Let’s look at some pretty covers!
Sneezy: Omg goo goo gaa gaa I want to be in that kitchen
Or maybe just the dining room, admire the sexual tension and chemistry from a safe distance
Amanda: I’m loving all the detailed food and ingredients!
Sarah: This is absolutely adorable.
Elyse: Now I’m so hungry.
Amanda: I secretly hope the highlander one is a butch lady! But I’m loving all the greens and blues.
Sarah: I see what the illustrator did there with hinting at a particular actor on the left there – but wow that’s beautiful and lush.
Sneezy: I’m hoping for the same thing, Amanda!
Designed by Bonni Leon-Berman
Carrie: Ooooooooooo
She wrote The Heiress which was so, so good.
Amanda: The faces on those lions are killing me.
Sarah: Amanda, we predicted this in the 2023 publishing predictions podcast bonus episode – filigree with illustrations in the border on covers! Tudor roses, griffins, I dig it.
Sneezy: What??? I’ll have to go back to that episode. How did the two of you know? I love these kinds of patterns. Any art historians that have researched medieval illuminations here? I’ve been wondering if these patterns has heavy influences from Persian art, but I haven’t had time to read up on it.
From Kilian: I love this cover of Ana Maria and the Fox. I immediately thought of Cover Awe when I saw it.
Sarah: Yup. I like it, too.
Lara: Love the lighting on their faces!
Amanda: The light to dark progression of colors works so well!
Sneezy: I’m usually neutral about dress-morphing-into-backdrop, but this one REALLY works for me. It just feels romantic and lush and makes me smile.
Elyse: I love the gold and purple!
Ooh, these are all so nice. I particularly like the people’s expressions on Quarantine Kitchen, although I question the wisdom of wearing white clothing while cooking, especially when performing vegetable acrobatics. Or maybe she is a much tidier cook than I am?
@Sneezy I am not an expert, but my understanding is that illuminated manuscripts from Christian monasteries (which is what most people mean by illuminated manuscripts) were initially largely copying Arabic work and styles, since Islamic scholars were preserving and expanding upon the work of the ancient Mediterranean world. The Arabic empire was of course very much the heir to the Persian one, so who gets credit for which motifs in the borders is presumably more fraught than my general sense of both of them.
With paper itself coming from China via Persia, the switch from parchment to paper would have to further reinforce Persian stylistic influences in Europe. I think of Persian miniatures having a heyday as illuminated manuscripts were in starting to be in decline, but I am not sure about that bit, and of course the high and low points of art are extremely subjective anyway.
I’m loving these highly detailed illustrated covers! The amused yet fond smile on the cooking guy, the annoyed side eye on Hannah and the highlander, yes please, I want to know more about these characters.
Speaking of illuminated manuscripts, does anyone remember “The Barbed Coil” by JV Jones? The main character finds out she has a talent for magic using them. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/29135
Beautiful, beautiful covers!
I thought I was clicking to buy a book and instead arrived on Leni Kauffman’s website and WOW! Her art is all kinds of delightful. I can think of more than a few authors whose book sales would be improved if Ms Kauffman created their book covers.
All are so beautiful. <3
Check out Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Khadijah VanBrakle for another time. The cover is gorgeous!