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.)
US vs. UK: Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
Both covers of Plain Bad Heroines are striking—each for entirely different reasons.
The US cover is the epitome of gothic. The cover immediately gives you a disconcerting vibe with its black background and the striking red drooping trumpet flowers surrounding the title. (I’m unfortunately not familiar with flower names, so I can’t identify which flower it is exactly.) The “Plain Bad” may be in a so-called plain font—a generic sans serif—but the “Heroine” of the title is the opposite with the stretches of the letters in a gorgeous serif font, specifically in “H,” that calls for a little class. It’s dark and gothic.
Now the UK cover, that cover is on the opposite spectrum of the US cover. If the US cover was the goth sibling, the UK cover is the peppy, bright one. With the bright yellow background with the bright pink for the title, it will immediately catch your attention; it’s completely unavoidable. Look at that. This cover goes the simplistic route, but goes big—the blocked lettering of the title and the giant bee. It doesn’t rely on anything except the bright colors. So pizazz is needed.
Final Verdict: What cover do I like better? The US cover!!! I love covers that give me that gothic vibe, and the US cover does that.
I love the US cover too! The book seems to have a dark academia and tortured ghosts vibe, which captured really well by the cover. The UK cover feels like a modern-setting mystery- like a cover for The Old Guard or Atomic Blonde!