Introducing Cover Awe!

Amanda had a great idea for a new feature: covers we really, really like. Presenting, Cover Awe!

It can be very easy to identify what it is about a cover you don’t necessarily like. Nipples like dinner plates, greasy shoulders, weird muscle patterns, alarmed livestock in the distance – the list goes on and on (and on in the archives).

But looking at a cover and recognizing that you like it can be a little more challenging. Each of us has had an, “Ooooooh” reaction to a cover. Identifying precisely why we like a cover image can demand a few minutes of, “Ummm…” and “Uhhh,” as we reach for specifics that explain why that cover works better than the few hundred others we see in a day.

Covers are also required to do multiple jobs (which is what they’ve always had to do) in multiple sizes (that parts relatively new). The image might be seen in mass market size, or on a web page slightly smaller than mass market, or in an itty bitty thumbnail that could easily make the models transform into…something else:

Love and Angels by Kris Hack. A small version of the cover. The hero is an angel and he appears to be...purple. The heroine is situated further down and standing toward the side. From far away, the heroine's arm looks like the hero's wang. Oh...and there are lots of lightning strikes happening. Just because.

So when Amanda proposed “Cover Awe,” I was really excited. In the 12+ years of running the site and longer-than-that reading romance, like you, I’ve seen a lot of covers. A lot of covers. Talking about the ones we like is going to be tough but fun.

Amanda: Not to knock romance or anything, but there is a familiar cover scheme – clinches and man titties abound! So when I see a cover, in the romance genre especially, that deviates from those familiar cover tropes, I take more notice. See: An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole. I liked that it was heroine-centric and really captured some of her characterization in the setting and pose on the cover.

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole. A black woman in a cream colored dress looking over her shoulder as she's crossing a threshold.

While we have no problem with giving a bit of cover snark to some WTF-worthy covers, I think it’s also important to showcase covers that we think are doing it right. They’re often the first ways we interact with a book and if a cover can make me do a double take, that book as won the battle of getting me to pick it up.

Sarah: Oh, yeah, I very much agree. Some covers make me go still while I take everything in, like really evocative art. You mentioned An Extraordinary Union, which I loved, but the sequel, A Hope Divided, gives me a big case of “cover stillness:”

A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole. A black woman sits at a table. Herbs are drying above her and they're scattered on the table as well.

Isn’t that just stunning? It’s the combination of all the composition elements that gets me: the tilt of her head, the angle of her shoulders, and the frame of her worktable, the herbs, the low angle of the light coming in the window – that’s a wow cover in all the ways for me.

Amanda: It’s such a detailed cover. The window is what gets me, but there’s also the stack of books in the corner and the bare walls with its pockmarks.

Sarah: YES. So much is going on around her – she’s got work to do and you, reader, are interrupting. And I often have an aversion to being stared at by the character on the cover. There are a few new covers with heroes and heroines looking straight at me and I feel very creeped out.

With this cover, I’m part of the scene. It’s got a Las Meninas vibe. Las Meninas is a puzzle painting of sorts – when you see it, you’re in the painting as two of the characters. This cover creates a similar involvement for me. I’m in that room, too.

Amanda: Yeah, not digging the direct eye contact. I don’t mind being part of a scene, but I don’t want to be that involved.

I’m also jealous that the Young Adult genre seems to get all the awesome cover designs. My roommate is a huge YA reader and though I may not be interested in a particular book, the covers always make me go, “Oooohhhhh.”

Sarah: That happens to me, too! With YA, and also thrillers lately, my brain goes, “Ooooh,” and then after I read the blurb, “Ooooh, nooooo.”

Shall we look at some other covers we really like?

Amanda: Yes, let’s!

The Library of Light and Shadow by MJ Rose. A woman holding a book and the scene of the Eiffel Towel is awash in varying shades of rose and purple.

Amanda: I’m using my own photo because everyone has to see the endpapers! Though this book isn’t technically part of a series, it’s loosely connected to some of the author’s previous novels and all the books have this gorgeous central color that varies in shade.

The end papers of The Library of Light and Shadow. They're a deep yellow with what looks to be alchemical symbols.

Amanda: Even the dang endpapers are gorgeous!

Redheadedgirl: Ooooooo.

