Hi everyone,

Welcome to Day 2 of my Spooktober week! Autumn is such a beautiful season – pretty much every time I see a leaf, I am tempted to pick it up and try preserve it so that when I one day buy a house I can paint myself, I can pick up said leaf and say ‘I want THIS colour!’ I adore all the reds and purples and oranges associated with this season, and I can’t wait to show you some gorgeous Autumny book covers! Some are from books already published, quite a few are 2020 releases, because red and gold really seems to be the theme of 2020 publishing!

Published titles

Ziggy, Stardust & Me – James Brandon

I can’t believe I still haven’t bought a copy of this, but it is TOP of my list in my next order! Set in the 70s when homosexuality is still a crime, this is a coming of age story about Jonathon as he undergoes conversion therapy to “cure” him. But then he meets Web, who turns his life around and shows him how to accept himself.

Like a Love Story – Abdi Nazemian

This is one of my favourite books of the year. It is absolutely astoundingly beautiful and emotional. Set in the 1980s AIDS crisis in the US, it follows three teens as they fall in love and learn how to be true to themselves. There is far too much to say about this book, so all I’m going to do is direct you to my full review of this title (here!) and beg you to pick up a copy of this book, because it is magnificent!

We Set the Dark on Fire – Tehlor Kay Mejia

Dahlia at LGBTQReads helped pick this book out recently, as part of her patreon subscription offer, after my request for “either a political fantasy like Descendent of the Crane or a fantasy with enemies to lovers’ to which she replied ‘How about something with both?’ Whilst I haven’t had a chance to read this book yet, I can’t wait to start!

The Deathless Girls – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

This is one of my favourite covers ever. It’s even more stunning in real life!! I was lucky enough to catch one of the special edition Waterstones editions (even if I did have to spend more on shipping it to Australia than on the book itself…), where it comes with stunning blood red sprayed edges. Brides of Dracula retelling – need I say more?!

The Poet X – Elizabeth Acevedo

I haven’t actually read this one yet, but I did read Acevedo’s second book With the Fire on High and really enjoyed it, so I’m keen to get to The Poet X soon! The way these colours all blend together is just gorgeous. I imagine this book is so so different to anything I’ve read before, as I haven’t read much poetry, but from all the reviews I’ve seen, this book sounds so powerful.

Before Mars – Emma Newman

So this one is here because of that glorious red. I love the image of the planet sort of slowly disintegrating on the cover. This was one of the books which really helped me get into science fiction this year. Emma Newman has a phenomenal way of blending discussions around mental illness into her work. Before Mars follows Anna, who has been sent to Mars to create artwork for her very rich boss. However, when she lands, she finds a note in her room warning her about the psychologist at the base. But the note is in her own handwriting… This book is part science fiction, part thriller/mystery, and I absolutely love it!

The Stars and the Blackness Between them – Junauda Petrus

A story about two girls in love. That’s it, that’s my pitch to make you go read this. Audre has been sent to America, from Trinidad, after her mother caught her with her girlfriend, the daughter of the local pastor. There she meets Mabel, a girl suffering from an illness she doesn’t know about. Together “they conjure a love that is stronger than hatred, prison, and death and as vast as the blackness between the stars.”

Empire of Light – Alex Harrow

How stunning is that cover?! The colour, the detail, it looks so dystopian and sci-fi. This book is about revolutions and magic and assassins and falling for the person you’re meant to kill.

Caster – Elsie Chapman

I’ve heard a lot of great things from a lot of book people on Twitter about Caster – and I think the cover is just amazing. There is dangerous (and illegal!) magic, gangs, tournaments, and murder mystery!

2020 titles

2020 looks like it’s going to be killing it with dark and moody Autumn covers. So here’s a selection of some of the goregous Autumnal covers for some of the books I’m looking foward to reading next year!

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I hope you enjoyed checking out all these gorgeous covers in what I really feel is like my most beautiful blog post yet, thank you all cover designers. Let me know what your favourite Autumn cover is in the comments below!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco