Coverlicious: The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K Madigan

Coverlicious is a feature that sporadically I hold here featuring everything to do with covers from covers I love to cover reveals.

 The gorgeous cover of The Mermaid's Mirror, which I reviewed on Thursday, was what initially grabbed my attention. It captures the essence of the book so well with the feel of the spray of the stormy sea and I love the way the girl's damp and messy hair has been pulled back in a stylish and loose way, The water droplets over her hair look like pearls adorning it and really adds to the effect. Also, the blue glow surrounding the title contrasts really well with the grey colour of the sky and adds a warmer tone to the cover. The cover designer could have done some fantasy mermaid shot but I'm so glad that the cover ommits the mermaids because I think The Mermaid's Mirror is so much more than just another mermaid book.




Image courtesy of Melissa Walker: The Blog- thank you!

 

Above is a shot of the cover jacket, which is even better! The moody ocean continues onto the back cover and I love the way that the gir's shoulder expands over to the back cover naturally with the little yellow swirl feeding out of it. Often I find that photos from the front cover leading onto the back doesn't work but I think it does for thid cover. Even the small details have been thought out well such as the green shells on the spine. A difference to the cover image at the top is that the aqua blue glow around the title has been removed. This adds a lot to the dark, story and windswept look of the cover. Also, the quote from Malinda Low on the ocean doesn't ruin the cover effect for me either because it's quite unobstrusive. 

 Whilst looking for a picture of the cover online to go with my review, I found a cover story post with the author on the blog ReaderGirlz. L.K Madigan shared the original cover design, which is on the left. I'm SO glad that the designer changed it because this design doesn't incorporate any of the sea/mermaid elements of the book except from the title and isn't anything special.

 

 I also discovered a look-alike cover on my search on Dreaming Of Amelia by Jacyln Moriarty as the stock image of the girl has been used. This cover has much brighter colours than the final design for The Mermaid's Mirror so the cover has a very different atmosphere and the girl is positioned centrally instead of to the side. I do like it on this cover but I love it more on the Mermaid's Mirror.

 What do you think about the two The Mermaid's Mirror covers and the lookalikes? I'd love to find out!

 

Coverlicious: Cover Wars- Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

Coverlicious is a feature that I hold here sporadically (it doesn't have a set day or date in the month) where I feature anything and everything to do with covers from covers I *love* and cover reveals to lookalike covers and cover stories. If you like this post, you may also enjoy previous Coverlicious posts.

Hardback: This one is more symbolic of the book because it shows Curzon in his soldier's gear and reperesents the setting of the Valley Forge and the time he served as a private there (although he is wearing far more clothing than he had access too as a soldier!). I like the way the smoke from his rifle displays the title and this continues on from the hardback Chains cover, where the title was designed to look like chains on Isobel's wrists. The drawing is nice and I think the simpleness of it is effective and the stance of Curzon is intended to make it powerful.Don't get me wrong, I do like the coverl but it just doesn't capture my atteniton in the same way, it's almost like a collector's edition of a classic for me.

Paerback: This one is my personal favourite just because it looks a lot more appealing and pretty to me and I think it would appeal more to other teenagers too. The aqua and red colours go well togther, the photo background still tells of the snowy conditions in Valley forge and I like the fact Isobel is the one the cover because it fits in with the other paperback edition. The way her face is hidden is also effective because it might make readers want to pick up the book to find out what she is thinking and why. She also stands out against the background. Another feature that I love is the small caption as it works really well and fits in with the book.

I'd love to hear what you think in the comments- do you prefer the hardback or the paperback?

If you would like to find out more about the series, you can read my reviews of Chains and Forge by clicking on the links.