We’ve all heard it said that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. For the most part, I try to live by that. With that said, on some level I still do judge books by their covers. These are some books that I’ve been disappointed by.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
I like this cover (and those of the rest of the series). They’re simply done but still intriguing. They even have matching color schemes! Not to mention, I really like black and red together. Sadly I didn’t love the book as much as I love the cover. The book wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t for me.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
My problem was the cover is misleading! I knew the book was about a toy that gets lost and needs to find his way back home. You can see clearly on the cover that what we can assume is Edward is making his way home (or possibly somewhere else). When you read the book, you discover that Edward can’t move or talk. It’s a slow moving story since he can’t get himself anywhere. It’s just disappointing since it’s not the story you thought you’d read.
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
I really do like simple covers. Particularly ones with lots of hidden details to unravel over time. Shiver’s cover is very nice in that respect. It initially looks just like trees. Then you notice that the leaves look kind of like hearts. Then you see the wolf peeking through the branches. I ended up not liking the book (mainly because I don’t like paranormal romances) but I still appreciate the loveliness of the cover!
What books have you been disappointed in despite the cover?
Check out the book covers I’ve been pleasantly surprised by here.
The Cheap Reader 
I think I mostly fall for this with contemporaries. Since I like fantasy and paranormal, I tend to not be disappointed (although it has happened!), but with contemporaries I am often fooled by lovely covers! The first that springs to mind is The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle. Gorgeous cover; not so gorgeous story.
Ahh, I can see how that would be a problem. Contemporaries do have some very pretty covers!
I’m not usually disapointed by covers, because even if I love a cover, I don’t read the book if I don’t like the synopsis. However, I recently read a book that seemed to be a sci-fi crime story or something like that because it had sci-fi elements and a man with a gun, who looked like he belonged in a thriller, on the cover. The synopsis sounded ok, so I read the book and it was ok, but the cover was a bit misleading. Everybody would expect crime/thriller elements and they’re not in the book at all.
Oh no! That sounds like a bummer.
Ugh, far too many. I’m a sucker for good covers. I’m trying to build in some kind of safeguards to prevent myself from getting drawn in to reading books that aren’t good, just because they have good covers. Always at the library, it happens when I look at the New Books shelf.
Hmmm maybe we just need to admire new books from a far so we don’t have the temptation to pick them up. 😉