Cover Awe: Pre-Raphaelite, Cross Stitching, & More

Join us as we gaze upon these gorgeous covers!

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker. A woman swings from ropes on ship, dagger in hand, as she sails above a tumultuous sea.

Artist credit: Cliff Nielsen

Carrie: PUT IT IN MY EYEBALLS.

Amanda: I love the cover redesigns of this series and how much movement there is!

Tara: I feel like I know what my next D&D character will be, because she just looks so badass.

Aarya: Female piracy + font that looks like sea serpents = one-click

Ellen: Can she be my girlfriend?

Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven. A soft painting of a woman lying on a bed of vines and flowers. An open dragon eye can be seen through the foliage.

Artist credit: Arantza Sestayo

Designer credit: Adam Auerbach

Elyse: Paging Sarah.

Amanda: Despite not liking the first one (wrong book at the wrong time) in this series, I HAVE to read this one.

Carrie: Those flowers tho. Much pretty, much pre-Raphaelite, much want.

Sarah: If that had been a poster when I was a teenager, I’d have owned at least two copies. Have mercy that is gorgeous.

Sneezy: I have literally NO CHILL for this cover! Grace Draven always gets pretty covers, but this is SUPER EFFECTIVE, Mario on MUSHROOMS, and IS SHE FRIENDS WITH THAT DRAGON OR IS IT GOING TO EAT HER?!

Aarya: I wanna know what evil deity she’s performing sacrifices to in order to get these covers.

Ellen: This reminds me a LOT of the cover art for Juliet Marillier’s Wildwood series…I wonder if it’s the same artist? Googling is not helping me with this question.

Amanda: Ellen, you are right! Good eye! Those covers are on the artists’ website.

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Dlelargy. The title appears to be cross stitched in red with skull accents. A needle pierces one of the skulls' eye sockets.

Amanda: I read it because it’s very short. But I couldn’t get into it!

However, the cover is very cute for a murderous old woman

Carrie: One of those covers that is so eye catching and creative that I would absolutely pick it up just on the basis of the cover.

Tara: The cover and the title are totally working for me. I might have to try it.

Aarya: The needle pierced through the skull’s eyeball…this cover gets creepier and creepier the more you look at it.

Shana: Yup. The needle makes me imagine someone putting down their needlework, picking up a cane, and making mischief.

Ellen: I hope this starts a trend of covers with macabre handicrafts.

Amanda: There has to be an Etsy shop for that.

Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron. A young Black woman sits cross legged on a throne made of golden wood, leaves, and skulls.

Artist credit: Adeyemi Adegbesan

Designer credit: Jenna Stempel-Lobell

Carrie: Holy fuck!

Elyse: I feel like if I had a throne of skulls instead of an office chair I’d get more done and people would bother me less.

Amanda: It’s like when you put up a Do Not Disturb sign. “Excuse me, I’m in my skull chair.”

Sneezy: “There’s a cost should you insist to speak now. No, no, put your wallet away… you know better…” *doom music plays*

Ellen: Girl + throne almost looks like a game piece. Wonder if that was deliberate? Or if I just play too many board games…

Comments are Closed

  1. Mintaka14 says:

    The artist who did Juliet Marillier’s Wildwood covers is Kinuko Craft, who is one of my favourite artists – I have all of the picture books she’s done, and a number of framed prints of hers. The cover artist for Dragon Unleashed is Arantza Sestayo, who did covers for some of Juliet Marillier’s other books, and other stunning artwork too.

  2. SusanH says:

    I remember reading fairy tales illustrated by Kinuko Craft to my oldest when she was little. The artwork was stunning!

    Arantza Sestayo did the covers for Marillier’s Blackthorn & Grim novels.

  3. Sandra says:

    Kinuko Craft also did Patrica McKillip’s covers for years. Even after I went exclusively digital, I’d still buy the paper books for the covers. With textured cardstock, it was almost like tapestry.

  4. DiscoDollyDeb says:

    The DRAGON UNLEASHED cover has an almost Pre-Rahaelite quality—the beautiful woman, the flowers, the ethereal aura. Just gorgeous. And can I thank you once more for crediting the artist or design company when that information is available for these lovely covers.

  5. Ren Benton says:

    When I added the Rena Barron book to my wish list, the store also showed me ALL THE STARS AND TEETH by Adalyn Grace, the cover of which has skulls and tentacles and stabby things consistent with the theme of this post, albeit in a soothing monochromatic blue color scheme.

  6. Susan/DC says:

    She’d be a bit more pre-Raphaelite if her hair were red, but then she’d clash with the flowers. It’s a lovely cover nonetheless, and my TBR stacks are about to get even higher.

  7. denise says:

    love the Dragon Unleashed cover

  8. chacha1 says:

    These are all fantastic though I am worried about Seafire girl tearing her rotator cuff.

  9. cayenne says:

    Elyse said: I feel like if I had a throne of skulls instead of an office chair I’d get more done and people would bother me less

    OH YEAH. I feel this one-ups the Iron Throne in radiating power, menace, and fear, and I can always use that in the workplace.

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