I recently came across a list of the best Christian book covers as voted by readers. I only looked at the top 100 covers, but still – I was surprised. A little shocked. Maybe a touch dismayed. Let me share with you what I found…
Out of the top 100 covers, 3 were for Christian living books. Only eight of those covers were for contemporary Christian fiction, and of those, only six were for contemporary romance. And of those six, three were romantic suspense. So…out of 100 of the voter-decided best Christian book covers, three were for contemporary Christian romance (CCR).
Want to know what the other eighty-nine covers were for? Historical fiction – mostly romance.
So that got me to wondering. Are historical romance covers really that much better than contemporary romance covers? Or do historical readers just vote more?
As I tried to reason that out, I figured I’d ask the fabulous Inspy Romance readers. After all, you’re our target audience, and your opinion matters.
I’m putting some book covers in below and talking about what I like about each cover…but I want your input, too! Please comment below. Tell me your favorite of these book covers, what you like about one or more of the covers, what makes you stop and want to read more…or really anything. Just so you know – your feedback is a huge help to the authors of Inspy Romance. We want to hear what you think! 😊
This is one of my favorite covers of the of the books I have. It’s not available for purchase at the moment…because I’m slow about some things. It was in a box set a few years ago, but I haven’t released it for sale since that box set. I love the cover, though, and the way it captures some of the funny and endearing moments in the story. It catches the fun vibe of the book and the brightness of the characters. But I’m biased. You can give me a fresh perspective. What do you think? Does it make you want to read the book? Or at least make you want to read the back cover?
Let’s face it – most historical covers have women in beautiful gowns. We don’t see that a lot on contemporary covers, so when we do, it always catches my eye. What I like about this cover: the beautiful gown – especially the draped jewels on the back. Something about that catches my eye. It might even make me feel pretty – even though I’m only reading it. Honestly, that’s not a bad way to draw a reader in. 😉 The title font draws the eye, too, in a way that’s elegant but not stuffy. The grand staircase as a backdrop is interesting, too.
There’s a bit of a dream quality to this cover. Parts of it are a little out of focus, but it’s intentional. I don’t always like the bright light effect, but on this cover – that sun over his shoulder works for me. I think one of the things that the sunshine and slightly out-of-focus effects communicate is a sense of warmth. Maybe even comfort. That, coupled with the way the cover models are standing makes me feel like these are two people who have found where they belong. (With each other. Since this is romance and all.)
We don’t often see dark covers in CCR. While there are a good reasons for covers usually being brighter, the darkness is part of what makes this cover stand out. It’s different. The lit-up home in the background brightens the cover, and the reflection on the water gives it a hint of romance – kind of like candlelight. Then you have the couple in the foreground. The forehead-to-forehead pose conveys a kind of emotional romance that’s more subtle than a kiss or full-on embrace would. It fits with the subtlety of the non-candlelight in the background.
This cover has a softness to it that you don’t often get in romance covers. It uses the same out-of-focus technique as To Believe in You. It communicates warmth here, too, but because the subject matter is so different, it evokes a different emotion. For those people who like to read romances that involve children – or dogs, for that matter! – it would be hard to pass by this cover. The girl and the puppy both have sweet faces that make you want to ensure they each get their happily ever after. It’s clear that they’ll play an integral part in the HEA of the main characters, too.
There’s a lot to like about this cover. Again – a pretty dress. (I think I’ve worn a dress twice since my wedding 20+ years ago…but apparently even I like covers with pretty dresses.) Anyway…I also love the hot air balloons. They brighten up the cover with a bold splash of color, yeah. But they also convey romance in this super-subtle way, right? Hot air balloons are often associated with romance. They also create an attractive backdrop to the title. The title font would get lost on a lighter background, but on the hot air balloons, the title pops. The font is interesting, too, and the interplay between the two fonts in the title manages to convey vulnerability but also strength.
Okay now – you’ve heard all of my rambling thoughts on what I see as positives about each of these covers. Let me wrap it back around to the original question, though. Why do you think historical covers ranked so well in that “top 100 Christian book covers” list that I saw? Is it all about the pretty dresses? Or do historical readers just somehow more motivated to vote on things like that?
Or maybe it’s that in CCR, we have a lot of variety. We have romantic comedy, which has a certain style of cover. And we have more drama-driven romance. Plus small-town romance. And lets not forget modern cowboy romances. Plus all kinds of other interesting types of contemporary Christian romance. That diversity might mean it’s harder for us to win in a reader poll about favorite book cover, but it’s also one of the strengths of CCR. No matter my mood, I can find a CCR that feeds what I want in that moment.
