Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Book Cover Likes/Dislikes

It's a little late in the day, but I just couldn't resist...
I'm participating in Top Ten Tuesday today, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Here's today's topic: 
Top Ten Book Cover Likes/Dislikes

I didn't have time for a fun graphic this time, but I will still give some examples. I'm going to start with five dislikes and then I'm going to do five likes. Here goes...
The Promise of Amazing
1. I dislike it when a cover does not fit the book. It just gets my expectations up for one thing to only find something unexpected. Now unexpected isn't always bad, but if the story isn't fabulous then it actually even makes how I view it even worse for it falling so short of my expectations. One example off the top of my head would be The Promise of Amazing. This cover just screams cute and light romance, but it wasn't. At all.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2. I dislike it when the cover doesn't give me a clue about what is inside its pages. I have seen too many mostly solid, blank covers. I know we can't judge books by their covers, but really it does make a difference. I also think there should be something there to catch my eye, even if it's just a small picture or a title. Otherwise, it kind of makes me think that someone didn't care or the book wasn't important enough for a good cover. Now I'm not saying this cover (for The Perks for Being a Wallflower) is awful, but it's an example and it isn't one that would catch my eye.
White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements, #1)

3. I dislike sexually charged covers. I have four little kids. They see my books and they read the titles. I also have friends and a husband who all see my books. Then there is also myself who has to see them. :) I don't like covers or titles that I don't feel comfortable displaying in my home. I also don't like finding covers that look like Erotica, but are YA books. I'm not saying the books themselves aren't fabulous because I have read some of them and enjoyed them. I just like my covers tamer.

Insomnia (The Night Walkers, #1)4. I dislike covers that copycat other popular series too much. Need we say Hunger Games or Divergent? I'm okay with something being in the same style, but not something that looks identical.

5. I dislike really violent/thriller/crazy covers. See, but this has to do with my preferences as a reader (as does #3 above). I don't really like thrillers or super descriptively violent stories. This cover for Insomnia still really bothers me. I feel like it's much more dark and violent-looking than the actual story as well. I did read this book (review still to come) and it is actually a good story. I wouldn't have known that I was going to like it by the cover.
Splintered (Splintered, #1)

6. I like artistic/creative covers. I love it when a cover just blows me away with its colors or creativity, especially if it also fits the story inside really well. Do you want an example? Well, I definitely have one! It's for Splintered, which is still one of my favorite covers. Ever.
The Geography of You and Me

7. I like when color pops on a cover. It just catches my eye and it can be super cute or mysterious or artistic. When it's done right, it can really draw a reader in. The Geography of You and Me is a perfect example.

8. I like covers with fierce heroines and/or heroes on them. It's true. I am a sucker for a kick-butt character. Some of my favorite books include them inside: Graceling, Poison Study, Shadow and Bone, Crown Duel... These don't have this type of cover, but these two books do and I love these covers! Love them!
Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2) Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1)
9. I like cute contemporary romance covers. Yep. I'm a sucker for sweet romance. The dreamy, summery, sweet kind. These covers feel that way to me:
Through to You Open Road Summer
10. I like covers with the heroine dressed in a gorgeous dress. I'm sure that this is a dislike on someone else's list. Now I don't love it when it is just a dress. Well, maybe I do... But, I'm really talking about when the way the cover is set up is more than just the dress and plays a role in the story. Do you know what I mean? Well, this is what I mean:
Cruel Beauty These Broken Stars (Starbound, #1) The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles, #1)

How about you? What do you like or dislike about book covers?



31 comments

  1. I never really thought much about the book covers but I like how you have disected them here.

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  2. I really don't like books with sexually charged covers, they're so annoying and not intriguing!

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  3. I agree with all your likes/dislikes! I'm such a visual person that I always judge a book by it's cover. It should communicate the vibe of the story.

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  4. Thanks for the warning about The Promise of Everything! It DOES look like a cutesy novel!
    I, too, love black and white covers with a pop of color! It makes a cover really eyecatching!
    Great list!
    Jennifer @ A Librarian's Library--My TTT!

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  5. Ooo la-la! Look who has awesome taste! Love your picks, Tressa. Especially those that are in all the pretty dresses and sweet contemporary romances. :) You know, I've been looking at Sarah Maas' books because of all the hype. Perhaps I'll have to look into them further. :)

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  6. I agree especially with #3, #6, and #7! I love that you used the cover for The Geography of You and Me as an example. I love how the covers for Jennifer E. Smith's books are quite similar and how one color just pops. <3

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  7. I'm one of the few people who doesn't really mind what's on the cover. I care about what the book is about more. I do agree with you about covers that reveal absolutely nothing about a book. It's like no one was excited about this book, so why should you be?

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  8. I love Falling Kingdoms! I need the third book!


    I totally agree with you on your likes and dislikes for covers. I love it when artists bring out their best and create incredible covers like Splintered, it helps spark my imagination on how the story will turn out and how I will see the fantasy world as I read it.

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  9. I agree with most of your choices here. Also, I like *matching* covers.....or, at least, similar covers. I dislike when the series has 4 matching covers, then the last 2 are entirely different.

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  10. I agree with basically ALL of these. Book covers are actually really important!

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  11. Ah, I agree. I actually thought White Hot Kiss was a NA novel. I have to disagree on the Splintered though. . . took me a while to get used to a random face on a book.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  12. It was really good and I obviously enjoyed it. Thinking about it now I wish the characters had had more distinctive voices, but I would still recommend it and I'm really looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book.

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  13. I'm so glad I wasn't the only one. :) Wasn't it really good and handled so well?!! Can't wait for the next one!

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  14. It was. I'd definitely recommend it.

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  15. I think the journal idea is great as well. I'm thinking my kids could use a similar exercise. ;) Sometimes we tend to look at what we don't have or what is hard instead of all the wonderful things.

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  16. I really enjoyed it. It took the tough subject of loss and a girl trying to find herself and turned it into this great story with characters that I fell in love with. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did.

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  17. I know some bloggers feel a lot more strongly about them than I do, but I do have certain things that I like seeing on a cover or certain things that draw me to one.

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  18. I try to not always judge a book by its cover, but it is hard and it does add to a book when it is a great cover and represents the story inside.

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  19. Thanks, Jennifer! I'll come look at your list...

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  20. Lol! Thanks, Rissi. I'll have to message you about her books so you have a heads-up. :)

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  21. I love that about her covers too! :)

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  22. Isn't that a bummer too! I know you loved that one and thus I will be reading it, but I could never have it on my shelf.

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  23. That cover made me really imagine in color too, which is amazing to me. Covers can make quite a difference.

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  24. Oh, yes! How did I miss that dislike??? I don't like it when they switch covers, especially if you can't get the hardback in the new cover to match. It seems like they only reissue them in paperback and then my books totally don't match!

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  25. They are important. They can have a huge impact on readers picking them up and even how they envision the story.

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  26. That's okay that you didn't like it. I actually never thought about it that way before, but you are right in that it is a random face and just a face. One of the things I liked about Splintered was how different it was to other covers out there.

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