Cover Snark (30)

This has been another insane week for covers! There were even more than last week, I think. So let's keep it simple. Click on the title to add the book on Goodreads. Let me know which you like and which you don't in the comments!

1. Cold Steel (Spiritwalker #3) - Kate Elliott

 Thoughts: I've been a big fan of these covers from the beginning. In fact, I think they're why I decided to read these books ngl. Much as I liked the cover for Cold Fire, I think this one's my favorite. I just love the jade green shade, and that sweet sword.

2. Vortex (Insignia #2) - S. J. Kincaid

 Thoughts: The covers for this series bore me. I'm sorry, but they do. I want to read the books, but not for the covers. Seriously, what is with that cheesy looking little tornado thing above the author's name? Ugh.

3. Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2) - Wendy Higgins

 Thoughts: Well, this is way better than the cover for Sweet Evil. This one only makes me laugh a little bit, while that one makes me snort all over the place (not at all attractive). The guy looks so incredibly creepy on the first cover that it just kills me. The only thing that really bothers me about this is her arm placement. I keep thinking he has his arm possessively on her hip, but then realized that's HER hand in a weird position.

4. Gone Country - Lorelei James

 Thoughts: Oy. Doesn't this sort of look like the basis for an improv sketch? You know, the one where one person has to stand behind the other and be their arms?

5. Rush (The Game #1) - Eve Silver 

 Thoughts: I like this cover fairly well, but could it look any more like this cover? Yes, I know I'm channeling Chandler Bing.

6. Eight Million Gods - Wen Spencer

 Thoughts: OMG, are chicks with katanas taking out demon raccoons? I THINK THEY ARE. Also, I don't make bets, but I would almost lay down a fair chunk of change that Wen Spencer has a manga/anime obsession.

7. Embers in a Dark Frost - Kelly Keaton

 Thoughts: Kelly Keaton is self-publishing this book...and it sure shows in the cover. It's nicer than some, but I really loathe that title font. The dress is a bit odd too.

8. One Seriously Messed-Up Weekend in the Otherwise Un-Messed Up Life of Jack Samsonite (Jack Samsonite #2) - Tom Clempson

 Thoughts: Holy crap that's a long title. I do like that it looks like a notebook cover, and that you can tell he wrote his name on once, and then wrote over it.

9. Striking Distance (I-Team #6) - Pamela Clare

Thoughts: This is pretty good for a romance dude cover. He doesn't look like Fabio AND he actually looks like he's been fighting in decently practical clothing. Also, dual wielding is awesome.

10. Impostor (Variants #1) - Susanne Winnacker

 Thoughts: Definitely eye-catching. If you open this up to its largest size, you can totally see the small hairs on her face. Sometimes the picture quality is too good. The tagline reminds me of the song Jane by Ben Folds Five: "everywhere I go, damn there I am."

11. Equilibrim (Paradox #4) - Pattie Roberts

Thoughts: Why on earth is the series info on here TWICE? This is excessive. She also appears to be having a serious wardrobe malfunction.

12. Keeper of the Black Stones (Stone Ends #1) - PT McHugh

 Thoughts: I really like the title treatment. Only the author name and the way the series info was put on really marks this out as badly self-pub.

13. Severed Heads, Broken Hearts - Robyn Schneider

 Thoughts: Kind of boring. What's happening here? Why are the words on their legs? What's the purpose of the red bar up the side?

14. My Crazy Beautiful Life - Ke$ha

 Thoughts: Needs more glitter. Also, looks like she has saliva in the corner of her mouth.

15. Unbreakable (Unraveling #2) - Elizabeth Norris

 Thoughts: Wow, I didn't think this could be worse than the first cover. Seriously, the covers for this series look like covers for a really shitty teen show on the CW. LAMEEEEEEE. Also, what's with Janelle's expression and the title looks awful on the background. Just ugh all around.

16. Under an Endless Sky (Granite Lake Wolves) - Vivian Arend

 Thoughts: FLOATING SKY WOLF.

17. Elegy (Hereafter #3) - Tara Hudson

 Thoughts: Thank goodness this one isn't especially pretty. I almost wanted to read Arise, because of how pretty the cover was, despite how much I loathed Hereafter. This one is not remotely tempting. It does however match the first cover perfectly.

18. The Ward - Jordana Frankel

 Thoughts: I love this! The city buried in water looks so cool and creepy, though I suspect it's too close to home for some. The one thing I don't like is the girl in the A. That is lame.

19. One Kiss (Ever After #2) - Nadia Lee

 Thoughts: Well, now you've seen the one kiss (and it's a little bit awkward). Guess that's all over now.

20. A Darkness Strange and Lovely (Something Strange and Deadly #2) - Susan Dennard

 Thoughts: The cover model still has a bit of a strange face, but I love the background and this dress so much. It totally fits the series and makes me want the book even more than I did before.

21. Fiery Gemstones (Heston Witch) - Cassandra Debrown

 Thoughts: Bahahahahahaha, oh dear. Elpheba? What are you doing here? What really kills me is how you can see where the makeup ends around her eyes.

22. Goddess (Starcrossed #3) - Josephine Angelini

Thoughts: I don't think I like this one as much as the previous covers for the series. It lacks the color contrast they had between the dress and the sky.

23. The Kiss (Witch & Wizard #4) - James Patterson

 Thoughts: .... Why does she look like that?

24. Mystically Bound (Frostbite #3) - Stacey Kennedy

 Thoughts: How much does this cover want to be part of the Vampire Academy series? SO MUCH.

25. Blood in the Valley (Vigilati #2) - J.K. Hogan

 Thoughts: Another tattoo cover. They do however sell backless shirts and dresses to highlight such things. This chick's just strolling around topless, which is fine, I guess, but still a bit odd. No clothes would make more sense than some clothes.

