Stacey Jay revealed the book cover for her upcoming 2013 novel, Of Beast and Beauty, yesterday evening on her blog! She's also posted a short teaser from the book in her post as well!

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city's vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.

Isra wants to help the city's Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan's enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.

As secrets are revealed and Isra's sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.  

As you can probably guess from the title, Of Beast and Beauty is a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast! I really love reading Stacey Jay's YA novels, and judging from the premise of this one, Of Beast and Beauty sounds really different from her previous books. I cannot wait to see what kind of spin she brings to one of my favourite fairy tales!

What are your thoughts on the cover? I love how it's dark and grainy, with a certain understated elegance to it. The red rose with the petals dropping below adds a perfect touch!