Rising Shadow by Jacquelyn Wheeler
VS
12.21.12 by Killian McRae
I don't know what Rising Shadow is about, so I'm going to talk about these books purely coverwise.
The thing I like best about the Rising Shadow book is the way the green eye stands out in a rather darkened face. The title colours complement the eye beautifully, and I like the font chosen. The girl looks like she can look through you, know everything you're thinking. At the same time you don't know if you want this girl to know all your secrets. In a way she looks a bit feline, ready to pounce on you when you least expect it. The rather dark impression the picture gives me corresponds with the title this book is given. Overall I think this is a pretty good cover, it makes me curious to know more about this book.
The things I don't like about this cover are only a few small aesthetic annoyances. Why is her hair wet? That doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest. Is it symbolical for something? To me she looks like she's just come out of the shower. I'm not really sure what we're supposed to read into that. Another thing that makes me frown a bit is the sparkly half moon underneath her eyes. Is she just extremely sweaty? Or did she put on glittery make up after the shower? I think this cover had been better off if they had refrained from putting that much make up on the model. She would have looked more fierce if she had only worn the black eyeliner.
Then we have the other cover featuring a green eye staring at us, 12.21.12. In this cover the green of the eye stands out because the rest of the cover is in general in dark earthy tones, and I think this contrast gives it a piercing look. The concentric tattoos that surround her eye give it even more attention. I like the placing of the title, giving us an unobstructed view of the girl. Just like the girl from Rising Shadow, she looks feral in a way, especially with the disarrayed strings of hair surrounding her face. This book is more mysterious, the title doesn't give away much and the drawings make you wonder. I like the mystery surrounding this book, and it definitely makes me want to pick it up.
There is something that's really weird and I don't think that it was the artists intention. The girl has no nose. It just doesn't seem to be there. Above her lips we can see a slight discolouring indicating that there is some way this girl can fill her lungs with oxygen, but to me the lack of some sort of bump in the middle of her face seems unnatural. The problem is most probably the lighting with which this picture is taken. It makes the cover a bit unnerving to watch once you've noticed it. And maybe it's just me, but she doesn't seem to be a lip gloss kind of girl. It doesn't really correlate with the earthiness of the rest of her countenance.
What do you think about these covers? Feel free to leave a message below (:
Note: 12.21.12 will be featured on NBR in a blog tour in March.
3 comments:
I like the cover on the right much better. I agree with you, the moon thing and the wet hair on the left cover is distracting and I don't like them. I also think the green font detracts from the eye. Nice comparison of the two covers!
I agree with the above comment. The Celtic-looking imprint (Henna or tattoo) over the face is rather compelling in the Killian McRae example.
Both options look very professional. The one on the right just draws me in more.
@ Small Review; Thanks! I agree that the right one looks a lot better. The eye stands out a little bit more, and that's what these covers are all about.
@ Vamchoir; Thanks for visiting! They do look both professional. You can clearly see there has been a lot of thought put into both (:
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