Please share your thoughts below!!
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
I have to be honest I probably would be one who would vote for the historical cover. I do like some CCR covers. I love Toni Shilohs. and Merrillee’s is so sweet due to the child and animal.
I think with many Historical is has that feeling of yesteryear. It can be the for me setting. I think If I looked at all the books I have read this year I would have a combo in my list. (I read wide about the only ones I don’t are heavy suspense, women’s fiction and regencies).
I do however like a lot of CCR. I tend to not be drawn to the cartoon type covers or drawn covers.
the voting could be authors asking readers to vote also. (Not that anyone has asked me this time and I tend to ignore voting stuff at Goodreads).
(I loved the Easter in Gilead covers)
That’s interesting! I must say I love Romcom covers that are often like your ‘Definitely’, but many CRC covers are similar to each other and either soppy or macho male vibe, which is definitely not why I read Christian romance! It’s for this reason that I choose books by author and not cover, and maybe that’s how my fellow readers feel.
PS Emily Conrad and Marilee Wrhen would get my ‘cover’ vote!
I LOVE the first cover and that’s because I can see the characters how I see them when I’m reading. And it’s bright and fun! I’m not a fan of peoples faces on books and that’s because most of the time those faces do not match how the author has described the character and then the story become a big turn off for me. I already want to add your book to my TBR, with that cover!
I’m not the most appropriate person to ask as I’ve learnt you can’t judge a book by its cover and often what I consider dreadful covers are authors starting out who can be great. I usually read the blurb than look at the cover. I live your cover though, it’s cute!
Your cover is cute! And thanks for including To Believe in You! Of all my covers, that one seems to get the most attention. Since that whole series has a similar look, I’m thinking the pose must bring something special. And maybe the color scheme? They are warm, inviting colors. Whatever the case, I’m grateful for the work my cover designer did on it.
Thank you for your feedback! I think that call to yesteryear is part of why small town romances are so popular. Even if the setting is contemporary, the “feel” is of a bygone era.
Good point! When you’ve read enough to know which authors you do and don’t want to read, the covers aren’t nearly as important. When it comes to attracting new readers, though, covers do play a pretty big role. I’m with you, though. I don’t love covers that feel sappy or sentimental. That’s just not a vibe that attracts me as a reader. Macho male isn’t my go-to, either…although sometimes the cover will pull me in. And it’s a style that’s becoming more common in Christian romance. Although the “sexy man” cover in CCR is very different than the same type of cover in the secular book market. ;)
I wonder if the historical covers win because the person is often turned away – you don’t see their face. They’re looking into the distance, which makes us wonder and, for me, stirs up that romantic vibe.
Historical covers also convey romance since we often view “the old days” romantically. That said, of the covers above, I like Toni Shiloh’s the best, and, hmm, notice how her princess is turned away?
I’ve had a lot of mental gymnastics over my own cover for The Counting Tree. It’s a contemporary romance, and the artist drew the picture based on a key scene in the book. But you have to read that scene to understand the cover, which may mean I got the cart before the horse or, in this case, the story before the cover. I’ve had people tell me I should change the cover, and others tell me emphatically that I should not change the cover. I LOVE the cover, but I’m never opposed to changing things if it brings more readers to my lovely story.
I would love your thoughts. I’m currently writing a sequel, and the cover conundrum is keeping me up at night:)
Yay! Thank you – that makes me happy. ^_^
As an author, I don’t love having faces on the cover, either. It’s so, so hard to find cover models that fit the image of the character that I have in my mind. As an indie author, though, I have gone back in and edited something about a character so that what I’d written would better match the picture on the cover. I think I’ve changed hair color before, and I’ve definitely changed a dress color in a specific scene so it would match the dress the cover model was wearing. Sometimes I’ve found cover models who exactly look like what I want…but their facial expression is weird or awful or unattractive. It’s…complicated. I’m with you on that one!
Ah! You read the blurb first. You’re no the only one. And even though I know the cover doesn’t always convey the quality of the book, I still look at the cover before I read the blurb. Which is funny because I know better. I used to write historical, and I had this one regency that just sold phenomenally well. It was one of my first books, though, and the writing left a lot to be desired. The story did, too. It was…not a great book. I can admit that. But it had a beautiful cover. So it sold like crazy…and then got a crazy amount of bad reviews. I’ve also seen some truly atrocious covers that actually hid very well-written stories. As readers, I guess we have to be discerning…and we have to be willing to take risks now and then if we want to discover new authors. ^_^
Yes – there’s just something about it. I looked at the other covers in that series, but my eye kept coming back to that one. The other one that caught my attention was Now or Never. It was a toss up between those two. ^_^
Thanks for including ISOAP’s cover. It’s my fave. :)
I think historical covers get all the votes because of the dresses. It’s what catches my eye and makes me add a historical read to the list.
