I have said this before and I will say again. I am not a cover designer but I do have an artist’s eye and can agree that cover design plays an important role in the overall presentation of the book and gladly admit I judge a book by its cover. Overall presentation is important to pull a reader in. When I read a story I want to be completely immersed. A grand cover helps that along. Imagery and all-if you will. Check out this book description below and then be sure to read what I have to say about the cover and the premise!

Book Description:

It is November 25, 1960, and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. It doesn’t have to. Everybody knows of Las Mariposas—“The Butterflies.”

In this extraordinary novel, the voices of all four sisters—Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, and the survivor, Dedé—speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from hair ribbons and secret crushes to gunrunning and prison torture, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule. Through the art and magic of Julia Alvarez’s imagination, the martyred Butterflies live again in this novel of courage and love, and the human cost of political oppression.

My thoughts:

I have to admit; I’ve never cared for the authors name to be larger than the title on book covers. I’ve heard all the arguments on the other side of that opinion and it still does not change my thoughts on this. Having said that, In the Time of the Butterflies caught my attention immediately. I was the in the bookstore with my daughter and saw this book sitting beautifully displayed. I believe it was the use of colors and the glass jar. To me it sets the tone for a sultry summer read.  As I looked closer, I saw the butterflies. The one captured in the jar really drew me in and the title had me intrigued. I thought to myself, “How does the title of the book blend with the elements to the story? What is the story about?” As I read the blurb on the back of the book, my fascination grew. I am really looking forward to reading this story in the near future and I will be sure to share my thoughts with you!

My friend Holly’s cover crush at  2 Kids and Tired Books: Cover Crush..The Cake Therapist

Stephanie M. Hopkins