Okay! Put the pitchforks and torches away! Let me explain myself.

We’ve probably all heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. And it largely holds a lot of water. We shouldn’t judge things just based on their appearances, be it books, people, or products. Things are more than just how they present to be.

But! We can’t ignore our first impression, most of the time. We get gut reactions for a reason. We recognize patterns for a reason. Book covers follow certain archetypes for a reason. To attract certain audiences. Chances are, if you enjoyed a book with a particular look to the cover, a book with a cover in a similar style may also call your attention.

In a day and age where many of us likely get our book recommendations online, this is true now more than ever. When I scroll Goodreads or StoryGraph, I’m judging the hell out of those books. Sure, I also look at the authors and the ratings and the descriptions, but the cover is my first impression. A good cover piques interest, then the description/blurbs can cement it. It all starts with the cover.

I have some biases, I’ll admit, when it comes to covers. There are some that draw my attention at once. And there are others that I tend to steer away from. Here are two examples of types I tend to avoid, two styles I tend to gravitate to, and my thoughts on ten books that I picked and read based almost solely on their covers (and how they held up to my judgement!).

Disclaimer: This article largely deals with my personal opinions and generalizations. In no way am I suggesting that all books with these cover styles are bad/good. I’m not saying no one should read them, or that I think less of people who do. I’m just sharing my overall impressions and thoughts. There are always exceptions and personal taste to put into account when it comes to talking about genres/styles. If you disagree with me, you’re valid! I’m just speaking from my experiences.

Minimalistic Romance Book Covers

I tend to avoid the ‘traditional’ romance genre as a whole. Rather than reading realistic fiction romance books, I much prefer fantasy romance. One reason why I don’t find myself drawn to these books is because they almost all look the same. I can picture the plots Hallmark movie style in my brain. It’s always enemies to lovers, where the girl wants to be independent but the guy wants to prove that she isn’t all that she thinks she is. Or it’s a perfect meet-cute with good chemistry, random drama in the middle, then a reunion where they realize the drama never mattered.

I imagine if I were to do more digging and find more cheesy romance books with queer and POC representation, I’d gain more appreciation for the genre, but for now, I’m fine staying away for the most part.

Edgy Dark Romance Covers

Why does every dark romance cover have skulls, crowns, a wolf, a snake, or a raven, crossed weapons, and either black, white, or red flowers? Once again, it took me barely anytime to compile the above collection. Bonus points if the title follows the over-used “A [blank] of [Blank] and [Blank]” naming pattern.

I’m not a big dark romance fan in general. I’m working on an article about this. But I feel like they tend to romanticize pretty toxic behaviors like controlling men, abuse and violence in the name of love, and insane miscommunication to the point where you question everything. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it from time to time, but I’m usually not in the mood for it. I think the genre suffers from a lot of the same problems as the cheesy Hallmark romances do. A lot of the books feel the same, the main characters don’t stand out, and the brooding male love interests could be swapped around with little difference.

Once again, I have a few exceptions. Anathema, Phantasma, and The Cruel Prince are some of the dark romance books on my TBR. I think that there are definitely some good books in this genre, and those are just three of them that I’m looking to check out sooner or later.

Books with Women on the Covers

I LOVE good looking covers with women on the front. If there is a beautiful woman, a strong woman, or a mysterious woman on the cover, my attention is obtained. The above books all come from my TBR, so I haven’t read any of these ones, but my read books is FULL of further examples of this ‘style’ of cover. For these books, the title often ties into my desire to read them, because a lot of the above books are retellings of myths and fairy tales.

I think I’m drawn to books with female protagonists because I both enjoy finding myself in female characters, and like to see how strong or compelling the character will be. In Lady Macbeth, I hope she’s mysterious and twisted and one with death. In Morgan is my Name, I hope she’s powerful and confident. in Iron Widow, I hope she’s strong and determined. I like when I can see the character portrayed and get a taste of their story.

