Are you currently in Christmas-gift mode, looking for the perfect festive pressie for a book-lover in your life? Here’s my round-up of some of this year’s most beautiful covers, which are guaranteed to have avid readers swooning over them!
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (Serpent’s Tail)
The design evokes a rich, detailed tapestry which perfectly matches the finely-wrought historical prose within.
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton (Faber & Faber)
This epic, magical adventure deserved no less than such an enchanting and mesmerising cover. I’m already counting down until the next book in this sweeping YA series comes out…
The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Portobello Books)
There’s something brilliantly visceral and unsettling about the cover of this Man Booker International Prize Winner: a torn wing lies on a web of glossy red veins. It encapsulates Deborah Smith’s unnerving translation of this provocative work.
This Census-Taker by China Mieville (Picador)
The image of mountains shrouded in mists perfectly evokes the dream-like qualities of this dark fable, and it’s mysterious (post-apocalyptic?) setting.
The Amber Shadows by Lucy Ribchester (Simon & Schuster)
I was utterly charmed by Lucy’s Victorian mystery caper The Hourglass Factory, and her next book didn’t disappoint. The silhouetted figures and shadowy rendering of Bletchley Park on the cover promise readers a war-time espionage thriller to keep them gripped.
Cogheart by Peter Bunzl (Usborne)
Last but certainly not least is this steam-punk page turner that’s alive with clockwork curios, gripping escapades and inventive touches. Fans of Phillip Pullman young and old won’t fail to enjoy this spellbindingly realised world (and gorgeous papercut cover).
HONOURABLE MENTION: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (Bloomsbury)
Ok, so technically I haven’t included it in my top 2016 round-up, because I first fell in love with the hardback edition cover that came out last year. But this summer saw the paperback release of this enthralling and intelligent historical fantasy, and it’s still a treat for book-magpies like me who can’t resist a shiny new cover…
Cover Girl 