Welcome to Cover Cafe's 2012 Honorable Mentions post! We're celebrating favorite 2012 nominations that didn't make the finals but impressed the category chairs.

The annual contest gives romance readers an avenue for honoring their favorite romance covers and also an avenue for criticizing inferior covers.  Someday...we may not need our infamous Worst category. However, that day hasn't arrived yet and covers appearing on the Worst ballot are cautionary tales of covers gone wrong. The five Best categories give a well deserved pat on the back for excellence in cover design, illustration, and photography.

As a reward for the work they do all year, the category chairs determine the tenth finalist on their slates.  There are always several nominated covers deserving the tenth position but the chairs can only select one lucky or unlucky cover.  Dear Publisher's Honorable Mentions post salutes the following additional 2012 covers.

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Jeanette - Alternate Reality Chair

Kiss of Pride by Sandra Hill because I like angels and he is a very nice one. A Hunk. Great body. Nice colors. The wings are subtle. Maybe he is an angel and maybe he's not.

Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster is a sexy cover. Black and red with a city in the fog. I like her hat! Mysterious cover.

Karen  - Contemporary Chair

My first pick for an honorable mention is Unbreak My Heart by Helen Scott Taylor.  This cover just missed making the finals, and I love the romance of it - the couple, the flowers, the overall atmosphere.  This is a self-published novella, and I'm thrilled to see self published books with great covers!

My second choice is Deadly Reunion by Lynde Lakes.  This is a great romantic suspense cover from Evernight Publishing.  It's unusual and eye-catching, and I love the colors.  I keep coming back to it because it's so different from all the other contemporary covers. 

I'm lucky that several of my favorites made the finals this year, so it wasn't quite so hard to pick honorable mentions. 

Jenny - Historical Chair

Married to a Stranger by Louise Allen because I like the warmth of this cover and how they are touching just by the hands. So subtle. Some may comment that their wedding rings are on their right hand instead of their left. Maybe the artist reversed the image? Anyway, it's a lovely cover.

Love Finds You In Mackinac Island Michigan by Melanie Dobson, which was very, very close to making it to the final slate. I like the colors, and the old postcard feeling of this cover.

 Katherine - Category Series Co-Chair

I really like covers for the Harlequin Heartwarming series.  I like the fact that you can tell that they are part of series but the series title does not overwhelm the rest of the cover.

Seeds of Trust by Cynthia Reese is my favorite Heartwarming cover.  I love the background; the field of flowers is beautiful.  The way the couple is holding hands and walking forward makes me wonder where they are heading.  The openness and warmth of this cover really appeals to me.

When He Came Home by Roxanne Rustand is my second favorite series cover of the year. The embracing couple exudes warmth in the mist of a cold snowy background.  The red coat contrasts beautifully with the white snow and the white house.

Lee - Category Series Co-Chair

For the SE category, I choose Daddy's Little Matchmakers by Kathleen Y'baro because it's such a playful illustration. And it reminds me of the paintings of Dorothea Sharp.  

And I also choose Looking for Home by Kathryn Springer because that picture makes me want to be there and ride a bike around the lake.

Katherine - TIC Co-Chair

A Tale of Two Vampires by Katie MacAlister is a great Two Image Cover.  The contrast of red and black is really eye-catching.  I also like how the outside and inside covers have the same smoky background which unifies the pictures but have different characters displayed (both in sexy outfits and sexy poses).  This is a great eye-catching cover.

Along Came a Duke by Elizabeth Boyle is another great Two Image Cover.  The gold and white dress is beautiful and the dark red background really makes the dress pop.  I also love the flowers on the bottom of the outside and inside cover.  It's a great added touch.

Lee - TIC Co-Chair

For the TIC Category, I choose Miss Isabella Thaws a Frosty Lord by Larissa Lyons because of the illustration appearing on both back and front covers.  The color scheme is lovely and the fact that even though they look like they are outside, at least she's not freezing because her dress is not too low cut and she's wearing long gloves.

In the same vein, I also choose Scotsmen Prefer Blondes by Sara Ramsey as the illustration also extends to the back cover.  The colors are rich and the woman is actually doing something other than being cradled in a man's arms.

Karen -  Worst Chair

Matchmaking by Moonlight by Teresa Hill - There is something very odd about this cover.  Either the heroine doesn't have a neck or her head has been Photoshopped onto someone else's body.  And one of the hero's legs seems to be missing. This is one of those covers that looks OK at first glance, but starts to look more and more "off" the more you examine it.

Make Me Behave by Nancy Pirri and Tara Fox Hall - This cover manages to make a sexy scene look completely un-sexy.  Her hips look like they've been dented by the title letters, and this just isn't an attractive angle for anyone.

Leave a comment below and tell us what you think about the Chairs' Honorable Mentions this year. We hope you will vote in this year's contest. The 2012 contest will be open for public voting from May 2nd, 2013 through Midnight CST on May 28th, 2013. Results will be posted in mid to late June. Until next time...

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