a critique site for book lovers, hosted by author Jude Hardin
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Legend of Michael by Lisa Renee Jones
What's the genre? What is it you like or don't like about this cover? Does it make you want to know more about the book? Does it make you want to BUY the book? Discuss.
It looks like erotic romance. Except for the knife thing. And with the title, is it supposed to be Michael the angel? He has shiny beams coming out of his back.
In the thumbnail his blue eye looks almost white which is kind of weird. But I like the overall color scheme and the way the lines of the artwork draw your eye from upper right down to lower left then back right again with the title.
As for the typography, it's kind of boring. I like the font but "Michael" is pretty blah. The embossed treatment might work if it were an actual emboss on a print book but right now the embossed look kind of out of fashion. Maybe a subtle gradient and a bit of texture would help. Also not sure I love the yellow color. I DO like the author's name placement and color, it shows up very nicely.
Paranormal romance at a guess and I think this is a pretty good cover. Not perfect. It would be better if it were absolutely clear the genre, but I think this one could work well.
The cover gives me the impression of an erotic homosexual book. That knife in his hands at that location is just way over the top.
The smaller text both at the very top and very bottom is impossible to read in thumbnail. I would say lose both and move the “zodius” circle thing up to the upper right and much bigger.
Well I have to do a bit of fan-girl stuff because I read this book and it is SO SO good! I thought when I bought it that the cover did not do it any justice. In fact there is more to the title when you buy it on Kindle "Sin and Satisfaction" I think that sin part got me to look further. I don't love the title. I thought the cover leaned toward erotic romance.
The guy is ok but this book is so good and has so much going on It would be nice to have a cover that portrayed it more.
In my mind when I think back on this book, I always call it The Sin of Michael. I had to go look it up on my Kindle to make certain it was the same one.
OK, this cover is starting to creep me out. Of course, I'm a guy so there isn't anything there that's attractive to me. You ladies probably won't care much for my next cover when it's put up for review.
I think the small print is all too small to be legible in any size other than print paperback size. For ebooks where the image is displayed as a thumbnail it's unreadable.
As for the graphic, I think this probably resonates with women who read romance, but the knife is hard to make out and I don't know what's in the sky behind him. So, I don't care for this one very much...then again...I am a guy, so take my input for what it's worth...which in this case isn't much.
Oh, congratulations. Another hunky man on a cover. You're really trying to get your book noticed, aren't you? If I had to rate it from one to five, it'd be 1-star, though if possible, I'd push for a zero since this kind of 'effort' costs about as much as a hooker in Vietnam that you have to buy from a dark alley from a man with no teeth.
I know people get tired of the chopped off torsos, but one problem with including a face/head on a cover is that face is seen as the face of the hero. And the problem with THAT is that some people won't find him very attractive. He's not my type actually. So what do you do?
As for "another hunky man," you do need to be able to identify genre. Since you've been so snarky anon, maybe you have a different suggestion?
It looks like erotic romance. Except for the knife thing. And with the title, is it supposed to be Michael the angel? He has shiny beams coming out of his back.
ReplyDeleteIn the thumbnail his blue eye looks almost white which is kind of weird. But I like the overall color scheme and the way the lines of the artwork draw your eye from upper right down to lower left then back right again with the title.
As for the typography, it's kind of boring. I like the font but "Michael" is pretty blah. The embossed treatment might work if it were an actual emboss on a print book but right now the embossed look kind of out of fashion. Maybe a subtle gradient and a bit of texture would help. Also not sure I love the yellow color. I DO like the author's name placement and color, it shows up very nicely.
Short followup, because my critique sounds a bit harsh; overall I like this cover.
ReplyDeleteParanormal romance at a guess and I think this is a pretty good cover. Not perfect. It would be better if it were absolutely clear the genre, but I think this one could work well.
ReplyDeleteShort followup: I think that tag line would be impossible to read in a thumbnail which is a definite fault.
ReplyDeleteThe cover gives me the impression of an erotic homosexual book. That knife in his hands at that location is just way over the top.
ReplyDeleteThe smaller text both at the very top and very bottom is impossible to read in thumbnail. I would say lose both and move the “zodius” circle thing up to the upper right and much bigger.
Well I have to do a bit of fan-girl stuff because I read this book and it is SO SO good! I thought when I bought it that the cover did not do it any justice. In fact there is more to the title when you buy it on Kindle "Sin and Satisfaction" I think that sin part got me to look further. I don't love the title. I thought the cover leaned toward erotic romance.
ReplyDeleteThe guy is ok but this book is so good and has so much going on It would be nice to have a cover that portrayed it more.
In my mind when I think back on this book, I always call it The Sin of Michael. I had to go look it up on my Kindle to make certain it was the same one.
HTH some
OK, this cover is starting to creep me out. Of course, I'm a guy so there isn't anything there that's attractive to me. You ladies probably won't care much for my next cover when it's put up for review.
ReplyDeleteI think the small print is all too small to be legible in any size other than print paperback size. For ebooks where the image is displayed as a thumbnail it's unreadable.
As for the graphic, I think this probably resonates with women who read romance, but the knife is hard to make out and I don't know what's in the sky behind him. So, I don't care for this one very much...then again...I am a guy, so take my input for what it's worth...which in this case isn't much.
Oh, congratulations. Another hunky man on a cover. You're really trying to get your book noticed, aren't you? If I had to rate it from one to five, it'd be 1-star, though if possible, I'd push for a zero since this kind of 'effort' costs about as much as a hooker in Vietnam that you have to buy from a dark alley from a man with no teeth.
ReplyDeleteI know people get tired of the chopped off torsos, but one problem with including a face/head on a cover is that face is seen as the face of the hero. And the problem with THAT is that some people won't find him very attractive. He's not my type actually. So what do you do?
ReplyDeleteAs for "another hunky man," you do need to be able to identify genre. Since you've been so snarky anon, maybe you have a different suggestion?