Top 10 (11 actually!) Book Covers From 2021

A few weeks ago Davida Chazan from The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog, posted her top five book covers of 2021. Her post inspired me to create my own end of year top 10. As you can see, I had trouble cutting it down to just 10 books!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58485952-the-tsarina-s-daughter

This book came to me as a competition win, the book cover is very attractive. It wasn’t until after I had finished reading it that I realised it was book #2 of a series. It’s about the Romanov family and is set in Russia during the 1700s. The writing flows well and I could effortlessly picture all the opulence and wealth, while it was also clear how starving and poor the rest of Russia’s citizens were.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49354511-the-dictionary-of-lost-words

Those pieces of word filled paper on the cover are such a big part of this story. If you love words then this book is a wonderful story. Based around the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, it begins in the late 1800s. I liked this story, particularly the detailed days in the scriptorium.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55928359-keep-walking-your-heart-will-catch-up

This book cover had me wanting to walk down its road. This book is a memoir and travelogue. Author Cathay O. Reta writes about her experience of walking the 483-mile Camino de Santiago trail across northern Spain. The scenery and the journey both physical and spiritual were very appealing.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57333061-the-music-of-bees

I love bees and this title called to me, the bees on the cover were an added bonus. This is a bee themed contemporary fiction set in the small American town of Hood River, Oregon. Each chapter began with a quotation from an old beekeeping book; they were prudent words which worked really well with the story.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55938053-the-lifeline

The model’s face on this book cover looks right at you and is very haunting, while the fishing boat is a vital part in this World-War-Two story. It takes place during the 1942 occupation of Norway, not a part of the war that I knew much about before reading this. It had all the gritty tension that I enjoy in this genre.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55518135-the-secret-life-of-albert-entwistle

There are a couple of different book covers for this book, but this is the one that I read. The post box says it all for me. This is the story of a postman and his search for the one person he loved and lost. A lovely, leisurely read for those who enjoy stories which focus on older characters.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55407903-the-willow-wren

The lone figure running under a sky of fighter aircraft made me want to know more about this book. The story is based on memories about Germany seen through the eyes of a young German boy, during the Second World War and for a few years after, in East Germany. Highly recommended.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56439404-i-thought-you-said-this-would-work

The cheerful yellow of this book cover suits the story inside the cover. It is contemporary fiction and involves a fun road trip, a dog and a more serious medical condition. Although a part of this story has a serious sad theme, it compliments the fun parts and works well.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56133968-a-secret-service

The young lady on the cover of this book spoke to me, she looks like she might be trying to behave. Rightly so, as standing up to the school bullies gets her into trouble. This is a contemporary young adult story set in Washington DC. There’s a freshness about some young adult stories and this one was an enjoyable story.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57679455-finding-freedom-in-the-lost-kitchen

The simplicity of this book cover reflects the ethos behind Erin French’s cooking. This book is the memoir of Erin French, owner and chef of The Lost Kitchen restaurant in Freedom, Maine which has now become a world-famous place to eat. It was a very inspiring read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59130057-jenks

This book cover makes me want to ask questions. Who is the man with the gun? And who has the blue eyes? This is an action thriller which draws us into the murky world of secrets. Jenks is a professional assassin and a master of his game. I enjoyed reading this adventure.

What book covers have been your favourites this year?

Rosie’s #BookReview #ContemporaryFiction THE MUSIC OF BEES by @EileenGarvin #TuesdayBookBlog

The Music of Bees : A Novel by Eileen Garvin

4.5 stars

The Music Of Bees is contemporary fiction set in the small American town of Hood River, Oregon.

Jake is angry and depressed after a stupid prank left him with a broken spine. Now instead of riding his skateboard, he spends his days alone in a wheelchair.

Harry is drifting through life, full of worry and indecision. He lives in a condemned trailer with his great uncle, but he really needs a job, so he applies for a handyman advert with a local beekeeper.

Alice is a widow; she keeps bees and works in the county planning office. Since her husband’s unexpected death, Alice has panic attacks, but the bees help to soothe her pain. Alice meets Jake on the roadside after an ‘almost accident’; they bond over the bees. Jake’s natural musical ear picks up the bee’s humming and he can tune into their temperament.

Suddenly Jake has a purpose in life; the bees fascinate him and he becomes a quick student. When Harry’s uncle dies and he is evicted from the trailer, he awkwardly finds himself on Alice’s doorstep too.

This is a lovely story in a small town setting with a wonderful bee theme. My father keeps bees, so I was nodding along to much of the bee detail. Each chapter began with a quotation from an old beekeeping book; they were prudent words which worked really well with the story. The author keeps bees herself and this shone through in the narrative. I also enjoyed the coming-of-age style tales of Jake and Harry and Alice’s own personal growth. I thought that the ending was a little rushed, but that was only a minor point, and it didn’t deter from my overall enjoyment of the book.

View all my reviews  on Goodreads

Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn’t turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren’t helping her feel better these days.

In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake–a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County–while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake’s sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.

And then there’s Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice’s ad for part-time farm help, he’s shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees–and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves.

Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don’t turn out the way you expect.

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