You might be right about that part about the cover model not looking directly at the reader. I had a friend point that out tome years ago. She was recommending book covers to me to look at as I was struggling with how to design the cover for a particular book. One of the things she said, too, was that with the model looking away, nobody could tell that she didn’t really look like the main character. I ended up not taking her advice at that time, but years later, when I started the Rainbow Falls series, I decided I wanted all the heroines to have their back to the “camera.” I think it’s worked, too, but since I’m only two books in, it’s still a little hard to tell on that one. ;)
Best of luck with your cover design! I do find that sometimes as authors we have to put aside what we like and go with what our readers like. Sometimes the two line up perfectly…but sometimes they don’t.
I think there’s something in a lot of women that makes them want to feel like a princess, even just for a moment. I think that’s part of why beautiful dresses catch our eye even when we don’t wear dresses ourselves, or why historical stories with lords and ladies get our attention. I think that’s even part of why modern princess stories are popular, too. When we pick up a book, we kind of like to escape our ordinary world just for a bit, and sometimes with that, readers want to feel special in a way that apparently only pretty ballgowns can make happen. ^_^
Interesting topic, perhaps historical covers convey more mistery and are more timeless, classic look. However, I do like the new trends that come up for comtemporary Christian fiction. My hope is that they will allure new readers to pick them up and get immerse on great content.
I really liked Jaycee Weaver’s cover but I can see why I won’t part from my “Voice in the wind”(Francine Rivers) Illustrated by Robert Papp. Beautiful, timeless cover.
I’m intrigue by th list 😊 can you add the link so I can see them? 😁
Thank you for prompting the topic.
I read anything and everything as long as it’s CF!! However, unusual covers (like Frank Perreti’s This Present Darkness) catch my eye. I readily admit that I’m kind of turned off by covers like the one you put up for your book. I tend to just go on by. I really don’t like RomCom’s, though I’ve read a few that I did like, but it definitely is NOT my favorite, and I sometimes (most of the time!) just go on by, especially if they say the book is like a Hallmark movie, because I don’t like those. I know, I’m weird. I can take maybe one, but binge watch, oh, definitely not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I usually like covers where the couple, woman, is NOT the major focus. Give me a great guy on the cover, though, and I’m usually sold!! Of the covers you posted, just going by the cover, Emily Conrad’s would pull me in more than any of the others. To be honest, though, I go more by the author than anything else to find a book to read, and the back cover blurb.
I don’t go a lot by cover, but some of my favorite books I’ve found that way :-) I do tend to avoid books on which the cover looks like a 6th grader put it together on her own computer (none of the above fit in that category, but there are some I’ve bypassed just because they look tacky). I love Toni Shiloh’s cover, and I like Merrillee Whren’s. But then I’m an older (like in my 70s) reader. I think the cartoon ones like yours catch younger eyes. Mostly I do go by author, rather than cover.
I think that apart from the pretty dresses it is the artistic montage of the covers, contemporary romance has many cartoon covers that I like but it is not the same as in historical romance, also in historical romance there are more girls alone in contemporary romance there are usually more couples and they don’t usually look like how I imagine the characters.
There are also too many covers with children…and as I have said several times here I am at a stage in life where I want to read and see on the cover young women looking for marriage or their first love, I love cowboys and small towns like many but I’m not yet at the “kids, pets and single parents” stage unless it’s Matt, hero of “Positively Penelope”, a great book that addresses very well what it’s like to be 20 something years old, wanting love but having this come with a child and all the doubt about whether you love the boy and are also ready to be a mother.
I guess that’s why I love historical or Amish romance…there girls who are 26 or even 30 often want to get married but like me they haven’t had dates or partners in contemporary romance, almost all of them have had dates, their first kisses and some exes. I like contemporary romance, I just haven’t found a heroine who is like me yet.
“THE RHYTHMS OF REDEMPTION ROMANCES” They have the most beautiful covers I have ever seen, I love them.The books by Becky Wade and Nicole Deese also and “Search for a prince” and its sequel.
Welcome today Heather. This is an interesting post today. I have wondered about this in the past out of curiosity. I personally have loved historical Christian books and for the last few years been getting into cozy mysteries and this last year been getting into contemporary.
