Who Wore It Better is a meme created and hosted by Nitzan at The Book Babes Read and co-hosted here on Beautiful Bookish Butterflies by Amanda and Stacie. We don't talk about clothing or fashion and we definitely don't talk frills and spills, we talk books and their covers and who we think has the best. This week, Amanda's talking about the covers for Shadow Kiss, book #3 of Vampire Academy. This is Amanda's current least favourite of the series, however, there's one saving garce of this series, and even that doesn't exist anymore. How very very sad..
The Covers
Cover #1 - UK Edition 1
Cover #2 - US Edition
Cover #3 - UK/US Edition New
Cover #4 - US Edition 2
Cover #5 - German Edition
Cover #6 - Sweedish Edition
My Thoughts
I think it's a very fair question, so if I may.. What the frick are the publishers doing to this series?! Thank you, goodnight. No seriously, how? why? Honestly, all but one of these covers is just a no, so why do they continue? Lets get into the gritty then. I shall start with Cover #2 because of reasons.. I actually confess, these aren't the worst covers I've ever seen, they come later, no, this is actually okay, I think I don't mind them. Would I buy them, err, if I had to, but not because of happiness. Cover 3 is just, green. It's very green and very the same as Cover #2 but lets be honest here, it's better than the next few monsters we've got coming up. Cover #4 is, cliché and typical and not my thing and is that meant to be Dimitri or Adrian? It's definitely not Dimitri and if that's Adrian, I'm running home now.Cover #5 is gothy and weird and the colours throw me, and it's definitely different from the others, but if that's Rose then, I've seriously been imagining her wrong. Cover #6, is there anything to say? Yellowness, the eyes, just no, it's all a no.
Cover #1 however is the saving grace of this series, and the worst thing? THESE COVERS NO LONGER GET PRODUCED. Nope, they decided that cover #3 was the best route, the green route, the multi-coloured mess of blurgh instead of absolute red beauty. The covers in this style are beautiful and to die for, with each cover having a small representation of whats coming in the novel, the first with the Rose, the second with the Snowflake, this with the Kiss and so on, it's fantastic, they're fantastic, THEY'RE SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL, but no, they no longer exist. I have anger, I have much pain and I dislike the world right now.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of these covers? Do you share my pain? Do you think that for a popular series, these covers don't do justice? And the biggest question of all, did you cry in Shadow Kiss or where you unimpressed. Me? I wasn't too bothered..
Oh I totally feel your pain with this, I truly do. ARGH. The AUS/UK versions of this series suck. (Bahaha. No pun intended.) It's actually one of the reasons I haven't felt overly enthused to try reading them because...omg. The angles of some of the covers are just awful on the character posing. It's painful. >_< I do like that #1 though. And I don't mind #3.
ReplyDeleteThey do suck (Keep the pun, it's great!) It's a shame when you can't read a book because the cover is so lacking, but I think that they could do with creating a new set of covers like the 1st editions, they are really wonderful! :)
DeleteI so agree. This series has some of the WORST covers I've ever seen. Weirdly enough I actually don't mind your number #6, but I definitely agree that #1 is the best.
ReplyDeleteReally? I do think 6 isn't *too* bad, but it definitely isn't that nice, but I'd always choose Cover #1 too! :)
DeleteI have a mixture of covers for this series. Most of them are in the 2nd style, but I have about two books in the 1st style - and I definitely prefer that one. I don't care for most face-covers and I love how simple and effective the red covers are.
ReplyDeleteThe red covers are gorgeous no? I would own them if I liked the series more, but it's not for me..
DeleteThis series and the companion series have some of, if not THE, ugliest covers I have ever seen. It made me not even want to read them. It's annoying because everyone says the series is amazing... so it should have covers that much. I much prefer the red covers to any others. I finally bought the first three and had to get the new colour ones, even though they are so dull and all look the same. This series needs a serious redesign when it comes to the covers.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Charnell, the covers are horrendous, and for such well loved series, it's a crying shame!
DeleteI do think they could do with a whole new redesign of the covers, no idea what like, but something good, and pretty! :D
I don't really like the covers for this series, although I don't mind them too much. The thing I hate most is that I own all 6 books and have 5 different cover editions, I mean just choose a style and stay with it. I have one book with the red cover it's kinda nice indeed. Although I like the number 2 as well with the gates on the front.
ReplyDeleteThe german and swedish ones are really bad though. Rose looks mroe like a ninja on the german one and like some paranormal freak on the swedish one.
It must suck to have such a variety of covers for the series, I like at least a little matching for sure! Cover #2 isn't that bad, I think those ones are okay, just definitely not my favourite! The latter two, nope, not for sure either Lola!
DeleteI don't read vampire books because they're generally not my thing, so I don't have any real knowledge of this series. That being said, I thought it would be interesting to see if I like any of these covers and... unfortunately I don't. I don't like any of them. I'm not a fan of any covers with models on them generally, and that's 5 out of the 6 featured here! So I guess if I had to choose one I'd go with 1. But yeah... between my dislike of vampires and these covers I'd probably never pick up this series.
ReplyDeleteThe publishers probably aren't that bothered about the covers though because obviously this series sell as I hear a lot of people talk about it. I sometimes feel like ugly books can still be quite successful thanks to word of mouth, and I think this book is one of them. :P
I do think bad covers hold people back a little and it's such a shame, people could love these if the covers were great!
DeleteI do think you're right though Asti, if a book sells well through word of mouth, why bother with nice covers, it works :)
I actually like #6, purely from an aesthetic point of view. I haven't read the book, so I don't know if it's accurate.
ReplyDeleteI think all the covers of the series in that style look the same but with definitely colours, so I'd say it's good, not doesn't completely fit the story, but that's just me :)
DeleteNumber 1!! I am collecting the entire UK edition. I have just two more to go (a British company sent me the WRONG COVERS, so I am still two short, arg!).
ReplyDeleteThe whole collection is beautiful right Lyn? If I liked the series enough, I'd probably buy those ones myself too. It's hard to buy them when they're not produced anymore though isn't it? Damn.. good luck though! :D
DeleteHow terrible are they though Jess?! It's almost a crime really, oh dear god.The Bloodlines series are terrible too aren't they? What is with the colours they're using?! No no no, just no. But thou shalt read them anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteI know Sarah, such a shame!
ReplyDelete