LDSP comment: This is a really good category to speak to the subjectiveness of covers. Jennie thinks some of them look fluffy and like they’re written for children. I couldn’t disagree more.
I love the whimsical nature of some of these covers. They let you know right away that the book is what I call a “Paul McCartney Romance” (music; lyrics)—a fun, light read.
So, who’s right? Me or Jennie? Both of us! That’s the point.
It was hard for me to pick a favorite from these covers because I love every single one of them, for various reasons. They all deserve notice and recognition!
The Broken Road by Shannon Guymon
Publisher: Cedar Fort
LDSP comment: I love the whimsy of this cover. I think it’s the best cover of all Shannon Guymon’s books, by far. I love the image, the loneliness of the empty bench and the road/town that stretches out behind it; I love the sweet and gentle colors; I love the fonts chosen for both title and author name; I love the placement of elements. Even the “A Novel” doesn’t distract for me. Yes, I just love this cover!
Publisher: Covenant
LDSP comment: Another bench book. As I said in the comments trail, I debated between The Broken Road and this book for a long time because they had a similar feel and they both had benches. But in the end, I just could not decide which one to not include. I love the colors in this cover. I love the fanciful tree limbs. I’m not a big fan of putting titles in boxes or clouds, so that is the one thing I would have done differently. I might also change the font used for the author’s name. It’s old and it doesn’t go well with the title font. But that said, I still love this cover.
Imprints by Rachel Ann Nunes
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
LDSP comment: After extended deliberation in this category, I finally went with this cover as my favorite—but there were issues. I wouldn’t have chosen it as winner in this category if they hadn’t thrown in that couple at the bottom. That was necessary to say “romance” as opposed to chick lit or paranormal. I didn’t care for the font choice used for the title, or its size and placement in relation to the author’s name.
So with those issues, why did I pick this as a winner? Because this cover was so intriguing to me that it would have grabbed me no matter which genre it was in! It’s so ethereal and complex. I like the locket and the eye, and their placement relative to each other. I love the colors and the swooshes. I just could not make myself look away—and that’s why it won my vote.
LDSP comment: Again, I like everything about this cover. The playfulness, the colors, the big-eyed girls, the placement of elements. I even like the laundry in the background, even though I have no idea what it has to do with the story. A-plus!
LDSP comment: Normally, I do not like these more realistic, photographic covers with people on them. They interfere with my imagining of the character—and sometimes they are so not how the character is described in the story. I haven’t read this book yet, so I’m not biased against it. I like the lacy overlay, the colors, the font choices for the title. And that photo says it all, doesn’t it? Given the genre, we know what this story is going to be about.
LDSP comment: If Imprints didn’t grab me so forcefully every time I looked at it, this would have been my winner. I love this cover. The tux, the colors, the skyline at the bottom, the fonts, placement, everything. This is one really well put together cover! Kudos!
(Yes, I know this genre has six finalists. I couldn’t decide. Deal with it.)
Growing Up Gracie by Maggie Fechner