Elyse: Wow.

Amanda: It’s a beautiful detail, right? Magic is central to the story and it’s clear that the design of the cover and inside the book evokes that. I like a cover that tells me what the book is about before I even read the copy.

Sarah: I am a total sucker for the meta-imagery of books on the cover of a book. It’s a problem.

That said, I do think I could build a javascript random title generator of The [NOUN] of [NATURAL PHENOMENON] and [OTHER NATURAL PHENOMENON] without too much trouble and end up with six or seven active titles currently on real books.

Counting on a Countess by Eva Leigh. A redheaded woman in a gorgeous green dress is standing in a rose garden while the sun sets behind her.

Redheadedgirl: EVA

Carrie: Yass!

Amanda: Oh…I like that. The sunset and that green dress! That is a woman who clearly knows what colors work for her. And I love that dress. It’s sexy, without feeling like someone once wore it to a prom.

Sarah: She’s not looking at me, which I appreciate. She also looks a little like Charlize Theron and has definitely followed her “Walk Like Murder” tutorial.

Charlize Theron saying the key to walking like an evil queen is to think about murder

Amanda: I also love her facial expression. It’s clearly a – don’t fuck with me, I’m on my daily sunset field walk right now – look.

Sarah: Yes. YES. She is 9000% ready to walk like murder and possibly commit some, too. Entirely justified, I am presuming.

Avon has some truly stunning covers, with flowing dresses in jewel tones that, as usual, communicate in a split second, “Heroine-focused historical romance right here, get your pelisses and corsets here, folks, possibly also trip to Almack’s and heroine badassery.”

The other book in this trilogy-in-progress is also visually interesting:

From Duke til Dawn by Eva Leigh. A blonde woman sits on a plush purple couch. Her back is to the reader and her beautiful purple gown is undone in the back. She's looking over her shoulder with a very amused expression.

Sarah: It’s not doing anything new, per se. There’s the open-back dress with the completely inexplicable absence of stays or corsetry or any foundational undergarments, and the over the shoulder look, but the composition of this one along with the deep violet tones makes my eyeballs very happy.

Her posture and her smile are very confident, which clearly works on me.

Amanda: That face too! “Yeah, I know my dress is undone. What are you gonna do about it, stud?”

A gif of Olivia Newton John from the end of Grease saying Tell me about it, stud

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana. An Indian woman sitting on a floating throne. The cover is covered in an ombre of pink to purple.

Amanda: I definitely feel like YA has cornered the market on amazing cover designs, and this is a cover that would make me do a double take. The color palate is soft, but the woman on the throne looks powerful. I want to know more about her. And hello! There’s “library” in the title.

Sarah: Again with the meta of books and library references on a book cover works on me. Not only does she look powerful, but she looks comfortable. Her legs are folded in a way that suggests that the throne is hers, and she knows exactly how to arrange herself for comfort and confidence.

Amanda: She’s also a little blurry and out of focus, so it’s hard to get a really good look at her. It adds some mystery to who she is. Or at least mystery to me as someone who knows nothing about Indian mythology and folklore.

Sarah: And of note: no abs here. Speaking entirely for myself, none of the covers with Extreme Abdominals do a thing for me. There are a few where I have to talk myself past the Hypertrophied Ab Dude on the cover to get to the story. It’s funny that one of the most iconic elements to romance cover art does exactly zero for me as a reader and often serves as a turn off. But I also recognize I’m probably a minority in that opinion!

Amanda: Yeah, we get it, romance heroes are good looking. But regardless of the cover model, I think a lot of readers build their own character interpretations in their head that have zilch to do with the abs or pecs on the cover. And sometimes the downfall of having a model on the cover is that it can actually conflict with the character description inside the book.

Sarah: Yes, absolutely. And for my pedantic brain, it’s distracting, much like historical covers that are clearly color photographs. I’m so used to painted covers or the simulacrum thereof that a photograph is confusing – plus my brain is always like, “But color photography wasn’t a thing then….”

With the hypertrophied male model, I know roughly how much time dude has to spend working on maintaining that physique, and there’s no time for fighting crime or battling werewolves or being a werewolf or wielding a sword or whatever else heroes get up to these days when those pecs and abs need constant redefinition. Pedantic brain is annoying brain sometimes, but the end result is, super ab heroes don’t do it for me.

