Diabolical Taste (Kenssie #2) by Ros Jackson
Ok this cover doesn’t really work for me. The cover conveys what is inside in that it is an excellent depiction of what the two main characters look like - and the facial expression on Kenessie’s face even gives a sense of how they feel. The teddy bear adds a little oddness to be intriguing
But, I don’t know, there’s not a lot of sense of what the book is actually about - and I just don’t like this cartoonish style. The book is for younger readers, but this feels far younger than that
Dragons & Dirigibles (Gaslight Chronicles #7) by Cindy Spencer Pape
Oooh pretty pretty steampunk. The cover does pretty much exactly what you could ask of a cover. We have some really powerful steampunk markers - the leather cap, the dirigible, coupled with a nicely scenic landscape to convey the setting (a somewhat different one from the usual urban fare). I like it - it’s expressly fit for this book
Archangel's Shadows (Guildhunter Series #7) by Nalini Singh
I’m disappointed. Sure this story has a romance in it, but that is only one part of the point - I think this book is very poorly represented by a woman’s naked back; this is a book about a protagonist who is quirky and dangerous and skilled, about people who are epic and powerful and determined and fighting often against the odds against a truly original and epic backdrop. And out of all that, the publisher plucked a naked back? With wing tattoos - which aren’t even especially relevant beyond an attempt to force theme on the series, since Aswini is not an angel.
Thankfully, while this is the one that was sent to me, there is an alternate:
It’s still not perfect, I think the supernatural elements of the book are extremely downplayed. But Ashwini is a nicely accurate representation of herself - and she’s dressed (fully as well, no sexy cut outs in the snow) AND she looks dangerous and the whole setting is a lot more dramatic. This one is immensely better
Jason (Anita Blake Series #22.7) by Laurell K Hamilton
Do you know what the saddest thing about this cover is, in my opinion? The saddest thing is that it’s pretty awesome - the close up of the eye is really dramatic, the fur screams of werewolf (or were animal anyway) and there’s a nice undertone of menace to the whole thing as well. Even the font choice works for something wild and savage.
Ah to open a book with such a cover and find the wonder within - oh, it’s just one long sex scene, no shapeshifting, in fact absolutely no relevant supernatural powers at all. Just humping and trite recaps.