Delirium Cover Talk

Sometimes I think it would be absolutely fascinating to be part of a book cover design team. They have the fun and strenuous job of picking the perfect cover art to fully represent the book. A cover can't give too much away, but also has to tease and tantalize enough to get readers to pick up the book. This time I would like to spotlight Lauren Oliver's Delirium for cover talk.

When the ARC arrived to me, it looked like this.

Intriguing and interesting pose for Miss Lena. Honestly, as much as the story sounded fascinating, this cover would be better suited for a paranormal angel-human story. The grey skies and black birds didn't do much for me. But then the hardcover was published with this cover.

My first reaction was to want the ARC cover back, with an actual girl on the front. Surprisingly though, I warmed up to this book very quickly. I loved the font treatment and photo of Lena in the background. A cover that makes you have to look very closely in order to see everything. I went out and bought the beautiful hardcover for better placement on my bookshelf. Only then something weird happened. An enhanced Hardcover version of the book came out, with a total new art direction and style.

What?? Again, I felt like saying "No! Keep the beautiful covers with mystery and shiny metallic ink!" There is no doubt that this cover is very stunning, but was it necessary to change it again? Perhaps the pretty colors and more visible girly face will gather larger numbers of readers in stores. In my opinion, it doesn't speak more to the actual story that the two covers that came before it, but maybe I am mistaken. The paperback has this cover as well. As much as I would love my trilogy to match, I do not think I will buy this version. So the second in the series will look like this.

So very gorgeous, I know. Will they stick with this style? Or will it change again? Only time will tell!