The covers above, however, are so exciting and interesting to me. I love spotting cover art that goes above and beyond.

What about you? What covers have caught your eye lately, and why?

NB: This will be a regular feature, so if you’ve got a cover you love and want to tell us about it, email Amanda!

Comments are Closed

  1. Georgie says:

    K.J. Charles has just got new covers for her Magpie Lord trilogy, which are brilliant. https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490703800l/34715150.jpg

    But the real star is the cover for her latest book, Spectred Isle – https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498437700l/35118935.jpg I love the perio-appropriate font, the smoke. And that profile.

  2. Susan says:

    Meh, I don’t really care for the two Leigh covers. I’m really tired of clothes falling off the cover models, whether it’s men losing their shirts or women with dresses sliding down or seemingly coming apart at the seams. It was kinda sexy when the trend first started, but quickly became tired and ridiculous, imo. I just want to go straighten them up and say, “All better now.”

    And, since I’m being picky, I hate the ultra shiny fabric for the dresses. They look like sleazy polyester Halloween costumes.

    OTOH, the cover for A Hope Divided is exquisite. I just wish you hadn’t mentioned the eye contact thing. I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought on my own, but now I’m trying not to stare her down. Quit looking at me! It’s still gorgeous, tho.

  3. MirandaB says:

    I’ve always liked the cover on Where Shadows Dance:

    https://www.amazon.com/Where-Shadows-Dance-Sebastian-Mystery/dp/0451233956/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1502099186&sr=8-14&keywords=cs+harris

    For Dangerous in Diamonds, I have a co-fondness for her dress and the fact that she looks like she’s saying “I cannot even”

    https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Diamonds-Madeline-Hunter/dp/0515149349/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502099242&sr=1-1&keywords=dangerous+in+diamonds

    You reviewed an Inspie here that featured a red-headed heroine (I think she was a governess( sitting with her chin on her hand. I don’t know why but something about her posture and expression were very appealing and made me want to read the book.

    On a non-romance note, I loved the clothes on this cover:

    https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Self-Mistborn-Brandon-Sanderson/dp/0765378566/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502099386&sr=1-11&keywords=brandon+sanderson

  4. Antipodean Shenanigans says:

    Not a romance (although it is about a marriage), but I love the cover of Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. The wave design gives it such excellent texture and the slight overlapping of the title letters make it look 3D. I even like the font.

  5. Sandra says:

    Fantasy is another genre that always seems to have gorgeous covers. I love the covers of Patricia McKillip’s books. It’s not just the artwork, or design, it’s texture as well. When I started purging my paper books and replacing them with e-books, I held on to hers.

  6. Very cool new feature. A good cover truly is a work of art.

    I really like the covers for Sarah Morgan’s From Manhattan With Love series: http://amzn.to/2hBMFjt

    You don’t see cartoon covers all that much anymore, but these really work for me. They are fun and whimsical, and I love all the little details.

    And I agree with Amanda. The YA genre — especially YA fantasy — has some of the best covers out there.

    I really like the cover for THREE DARK CROWNS by Kendare Blake: http://amzn.to/2wAeMCp. It’s clean, simple, and striking all at the same time.

  7. Lora says:

    I love the covers of The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley–it’s the contrast of the grayish-turquoise background and the burnished hair. I also love the cover of Kiersten White’s Chaos of Stars–I haven’t even READ it, but title and celestial cover=so pretty

  8. Heather M says:

    I’ve really enjoyed a lot of Avon covers lately, so I guess their marketing department is killing it. My particular favorite at the moment is the newest Tessa Dare. God help me if I can actually remember the title (I think it’s one of those interchangeable and unmemorable duke puns that so many books seem to have these days) but the colors and the general composition are just dreamy.

  9. HollyS says:

    I only bought and read Sophie Jordan’s “The Scandal of it All” because the cover is divine.

  10. Nina says:

    A note on the hypertrophied male covers. Those poor men on the photographic covers have been getting shredded for a few weeks to get the body fat down to show off said abs. If they look distracted, as they do on cover snark, it is because they are light headed from lack of carbs and water. They don’t want the heroine or to slay dragons or to regain their title and good name, they just want to hydrate.

