Top Ten Tuesday | Cover Lover

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a cover theme freebie, so I thought I'd share my ten favourite historical fiction covers!

Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre: I still haven't read this, I haven't heard the best reviews, but I will always love that cover. It reminds me of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette with that juxtaposition of the historic and the modern.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier: Daphne du Maurier's books have many pretty covers, and rightly so, but I love how nautical this edition of Jamaica Inn is. I didn't love Jamaica Inn a huge amount when I read it, though all of du Maurier's novels pale in comparison to Rebecca, but it's a fun book and a great one to read if you happen to be visiting Cornwall.

Witch Child by Celia Rees: The cover of Witch Child is what convinced me to pick up a copy in my early teens, and it's thanks to this book that I love historical fiction so much now. This cover is haunting and I can't help but be drawn in to those eyes.

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge: I will love anything that has some of Chris Riddell's art on it. I haven't read this one yet, but I'm glad to have this edition on my shelves.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: This cover has so much character, and I think it's certainly one of the many reasons this book did so well when it was released. If you haven't read this one yet I recommend giving it a try - it's a very good book!

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: My favourite covers are simplistic ones, and that's why I love these editions of Waters' novels. This edition of Fingersmith, in particular, I like a lot; I don't own many books with grey covers at all, but this book uses the colour well.

The Witchfinder's Sister by Beth Underdown: This book is even more beautiful in person because it's textured. I haven't this one yet either, but it's a recent release and I'm planning to pick it up soon.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood: I really like these editions of Margaret Atwood's books too, with bold colours and a black and white image in the centre, and this edition of Alias Grace always catches my eye.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry: I own the normal hardback edition, which I think is beautiful, but I love the colours on this special edition, too.

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon: Again, I love a simplistic cover and this one's as simple as they come.

What did you talk about this week?

2014 TBR | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten 2014 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't Get To'. This is the perfect list for me because I'm rubbish at reading books the year they come out, and there were certainly plenty of releases in 2014 I wanted to check out and just... didn't.

So, on with my top ten!

Half Bad by Sally Green: I really should have read this book by now because I've owned my copy for around six months, then again there are books on my shelves that have been waiting to be read for much longer... In 2014 I achieved my MA in Creative Writing while working on a historical novel about witchcraft, which meant I ended up reading an awful lot of witchy books. For whatever reason I just didn't get around to this one!

Red Rising by Pierce Brown: I kept seeing Red Rising popping up all over the blogosphere throughout 2014 but it just didn't catch my eye. I'm not a big fan of the cover; to me it didn't look any different to a bunch of other YA covers I'd seen over the past few years so it didn't really inspire me to pay attention to what the story was about. I know you're not supposed to judge books by their covers but, hey, I do! After reading some of the reviews and actually reading the blurb I realised that the story actually sounds pretty cool, so I'm aiming to read it this year instead.

Alienated by Melissa Landers: This book just looks really fun. 2014 is the year I began to realise that sci-fi doesn't have to be this scary, intimidating genre; in fact 2014 is the year I realised I quite like sci-fi, meaning 2015 is going to be the year I read a lot of it. I'd like to add this book, and possibly the sequel Invaded, to that list because I have something of a weakness for fluffy sci-fi!

The Jewel by Amy Ewing: I didn't really start seeing this book around until very near the end of 2014, so I'd love to read it this year. People have been telling me to read The Handmaid's Tale for years (and really it's quite shocking that I haven't!) so as The Jewel has similar themes I may read the two of them back to back!

The Bees by Laline Paull: I've heard really mixed things about The Bees, which might well be the reason why I just never got around to it in 2014, but I still want to read it for myself. The paperback has been released fairly recently but if I'm going to get it I want that pretty hardback...

Thief's Magic by Trudi Canavan: I don't think I read any high fantasy in 2014. Shocking, I know. I've also never read any Trudi Canavan. Strike two. I love the sound of Thief's Magic, but the gorgeous hardback is still £20 and, as I mentioned before, I can't afford to spend that much on one book!

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers: As a massive fan of the His Fair Assassin trilogy I had ever intention of reading Mortal Heart last year, especially after receiving a copy for Christmas! But as soon as Christmas was over life was absolutely hectic all the way through to New Year and I just didn't get to it. I'll be reading it soon, though!

Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre: This book sounds right up my alley, but I just didn't get around to buying a copy of it, never mind reading it! Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on it soon, but the hardback edition I love is still fairly pricey.

Lamentation by C. J. Sansom: I love the Matthew Shardlake series, and the only reason I haven't read the latest installment is because it's not out in paperback yet. As gorgeous as the hardback is all of my other Shardlake books are in paperback and I want them to match.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: Every time I went into Waterstone's I saw this gorgeous book, but I was a student for the majority of  last year and I couldn't afford to buy full price hardbacks whenever I felt like it - they're so expensive these days! But a couple of weeks ago WHSmith were selling off hardback editions of The Miniaturist for just £5 (they were cheaper than the paperbacks!) so I snapped one up and now I can cross it off my TBR this year.

Which books made your top ten?

Best Book Covers of 2014 | Top 10 of 2014

It's the second day of Top 10 of 2014, a book blogging event hosted by Two Chicks on Books and various lovely co-hosts to celebrate the last week of the year in bookish style!

Today's event is 'Best Book Covers of 2014', and the books we share must be books released this year. I'm not very good at staying on top of trends and the latest releases (which almost begs the question why I signed up for this event at all...) but thankfully I don't have to have read the books I mention, which is probably just as well. There are a lot of terrible books out there with gorgeous covers and vice versa.

So, on with my top 10!

YA Covers

Talon by Julie Kagawa: I've been drooling over this cover since I first saw it. It's so simple but it's still so rich; it looks so glossy and just plain gorgeous. There's no mistaking what this book is about.

Cress by Marissa Meyer: I love all the covers for The Lunar Chronicles, though I think Cinder is still my personal favourite. I can't wait to see the cover for Winter!

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige: Such a fun cover, I love it!

Alienated by Melissa Landers: This is another fun one. While I don't think it's particularly pretty, because I'm not that fond of people on book covers, I do think it's a good cover for its story.

Half Bad by Sally Green: When I first saw this cover I had to look at it a few times before I realised the blood makes a face. I'm a little dumb.

Adult Books

Symbiont by Mira Grant: Such a cool cover. The cover for Parasite, the first book in this series, is brilliant too.

Miss Carter's War by Sheila Hancock: I don't know what it is about this cover I like so much. I really like the colour pallette used, and I like that we can't see the cover model's face - as I said before I'm not that keen on book covers with people on, but this is a very classy cover.

Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre: I love this cover. If I had to pick an absolute favourite from all the covers here it'd be this one. I love the contrasts between the Renaissance art and the pop art-esque typography; it reminds me of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: This cover's just beautiful. It looks so warm and cosy.

The Bees by Laline Paull: This cover's so bright it just draws the eye, but the main reason this cover made my top ten is because I love the detail on the cover beneath the dust jacket, too. When publishers put effort into the appearance of the books they sell it makes me so happy, and this is a great example of a well produced book.

Which covers made your top ten?