L.J. Smith cover awesomeness

I just can't wait for In My Mailbox--I have to post about this now! Last week's eBay purchase from the US arrived today: all nine of the Night World series with the original covers. I adore the original covers. They're so kitschy and corny and evocative--and absolute works of art! The books are in near-perfect condition so I got the graphic designer at work to scan them for me so I could share them with you. In order they are:

Poppy is dying. Her best friend James, can offer her eternal life. One kiss and she sees into his soul. But can she follow him into death... and beyond?

Three vampire sisters, running from the Night World, seek sanctuary with their aunt - only to find her dead at the hands of vampire hunters. Now the sisters are at the mercy of the hunters - if their evil brother, Ash, doesn't find them first...
(Awesome cover! This and Spellbinder have to be the best!)

(Also known as Enchantress) Blaise is irresistable. She's also lethal. She bewitches human boys for sport. Then she meets a boy who matters - to her cousin, Thea. They become rivals in love. It's Thea's white magic against Blaise's black magic. They're both breaking the rules, but it is Thea who risks expulsion from the Night World...

Gillian is about to die. Then he appears - Angel - and becomes her secret protector. She must give him absolute trust and obedience. He makes her the most sensational girl in the school. She's ecstatic. Until he starts to draw her into the darkness of the Night World... Good Angel or bad Angel? And will Gillian live to find out?

Rashel kills vampires. Quinn traps human girls and feeds on their blood. He's a Night World ringleader. He is her soulmate. Love and loathing tear at Rashel's heart. Revenge is sweet, but love is sweeter. Quinn's a killer, but she can't live without him...

Something is haunting Hannah. Memories of a passion that has spanned the centuries. Who - or what - is it that Hannah loves? A vampire, lord of the Night World. This soulmate is pursuing her - as he has throughout her many lives, but so has Hannah's ancient enemy...


Jez Redfern is wild and dangerous, and the leader of a gang of Night World vampires. Jez discovers a shocking secret, and faces a terrifying choice: she must either remain a deadly crusader of evil, or fight to protect innocent mortals from her former friends... but can she resist her instinct for blood?
(My favourite of the series, as I remember them. Jez is way cool. The girl on the cover actually looks a lot like how Jez is described in the book.)

Maggie Neely’s biggest worry is leading her soccer team to victory – until her brother, Miles, goes missing. Maggie must find him. Her search leads Maggie to the vampire, Delos, to whom she is strangely attracted. But while Delos lives, Miles could be lost forever. Can Maggie bring herself to destroy him? Or will Delos get to Maggie first?

Keller is a shapeshifter, who changes into a panther. She is searching for a new Wild Power, but can the dizzy human girl, Ilianna, really be it? Then there is the dashing, romantic Galen. Keller has strong feelings for him. But he's destined to be Iliana's soulmate. Can Keller keep away? Or will she break her promise, and fall in love?
(Is that a girl or a boy with their arms folded??)

I've read them all (some several times) except Black Dawn and possibly Dark Angel. But I can't wait to get stuck into them all, all over again! All the starbursts on the covers are about winning a gold-plated pin like the one the characters wear in the book (WANT) or free glow-in-the-dark stickers, which are long gone. Shame.

This is the summary for book ten, Strange Fate, which was meant to be released in around 1997 along with the rest of the Night World books, and then in 2006, but will actually be released early 2010:

Sarah Strange and her soulmate, the gentle vampire Blade, live in a peaceful New England town. Sarah's world is shattered when her family is asked to hide an arrogant male witch named Kierlan Harman. Sarah recognizes Kierlan as a soulmate and fights being drawn to him -- until he's kidnapped by the Nightworld and everything she's ever known is lost.

Since when do Night World girls have TWO soul mates?? That's not very L.J. Smith! I thought the jolt of electricity/universe aligning was only supposed to happened between one girl and boy within one lifetime. I'm intrigued to read it, and bizarrely, I've found a cover for it--it's in the old style!

I sincerely doubt that this design will ever see the light on a bookshop shelf. *Cry*Instead we'll get the new, totally boring version:

It's just not an L.J. Smith novel if the cover isn't tacky.