Thursday, January 31. 2013
New and Notable 2013 Romance Book Covers
In the next few months, the contest committee will narrow down the 2012 nominations to sixty finalists for our May cover contest. This year, we received 470 nominations via our nomination form. There were so many great covers nominated in 2012 and eliminating most of them will be excruciating. You can view some of the covers nominated this past year on Cover Cafe's Pinterest profile.
Time marches on and new 2013 covers are being released every day. What will be the hot trend in 2013? Will it still be the settee/sofa as a back-drop or will a new prop emerge? Will single heroine covers still rule? Here are a few of the new and notable 2013 romance book covers I've seen this month. What do you think? Are they winners or hits and misses?
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All are very lovely. My fave is Winterblaze because of the water rushing up her dress. Looks pretty cool!
There are several versions of the Lisa Kleypas cover floating around on the internet - there's one with the same pose but a darker sky (and no sailboat) and there's another one with the heroine standing on a beach in a sun hat. I think the sun hat version is the UK cover, but I'm not sure whether the light or dark cover is the final version. (Or possibly one is the print cover and one is the eBook version.) We may have to wait until the book comes out to find out.
There were also conflicting release dates of February and July. It could be hardcover vs. paperback or the publisher changed his mind. Here is the darker version.
Both are great but I like the sailboat with the pastel sunset colors over the dark sky with the lighthouse.
Both are great but I like the sailboat with the pastel sunset colors over the dark sky with the lighthouse.
Love Winterblaze but also Clockwork Princess. A great start of 2013!
Crystal cove is out on 2/5/13 and it is the 4th book in the Friday Harbor Series. The 1st one Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor is the one with the boat and the pink sunset.
The Clockwork Princess is my favorite of them all. I did not care for Perfect proposal and Wishing on Willows. I want to read the Assassin's gambit, just to see if the cover match the content.
The Clockwork Princess is my favorite of them all. I did not care for Perfect proposal and Wishing on Willows. I want to read the Assassin's gambit, just to see if the cover match the content.
Lee, Jeanette, and Christiane - Winterblaze and Clockwork Princess are two of my favorites from this group.
Thank you for your post, Linnae. An interesting selection of new covers.
I'm so happy to see that not a single one shows a figure with his or her head chopped off at the top edge. How I hope this trend has run its course!
It seems that cover art will continue to try to attract the eye with one bold predominant color per picture. I just hope the creators and marketers of such imagery will make it look more natural and less affected.
Judging by recent Harlequin Superromance releases, we can expect more surreal photographs, with colors and lighting altered for romantic/dramatic effect. Some of these covers work; some don't. We'll see if this trend lasts.
For what it's worth, here's my feedback on the eight covers you posted:
"Crystal Cove": Love it! Both versions are beautiful---one bright and sunny, one dark and evocative. Which do I prefer? Both!
"One Good Earl Deserves a Lover": On the plus side, I dig the skillful use of one predominant color, in this case indigo. The unusual backdrop, a Persian rug, works well. But on the minus side, I don't care for the model's pose and knowing expression. Or the black sidebar with the recommendation; it brings to mind all the stuff they cram onto TV news reports nowadays, like ticker texts and promos. But worst of all? That title!
"Assassin's Gambit": Well, the background works. It creates a mood of mystery and the outré. But that formidable chick with her defensive posture, challenging expression, a dagger in her hand, and her dress in danger of falling off---sorry, major fail. And the mood evoked by the cool colors of the background is negated by the glaring red of the fabric.
"Winterblaze": Nice dramatic cover, one that suggests hot passion against a cool background. The detail of the woman's skirt merging with flowing water is a clever touch. One problem: the man's legs are too far apart for his pose to look natural.
"A Perfect Proposal": Sorry, doesn't work. I don't care for cartoon covers in general, and this is no exception.
"The Cowboy Target": This might have been effective if there were something in it that evokes romance. As it is, there's just a moonlit landscape and a guy on a horse. Not enough.
"Summerset Abbey": I dunno. The title and imagery make me think the publisher is trying to ride the coattails of "Downton Abbey". This sort of sales job has the effect opposite from its intent, at least with me.
"Clockwork Princess": What a mess! The elements of this picture might work on their own and in the right context. But jammed together like this, they turn me off. As does the title!
"Wishing on Willows": A lovely, evocative cover and title. Nice detail work in the tree. Must've been quite a task to paint all those willow branches!
"The Ambassador's Daughter": A fine expressionistic cover. I dig the dramatic focal couple---the man in uniform, the woman in retro haute couture. Likewise the background; you can bet the grounds of the Eiffel Tower are never this deserted, so there must be something unusual going on. And the stark, moody color scheme enhances it all. So much can be inferred from these simple, evocative elements.
I'm looking forward to more entries in this year's contests. Keep up the good work!
I'm so happy to see that not a single one shows a figure with his or her head chopped off at the top edge. How I hope this trend has run its course!
It seems that cover art will continue to try to attract the eye with one bold predominant color per picture. I just hope the creators and marketers of such imagery will make it look more natural and less affected.
Judging by recent Harlequin Superromance releases, we can expect more surreal photographs, with colors and lighting altered for romantic/dramatic effect. Some of these covers work; some don't. We'll see if this trend lasts.
For what it's worth, here's my feedback on the eight covers you posted:
"Crystal Cove": Love it! Both versions are beautiful---one bright and sunny, one dark and evocative. Which do I prefer? Both!
"One Good Earl Deserves a Lover": On the plus side, I dig the skillful use of one predominant color, in this case indigo. The unusual backdrop, a Persian rug, works well. But on the minus side, I don't care for the model's pose and knowing expression. Or the black sidebar with the recommendation; it brings to mind all the stuff they cram onto TV news reports nowadays, like ticker texts and promos. But worst of all? That title!
"Assassin's Gambit": Well, the background works. It creates a mood of mystery and the outré. But that formidable chick with her defensive posture, challenging expression, a dagger in her hand, and her dress in danger of falling off---sorry, major fail. And the mood evoked by the cool colors of the background is negated by the glaring red of the fabric.
"Winterblaze": Nice dramatic cover, one that suggests hot passion against a cool background. The detail of the woman's skirt merging with flowing water is a clever touch. One problem: the man's legs are too far apart for his pose to look natural.
"A Perfect Proposal": Sorry, doesn't work. I don't care for cartoon covers in general, and this is no exception.
"The Cowboy Target": This might have been effective if there were something in it that evokes romance. As it is, there's just a moonlit landscape and a guy on a horse. Not enough.
"Summerset Abbey": I dunno. The title and imagery make me think the publisher is trying to ride the coattails of "Downton Abbey". This sort of sales job has the effect opposite from its intent, at least with me.
"Clockwork Princess": What a mess! The elements of this picture might work on their own and in the right context. But jammed together like this, they turn me off. As does the title!
"Wishing on Willows": A lovely, evocative cover and title. Nice detail work in the tree. Must've been quite a task to paint all those willow branches!
"The Ambassador's Daughter": A fine expressionistic cover. I dig the dramatic focal couple---the man in uniform, the woman in retro haute couture. Likewise the background; you can bet the grounds of the Eiffel Tower are never this deserted, so there must be something unusual going on. And the stark, moody color scheme enhances it all. So much can be inferred from these simple, evocative elements.
I'm looking forward to more entries in this year's contests. Keep up the good work!
I loved reading your views on my cover choices. I always learn something new from comments because everyone has different tastes and different perspectives on what makes a great cover.
As far as chopped off heads, I'm firmly on the "Show me the faces" team.
As far as chopped off heads, I'm firmly on the "Show me the faces" team.
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