With 2024 coming to a close, we’ve found ourselves reflecting on the amazing collaborations we have been lucky enough to have with bestselling authors. With each author dedicated to the perfection of each jacket design, we can say with confidence that our book sets are the perfect gift for every one of their fans, and we couldn’t be more proud to know these Juniper Books sets are officially licensed and #authorapproved.
If you couldn’t already tell from their online presence and interactions with fans, these authors are absolutely wonderful people! We chatted with each author highlighted here in this gift guide, so make sure to keep reading if you want to unlock some insider info for all your favorite series!
Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
A complete, special edition series written by the Queen of Romance herself! What more could we ask for? This wistful book set design was made to transport us into the setting of the Bridgerton novels, as if we’re peering through a window framed in wisteria and facing an English garden. The wisteria is a nod to the flowers that grace the architecture of regency England (because we all know these characters love a promenade in a park). Each cover has the book’s unique title and a symbol that is meaningful to the story within.
In our previous interview with Julia Quinn, she mentioned that social media didn't exist when she started writing Bridgerton! Naturally, we wanted to know more!
JB: How would you say social media has shaped and changed the book community?
Julia Quinn: “When I sold my first manuscript in 1994 I didn't even have an email address. In my author bio at the back of the book a year later, I provided my publisher's address inviting readers to write to me. Some did, and it was the most exciting thing ever!
Nowadays, reader response is much more immediate. And much more fun! Readers create original art and post the loveliest Bookstagram photos. And I get to share selected parts of my life with them, too. It's created a really wonderful community, not just for me, but for the whole romance genre.”
We couldn’t agree more! Julia does a fantastic job of reposting fan art, as well as keeping us updated on all things Bridgerton via her social media channels. Thank goodness for the internet!
Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The spicy book series that will keep us all warm through the winter! Jennifer L. Armentrout is a dear friend to us here at Juniper Books - she has worked with us on not one but TWO book sets. The first set we created in collaboration with Jennifer was for her best selling series Blood and Ash.
Our newest addition is the Flesh and Fire Book Set, featuring a castle surrounded by dark forest which is a reference to the setting in most of the Flesh and Fire series. The dragon casting a shadow over the scene is a significant character that connects Jennifer's two series. As the prequel series to the Blood and Ash series, we knew the poppy flowers would transition into a scene that would connect the two sets together (yes, the two designs really do merge together!!). The dagger in the foreground is our interpretation of the dagger that belongs to the main character, Seraphina.
Jennifer is acclaimed for her immense catalog of books, so we couldn’t help but ask what to expect when it comes to upcoming releases. She answered our burning question by saying, “Primal of Blood and Bone is coming out in 2025!”. We can’t wait!
Photo: Jennifer L. Armentrout with the Juniper Books Flesh and Fire Book Set!
The Atlas Series by Olivie Blake
Dark Academia is a genre often enjoyed with a warm cup of coffee on a chilly, winter day. With striking motifs of dark academia, magic, and esoterica, the Atlas Series is the perfect mystical winter read! Naturally, the mood of the set was influenced heavily by the dark academia genre of these books. In the Library of Alexandria, where most of this book takes place, the characters have to balance the arcane with the academic to compete for a place in the Alexandrian Society. We chose to reflect this in the design by combining magical elements with a vintage book design. The eye and sword symbol used on the spines is associated with the quote “Knowledge is carnage”.
Olivie Blake is always active on social media, making sure to form meaningful connections with her fans. We noticed she films many of her videos in front of a stunning library bookshelf, so we of course had to ask about her collection!
JB: As of right now, what's your most prized item displayed on your bookshelves?
Olivie Blake: “You mean aside from my Juniper Books Atlas series set? Last year for Christmas my husband gave me a rare edition of LITTLE WOMEN, which I obviously love, but also, since becoming an author I have had the opportunity to have my friends and colleagues sign my copies of their books, and some of them are really incredible at inscriptions (they should be writers!). My favorite might have to be Tracy Deonn's inscription in my copy of LEGENDBORN, which I occasionally reread for comfort.”
