Cover Awe: Cute Expressions & Attractive Couples

Welcome back to Cover Awe, where we look at some eye-catching covers!

Nobody's Princess by Erica Ridley. A historical romance cover with a Black couple. The man is facing us and is wearing a burgundy coat and tan breeches. We see the woman's profile instead of her looking straight on and she's wearing a petal pink dress. Both have sharp cheekbones and are very good looking.

Cover art by Paul Stinson

Cover design by Daniella Medina

Cover photography by David Wagner Photography

Kiki: These are two deeply, DEEPLY, beautiful people.

Sarah: I have many thoughts, and some of them are cheekbones, my gosh. This is REGAL AF.

Amanda: The lighting is top notch on this one.

Sneezy: This is so DREAMY!!!!

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick. An illustrated cover. Two young women from the waist down. One is wearing baggy blue jeans and the other has tight, ripped, black skinny jeans. One has one red roller skates and the other has on tan roller skates. Their pinkies are intertwined as white and pink daises wrap around their legs.

Cover illustration by Poppy Magda

Cover design by Lizzy Bromley

Maya: CUTE

Amanda: I say “so cute supa cute” just like Penny from Happy Endings all the time and no one understands me.

Maya: SAME!!!!!!

Sneezy: I love that cover!!!!

I can’t get over the twining daisies and the shy sneaky trying-to-hold-hands bit.

Sarah: This is absolutely adorable and I love how much it communicates at a glance.

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron. Two young Black women in a teal colored garden, where branches and thorns circle behind them. One woman has glasses, is wearing a purple sweater and jeans, with light purple magic at her fingertips. The other has white hair pulled into a pony tail and it situated behind the first woman. They're holding hands.

Cover illustration by Raymond Sebastien

Maya: Big hoops!!!!

Amanda: This series has the COOLEST damn covers. I think the first book was my favorite cover of last year when we did the post.

Carrie: She has the best covers, consistently. Love the colors and the contrast in fashion style, and those glasses are adorable!

Maya: Yup yup! Loving all the purple!!

Carrie: And the way the faces are framed by the branches.

Tara: I just keep staring at it because it’s so beautiful.

Sarah: Right there with you, Tara.

Sneezy: JESUS that‘s gorgeous!!!!

There’s so much going on, and so love all of it! Especially the in-love-and-going-to-get-shit-done-together chemistry of the two characters!

Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna. An illustrated middle grade cover. A South Asian young girl is leaping up to attack a bull-like monster. She is wearing a purple outfit with a pink cape with a sword. Behind her is a bright yellow sun. She is smiling and looks like she's having the best time.

Cover illustration by Nabi H. Ali

Cover design by Kelley Brady

Maya: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carrie: That blast of pink! That ponytail! This sparks joy!

Sneezy: AAAAAAHHH!!!!! This is so CUUUTE!!!!!

Amanda: I love the little mischievous look on her face.

Sarah: This person Is Up to Things and I am curious about all of them. This is such a great moment of action captured in an illustration. I love it.

Comments are Closed

  1. JenT says:

    That Erica Ridley cover is perfection.

  2. DonnaMarie says:

    Okay, I cannot go back to work because that look! That is some five alarm smolder coming off that man. Wow! I’m just going to sit here and admire.

  3. Darlynne says:

    We can upload pictures with our comments now? Cool. I’m fresh out, but maybe next time.

  4. Star says:

    As beautiful as the Ridley cover is, I can’t really like it because there’s so little connection between the models that they look like they were photographed separately. They’re both stunningly gorgeous, and the costuming is fantastic (I don’t even like pink and yet I approve!), but the energy between them just… isn’t. I need my cover models to look like they’re aware the other person is in the room. By contrast, the Bayron and the Lippincott/Derrick covers both manage to sell that connection even though in one case they’re both clearly Very Busy with Very Important Things and in the other we can’t even see their upper bodies.

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