Cover Awe: Curse You, U.K.

Cover Awe is a great moment of zen. Grab your tea or coffee, and let’s look at some gorgeous graphic design.

A Lady's Past by A.S. Fenichel. A dark-haired woman in a gorgeous marigold, off the shoulder dress. Soft focus and really dreamy.

Catherine: Isn’t this one gorgeous?

I love the colours and the impressionistic background. So beautiful.

Sneezy : Yar it is!!

Shana: That’s gorgeous.

Amanda: The dress also looks very comfortable! A jersey-knit pajama dress for optimal lounging.

CarrieS: I could do without the oval but the gauzy background is so good at evoking the “past” mood.

Sneezy: The golden frame looks like a portal into the world this lady is in, limning her with light.

Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena. A South Asian young woman stares out from the cover, wearing a garment of rich blues and magenta. Behind her is an ornate window.

Cover design by Michelle Gengaro-Kokmen

Catherine: Oh, I love the colours on that! And I don’t know why the font is awesome, but the font is definitely awesome.

Amanda: Man, that eye contact conveys a lot.

Sarah: Oh, I love this. I love everything about it.

CarrieS: Now on this one, I could NOT do without the oval – great composition!

Shana: I ADORE this. Her body language says badass, and I love the purple lip. Also magenta and turquoise are two of my favorite colors and they always look amazing together.

Sneezy: I LOVE THAT PURPLE LIP, TOO!!!!!! The colours, textures, and details of this cover are just AMAZING!!!! I especially love how it references traditional South Eastern illustrations with the layout. It uses so many strong elements, and they all work so well together! I can stare at this cover forever!!!!

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee. An East Asian woman is garbed in black armor and standing in a forest. A shadow bisects her face and her golden eyes glow.

Cover art by Charlie Bowater

Cover design by Lauren Benton

Tara: She looks like such a badass and I love the yellow text.

Susan: OH, I love that art.

Amanda: I love the shadow across her face and the way her eyes glow.

Sarah: I agree, really incredible use of shadow on her face. And the spider on the R!

CarrieS: Am officially creeped out.

Sneezy: *meep* Please don’t curse me, mistress!!!! *huddles with Carrie*

Catherine: Yes, definitely not messing with her.

The Blue Eye by Ausma Zehanat Khan. A gorgeous blue cover with filigree and flowers. The title is in gold.

Cover design by Micaela Alcaino

Catherine: Oh, that’s wonderful – so vivid! It almost reminds me of traditional folk embroiderr.

Lara: Ooooooo pretty!!!!!

Amanda: First, UK gets all the cool covers. Second, I love a series that has matching cover designs. You can see the rest here.

Sarah: Wow.

CarrieS: My favorite color. I love this one.

Sneezy: *sob* Amanda, I agree, and it’s just not fair!!!! In Canada, it’s a coin toss which cover version we’ll get, but the one constant is the little white box in the back. MOCKING US, SHOWING the price difference between CAD and USD!!!! THE GALL!!!! THE CRUELTY!!!! THE-

Ahem.

Anyway, I love the detail and style of the cover. The colours are so lush and balanced!!!! It really looks like it’s illuminated with good paint.

Comments are Closed

  1. Carrie G says:

    This is when I REALLY miss print books. I love taking them off the shelf and looking at them. Seeing them in black and white on my Kindle just isn’t the same.::sigh:: All these covers are amazing, but the Blue Eye book series is especially beautiful.

  2. Bginbmore says:

    Am I the only one to read the first one as The Erection [Something] Society?

  3. chacha1 says:

    These are all beautiful but ‘Hunted’ is everything.

  4. Darlynne says:

    I’ve read Ausma Zehanat Khan’s mysteries, had no idea about her fantasy series. Yay, more books.

  5. Emily says:

    Cover Awe is the wholesome positivity I’m craving right now. Thank you, Smart Bitches! Catherine is spot on with her take on “The Blue Eye” evoking traditional folk embroidery vibes. The whole series is gorgeous. I’m so very jealous of the UK readers!!

  6. Sandra says:

    I realize it’s not snark week, but the cover model in the sidebar ad for “The Geek Next Door” bothers me. He’s downright emaciated. Somebody please feed him.

  7. Yota Armai says:

    That entire series of covers is just drool worthy beautiful.

  8. Katie says:

    I got Firelight by Kristen Callihan from the recent books on sale post and am so grateful the ebook uses the U.K. cover. It is GORGEOUS. They really do get the best covers.

  9. Wub says:

    Wow! Hunted by the Sky is stunning, typeface to model to colour. I love that.

    (If I was submitting Cover Awes, I’d choose the UK covers from K J Charles’ Slippery Creatures (damn autocorrect, not “Slippery Carrots”) and Sugared Game–very stylised and pretty and appropriately 1920s)

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