Top 5 Tuesday #67: Top 5 covers of 2021

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

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This week’s topic:

Top 5 covers of 2021

(What are some of your favourite covers that you have seen this year? Maybe these were reprints, redesigns or alternate covers that came out this year, or maybe they are brand new books.
Whatever they are, tell us all the pretties you have been coveting.)

I love a meme about book covers 😊 and I’ve been looking forward to one like this all year, lol! My favorite thing about December is looking back on all the things I read in the year and chatting about the best of the best.

Well, here are my favorite covers of books I read this year.

The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner

The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry is a gaslamp fantasy novel about a poor fire witch who lucks into the chance to make some money by serving as a bodyguard, along with other women, to protect a young lady from being assassinated before her wedding. I read this early in the year with Millie from Milliebot Reads and really enjoyed it. The protagonist is one of my favorites that I’ve encountered this year.

The cover made it on this list because I love the colors, the pinks and purples, and the illustrations around the title that hint at the story’s content. I think the ornate border calls to the sort of Victorian/Edwardian vibe of the setting, but the overall flair of the cover design and illustrations tap into the lightness and fun of the story and the magic within it as well.

DCeased by Tom Taylor, illus. by Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano, Laura Braga, Richard Friend, James Harren, Darick Robertson, Trevor Scott, Neil Edwards

DCeased was a wonderful read for my zombie-loving soul, lol! It’s a comic book about a zombie apocalypse taking place in the DC universe. Several beloved superheroes fall prey to the anti-life equation. It was a very entertaining read, and I enjoyed every moment of it. The illustrations were great too.

I love this cover! It’s gruesome, fierce, and frightening. I mean, who would ever want to meet such a Batman? The cover is a bit of a spoiler, but this occurs so early in the story that I think it’s okay to give it away to create such a stunning, eye-catching cover.

Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown

Cinnamon and Gunpowder was a novel I’d been longing to acquire and read for a long time, and finally I got to do so this year. It’s historical fiction about a famous chef who’s kidnapped by a pirate, Mad Hannah Mabbot, for whom he must create exquisite dishes every Sunday in exchange for his life. The story takes its time to develop, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Chef Wedgewood’s sarcasm about his situation was appealing, and I was hooked on Brown’s prose. I have to read another book by him in the new year.

The cover was a major draw for me to this book. I searched specifically for the hardcover edition to purchase because I fell in love with it years ago when I first saw it — when it was first published. I love the background color, which makes me think of the sea, actually the beaches I’m used to back home, and I like the posture and expressions of the two characters, which is how I imagined Wedgewood and Mabbot when Mabbot captured the chef and shot his employer.

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the Beautiful Ones as much as I did the other books on this list. I was at turns bored and frustrated when reading it. It’s romance with a dash of fantasy about a young woman with telekinetic ability who’s sent to the city to be introduced to society and find a husband. While there, she meets a famous magician who seems willing to court her, but she doesn’t know that the magician is actually in pursuit of her cousin’s wife’s affection… I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

But the cover I love! I love the colors, the illustrations, and the overall layout. I wouldn’t mind having a larger version of it to place in a living space somewhere. I think it’s gorgeous, and for that, I’m glad I bought a copy.

Tea Dragon Tapestry by Kay O’Neill (illus.)

Another charming entry in the Tea Dragon series, middle grade fantasy graphic novels about a society of people who care for tea dragons, miniature dragons that grow tea leaves from their horns. This was another heartwarming read that was a much-needed balm when I read it because it was a rough time.

The cover gives off such strong autumn vibes that I’m glad I read it when the season began. And I’m pretty sure I did so while sipping some tea. The cover is almost overpoweringly orange, but I love it. It seems to be exuding warmth.

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What are some of your top covers of 2021?

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