Goldilox and the Ten Lists: Top Ten Covers of 2014

Welcome to Goldilox and the Ten Lists, our year end countdown of our favorite books by category. We'll have a new subject every weekday between now and the end of the year. I couldn't come up with anywhere better to start than at the front of the book, so day one is all about Book Covers.

You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, right? But if you want to judge the cover on its own merits, that's perfectly fine. So here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite covers from this year. Let me know your favorites in the comments.



Wicked After Midnight
by Delilah S. Dawson
Cover by Tony Mauro
All of the covers for this series are gorgeous, but I especially loved the costumes on this one. It's also the only one that features both main characters, which reminds me that it's the most complex story in the series.                 

The Kraken King and the Fox's Den

By Meljean Brook

Cover by Jason Gill

This is from part three of the serial release of The Kraken King. Including the complete novel, this book actually kind of had nine different covers. I also really loved the ones for parts six and eight, which are both landscapes with great details beautiful skies. 

The Given
By Vicki Pettersson
Cover Design by Richard L. Aquan
Cover Illustration by Larry Rostant
All three of the covers for this trilogy have been striking with the woman as the only color in the image. This blue one is more subdued than the others, but I like the wings on this one best of the three.

City of Eternal Night
By Kristen Painter
Cover Design by Lauren Panepinto
Cover Illustration by Melanie Delon
I could have chosen both books in this series for my favorite covers list, but I didn't want to repeat like that. I picked this one over House of the Rising Sun because I like the colors and the way this cover reflects the story. The dress and the tree are both important elements.

Against the Dawn
By Amanda Bonilla
Cover by Nathalia Suellen
The first time I saw this cover I fell in love with it. It's very different than the others in the series, which just makes it stand out more. It has the same visual effect as a black and white with a pop of color, but with that eerie washed out green instead of gray. Love it!

Broken Blade
By J.C. Daniels
Cover by Angela Waters
I love how this cover manages to be both badass and melancholy at the same time. The story was written in two parts. In the first, Kit is struggling through trauma and that's reflected in the cracks and the fact that her back in turned. In the second, she starts to get back to work, which is shown by her picking up her sword and starting to look toward her audience.

Forged by Desire
By Bec McMaster
Cover by Gene Mollica
I love the covers in the London Steampunk series. I think my favorite thing about this one is that fan. (I might have mentioned my thing for Steampunk gadgets.) But if you look closely at the cover, there are so many cool details in the background.

Servants of the Storm
By Delilah S. Dawson
Cover by Regina Flath
I love this cover! It's so simple, yet it tells you so much about the main character. She's been taking anti-psychotics, so she's cut off from the world - alone like the girl on the cover. The angle reflects her skewed perspective. It also reminds me of a painting, Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth, which I remember studying in elementary school so I ascribe the same lonely feeling to the cover as well.

Talon
By Julie Kagawa
Cover by Kathleen Oudit, Erin Craig, Bora Tekogul, Fion Ngan, Natasa Hatsios and Chris Parks
This may seem like an odd choice if you've only seen it on your computer screen. But every time I've walked by this book on the shelf I've wanted to pick it up. Sometimes before I even realized which book it was I was reaching for. I think that makes it a really effective cover, though it's one that looks better in person than it does on the screen. The scales are iridescent and a darker burgundy than they look here. There's also some great art on the title pages inside the book.

Ignite Me
By Tahereh Mafi
Cover Design by Cara E. Petrus
Cover Illustration by Colin Anderson
I'm a total cosmetics junkie, so this cover makes me think of one of those over-the-top makeup designs from the Fashion Week runway. That was probably not the original idea, but it doesn't make it any less pretty. Each cover in the series has shown the eye in a different season, and this one is spring. I've been loving this series, but I haven't actually read this final book yet, so I can't say for sure how that reflects the story.                                       

Join us tomorrow, as Goldilox and the Ten Lists continues with our favorite books by a debut author in 2014.