We have a very bright and sunny color palette in this edition of Cover Awe!
Cover design by Rita Frangie
Amanda: I think the reason I like this so much is that it’s so different from what we usually see in historical romance and historical fiction.
Sarah: It’s like a twist on the old cameo/castle/landscape/flower bouquet covers.
Carrie: The combo of the cameo and the embroidery and the background eye-catching yellow – stunning.
Maya: CUUUUUUUUTE
(but also if it was me I would have gotten rid of the lights behind the author name. It does literally nothing for the composition but fight with the text!!!)
Sarah: It crosses out her name!
Amanda: I’VE SAID IT BEFORE! I LOVE FOREHEAD SMOOCHES.
Cover design by Sprigleaf and GM Studios
Cover models are Jamie Murphy and Guy Macchia
Amanda: The colors on this! It’s a nice departure from the more pastel, softer color palettes we see.
Sarah: HOLY WOW.
I can see that from down the street (except for the author’s name)
Elyse: Well that pops
Carrie: I’m torn between awe and snark. I love their tenderness. It’s nice to have a change from the same old colors as every other cover out there. But I am concerned that she might be radioactive.
Catherine: She looks like a wattle in full bloom!
(Boy, that was a bit Aussie of me. But that yellow is a real wattle colour, just gorgeous.)
Cover design by Kathleen Oudit
From Deb: Isn’t this cover absolutely stunning. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I want to read the book just because I find the cover so lush and appealing. I also think I’m going to use it as an inspiration pic to dye up some yarn. That deep blue with the pops of color around the edges…so gorgeous. I just had to share.
Sarah: You’ll get my attention every time with cobalt and violet. Every time.
Tara: Now I want to know if any of those flowers are deadly.
Amanda: It’s just as beautiful in person. CAN CONFIRM.
I think I’m with Carrie on the Lucinda Brant cover (the English title is DAIR DEVIL—I think you’re showing the Italian version of the book, but the covers are the same): there are things to love about it, especially the vivid colors and the gentleness of the pose (thank you for naming the cover models too); but I’m not sure what’s going on with her dress. Is it being draped over a small table? Or is this an extreme form of a bustle? And what’s with all the excess fabric in the torso area? There so much of it, the hero is able to fold it. Also, is she holding a pineapple?
The Lucinda Brant cover got me curious, so I poked around her B&N page – all of her books have covers that are that lush and gorgeous. It’s like a wall of gelatto.
“Midnight Marriage” which has the lady in orange and coral, and the man in gold-dust (that’s honestly the only way I could describe that color… it’s not like a shiny gold, and it’s not a flat gold either) appears to be free as an ebook.
Checked out Lucinda Grant and guess what? All her cover people are fully clothed! What a unique concept, lol.
Her covers are bright and beautiful.
And apparently Ms. Grant takes every detail of her covers very seriously. Here’s the scoop on this one: https://www.lucindabrant.com/blog/dair-devil-cover-reveal Rabbithole warning for historical costuming. And yes, the lady is holding a pineapple (purse!).
@harthad: thank you for that link. The article was so interesting and informative—and although I don’t read much HR these days, I think I may have to add DAIR DEVIL to my tbr.
Drat, I wish I could correct my bad spelling. It’s Brant, not Grant.
100% here for a historically accurate costume. Props to Ms. Bryant and her cover designers.
What an eye-catching collection of covers. My favorite is the last one.
I have always loved Lucinda’s covers. Before she rebranded them, the older ones had striking colors, too. I have a beautiful one she sent to me from NZ before she moved back to Australia.
@discodollydeb– yes that’s “an extreme form of bustle” it’s a genuine late 18th century fashion. It’s made of cork & with refreshing frankness called a “false rump.” Very much worth googling.
Sorry I am wrong! Missed the helpful link to the author’s article. But the cork rump existed.
“the Ballad of Hattie Taylor” has such a stunning cover but the book is absolutely terrible.
I want the name of the Lucinda heroine’s seamstress. She’s got those green stripes lined up just right!
And if you want a knitted pineapple purse just like hers, my pal Franklin’s got you: https://knitty.com/ISSUEss12/FEATss12SIT.php
Tara
I can’t identify all of those flowers, but there is a lily – poisonous to cats I believe.
DP
C’mon you can’t leave it at tht, what was so bad about “The Ballard of Hattie Taylor”?
I recently listened to a podcast, I think it was The Brain Food Show, where they talked about how pineapples were incredibly expensive in Europe at one point, so they were used as decoration – both actual pineapples set on the table but not to eat, and pineapple carvings and so forth. You could rent a pineapple and carry it around with you at parties to show how fancy you were. They were something like the equivalent of $5,000 in today’s money. Only after certain advances in horticulture and greenhouses did they become more affordable.
@KrisBock — there is an episode of Sanditon where the pineapple centerpiece is a big part of the party scene.