26. The Wig in the Window - Kristen Kittscher

 Thoughts: Oh how I love sassy middle grade covers. How adorable!

27. Manipulation (Insight #2) - Jolene Perry

 Thoughts: Mehhhhh. This is so boring and stereotypical. It looks like a "new adult" cover.

28. The Dark Shore (The Atlanteans #2) - Kevin Emerson

 Thoughts: Something feels weird about this to me. I think it's her hair and outfit. It looks very 1970s, right? Weird.

29. Mia's Heart (The Paradise Diaries #2) - Courtney Cole

 Thoughts:More awkward kissing. TWO AWKWARD KISSES. This is awful, like someone's homemade scrapbook.

30. The Journey (Ghost Huntress #6) - Marley Gibson

 Thoughts: PARIS. Could this book be set in Paris by any chance? A nice self pub otherwise, though I think it would be better if it were less busy.

31. Towering - Alex Flinn

 Thoughts: Wow, was that tagline entirely necessary? I mean, we ALL know what Rapunzel is about, and this is pretty obviously Rapunzel. Otherwise, this totally works.

32. Coda - Emma Trevayne

 Thoughts: A bit boring, but I like it. I think I would like it more if the cords were a bit less cartoonish.

33. In the After - Demitria Lunetta

Thoughts: "They destroyed before. Now we live." Am I the only one who doesn't think that makes sense? This one is blah and confusing.

34. Awaken (Abandon Trilogy #3) - Meg Cabot

 Thoughts: Why is there still not a bigger image of this cover out there? Mehhhh. I like her dress, but the purple flower filigree, not so much.

35. The End Games - T. Michael Martin

 Thoughts: Okay, this is all kinds of sweet. I like the tagline and the title treatment is INSANELY cool. The trees make monsters. Love, love, love.

36. Mirage (Above World #2) - Jenn Reese

 Thoughts: Okay, but not great, though I, of course, love the horse on the flag.

37. After Daybreak (Darkness Before Dawn #3) - J. A. London

Thoughts: The first cover totally did the pretty dress thing better than the other two. Okay, but not awesome.

38. Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood - Abby McDonald

 Thoughts: Barf. Much as I love Jane Austen, this makes me want to not read it ever.

39. Cog - K. Ceres Wright

 Thoughts: Oh sci fi covers, you so crazy.

40. Belladonna (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #2) - Fiona Paul

Thoughts: Not as pretty as the first one. The font colors are off, I think. It's also weird that I can't see her eyes.

42. Betrayals in Spring (The Last Year #3) - Trisha Leigh

Thoughts: They are making a whole face. That's so awesome! These covers are cooler combined than on their own.

43. Shutdown (Glitch #3) - Heather Anastasiu

Thoughts: Of the three covers in this series, I think this is the best one. Unfortunately, Glitch was awful.

44. The Grass Is Always Greener (Belles #3) - Jen Calonita

Thoughts: Ew. This sucks. The colors and the font and her insufferable expression. No, no, no.

45. Weather Witch - Shannon Delaney

Thoughts: This looks like Dark Shadows, though maybe only because I'm watching that right now. Actually, I think that's what happened. This is okay, but not especially unique.

46. Undercurrent - Paul Blackwell

Thoughts: Oooh, creepy tagline. This reminds me a lot of the cover for The Murmurings.

47. Golden Girl (American Fairy Trilogy #2) - Sarah Zettel

Thoughts: Prettttyyyyy, but this doesn't match the first book in the series at all. Very 1920s, right? I want that dress like whoa.

48. Nightingale (Bigtime #4) - Jennifer Estep

Thoughts: I feel like this is a romance, but it doesn't really seem to fit with the cover.

 49. Praefatio (Praefatio #1) - Georgia McBride

 Thoughts: PFFFT.

50. Wild Invitation (Psy-Changeling (#0.5&3.5) - Nalini Singh

 Thoughts: Shirtless dude does San Francisco.

51. The Testing - Joelle Charboneau

Thoughts: Ew. What is that? Sigh.

52. Fated (Serendipity #1.75) - Carly Phillips

 Thoughts: For a novella cover, this is very nice. Usually people just slap something together for those, but this looks like a real cover. The town behind them looks adorable.

53. Tight Knit - Allie Brennan

Thoughts: She looks SO WARM. I am so cold right now, so I approve.

54. You - Austin Grossman

Thoughts: Look at the cute lil' robot!

Cover Battle 1: Blood Fugue - Keshia Swaim

Option 1 vs. Option 2: Spencer HIll Press decided to do something pretty cool and let the fans choose from the two possible covers. Unfortunately, they both suck and blow. I choose NEITHER.

Cover Battle 2: Vortex (Tempest #2) - Julie Cross

First Attempt vs. Redesign: First they redesigned book one's cover and now they're redesigning book two. Chill out, people. Mostly I don't care between the two, but this new one looks too similar color-wise to the Tempest's cover.

Cover Battle #3: Spellbound (Spellbound #1) - Cara Lynn Shultz 

English vs. German: While I'm not especially enamored of the US cover, the German cover looks so Lifetime movie. I also don't know why it says 'mystery' up top.

Cover Battle 4: City (Zom-B #3) - Darren Shan

US vs. UK: The UK covers probably appeal more to the audience, but, for me, they're too much. I just don't want to look at that clown.

 WTF of the Week:  Love All (Game, Set, Match, Heartbreak #1) - Kelly Hashway

 Thoughts: Bahaha, that series name. She has an unfortunate face, and maybe looks like a high schooler. The dudes sure don't which is creepy as fuck. Also, she has a handful of balls.

Outstanding Cover of the Week:
The End Games by 
T. Michael Martin