  11. Christine says:

    In YA fantasy, I remember Megan Whelan Turner’s covers as being gorgeous. I am also ready for more heroine-centric romance covers and models who look like real people. I rarely see anyone I can identify with on a book cover, which makes some of the above so powerful–the Alyssa Cole books (which I am super drawn to but can’t read right now due to being on a low suspense/social injustice/war diet–Prilosec can only be expected to do so much…) and the Eva Leigh books have actual women with minds of their own and their clothes are on–lovely. I feel like I could put on an amazing dress on and hang out with them and have fascinating conversations. Yes, please! Much more effective for me, marketing-wise, than cover models who are awkwardly posed and disturbingly naked.

  12. LauraL says:

    The first favorite cover that comes to mind is Theresa Romain’s A Gentleman’s Game, first in her Romance of the Turf series. The horse and jockey portrait in the background and the crop in the heroine’s hand told me it is a horsey book and her pose catches Rosalind’s energy. And pale sea blues are my favorite colors….

    http://theresaromain.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AGG_web-res1.png

  13. Zyfsv says:

    If you haven’t checked out M.J. Rose’s facebook page it is worth the trip. She finds the most beautiful and random things in the universe to share. No matter how much I need to go hide in a pillow fort from a damaged day, her posts make me remember that beauty & wonder happens all over the place.

  14. Okreader405 says:

    Google CHARLES GEER COVER ART. Back when dinosaurs were young and I first delved into romance/gothic/suspense. I’d go to the library and seek out anything with his cover art. Never was I disappointed. You’ll notice the classic authors; Holt, Stewart, Peters, Eden. His work brought the story to the cover even better than the blurb.

  15. Amanda says:

    The only time I found the gratuitous abs on a romance cover appealing was Lynsay Sand’s Immortal Nights. That is because the first word of the book is “Abs!”.

    I kind of miss the cartoon drawings of the first several paranormal romance series I read: Mary Janice Davidson’s Undead series, the earlier Lynsay Sand’s Love Bites cover, some Erin McCarthy books, etc. I also found a few contemporary romances with those types of covers (Nancy Warren’s Turn Left at Sanity). What I liked so much about these versus the newer versions of the covers is that the cover art indicated that the book contained a level of humor and lighthearted fun. Other books I was reading at the same time with the abs and the half-naked bodies on the covers (J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood) had way more angst and darkness.

    Even now, I hesitate to pick up a new Lynsay Sands book with the bodies on the cover. I know what her writing is like but I still am expecting some dude with a truckload of issues and no sense of humor based on that type of cover.

  16. chacha1 says:

    There was a book that I bought almost entirely because of its gorgeous cover: Tiffany Girl, by Deeanne Gist. (The book was a little disappointing but man I still love that cover.)

    Putting together a good historical romance cover has to be DIFFICULT. So many things to convey via visual shorthand, it’s hardly surprising so many go for the cliches.

    Love both the Alyssa Cole covers above. My only issue with those – and with the Leigh covers – is that there is no sign of the hero. I am kind of hero-oriented and while I do not care for hypertrophied abs on my historical heroes, I would at least to see them recognized as an important part of the story. 🙂

    There was a time when Signet regencies had what I considered to be perfect covers. H & H in a setting either directly taken from the story, or clearly related to the story. And always perfectly dressed.

    I think it is a worthy challenge for cover artists to try to carry that torch.

  17. Kate says:

    I really liked the cover of A Bollywood Affair. Both Alyssa Cole covers are so great!

    It was a cover that actually got me back into reading romance: I was on a business trip from hell and browsing in the hotel shop for something, ANYTHING to read when Never Judge a Lady by her Cover (ha!) by Sarah MacLean caught my eye. I assumed it was some kind of fantasy paranormal, but picked it up and then saw it was #4 in the series. Luckily they also had A Rogue by Any Other Name so I bought that and devoured it, so so SO grateful for the escape it afforded from the awfulness going on IRL. To this day, seeing the covers of ARbAON and One Good Earl Deserves Another just bring joy to my heart.

  18. LML says:

    There was an interesting article here a couple of years ago with or about a cover artist who painted a picture for each book cover.

