
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week’s topic is a Cover Freebie!
Oooh I do like a themed freebie!
Okay so this week I have decided to do a list of ten books that I have purchased based (mostly) on the cover!!
CONFESSION TIME!!!
Who here has not bought a book based solely on the cover??? We are ALL about the aesthetics don’t lie lol!!
(1) Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

I was drawn to the bright covers and retro look of this cover when I stumbled across it in the book shop a few years ago. And I’m so glad I picked it up because it became an all time five star favourite read. I completely lost myself in the atmosphere and storyline of this book, a perfect summer read.
(2) Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegemund-Broka

I love the flowers on this. And the way the girl’s hair is styled. It conjures up feelings of loveliness and prettiness, and made me hope that this book would be a super cute and fluffy romance… it was a super cute read… but ultimately I did find it a little too saccharine and laden with cliche.
(3) Zodiac by Romina Russell

I saw this whole series of books photographed together on Bookstagram some time ago and absolutely fell head over heels for the colour scheme… so I bought the whole series!!!! I still have not yet read the books though because I subsequently read a lot of unenthusiastic reviews….
(4) Lovely Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara

I just think this is the most perfect image of snow. It’s so peaceful, so calming…. and it perfectly encapsulates the emotions of the novel. There’s a harshness to the difficult emotions experienced by the MC (so the snowy, cold weather) and there’s a quiet majesty to the prose (the stillness of the photo). A brilliantly underrated contemporary YA in my opinion.
(5) The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton
This was always on my TBR because I loved Leslye Walton’s first novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. And I was lucky enough to snag myself an ARC of The Price Guide to the Occult and enjoyed it… so much so that I bought a copy of the book…but I never really liked the cover…

I just don’t like the colour scheme. It’s too fluorescent. And then the UK cover was released and I fell in love with that…. so I bought the UK cover oops!

And now I have two copies of the book along with my eARC copy!
(6) Entwined by Heather Dixon (Wallwork)

This is my all time favourite cover. I am just enchanted by it. I stumbled across the book years ago on Amazon and just bought it knowing nothing about the novel!! And it was a happy day when I ended up enjoying the book as much as I did. It’s a retelling of the fairytale of the Twelve Dancing Princessess.
(7) The Frozen Sea by Piers Torday

It’s the pretty pastel colours. Every single time I fall for them! Still haven’t read this but I have read the first book in the series (when I bought this I did not realise it was a sequel oops! Well more of a companion novel than sequel but still part of a series.)
(8) Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

I’m here for the stunning flowers… sadly I did not love this book though. Found it too difficult to make sense of. Sometimes I find magical realism can be a real hit and miss genre for me.
(9) Heidi by Joanna Spyri, Puffin in Bloom edition

I loved Heidi as a child but wanted a copy for my personal collection… and I thought the Puffin in Bloom covers were gorgeous so treated myself to this.
(10) The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Wordsworth Edition
I also loved The Secret Garden as a child and as with Heidi was looking for a copy for my own personal collection. I decided upon this beautiful hard-backed Wordsworth edition. It looks much nicer in reality. This image does not do it justice.

And that’s my TTT of books I bought based on the covers. Have you been influenced similarly when buying books? Let’s chat in the comments below!

