the cover games is a feature here at the twirling pages! i’ll be discussing: miraculous cover changes, battles between the US cover/UK cover, heart-eye-emoji covers, and well all things book cover related! <3
(SHAMELESS FACT: i will judge a book based on its cover and i’m a total cover snob.)
a few days ago, THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER cover was released! if you read my review for THE WRATH AND THE DAWN earlier this year, you’d know i was in love with the first novel of the… duology? trilogy? series?? TWATD finished on a cliffhanger, so i’m superbly excited for TRATD’s release next year.
i loved THE WRATH AND THE DAWN’s cover because it looked three-dimensional. i almost thought the background (aka part with the girl’s face) was going to be printed onto the actual hardcover binding of the book, and the dust jacket was going to be cut into shapes to fit the cover design. the actual copy wasn’t like that, but the design is spectacular enough that it seems that way even when you’re holding the real book. i also loved the colors, the typeface, set up, and basically EVERYTHING. conclusion: i loved it very very much.
here is THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER cover:
scheduled release date: may 3rd, 2016
goodreads // amazon // book depository
personally, i don’t know how i feel about this cover. i like how it matches with TWATD cover with the three-dimensional concept. the design windows are more intricate, but my biggest issue? the color is throwing me off. the more i look at it, the more i want to cringe. the shade of blue is a bit too vibrant and “sky blue” for my taste. i think it would’ve been better if they chose a more tone down color (maybe dark purple!!!) to use as the main color instead of blue. there’s just too much going on.
i still like this cover, but i feel like it had the potential to be a lot better. for instance, shahrzad looks epic, but the place she’s standing in – assuming it’s a desert – looks really artificial and photoshopped. obviously it is, but it’s just a bit too gradient to be natural. UGH.
I like the cover but I do agree that the blue is too blue – dark purple would’ve been so nice!
I love when books in a series have the same type of cover design, obviously, but I agree with the blue issues! I don’t think that shade of blue really complements the first cover’s color. Dark purple, like you said, could go really well! I love the concept and similarity, but the color is jarring.
The cover has actually grown on me. When I first saw it I thought the color combination was interesting (to put it lightly), but I’ve actually grown to like it. I agree that a darker shade (like a navy blue or a royal blue/purple) would probably have worked better, but I do like the cover… I don’t know. I’m still pretty happy with it.
I completely agree with you. I love how it matches The Wrath and the Dawn but the color really does seem a little too bright and vibrant. I’m hoping it won’t come off as bright on the physical book. I would be perfectly happy with a dark blue cover.
I’m SO glad that the books match designs. I still haven’t read the first one and I think I might just wait for the second book. I think the shade of blue doesn’t fit either, and the dessert background is way shiny to seem real. Love this feature though!
I like it a little better, mostly just because Shazard’s arm in the first book always seemed out of proportion?? It looks WAY too long! It bothered me the whole time I was reading it. At least on the second cover the proportion seems correct. Hah.
ugh i despise the cover which i know seems to be the rare opinion but i don’t know, i just really really don’t like it. i like that it’s keeping in with the theme of the cut-outs and that there’s continuity with the design but beyond that? there’s nothing else i like about it. i hate the sky blue colour. it’d be terrible on its own but then plus the warm reddish tones of the picture? it’s like doubly ill fitting. a dark purple would have been so nice! or even like a deep maroon if you flipped the colours from the first cover inside out. and then the shape of the cut outs are also throwing me off. i don’t know… maybe i’m being too pessimistic but it just doesn’t really work for me!!
I agree with you, the blue is ugly. However, I am hopeful that the actual printed book jacket won’t be quite this vibrant of a book. I have mixed feelings about this cover as well in general, but I don’t know if part of the problem is I didn’t care for TWATD (don’t hate me lol). But yes, I agree on the blue, bleh. 😀
I have to be honest here. I’m completely with you on this one- I adored The Wrath and The Dawn, and I’m sure The Rose and the Dagger will be an awesome book, but I am really not a fan of that cover. I am slightly disappointed because I do like the colors for the TWATD cover. Like you said, though, the sky blue on the TRATD cover really throws me off. I think a deep purple would have been great! Something that works well with that background picture of Shahrzad- I think the blue contrasts a little too much.
I like the cover of the first one (although the holes make me feel super uncomfortable, ugh!), but I agree, the second one isn’t as good… It just seems kind of too plain? I don’t know, I just don’t like it as much.
I think with the bright blue and the model the cover just looks supremely cheesy which I don’t really like. If the colour was a darker one, like you said, I think it would look much cleaner and classier.