Hello! I did this post on a Monday last year, so I decided it could have a Monday again this year. And I just wanted to share with you what books (that I have read) have what I consider some of the most beautiful covers! Five is a nice good number. More than one, so I don’t have to pick a favourite, but not too many either.

Last year, I was able to sort them in the order that I liked them, and you can see that post here. This year, there’s no special meaning to the order.

Empire’s Legacy

by Marian L Thorpe

This is a very pretty cover. I like the soft green, the outdoor lighting and detail, and the way Lena matches her environment. It fits the book very well, especially with its deep focus on Lena and the choices she makes. And it is really evocative of green highland in a light fog.

Merchants of Knowledge and Magic

by Erika McCorkle

Isn’t that a beautiful cover? I love the style it’s done in, a feel that reminds me of working with colored pencils. It’s intricate and beautiful, with a lovely balance of colors and light. PS: It’s a pretty dark, gritty book, and it’s got some graphic content in there! But it also has all the non-human characters and creatures and the strange, magical places you would expect from that cover!

Poison from a Scorpion’s Sting

by R. Ramey Guerrero

This is another delightful cover in a style I really enjoy, with a balance of soft, muted colors. Also I really love the tree with the moon shining between its branches! This is this series’ second time in my “Favourite Covers” posts.

The Sword in the Street

by C.M. Caplan

This is another pretty one, with the sunset colors of the background, and the blue cobblestones of the streets. It really gives me the impression of streets covered under a thin layer of water from a recent rain. The man running with the scroll and the sword, the docks in the distance – I felt that this cover represented the book quite well, in addition to being in a style I like fairly well.

Epoch of the Promise: Vision’s Light

by Raina Nightingale

And last but not least – I know this cover is mine, but I also simply couldn’t make a “Favourite covers of the year” post without including it. I never buy books for their covers – I’ve let covers influence my decisions a time or two, and it did not turn out well – but this is one of those rare, rare covers that would make me look at a book twice. Make me interested enough to make sure I read the back of the book, or even to read the preview no matter what the back of the book said, since I’ve seen some pretty bad back covers for some pretty good books!

It’s exactly my style of cover, it’s got a beautiful balance of colors, it’s smooth and artful and intriguing, with a touch of the mystical.

What do you think? Which of these covers do you like best (feel free to pick as many as you want)? What’s your favourite cover of this past year (whether or not it’s one of these)?

And have you read any of these books?