Hi Guys!
Today I wanted to tell you about all of my favourite book covers!
The books cover is the first thing you see, and although there is that famous phrase ‘Don’t Judge a Book By it’s Cover’, I feel like a lot of us do! And a very bad cover will definitely put some people off!
So I decided to share with you some breathtaking book covers, that also have amazing stories inside!!
The Silent Companions
“Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband’s crumbling country estate, The Bridge.With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. For inside her new home lies a locked room, and beyond that door lies a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure – a Silent Companion – that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself…”
This book is an all time favourite of mine! I have spoken about it a couple of times before, but never specifically about the cover! I mean… just look at it!! The details are incredible, I could look at it for hours and still find something new!! And the keyhole is an actual cut out that when you open the book, there is a whole portrait!! I haven’t included photo of that so there is a little bit of a surprise if you buy this book!
This is the hardback edition of the book, which you only seem to be able to buy as used now, but it is definitely my favourite edition! The paperback is similar, but the background is black, and all the illustrations are in a shiny gold instead of a matte gold/brown!
I recommend this book so highly, for both story and cover!
The Way of All Flesh
“Edinburgh, 1847. Will Raven is a medical student, apprenticing for the brilliant and renowned Dr Simpson. Sarah Fisher is Simpson’s housemaid, and has all of Raven’s intelligence but none of his privileges.
As bodies begin to appear across the Old Town, Raven and Sarah find themselves propelled headlong into the darkest shadows of Edinburgh’s underworld. And if either of them are to make it out alive, they will have to work together to find out who’s responsible for the gruesome deaths.”
I have not actually read this one yet, so I cannot tell you if the actual book is good, but judging from the blurb, it sounds amazing! I absolutely adore books set in the Victorian Era, especially when there murder involved!
This cover is just amazing, I love the font so much, and all the swirly patterns and framing is so stunning! I don’t know if any of the imagery connects to the story, but I’m assuming that the bird and the snake do!
Upon first glance I actually thought the snake was the Caduceus symbol, which is often (mistakenly) used as a medical symbol in the US, but is actually a symbol from mythology! In Roman mythology, is was often shown in the left hand of Mercury, who was the messenger of the Gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, liars, gamblers and thieves! Which honestly doesn’t sound completely ridiculous for this book! So maybe that was intentional?
Anyway, I love this cover, and the map inside is even more beautiful! And I will leave that either as a surprise, or if you want to see if go to my instagram (daintybeth) and look at my post from the 22nd of July 2019!
The Wicked King (spoilers in the blurb!)
“You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.
The first lesson is to make yourself strong.
After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.
When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.”
I adore how the cover art is actually a small ‘hint’ at part of he story! The detail on the crown is amazing, and I love the split perspective below and above the water! The colours are so beautiful, and I am obsessed with the gold foil effect!!
I may be biased, because these books are some of my all time favourites, but there’s just something about this cover that really pulled me in! This and the first book ‘The Cruel Prince’ have such stunning covers, I cannot wait to see what ‘Queen of Nothing’ looks like in real life!! I also can’t wait to read it because that cliffhanger…..
Wakenhyrst
“Something has been let loose…”
In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.
When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.
Maud’s battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen – and the even more nightmarish demons of her father’s past.
Wakenhyrst’s cover is so simple, but so beautiful! I love the dark red spots, the image of the raven and the font is stunning! But honestly my favourite thing about this cover is the texture! I’m not sure I can describe it accurately, but you know how most hardback sleeves are a sort of soft to the tough paper? With a little bit of sheen? This paper is completely matte and a little bit rougher! Like its either old or weathered, or something like that!
I haven’t read this yet, so I’m not entirely sure of the cover links up with the plot, but considering the blurb mentions a graveyard and a ‘battle’, I’m going to assume that it does!!!
This book is actually in the next few books on my tbr, so you can expect a review sometime soonish!!
The Binding
Imagine you could erase your grief.
Imagine you could forget your pain.
Imagine you could hide a secret.
Forever.
Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a letter arrives summoning him to begin an apprenticeship. He will work for a Bookbinder, a vocation that arouses fear, superstition and prejudice – but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse.
He will learn to hand-craft beautiful volumes, and within each he will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, he can help. If there’s something you need to erase, he can assist. Your past will be stored safely in a book and you will never remember your secret, however terrible.
In a vault under his mentor’s workshop, row upon row of books – and memories – are meticulously stored and recorded.
Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of them has his name on it.
This book is literally so stunning! I bought it mainly for how pretty it is, and I hadn’t even taken so the dust jacket yet! Let me just say; I literally gasped! It is designed like an only book but it’s all shiny gold foil!! The pattern is so intricate and detailed, I was literally in awe!
The artwork on the sleeve is just as pretty, it beautifully matched what’s underneath, while somehow being different! I love all the leaves and the old key! Again, I haven’t actually read this one yet but it sounds amazing, so if the story is as good as the cover is pretty then I think it’s going to become one of my favourites!!
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These are just a few of my favourites, but I could go on forever! If enough people are interested, I might do a part two one day! But for now, I hope you have found some new books to read!
What are some of your favourite book covers?
See you next time!
Elizabeth
Dainty Beth Blog 