Monday, November 22, 2021

Guest Blogger: Cover Love

 
Michele is back with another guest post, and today she's talking cover love!  As a self-proclaimed cover snob, I'm definitely all about this topic!

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Cover trends in the publishing industry are constantly changing and evolving. So too do our own personal tastes in book covers. Today I thought I would share some covers that I am really loving lately.

Photographic

I used to definitely gravitate more towards the illustrated character covers for romance novels. But now, I really love when real models are used. Melanie Harlow’s Cloverleigh Farms all have really dreamy and beautiful covers. The covers for Karla Sorensen’s Ward Sisters series are also really fantastic. 
 

 
Fun fact – the cover models on Kristen Granata’s Someone You Love and Kandi Steiner’s Close Quarters and Say Yes are all couples in real life!
 


Illustrated – with a Twist

There are authors who design their own book covers, including Penny Reid and Staci Hart. Staci Hart’s covers are very fun and quirky, but Penny Reid put a crafty twist on hers. Her Winston Brothers series includes covers with cross-stitched bearded guys and the Solving for Pie series features string art.
 


The Stay a Spell series from Juliette Cross caught my eye immediately with their slightly gothic but still colorful, fully illustrated look.  Before it was relaunched as the Clifton Forge series with new covers, Devney Perry’s Tin Gypsy series all had striking covers that you would not normally associate with the romance genre.
 
 


What types of covers are you drawn to? Do you have any favorite covers?
 
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18 comments:

  1. Welcome back, Michele! Fun post. I'm definitely still drawn to the illustrated covers but I really like the ones you've shared today as well. I'm weird in that I like the photographic style covers as long as it's not a shot of someone's face front and center. I don't even know why, but those bother me, lol. The style you've shared, where neither model is actually looking directly at the camera is so much more appealing to me. They also kind of remind of the covers for The Simple Wild series, and those are some of my favorite covers.

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    1. Thanks! I agree - the face only staring at me makes me a little uncomfortable sometimes! And yes, the Simple Wild covers are gorgeous.

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  2. I'm still firmly on the illustrated cover train for romance novels, but I love the idea of using a real-life couple on the cover, too! And I really like how that last set are not your typical romance covers.

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    1. The Stay a Spell and Tin Gypsy (now Clifton Forge) are so good! really different and unique.

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  3. I seem to be in the minority, but I've never been a fan of the illustrated romance covers. They are such a turn-off for me. And, also in the minority, I actually like people on the covers. Some of them are so well done (like Melanie Harlow's and Corinne Michaels) and are a total draw for me.

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    1. Melanie Harlow's covers are great - I started reading her books simply because the covers drew me in!

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  4. Hey again Michelle! I tend to like the last covers on this post the most. They are very beautiful!

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  5. That's very cool that the cover models are real couples. No wonder they are so convincing in their pictures.

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  6. I love those last few- they're so colorful, I'm definitely a fan of illustrated covers these days.

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    1. Sometimes illustrated covers can be quite beautiful!

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  7. Fun post idea! I seem to enjoy the illustrated covers more these days as well.

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    1. There definitely are some really good ones out there!

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  8. I definitely prefer illustrated covers (those last ones are so pretty!), but I do love that some of those photographic covers have actual couples on them!

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    1. I love that too! It was fun finding that out from the authors when they did these particular cover reveals!

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  9. Never read anything by Staci, but her cover designs are always cute. :)

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    1. I love her covers! She does a great job with the designs.

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!