Beautiful Book Covers

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Sometime you've got to!
The old adage is never to judge a book by its cover. But rules are meant to be broken, right? 

 Book covers have come a long way, and these days some of the best books have the most beautiful covers. I choose books for different reasons, most often recommendations by friends, but sometimes a cover just grabs me and I have to see what's inside.

 Follow me through the jump where I'll share with you some of my favorite book covers.






Sometimes you just have to read a book because it's cover grabs your imagination. That's what happened to me with House of the Rising Sun by Kristen Painter. (Review here!) That cover is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm so glad I picked it up, meeting Augustine, Harlow, Lally, and Olivia along the way. Then they released the second book in that trilogy (review here) and it was even more beautiful than the first.




Regular readers of this blog know that Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series is one of our favorite series around here, even after eleven installments. So it's no surprise that one of these covers appears on my list. The publisher has done a fabulous job with all of the covers in this series, but the gorgeous purple theme on the Biting Bad cover (review here) makes it my favorite of the bunch. It helps that our kick-ass Sentinel always appears, which perfectly represents the contents found inside.




First Grave on the Right (series review here) is a wickedly funny and sexy book, and the cover reflects that. The Charley Davidson series has a set of terrific covers, but it all starts with this subtle, beautiful cover featuring sandals that all of the Wenches want, and a sexy dark mani/pedi. Great cover for a great book.






I have not yet read Daughter of Smoke and Bone because it's young adult, and I limit my YA intake so that I don't judge too harshly against adult UF/PNR. But that cover with the lovely masquerade mask has this book near the top of my TBR. I hope that the story lives up to the gorgeous cover.





Maplecroft has been at the top of my TBR for quite some time, primarily because I'm intrigued by this fantastic cover. The unique take on the Lizzie Borden tale helps, as well!




Orbit (who is also the publisher of the Crescent City series) does a terrific job with covers and Jinn and Juice by Nicole Peeler is no exception. The rich purple hues framing the beautiful Leila, is just a stunning cover. And I can tell you, it's even more gorgeous in real life. This is also high on my TBR, but I would want that book on my shelves regardless of the content!




Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series (series review here) is, quite simply, one of the best urban fantasy series out there. If you haven't read it, you really should. The covers are all wonderful, depicting Chess, our beautifully flawed heroine, but the Unholy Magic cover is my favorite. The lovely cool hues set off Chess's tattoos perfectly, and the stained glass background adds a fabulous interest.



I'm generally most familiar with American versions of our favorite covers, but sometimes the international releases are much better. The US covers of Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series depicting Elena are great, and absolutely perfect for the stories contained within. But the Australian releases of the books are simply lovely. I'd love to have these on my shelves.





Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs is one of the very best UF series around (series review here), and the covers featuring Mercy are everything we want in our covers, perfectly illustrating the girl-power stories we love. Silver Borne is my favorite cover of the series, featuring our favorite shifter and highlighting her beautiful tattoos.






Saucy Readers, I've saved the best one for last! It's fitting that my favorite book cover of all time is for one of the best books I've ever read, in the best series ever. (Read here why we're still over the moon for Fever) The cover for the hardback of Shadowfever is perfect, ornate, magnificent. And I have to say that as lovely as it is on screen, it's even more beautiful in person. I think it's a shame that that the Burned hardback went in a different direction, featuring a muscley torso instead of our intrepid heroine(s), but I'm continuing to hold out hope that the last couple of books will return to their roots and feature covers as spectacular as Shadowfever's.




Those are just a few of the loveliest book covers I've seen in recent years. Did you pick your favorite book cover, Saucy Reader? What beautiful books would you add to my list?

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