Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.
I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?
Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe), and discuss cover changes.
(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)
HC vs. PB: The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski
This change…this change for The Midnight Lie hurts me. It always pains me when the publisher decides to change the sequel cover of a series to a different art style than the first book, especially when the new cover doesn’t hold a candle to the hardcover cover.
Do you see the level of detailing in the hardcover of The Midnight Lie? From the rose to the scales of the snakes. There’s nothing quite as beautiful when you see the attention to detail despite how simple it looks. You get these snakes wrapped around a filled glass that also has these great details—a heart and swords—that look so realistically carved into it. I loved the shades of green they used for it. The typography itself is a *chefs kiss*—the two different serif fonts work beautifully together.
The paperback cover though—why?? It is way too simple. The only things I like about this cover are 1. the pink scaling detailing on the right side of the book and 2. the person looks to wear the snake on their head. (It reminds me of Medusa.) Otherwise, I can’t say much about this cover. I really dislike covers that uses a solid black background. The person’s face and the snake doesn’t do much to accentuate the cover or my interest in the book.
Final Verdict: What cover do I like better? Do I really have to answer that? Of course the hardcover cover.
I prefer the hardcover but the more I look at it the paperback the more it grows on me–it just gives a totally different vibe. Though I don’t think either *really* fit the story.