sea: Master Commandant Putnam and the War of 1812 (A Bliven Putnam Naval Adventure)

by James L. Haley

400 pages

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons (November 14, 2017)

The second installment of the gripping naval saga by award-winning historian James L. Haley, featuring Commander Bliven Putnam, chronicling the build up to the biggest military conflict between the United States and Britain after the Revolution—the War of 1812.

At the opening of the War of 1812, the British control the most powerful navy on earth, and Americans are again victims of piracy. Bliven Putnam, late of the Battle of Tripoli, is dispatched to Charleston to outfit and take command of a new 20-gun brig, the USS Tempest. Later, aboard the Constitution, he sails into the furious early fighting of the war.

Prowling the South Atlantic in the Tempest, Bliven takes prizes and disrupts British merchant shipping, until he is overhauled, overmatched, and disastrously defeated by the frigate HMS Java. Its captain proves to be Lord Arthur Kington, whom Bliven had so disastrously met in Naples. On board, he also finds his old friend Sam Bandy, one of the Java’s pressed American seamen kidnapped into British service. Their whispered plans to foment a mutiny among the captives may see them hang, when the Constitution looms over the horizon for one of the most famous battles of the War of 1812 in a gripping, high-wire conclusion. With exquisite detail and guns-blazing action, A Darker Sea illuminates an unforgettable period in American history.

My thoughts on the cover:

My good friend and fellow book blogger Erin shared a book at her Flashlight Commentary Facebook Page that caught my eye instantly! I told her I wanted to use the cover for my cover crush. Not only does the cover capture my attention but the history and premise does as well in a big way. I have not read any books by this author and I am trying to figure why I haven’t before!

I am really into American and British History and the time period- so this story is perfect for me. The cover is really powerful and full of color, depth and action. I hope it is as good as it looks and sounds! 

Stephanie M. Hopkins

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Cover Crush is a weekly series that originated with Erin at Flashlight Commentary. Other great book bloggers who cover crush:

Heather @ The Maiden’s Court

Magdalena @ A Bookaholic Swede

Holly @ 2 Kids and Tired Books

Colleen @ A Literary Vacation

Meghan @ Of Quills & Vellum