We’re ALL about re-reading comfort series, especially during this holiday season. And for so many of us readers out there, the Atlas Series is our comfort read of choice!
Photo: Olivie Blake with the Juniper Books Atlas Series Book Set!
Crave by Tracy Wolff
Tracy Wolff has the answer to all our gothic, paranormal romance needs! This series is the perfect combination of vampires, shapeshifters, and captivating romance. For the design, we found inspiration in the castle of Katmere Academy described in the books. The typography is a gothic font textured as if it’s carved from stone. The stone also references events in the book that are significant to the story.
We truly believe Crave is the perfect gift this holiday season, because we all know books are the BEST gift to receive. We were curious if Tracy had ever received a memorable literary gift.
JB: What is the greatest literary gift you’ve ever received?
Tracy Wolff: “The best literary gift I've ever received (besides the absolute, indescribable joy of seeing a book I wrote on the shelves for the very first time) is actually from Juniper Books! For Mother's Day a year and a half ago, my partner got me two limited edition series of cookbooks—the Phaidon International Cuisine Cookbooks and the Classic Cookbooks. I love to cook and own dozens of cookbooks, but these two sets are by far my favorite and both have a special place in my heart and in my collection.”
We are thrilled to hear Juniper Books is a sentimental part of Tracy’s love story! Our hearts are officially warmed this holiday season!
Photo: Tracy Wolff with the Juniper Books Crave Book Set!
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Marissa Meyer is an acclaimed author of the Young Adult genre, and aspiring authors look up to her as a role model. She even hosts a podcast called The Happy Writer where she interviews authors about the writing process, as well as gives her own amazing advice along the way!
Our Lunar Chronicles set reflects the futuristic, sci-fi world in which the stories take place. Integrated into the glowing motherboard border are symbols to represent the heroine of each book in the series. The title in the center of the design is framed by a circle to represent the moon in the starscape.
In our previous interview with Marissa, she mentioned that the Lunar Chronicles blends together a futuristic, techy vibe with the subtle fairy tale symbolism. So of course, we had to learn more about her experience merging these two unique genres!
JB: While writing the Lunar Chronicles, what was unique about writing a mixed genre book, and what went into selecting which genres to mix?
Marissa Meyer: “The very concept for The Lunar Chronicles started out as a blending of two of my favorite genres - fairy tales and science-fiction. I had written a short story for a contest that was a take on "Puss in Boots," set in a Star Wars-inspired galaxy. I loved combining these two very different genres and felt like there was so much potential to do more with that combination, and so I started brainstorming other ways that these classic stories could be adapted with a futuristic setting. It wasn't long before I was conceptualizing an entire series of sci-fi fairy tale retellings, and I spent weeks brainstorming various twists I could give to the fairy tales to adapt them. Slowly I started to piece together various elements - a "big bad wolf" who was actually a bioengineered super soldier, a wicked queen who ruled over a moon with evolved mind control powers, a Rapunzel who was trapped in a satellite rather than a tower. But it wasn't until I had a dream one night in which I saw a cyborg Cinderella that the series really started to take shape, and I could see how all these tales I'd started to develop could revolve around this one heroine.
As I was writing, I was constantly going back to the source material - not only the Grimm tales, but also versions of the stories from around the world - and asking, how can I "update" this? How can I make it techy, futuristic, and cool? What about the apple? What about the glass coffin? What about the blinded prince and the ball and the pumpkin carriage and the grandmother? What can I do with those elements? I wanted the books to feel familiar to readers, but also like something they'd never read before. It was a really fun challenge, and remains one of my favorite things about writing fairy tale retellings.”
It’s so interesting to hear that some of Marissa’s ideas came from a dream! We can’t help but wonder how many times this has happened to other authors too!
Photo: Marissa Meyer with the Juniper Books Lunar Chronicles Book Set!
From all of us here at Juniper Books, we wish you the happiest of holidays and a truly rejuvenating new year!