Judging A Book By Its Cover: The Lost Future of Pepperharrow

This is my weekly post where I highlight beautiful books from my collection. We all judge book covers to some extent (don’t lie, you totally do!) so I created this feature to showcase and admire the art and design elements of some of the books I own. If covers didn’t matter, publishers wouldn’t make so many wonderful editions!

I loved Pulley’s first book, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and also enjoyed The Bedlam Stacks, so I was obviously excited when I learned there was a sequel to Watchmaker. No, I haven’t read it yet; shut up.

I will say, while I love the colors and the cover imagery, I am disappointed with the design of this edition compared to the others (which I’ve linked to above). It’s still published by Bloomsbury, but it’s missing the cool circular cut-out the other two covers have, as well as decorative endpapers. In addition, the second I opened my copy, the glue on the first pages cracked. I have a feeling I’ll need to be extra careful when reading this book – I’ll be pissed if pages start falling out! You’ll also see in later pictures that the design on the spine has been shifted some and doesn’t fit nicely with the other two. I just wish publishers would keep the design of any series consistent! I know I’m not the only one who cares about this stuff! Especially for a series like this, where the cut-out in the covers provides a unique element.

But enough about that, here are the details: the book features a map by Emily Faccini, cover design by David Mann, and cover illustrations from Shutterstock. It was published in 2020 by Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781635573305.

The spine on Pepperharrow just feels a little clunky compared to the others…

Here’s me being “artsy” and utilizing the cool cut-out that Pepperharrow sadly doesn’t have.