  19. harthad says:

    Sadly, most romance covers strike me as unmemorable; they’re just too generic. Dresses falling off blandly pretty women; headless dudes with bulging abs…Yawn. Seen it. Those Alyssa Cole books are a notable exception–I love both, which is unusual because I normally don’t like that photo-realistic cover style. (Also: there’s a new one coming out? GIMMEGIMMEGIMME)

    The most interesting cover I’ve seen lately is Not A Romance, although it was reviewed here: The Guns Above. It recognizably features both the main characters and gives you some sense of them in their environment: grimly determined Josette leaping into action, and Bernat behind her with his rifle. I prefer covers that accurately reflect the story and the people in it.

  20. What a great idea for a new feature!

    I really like that second Alyssa Cole cover and am not in the slightest bothered by the woman in the picture looking straight at the reader. I’m just happy to see her entire body there and to see that she does, in fact, _have a head_. ;D

    Also, _goodness_ that color palette on Counting on a Countess is gorgeous. That’s striking enough to make me curious about checking out the actual book–because yeah, a heroine-focused cover, particularly one with such distinct coloration, is way more eye-catching to me than Random Hypertrophied Shirtless Dude With All the Abs.

  21. Susan Neace says:

    I love the Patricia Brigg covers for her Moon Called series about Mercedes the Volkswagon mechanic and coyote shapeshifter. They really define Mercy’s face and attitude for me. I also love Charlaine Harris’s Sookie books which have a totally different style.

  22. roserita says:

    I was reading some of Tracy Kiely’s Elizabeth Parker mysteries: “Murder most persuasive”, “Murder at Longbourn”, “Murder on the bride’s side” when I realized that I was pretty meh about the mysteries, but I kept picking them up for the covers! (Well sheesh! they’ve been reprinted. The new covers are pretty, but I like the original black and white silhouette covers.)

  23. I really like the direction that the Psy-Changeling series from Nalini Singh has been moving with its cover art. That’s a series that I think they’ve realized has cross-over appeal for non-romance readers, so I like that they ditched the man titty in favor of more abstract, tasteful covers. But then again, the covers are probably my least favorite part of the romance genre, so maybe that’s just my own bias 🙂

  24. Arijo says:

    When I started reading romance novels every second cover was drawn by John Ennis. I don’t know who was the guy that did the other half but his style was easy to recognize: a woman with fan propelled hair, ectasy-ing with a man’s face in her cleavage… (The hair, oh, the hair!! https://i.servimg.com/u/f28/15/78/18/13/ada8e110.jpg )

    I looked so much at these covers… They’re what my teenage years were made of (>_<)

    I don't really like the muscled chest covers either, with one exception (that I can think of; if I apply myself I'm sure I can find a few more 😉 ): Nova by Rebecca Yarros. Maybe because I read the first book and know a bit of Nova’s backstory, but with his downturned head, the guy on the cover looks at the end of his (emotional) rope and I. dig. it. Also, the flying bird tatt is awesome
    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31844195-nova

  25. Emily A says:

    I love the idea of cover awe.
    Some covers are obviously bad, but some are actually nice.
    I actually liked a lot of covers other people didn’t. Three in particular come to mind that I adored and were disparaged on the site. One of those three had alternative covers, but I picked it because I thought it was the prettiest.

  26. Crystal says:

    I have a few covers that I really, really like out there.

    When A Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare — I loved the colors. That beautiful aqua color is not one that you see used in a lot of anything, much less a romance novel cover.

    An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole — I had not read any Alyssa Cole at all, but I remember seeing that cover, and just going, “Yeah, I’m going to need to own that.” Which probably means it served its intended purpose. I’ve also preordered A Hope Divided, and you count me in the “unbothered by eye contact” camp. There’s also a new book coming out by her in the spring called A Princess In Theory and MY GOD the cover art on that one. The models are utterly stunning and the color scheme is this rich purple that just makes my eyes happy. (I’m beginning to see that colors are apparently important to me.)

    Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins — I mean, I’m shallow, but did you see the guy they had pose as Rhine? Hoo boy. In addition, though, I thought they took a lot of care in the lighting and composition in that shot, if you see how gorgeous Eddy looks, and how they are looking at each other.

    Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon — Another case of how a pretty cover will sell me a book. I mean, it helps that it had a great concept and the reviews seemed to think that it would live up, but I love the YA novel meets pulp biker novel that the cover has. Also, I love the yellow font against the cool blue (colors again, and yes, I’m partial to blue).

    Act Like It and Pretty Face by Lucy Parker — I loved the models and the posing, and the way that especially in Pretty Face, you have the sunlight being used to backlight the people. It gives realism, but it’s still pretty in the way that looking at a beautiful sunset is pretty.

    Certain Dark Things by Silvia Garcia-Moreno — the juxtaposition of the woman’s face, which has been lit and painted to appear as if it is both black and reflective, and the red Mexican tattoo design (which is a plot point) is GORGEOUS. (My fixation on color usage is starting to frighten even me.)

    The Roaring Twenties series by Jenn Bennett — I mean, the 1920s fashion on display alone is ALL my catnip.

    As for the above titles, I have to say, the cover of Counting On a Countess has just about sold me a book.

  27. Gigi says:

    Some recent covers I really like:

    Amanda Boucher’ s Kingmaker Chronicles has awesome covers. I love a kick ass heroine cover.

    Kristen Callihan’ s The Game Plan cover started my love affair with bearded tattooed heroes. Sarina Bowen’ s Bittersweet is also up there with the bearded hero goodness.

    Penny Reid’s Winstons Brothers covers always make me smile. They are unique and a perfect fit for the stories.

    Tessa Dare’ s covers are all so pretty. Same with the new covers for Judith McNaught’ s republished e-books.

  28. Mina says:

    Hey, this is a neat feature, glad to see Cover Awe’s going to become a regular thing. I love the covers for A Discovery of Witches and The Night Circus.

    @Amanda – I agree about the older illustrated covers of MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead series…apparently, though, she was getting fan-mail from little girls (whose mothers clearly weren’t vetting their kids’ reading materials), so MJ was glad to see the shift in the art.

  29. Holly says:

    Love this new feature! Though most of my favorite covers feature clinches and man-titties, lol.

    I have a crush on this one right now – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35701375-a-lady-s-deception It’s so soft and lovely!

    The Hating Game is probably my favorite non-clinch, non-man-titty cover.

    And I have to agree with Arijo – Nova is such a good cover! Talk British to Me by Robin Bielman is probably my other favorite – naked man torso cover. Something about the flag and the crisp white shirt is just so striking to me – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34925164-talk-british-to-me

  30. Ren says:

    Love this new feature! Not a romance but I have to mention the covers for Marie Brennan’s Lady Trent series. Made to look like period naturalist illustration, and each a little different (focusing on the muscles, the movement, the eggs of the dragon, etc) in a way that ties back to the plot. They’re so gorgeous I had to get the series in hardcover even though I’ve them on kindle and my bookspace is dwindling.

  31. filkferengi says:

    The covers Beth Norling painted for Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher mysteries are perfect period pieces, with color, movement, adventure, and gorgeous 1920s fashions. There’re several here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/285486063849771697/

  32. LucretiaM says:

    @Georgie – The Magpie Lord cover is fantastic. The one for Spectred Isle is too. I am drawn to check out these books based on the cover art alone, ha!

  33. LucretiaM says:

    @Okreader405 – love Charles Greer cover art. I used to have a lot of those paperbacks. Wish I still did!

  34. mz says:

    Hey, I think I also recommended featuring great covers! Yay!!!!! My favorites: Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series (but only the ones with the Old Masters paintings) and Penny Reid’s cross-stitched Winston Brothers series covers. I also often like the Tor.com covers.

  35. I’m so delighted to see this!

    I often gripe about terrible covers when I review books, but decided a couple years ago that griping about what I hate would be more effective if I also pointed out what I LOVE and why I love it. I’ll even do an end-of-the-year round up up covers published in the previous year that I loved</a?.

    One of my favorite covers this year is Daniel Jose Older's Battle Hill Bolero. It’s supernatural fantasy and it’s amazing, and he gets the BEST covers, usually depicting the strong female characters in the book. (The second book, published last year, has a teen girl on the cover and is stunning and amazing and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.)

    So I’m delighted you’re doing this, and I really hope that publishers start to pay attention and stop putting out such terrible covers!

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