Call me shallow, but I love beautiful books! If the story inside is great, so much the better, but I have been known to buy a book or two because they were so gorgeous. Hey, don't judge me! There are so many incredible books vying for my attention, I won't lie, artwork goes a long way in at least drawing me in. My last round of pretties was way back in October, but since then I'm been under near constant attack from books screaming "buy me, buy me!" With my tbr becoming a genuine health and safety hazard, I'm trying to stick to a "one in, one out" rule for buying books (I'll let you know how that works out!) but ... they're so pretty!
Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Swoonworthy title aside, I love this dreamy, out of this world cover. The stars, the dress, the redhead (represent!), the colour combinations...it's just beautiful! If that wasn't enough, one of the characters is called Lilac LaRoux, which just became my bookish alias.
Victoria Aveyard
Simple, yet effective. Given that the book is called Glass Sword I'm a bit puzzled as to why there's a glass crown on the cover, but I haven't read the book yet, so maybe it will make sense later. Whatever the reason, a perfect 10 for the artwork!
Alwyn Hamilton
Somebody who already has this book, please tell me. Does it come gold foiled? It's gorgeous without, but it would be epically gorgeous with! I adore the font too, it's all very "Arabian Nights", which seems fitting given the book blurb. I loved The Wrath And The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh so I'm looking to read a little more middle eastern-inspired YA fantasy and I think this book would take pride of place on my bookshelves.
Melinda Salisbury
Like with the cover for the first book in this series, The Sin Eater's Daughter, I can't quite put my finger on what I love so much about this cover, maybe it's the whole thing. The colour combinations, the girl in the jar, the swirls in the water, I just love it. This is another one of those books with a different (albeit ever so slightly) US/UK cover which puzzles me. Don't mess with perfection!
Rae Carson
I prefer Like A River Glorious because blue is my favourite colour, but both of these covers are so striking I'd happily stare dreamily at either one of them for entirely too long.
Marissa Meyer
Simple but effective. Despite the swirling thorns reminding me of an ex-boyfriend's tattoos, there's so much about this elegant design that I just love; the red on black, the roses and thorns, the sword and crown. Not all gorgeous cover art needs to be complex or intricate, sometimes it's just an ordinary premise done extraordinarily well.
Mary Weber
After being a little disappointed with the cover of book two in this series, it's back on top form for the finale! Intricate details, snippets of story, the font, the symbolism, the colour ... I'm in love! (And the book's pretty damn good too ...)
Renee Ahdieh
The cover for this book's predecessor; The Wrath And The Dawn, turned up in my last gorgeous covers feature and just ... *sigh*. The dagger-y cut outs are a neat little detail over the sunset colours. If the artwork is anything to go by, this book with be just as lush as TWATD, and I cannot wait to read it!
Cassandra Clare
I've never been taken with the covers of any of Cassandra Clare's books before. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading them, but the artwork has never struck me as anything special. But this one ... this got my attention the first time I saw it. More the premise than the art itself, it's beautiful, intriguing and slightly eerie, which is a winning combination in my eyes.
With the printed book market actually increasing in 2015 - in the UK anyway, I'm not sure about the figures worldwide - competition is fierce and I do believe that imagery goes a long way to drawing you in. Whether you read the blurb and drop it like a hot potato is another thing, but a beautiful cover is the hook, the story is the sale. And if the result is more of these beauties lining the shelves then long may it continue! Has anyone else been judging books by their covers? Is there any bookish artwork that's caught your eye lately?
Rebel in the Sands is such a gorgeous book and it's shiny!! I found myself once or twice just playing with the light on the cover while I was meant to be reading it - so easily distracted! It was also a fantastic read.
ReplyDeleteI like that they kept a similar cover design for The Rose and The Dagger but I have to say that I'm not a great fan of it. I much prefer The Wrath and The Dawn design, but we shall see if my opinion changes when the physical book arrives.
Yay, shiny things - honestly, I'm like a magpie! And I do the exact same thing with books.
DeleteI do prefer TWATD, just because of the colours which seem to work better together, but TRATD is just gorgeous.
Talking of colours, I saw Lady Midnight in my local bookshop today and it has coloured edges, how have I not been told this?
DeleteWhaaaat!? I saw a stack in my local Waterstones and they just looked like the the pic above! Maybe it's a special edition or something?
DeleteApparently they were 'exclusive sprayed blue edges editions' they are also available on the waterstones website. I love it when the edges are colored, I don't actually own any of them though, other than the hardback of 'A Thousand Nights' by E.k Johnston which has a gold pattern on the edge.
DeleteApparently they were 'exclusive sprayed blue edges editions' they are also available on the waterstones website. I love it when the edges are colored, I don't actually own any of them though, other than the hardback of 'A Thousand Nights' by E.k Johnston which has a gold pattern on the edge.
DeleteI used to judge more books based on looks when I lived near a big bookstore. A pretty cover would catch my eye and get me to learn more about the story. Now that I live in a small town and buy online I tend to rely on reviews and recommendations before looks. I have to agree with you on Rebel of the Sands and Walk on Earth a Stranger. I swoon over (and pet) the covers of Six of Crows, Passenger, Graceling, and A Thousand Nights
ReplyDelete