Book Cover Trend: Ribbons

The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway
First time novelist Bee Ridgway bursts onto the scene with her delightful debut, The River of No Return. A time travel romance populated with well-developed characters and driven by a globe-spanning conspiracy, Ridgway takes the best of speculative fiction and romance to create an atmospheric and intricately plotted novel. After writing a staff review for this book, I started noticing all the other books with ribbons on their covers.






 The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker
Another debut author, Emily Croy Barker, turns her pen a mix of romance and fantasy in The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic. A sweeping and atmospheric novel about a young woman, Nora, who is transported from her dull life as a graduate student to another world of magic and possibility, but the beauty of her new world may be only skin deep.






Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Freemantle
Elizabeth Freemantle's debut novel delves into the intriguing possibilities of the Tudor court, like Philippa Gregory and Hilary Mantel before her. An atmospheric and richly detailed novel of Katherine Parr's marriage to King Henry VIII (his sixth). She struggles to balance her desires with her desire to survive as the turbulent king's reign nears to its end.






Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Carol Rifka Brunt's debut novel is a moving coming-of-age story set during the late 1980s. Introverted 14-year-old June is left reeling by the death of her beloved Uncle Finn to the horrors of AIDS. With Finn's death come changes in June's relationships with her family, herself, and even her uncle through meeting his partner, Toby.






The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Swedish author Jonas Jonasson's American debut is a quirky romp through the 20th century. His engaging, upbeat writing will bring a smile to most readers' faces. Dreading the celebration of his 100th birthday, Allan Karlsson escapes the nursing home and embarks on an unexpected adventure that includes an elephant named Sonya. Alternating chapters introduce readers to Allan's past, Forrest Gump-like adventures.





The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann
This engaging and richly detailed work of historical fiction is an adventurous romp through 18th century Sweden. A first novel by American author, and sometime resident of Sweden, Karen Engelmann that mixes whimsy and suspense in a way that will appeal to a wide-range of readers. A fortune teller directs Emil Larsson in a quest to find the eight individuals, find love, and save the king.