The Bold and the Beautiful

The Bold and the Beautiful

For book-lovers, 2018 has been full of treats. We’ve seen some dazzling debut fiction, great stories from authors we know and love, and some wonderfully captivating non-fiction.To top it off, the publishing industry has come up with some stunning cover designs. Now we know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but let’s be honest, who hasn’t been drawn to a bookshelf by a fabulously interesting or divinely beautiful cover?

To celebrate the rich variety of book covers gracing the shelves so far this year, we’ve compiled a list of our favourites. Is there a cover this year that you really loved? If so, write and tell us about it.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland:

Flowers are always a sight for the senses, evoking feelings of spring, of sunlight on bare skin and the fresh, sappy scent of budding blooms. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is stunning in its design and detail – a host of colourful flowers bordering a crisp, black background. But the most remarkable aspect of the design is that the flowers are Australian native flowers, turning the cover into a testament to the beauty and splendour of our unique flora.

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton:

Nothing quite captures your eye like a cover that is doused in colour and Boy Swallows Universe is perhaps the most colourful cover of 2018. Splashes of yellow, orange, purple, and pink are spattered in a kind of controlled chaos. Then, there is a sweet blue bird in the centre – what does the bird mean? Intriguing and vibrantly beautiful, the cover of this brilliant debut novel is one of our absolute favourites this year.

Shell by Kristina Olsson:

The Sydney Opera House is a much-loved, Australian icon, attracting millions of locals and international tourists each year. The structure’s beauty and majesty is partly the story of Shell and it dominates the cover that features the Opera House surrounded by a harbour that is iridescent and opaline. Tinted in hues of pink and yellow, the cover looks as if it has been painted with watercolour, and there’s a hint of glitter that adds to the dewy, sparkling design. Good enough to frame, we say.

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton: 

There’s nothing like a vintage-inspired design to catch your eye and take you back in time. The cover of The Clockmaker’s Daughter invites you to stop time and read, its sepia-toned details with old-fashioned clock faces and copper wheels emerging from behind a pretty assortment of flowers, laid against a lovely turquoise background. Certainly one of this years’ highlights.

Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales:

Sometimes less is more and the simplest of covers captivate us most. Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales is a perfect example of this. Set against a stark navy blue background, dandelion seeds float upwards and around the book’s title in what looks like an elegant, purposeful dance. The dandelion seeds serve as a symbol of hope, a subtle way of communicating what the book is about. Simply stunning.

The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper:

Sometimes a cover is so masterfully crafted that for a second, you don’t see a book but rather a work of visual art. Chloe Hooper’s The Arsonist, is aflame with deep shades of red, orange and yellow bleeding
into one another. Not only beautiful and eye-catching, the splash of fiery colours look almost like a work of art that should be displayed in a gallery. Watercolour covers seem to be a new trend. If so, we love it.

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                        The Librarian by sally vickers is a truly lovely book.

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