Confession: I absolutely pick books based on their covers.
Most of the time if a book is gorgeous it is 90% more likely that I will pick it up, even if the title is ridiculous. If the synopsis of a book doesn't catch my attention, the cover is the saving grace. We all know the phrase "never judge a book by its cover," and I'm thinking there's good reason for this. One too many times I have been deceived by book covers. Here are five covers that have duped me over the last couple years:
I'm honestly not sure what is even happening with this cover because it really doesn't have anything to do with this book. Then again, neither does the title, really. When you consider that the cover of this book used to look like this, it becomes very obvious that this was just a marketing ploy. I mean, it does look very, very like The Selection series covers, doesn't it? While the girl in a fancy dress certainly makes The Siren instantly recognizable as the work of Kiera Cass, it's unfortunate that it's so completely removed from the actual (albeit awful) plot.
Asylum... how I wanted to love thee. This book caught my attention for obvious reasons. It looks horrifying! In case you didn't know, I am a horror junkie and I'm always on the lookout for a book that will scare me so bad that I can't sleep at night. I haven't found it yet, but this cover made me think I would at least get a few chills. Instead, it ended up being a very young YA book about a boy who really wanted a girl to be into him. This was honestly closer to middle grade mystery than YA horror.
This one is partly my fault and partly the fault of a vague synopsis. Based on the cover and the little I knew about this book, I expected the story to be all about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the greatest maritime tragedy in history. While it may be morbid, I enjoy reading shipwreck and disaster novels, so I really expected to love this one! What I didn't realize was that Salt to the Sea was much more about the journey to the ship than the shipwreck itself and I'm really glad it was. There's no way I would have been able to connect to the characters at the same level had this just been about a ship sinking. +1 for vague synopses!
Well, this cover has a ton of issues that I found out about after I read Across the Universe, mostly having to do with the male main character, but I won't go into those. I don't know what exactly I was expecting based on this cover, but I can tell you that I definitely thought I'd be getting a romance of epic proportions! Instead I ended up reading a book about a creeptastic, borderline stalker relationship between a girl who has no idea what is going on and a guy who is keeping her in the dark for his own selfish reasons. I guess some people were really into this romance but I definitely find the cover and description to be misleading.
Here is yet another book with a cover far more scary than the contents. I mean seriously, I had to take the dust jacket off a couple times and put it up because it was giving me the creeps! I thought I was going to be absolutely terrified reading the short stories in Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, but... nope. Although many of the stories were still really good, most of them were unsettling or creepy at best. Listen publishers! If you're going to slap on a cover that gives me nightmares, please make sure the stories on the inside live up to it!
Confession: I absolutely pick books based on their covers.Most of the time if a book is gorgeous it is 90% more likely that I will pick it up, even if the title is ridiculous. If the synopsis of a book doesn't catch my attention, the cover is the saving grace. We all know the phrase "never judge a book by its cover," and I'm thinking there's good reason for this. One too many times I have been deceived by book covers. Here are five covers that have duped me over the last couple years:
This one is partly my fault and partly the fault of a vague synopsis. Based on the cover and the little I knew about this book, I expected the story to be all about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the greatest maritime tragedy in history. While it may be morbid, I enjoy reading shipwreck and disaster novels, so I really expected to love this one! What I didn't realize was that Salt to the Sea was much more about the journey to the ship than the shipwreck itself and I'm really glad it was. There's no way I would have been able to connect to the characters at the same level had this just been about a ship sinking. +1 for vague synopses!
Here is yet another book with a cover far more scary than the contents. I mean seriously, I had to take the dust jacket off a couple times and put it up because it was giving me the creeps! I thought I was going to be absolutely terrified reading the short stories in Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, but... nope. Although many of the stories were still really good, most of them were unsettling or creepy at best. Listen publishers! If you're going to slap on a cover that gives me nightmares, please make sure the stories on the inside live up to it!
I showed you mine, now show me yours!
Which book covers have deceived you for better or worse?
Let me know in the comments!
