Carrying on with the Crayola theme from last week, today's Top Ten Tuesday is all about colorful book covers.  Funny thing about that—when you read a lot of dark mysteries, chilling thrillers, and sobering historical novels, you don't end up with a lot of bright, fanciful cover art!  Since those genres are my jam, I struggled to come up with any colorful covers at all, let alone ten.  As I was scrolling through my TBR lists on Goodreads, however, I did see some interesting trends and patterns in the cover art of some of the books I'm looking forward to reading.  Even if you're not a big hist-fic fan, you've probably noticed that dozens of recent additions to the genre feature covers with women looking away from the camera.  If you look further, you'll also see that many of these are done in mostly dark colors—black, grey, navy, emerald, etc.—with just pops of brighter hues, usually red.  While cover trends can get annoying, making books look too much alike, I can't deny that the kind of cover I just described really appeals to me.  It signals that this is the kind of novel I like, the sort I really want to read.  Like, now.  Just yesterday while browsing the book section at Costco, I answered the seductive siren call of a historical novel cover with—guess what?—a woman in a red (I guess it might be more purplish) coat looking away from the camera!  Well played, book marketers.  Well played.  I want to show you what I mean, so my list today will be comprised of historical novels on my TBR list that follow this trend.

What kind of list do you want to make today?  You can use the prompt, twist it up a little, or create your own list.  It doesn't matter what you do, just join in the TTT fun.  Hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl to get started.

1.  The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin—This is the novel that hopped into my cart at Costco.  Don't you hate it when that happens?  It's about a woman who moves to London just as World War II is heating up.  She finds a job in a bookshop, where she learns about the transformative power of books and stories, especially in perilous times.

2.  The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (available June 29, 2021)—Based on a true story, this novel stars Belle de Costa Greene, who was hired by J.P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, art, and books for his Pierpont Morgan library.  A society darling known for her impeccable taste, Belle was keeping an explosive secret that could have ruined everything for her—her father is Black.

3.  Those Who Are Saved by Alexis Landau—Vera is a Russian Jew living in France.  When the Nazis take over the country, all Jews are ordered to report to an internment camp.  Desperate to save her young daughter, Vera leaves young Lucie with her governess, who vows to protect the little girl.  A chance to escape to America complicates the already impossible situation, leading to a heartbreaking separation that will tear Vera apart.  Will she ever see Lucie again?

4.  The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar (available June 1, 2021)—As France is torn apart by war, a librarian tries to offer her neighbors comfort through books.  When the Nazis threaten to destroy volumes they deem dangerous, she risks everything to save her beloved tomes.

5.  The Clockmaker's Wife by Daisy Wood—Featuring a dual-timeline, this novel concerns a woman in modern-day New York who finds a beautiful watch that belonged to her grandmother, whom she never knew.  Intrigued, she begins looking into her grandmother's past and is shocked by the harrowing World War II tale she uncovers...

6.  Off the Wild Coast of Brittany by Juliet Blackwell—Another WWII story set in France, this one revolves around a woman who's left high and dry after her husband leaves her.  With a half-finished guesthouse to deal with, she and her sister set about making the place inhabitable for visitors.  As they do so, they uncover the home's incredible war-time secrets.

7.  The Girl From the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat—Having fled Austria, a young Jewish woman is hiding in plain sight on the Nazi-occupied island of Jersey.  

8.  The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly—Okay, so this one has more than one pop of color, but I still think it fits the theme.  The story juggles three different timelines, all revolving around people who lived and worked around the lush garden at Highbury House.

9.  The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman—This one also bucks the trend a little since the person in red is a young girl and she's not facing away from the "camera," just shielding her face.  Still.  Set during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, the story concerns a 13-year-old German girl living in Philadelphia who must face prejudice against immigrants, crippling poverty, and forced separation from the younger brothers she has vowed to protect at all costs.

10.  The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent—When she gets a chance to escape the Texas brothel where she's basically being held hostage, Lucinda Carter takes it and doesn't look back.  With the promise of a pirate's treasure to be had, she embarks on an adventure that she hopes will lead to wealth, love, and freedom.

There you have it, ten books that follow the dark-covers-of-historical-novels-with-pops-of-red-and-women-facing-away trend.  Which others have you noticed?  Have you read any of these?  Which colorful covers did you choose for your list today?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!