a critique site for book lovers, hosted by author Jude Hardin
Friday, December 9, 2011
The Bastard by Jane Toombs
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.
As for the art, this is another clip-art, Photoshop job. I think that the guy is fine, but the women in the background do not work. Both women are way too green they are fading into the boring green background. That green make the women on the right look unnatural.
The text is a bit hard to read in thumbnail and the smaller text blends into the background too much. "Chances" just hits the belt buckle wrong.
Over all the green and execution of the cover just really turns me off.
Who is that bug-eyed person in the back left? Eric, I'm not sure that's a woman. I'm not sure what that is, but my eye goes straight from the guy in front to Mr/Ms Bug-Eyed and stays there.
The front figure looks two-dimensional because he is not at all integrated into the background. The female on the right seems to be clutching her breast with one hand while holding an imaginary cell phone in the other. She's pretty, but I don't get the pose.
The author name across the hero's hairline doesn't work that well for me and I agree with Eric on the belt-buckle problem. Lastly, the word "Bastard" is okay, but all of the golden swirl/fleuron is distracting and doesn't look very good at the small size.
It's certainly not the world's worst cover but I think it could be substantially improved.
Eric hit it on the nose. Clipped pieces of stock art plopped onto a green background. The bug-eyed face is a show stopper, but not in a good way, at least not for me. I think it's meant to add a touch of mystery to the image, but it's just too weird to intrigue me. I'm not intrigued by the woman holding her boob, either. I can't tell what subgenre this is, but i assume the umbrella genre is romance. This is not a book i'd pick up.
I would guess that this is a paranormal romance.
ReplyDeleteAs for the art, this is another clip-art, Photoshop job. I think that the guy is fine, but the women in the background do not work. Both women are way too green they are fading into the boring green background. That green make the women on the right look unnatural.
The text is a bit hard to read in thumbnail and the smaller text blends into the background too much. "Chances" just hits the belt buckle wrong.
Over all the green and execution of the cover just really turns me off.
Who is that bug-eyed person in the back left? Eric, I'm not sure that's a woman. I'm not sure what that is, but my eye goes straight from the guy in front to Mr/Ms Bug-Eyed and stays there.
ReplyDeleteThe front figure looks two-dimensional because he is not at all integrated into the background. The female on the right seems to be clutching her breast with one hand while holding an imaginary cell phone in the other. She's pretty, but I don't get the pose.
The author name across the hero's hairline doesn't work that well for me and I agree with Eric on the belt-buckle problem. Lastly, the word "Bastard" is okay, but all of the golden swirl/fleuron is distracting and doesn't look very good at the small size.
It's certainly not the world's worst cover but I think it could be substantially improved.
Eric hit it on the nose. Clipped pieces of stock art plopped onto a green background. The bug-eyed face is a show stopper, but not in a good way, at least not for me. I think it's meant to add a touch of mystery to the image, but it's just too weird to intrigue me. I'm not intrigued by the woman holding her boob, either. I can't tell what subgenre this is, but i assume the umbrella genre is romance. This is not a book i'd pick up.
ReplyDelete