Inaccurate Book Covers: Top 5 Wednesdays
Welcome to my first ever Top 5 Wednesday! Top 5 Wednesday is a goodreads group created by Lainey from GingerReadsLainey and currently hosted by Samantha from ThroughtsonTomes. Every Wednesday a topic is presented for the participating book people (booktubers/bookbloggers) and everyone gives their take on it.
Of course, my first time participating is halfway into the month (typical Amira style), but at least I'm finally getting something in my life together [kind of].
This week's topic is:
Inaccurate Book Covers!
(I know, that drumroll was useless because the title exists. But let's assume there was actual suspense)
My picks?
Leggo.
1) Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
Maria V. Snyder is one of my favorite fantasy authors of all time. Every book that I have read by her I have thoroughly enjoyed. She creates intriguing worlds and plots.
Touch of Power is a wonderful series filled with magic, disease, and [of course] adventure. I don't quite think that the cover conveys the true wonderful essence of this book. Yes, great, a female holding onto a flower. How insightful.
The background on the cover seems much more interesting than the main focus. I feel like the cover should have more of a mystical and ethereal appeal. Something that once you see it, you become a squirrel excited about shiny, pretty things (or is that just me?).
It's not the worst cover out there, but it definitely doesn't meet the level of the content of the novel.
2) Bloodlines/ Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
Do you see that disaster?
Do you?
Richelle Mead is [again] one of my favorite authors. Her Vampire Academy series and it's spin off, the Bloodlines series, are wonderful paper-filled cubes of greatness. The plot, the world, the characters, and the narrator are so engaging. Richelle crafted a unique Vampire world, one that is far from stereotypical or superficial.
Human faces on covers irk me because: a) they terminate my imagination when imagining characters and b) they convey nothing useful about the book.The covers in no way shape or form convey anything about the novels, not the world or even how great they are.
I listed the Bloodlines series first because the Vampire Academy ones are not as bad. Bloodlines looks like someone copy and pasted faces on a background and called it a cover.
The Vampire Academy covers are slightly better. At least they convey a certain darkness to it.
It's an amazing series though, so ignore the covers and titles and read them.
Give it a chance.
3) Written in Red by Anne Bishop
I first read this with no expectation whatsoever. I was wallowing in a reading slump and just picked anything to read. Surprisingly, this turned out to be pretty good. Which one wouldn't expect with such a haphazard cover. I can't pinpoint what it is exactly that is throwing me off about the cover, but I don't find it to be one that shows the complexity of the novel.
The interesting world that is created in the novel kind of drowns out by the person on the cover.
It would have been nice if the cover showed more of the other creatures or something.
4) The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
Here's something: I read this years ago. But I read it so. many. times. I remember enjoying it so much. I loved it. I loved everything about it. I continuously read it until I read the sequels. I became entranced by the concept of travelers. It's quite ridiculous how much I was invested in this novel.
The cover really doesn't show anything that could possibly make some junior high/high schooler crazy about. Part of a face and a reflection on sunglasses is definitely not what I'd decide to put on the cover for a book about multiple realms and people who's souls can travel through them and corrupt governments and a kick-ass female guardian.
[Pleads] The book is so good, please, disregard the subpar cover.
5) The Winner's Curse (the updated paperback version) by Marie Rutkoski
The Winner's Curse is one of the best fantasies I have read. The writing and characters and plot are great. I loved the original covers. They were elegant, beautiful and fit the overall feel of the novel.
Then they updated the covers of the paperbacks to what you see above. It completely misrepresents the main character of the book. Kestrel is a woman who is powerful in the sense of playing mind-games and being manipulative and just being intelligent. She isn't a brute-force fighter. Sure, she knows how to fight, but it isn't her dominant trait. This cover is misleading in the sense that it portrays Kestrel in that manner, when, in fact, she really isn't like that.
I'm just going to live in denial and own the hardcovers.
Thanks for reading!
(No, seriously, that was very nice of you)
What are some of your choices of inaccurate book covers?
Till next time!