Awww these covers are gorgeous, Emer! Book cover aesthetics totally persuade me or dissuade me from buying (physical) books all the time. I am apprehensive about the Zodiac series as well, but Romina’s YA Lobizona (published under Romina Garber) is pretty amazing!
LikeLike
Okay I did not know that at all! Thank you for telling me they are the same author. That actually makes me a little more curious to read zodiac again 😊😊😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never bought a book only for the cover, but covers do make me pick up the book and read the synopsis. I love flowers and nature scenes, so I think these are great.
LikeLike
Yes. I do exactly that. I think that’s mostly what I do. See the pretty cover and if the blurb sounds good I’ll buy it even if I’ve never heard of the book or author before! 😊😊😊❤️💛💖💚
LikeLike
That cover for The Secret Garden is too cute! I’m definitely guilty of buying books only for their covers – I want my shelves to look beautiful.
My TTT
LikeLike
It’s so beautiful isn’t it. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’s swayed by a pretty cover. Thank you Erin 😊💚💖💙💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh, that Zodiac cover is gorgeous! And I’m going to have to check out Lovely, Dark and Deep. Great post and happy Tuesday!
My post: https://followinggoodbooks.wordpress.com/2020/09/15/9-15-20-top-ten-tuesday-dont-judge-a-book-by-its-cover/
LikeLike
Yay thank you! I hope you enjoy Lovely Dark and Deep as much as I did 😊😊💚💛💖💙✨
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! Me too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love that Entwined cover – it’s so dreamy! I’ve seen it around but never read it before, but I love the 12 dancing princesses so I’ll have to check it out.
LikeLike
It’s my absolute favourite book cover ever. Looks so beautiful in person too. I hope you read it and enjoy it Yolanda 😊😊💙💖💜❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know that I’ve ever bought a book based solely on its cover, but I’ve definitely been initially drawn to a book because of its cover. Oftentimes, an intriguing cover gets me to look at the plot summary and THAT is what cinches the deal for me 🙂
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
LikeLike
I think that’s usually what happens with me. The cover will catch my eye and the blurb will have some little detail that hooks me 😊😊😊 but I can be very swayed by a pretty cover. Lol! Thank you Susan 😊❤️🧡💙💚
LikeLike
These are all beautiful! I especially like The Frozen Sea’s cover. I’ll have to check out Entwined, love a retelling!
LikeLike
Entwined is super slow moving but there was just a magic to it Sabrina. I know many people were underwhelmed by it but I found it truly beautiful 😊😊💚💜💙💛
LikeLiked by 1 person
YES! The Zodiac books are still my favorite covers of all time!
Here’s my Top Ten Tuesday!
Happy Reading! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay I’m glad someone else loves them as much as I do 😊😊💛❤️❤️
LikeLike
I would buy Always Never Yours based on the cover and title.
LikeLike
LOVE IT 😊😊😊💖💙💛💚
LikeLiked by 1 person
Always Never Yours is definitely a cute cover that would draw me in, too! Great list! 🙂
LikeLike
It’s just got the most perfect aesthetic *dreamy sighing* 😊😊💚💛💖💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great selections!! I really like the one for always never yours – I think I might look it up. I recently read beautiful ruins and love it so much, glad to see someone else did too! This week was a hard prompt (there were so many options haha) but I really like where you’ve gone with it. Here was my go at this TTT 🙂 :https://hundredsandthousandsofbooks.blog/2020/09/15/top-ten-tuesday-predicting-plots-of-books-on-my-tbr/
LikeLike
Aw yay! I don’t tend to hear of many other people who’ve read beautiful ruins so I’m super glad you loved it too. Thank you so much 😊😊💙💖💜❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am a shameful cover judger-buyer! I really can’t lie 😂 I actually bought Beautiful Ruins (diff cover though) coz I loved the cover but never ended up reading the book LOL I’m such a sucker
LikeLike
Dini this is why we are friends. YOU AND I ARE SHALLOW TO THE END lmaooooooo. You should read Beautiful Ruins though. It’s a really good story 💛❤️💙💚
LikeLike
Hi Emer. I also loved Heidi and The Secret Garden. My Heidi cover is a green field with Heidi in a red dress, and white clouds in a blue sky. I can’t find The Secret Garden – not I’ll have to ring around to see who I lent it to!
LikeLike
Oh they’re two of my favourites from childhood. I’m definitely in need of a reread. I love retreading childhood classics that I loved. They bring me enormous happiness 😊😊😊
LikeLike
Wild Beauty has a gorgeous cover.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/15/top-ten-tuesday-281/
LikeLike
It really does. One of my favourites 😊😊💚💙❤️💜
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
I hadn’t heard of Lovely Dark and Deep before but the cover is beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The cover is stunning. I really think it matches the vibe of the interior of the book too 😊😊💜❤️💛💖
LikeLike
These all have really awesome covers! I haven’t read any of these though, haha.
LikeLike
Omg not one lol 😂😂😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely, Dark, and Deep has such a peaceful cover. I love it.
My post .
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s truly tranquil looking isn’t it. Thank you Lydia 😊💖❤️💚💛
LikeLike
Great list, Emer! I love the Puffin in Bloom covers, they’re so pretty.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They’re SO gorgeous! Love them love them love them 😂😂😂 thank you Jess 💛💖💙💜
LikeLike