Gilded Edges and Magic Symbols

On the topic of books featuring magic: If your book has gilded edges, crystals, flowers, stars, moons, and moths on the cover, I’m going to look further at it. I love books with these icons, since I’m a fan of books heavily dealing with magic. Like above, the title also matters a lot for these books, like with How to Find a Nameless Fae, which works in tangent with the cover. The cover itself is pretty with the flowers, but the concept of a nameless fae? It’s going right onto the TBR.

I like reading pretty books, especially when I can make pretty journal spreads for them. So maybe this section is a little vain or biased, but it’s that kinda the point? Covers work with our biases. I enjoyed the book Arcana Academy (which I will talk more about below). The cover for Wild and Wicked Things has a similar look to it, the title sounds intriguing, and I like the genre. So I’m more likely to a. read it, and b. enjoy it.

We know what we like! I like books with faeries and magic and spells and whimsy. When I see that reflected in the cover, I look deeper. That’s the point of having cover art. And I like mine magical.

Books I Judged on Their Covers

So I wanted to give some brief glimpses into some of my personal reads from the last year or so, and see how my judgements hold up. I’ll give first, my thoughts based on the cover/title and why I picked them. Then, I’ll give how it held up after reading, and whether I judged the cover well. Many of these books I’ve actually given full reviews of in other blog posts, so feel free to check those out as well (corresponding links when applicable!).

Arcana Academy

Initial Thoughts: Magic school, probably has romance in it, pretty cover

Actual Thoughts: Tarot magic! Magic school! Rivals to lovers romance! Exactly what I expected and more

The Bane Witch

Initial Thoughts: Magic, mushrooms, some sort of curse or sinister mystery?

Actual Thoughts: Vigilante witch killers. Cool concept, iffy execution. Similar to what I expected

Home Grown Magic

Initial Thoughts: Plant magic and romance

Actual Thoughts: Plant magic and romance! Pretty decent read, good LGBTQ+ rep, minus points for antisemitism? Meets expectations

Heartless Hunter

Initial Thoughts: Magic, rivals to lovers, maybe witches?

Actual Thoughts: Plenty of witches, cool magic system with unique costs/side effects, decent romance. About what I expected

Half a Soul

Initial Thoughts: A severed soul, probably due to magic? Probably needs to put the soul back together

Actual Thoughts: Really great romance built on loving imperfections and not needing to be up to societal expectations! Also includes magic and fae schemes. Defied expectations

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Initial Thoughts: Was this book made for me? Faerie academics, scholarship, fae antics

Actual Thoughts: Dude you already know this book met and exceeded all expectations. Exactly what I wanted and more

A Fragile Enchantment

Initial Thoughts: Romance and magic

Actual Thoughts: Poor romance and barely any magic. Honesty a big disappointment. Did not touch expectations

Don’t Let the Forest In

Initial Thoughts: Dark themes, spooky woods/creatures, lost sense of self

Actual Thoughts: Queer romance, Ace representation, lots of dark themes and haunting imagery. Better than expected

The Thirteenth Child

Initial Thoughts: Dark magic, a child with great power, probably lots of death

Actual Thoughts: A child with great potential given to the death god! Concept was strong, execution okay. About as expected

When the Tides Held the Moon

Initial Thoughts: WlW mermaid/human romance that defies tradition?

Actual Thoughts: MlM mermaid/human romance that defies tradition! Plus, good POC representation. Meet expectations

As you can see, I have a pretty good track record! My average rating for these books is likely around 4.25 stars. I bet that a lot of reader would find similar results if they were to look at books they picked almost purely because of how they looked. It’s nice to see the research back the theory!

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So there we have it, guys! You have permission to judge books by their cover. Now, don’t go crazy and let the cover be the end all be all. Still read the back, check out reviews, and give it a fair shot. But don’t let the phrase stop you from saying no to a book if you don’t like the vibe. Chances are, you may be right, and there’s a better book out there for you.

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