There are so many exciting new books to be published this year and we cannot wait! We have chosen a few with covers we love.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Bride by Ali Hazelwood is one of 2024’s most anticipated books according to Goodreads. Bride is a paranormal romance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha werewolf. Misery has been called upon to uphold a peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and the Weres leading to a dark love story.
The cover has a ghostly feel to it, with the use of black, white and red to capture the volatile alliance between the bride and werewolf. The use of bold and bright red suggests the danger between them. The typeface used for the title with its jagged edges again brings the idea of darkness.
The cover imagery stands out with the bride in white and the werewolf in the background situated in front of a full moon and dark forest. The werewolf’s eyes look menacing whilst the bride looks almost innocent.
About Uncle by Rebecca Gisler (translated by Jordan Stump)
A tale described to be a darkly humorous look into loneliness and isolation, Gisler’s short novel is one book we are heavily anticipating for 2024. The story follows a young woman who has to move in with her uncle, a disabled war veteran. Their relationship grows and they are thrown into total isolation as the pandemic hits, causing them to rely heavily on eachother.
I was drawn to the abstract nature of the portraits at the book’s centre, as well as the muted colour scheme which somehow still manages to stand out and appear visually striking. The central image is of a woman and is styled similarly to the works of Picasso. This could perhaps highlight the misshapen and abstract nature of the central character’s relationship with her uncle. The flipped and washed out image of the same face overlaying the main image could also perhaps reflect how this relationship will change throughout the novel.
The use of light colours such as a pale red and yellow also give the cover a slightly eerie and off putting aesthetic. The colours are not particularly attractive and this could suggest the underlying and slightly disturbing content that will take place within the pages. The use of a large, simple font ensures everything comes together perfectly, with the final product being a perfect abstract interpretation of the novel’s themes.
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
From bestselling novel Ninth House and the epic Grishaverse, Leigh Bardugo is back with her dark fantasy novel The Familiar in April of this year. Brimming with religious zeal and magic, Bardugo takes us to 16th century Madrid where Luzia Catado spends her day as a scullion, using her magic to get by the tiresome days. Once noticed by the king’s disgraced secretary, and already under the eye of her scheming mistress, Lucia is once more forced into the world of seers, alchemists and dealers, all whilst trying to hide her Jewish heritage. Heavily researched and based on her own family history, this standalone novel is set to bring a breath of fresh air to the historical fantasy genre.
The cover is adorned with an image of a noble's scheming hand, fitted with a precious ruby ring and a peaking scorpion. This could represent either one of the scheming multifaceted characters in the novel, and the gold chain symbolises the power that they will hold on people to get what they want. The design of the endpapers follows the air of nobility and peril in the plot, with pomegranates symbolsing Granada, as well as claiming to purge hatred and envy.
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
Bestselling author of Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid, returns this new year with a new contemporary fiction novel, Come and Get It. The novel follows Millie Cousins as she navigates studying, making money and the usual trials of academia. Then, a unique proposal is made by a visiting professor which changes everything.
The cover of Come and Get It is extremely vibrant in the usage of colour. The green of the background and bright yellow of the text creates a stark contrast and catches the eye immediately. The typeface is mostly serif and the text covers most of the cover, adding to the bold impact. A single illustration of a pig is central to the cover, perhaps alluding to the themes of the book surrounding college life. Overall, the cover of Come and Get It is striking and colourful using minimal elements whilst also not giving much away about Reid’s new novel.
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