Not only do I love reading, but I also really appreciate books as a piece of work. Normally, I am more of a Kindle book person (simply because of practicality), but every so often I love buying myself books to remember why I appreciate them in the first place. Now that I know a bit more about how much effort goes into producing a book, I feel like book covers themselves should get more recognition. So instead of my normal reviews, I’ve decided to do 3 book reviews based off of their covers only! I think I may have spoken about these books before on this blog, but I want to put a spotlight on what I talk about less – their covers.
@_prod_squad on Twitter/Instagram inspired me to do this post. Robyn works in Production and shares book reviews based on their production (and you can check out my interview with her here). However, I’m not an expert in this area, I’m just judging based on my personal tastes and what I think works well with the genre of the book. Enjoy!
The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
I recently posted my normal-style review for The Five, but I don’t think I mentioned the front cover at all, even though I think it’s really effective. As a quick summary, The Five by Hallie Rubenhold is a non-fiction novel about the victims of Jack the Ripper. The front and back cover mimics a newspaper layout, which I think is clever as newspapers in 1888 had a massive effect on how the victims of Jack the Ripper were represented. There are also two small images on either side of the front cover which copy the style of drawings which depicted the Whitechapel murders in newspapers at the time.
Like I said in my other review, Rubenhold really clearly states that this book is about the victims of Jack the Ripper, and not the infamous murderer. I really appreciate the fact that the word ‘women’ on the cover is in a larger font than ‘Jack the Ripper’, as it makes Rubenhold’s message resonate throughout every aspect of the book.
Overall, I think the cover is beautifully put together and captures the theme and message of the book perfectly.
Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King
Another non-fiction book, Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King is all about how to improve your life by focusing on positivity and what makes you happy. What really stands out to me is how simple the cover is. With just a plain white background, I can already tell that this book is going to soothe and calm me down. The title and author name, however, is in a gold glossy/foil finish, which makes it really stand out against the white background and catches the light in the room beautifully!
I love the simple design, and this cover really is the definition of ‘less is more’. I think it perfectly captures the tone of the book and what to expect behind the cover.
The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore
I mentioned in my normal review that I absolutely loved The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle’s cover, so I thought I had to mention it here. It’s set in the 18th century, where two brothers set out on their European tour to meet ‘people of quality’. It’s very glamourous, and I think the cover captures this perfectly. To me, the cover looks like an old tapestry that you would find in a French mansion, and the gold bird detailing makes it look really expensive. I also absolutely love the bold pink writing and detailing on the spine of the book as well, it makes the book really stand out and it brightens up my bookshelf. (I have the proof version of The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle, so the actual cover might look slightly different.) This front cover is definitely another one of my favourites.
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I hope you enjoyed these reviews purely based off of book front covers!