This is really interesting, I’m not sure why historical romance covers would come out so much better. I’m the worst person to ask though as I am not really a fan of cover art however it is done, I would rather read the blurb on the back and would probably forget to look at the front until I got the book home!
I don’t really like covers with cover models, but having said that, Toni Shiloh’s cover that you’ve shown is beautiful. Case in point, I own that book but until you pointed it out I couldn’t have told you what was on the front lol.
You’re not alone – I’m not a fan of Hallmark movies, either! Honestly, I’ve never really been into them. Which probably makes me an alien among Christian romance authors, but there you have it. ^_^
Heather,
Thanks for including Puppy Love and Christmas Joy. I think the vote for historical covers has a lot to do with the fashion. The women’s dresses are always beautiful. Toni’s and Jaycee’s cover might fall in that category with those lovely dresses.
Hahaha! I read a book series sometime earlier this year. I don’t even know what tempted me to read the first book because the cover was atrocious. I’m not sure I could even say a 6th grader put it together. As it turned out, though, the writing was solid, and the characters were interesting. Normally, though, I never would have picked it up because the cover would have been such a turnoff. So I completely get where you’re coming from with that! (I think I was so shocked by the cover that I just had to see what the back cover copy said…and it somehow pulled me in. Go figure!)
Thank you for sharing, Lilly! Those are all great cover suggestions!
You’re right. It’s not easy to find characters that really fit who we are or where we are in life. It’s interesting because there was a time in my life when I wanted to read books with characters who were like me, but then I reached a stage of life where I don’t necessarily want to be able to relate to the characters. I just want…to be entertained…while not being reminded of my own problems or struggles or challenges.
Thankfully, there are books of all kinds for all kinds of people! Because we all want something a little bit different from the books we read, and what we want can change from day to day, too. ^_^
I went through a historical phase and a cozy mystery phase, too. Oddly enough, that cozy mystery phase led me into my RomCom phase. Apparently I kept picking funny cozy mysteries… Go figure! ;)
I think it’s awesome that you explore different genres and can always find something to enjoy!
I find that I’m more drawn to covers with “real” people or places on the cover. I don’t usually pick up books with illustrated covers unless I know the author. (But I’m trying to branch out a bit!) :D
We’re right there together, then!
I am first and foremost a historical fiction lover. The scenery, the beautiful dresses, the beautiful architecture, all catch my eye. Doesn’t mean I don’t look at CCR, but even then, I usually will do so based on rec, author name etc, unless it’s a cozy. Those catch my eye quickly.
I might look at a cover, but it’s the author and the blurb that really get my attention, which is hard for new authors! (I place a lot of importance on solid recommendations, for new authors).
I read Definitely when it was in the box set, and laugh-howled my way through it. So good!! I like your cover for it!
I think that a lot of CCR writers do not have an art department making their covers. I agree that the covers of CCR books are beautiful. The big art departments have their fingers on the pulse of what the market is wanting. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
It’s interesting how e-books have changed the way we think about book covers. Back when we all read print books, I think we were generally more invested in the cover. We saw it every time we picked the book up. Sometimes I would come across a scene that would make me go back to the cover and compare it to the scene. Or I would just take a minute to ponder the story and would do that while staring at the cover. In the world of e-books, though, I look at the cover while buying the book…and then not again. I don’t see the cover each time I open the book. Or if I do, it’s in a miniature thumbnail picture. So covers just seem to have a different place in today’s marketplace than in years past.
Of course, having said all that…I should acknowledge that you said Toni Shiloh’s book is on your shelf (not in your phone)… ;)
Sigh. Who knew pretty dresses could win the affection of an entire readership…? Oh well. I get it. I like looking at the clothes, too. Maybe I should write a series where modern people dress up in old-timey clothes… ^_^
It’s so interesting to see the different opinions that people have! God truly did make us all to be a diverse and yet unified people, didn’t He? We have so many different opinions about the types of books and covers…yet we’re all sitting here choosing to read fiction that glorifies and honors Him. :-)
Ha! Since we’re a blog dedicated to CCR, I have to assume at least some of our authors have caught your eye or been recommended to you. ^_^ You did hit the nail on the head about one of the differences between historical and contemporary fiction. In historicals, there is definitely more time spent on description. The architecture, for example, is painted for you with words so that you can envision it. In contemporary fiction, there tends to be less description because the scenes are already more familiar to the readers. I, personally, like books that have less description. I’ll even skip over lengthy description scenes sometimes. But that’s completely a personal preference. (And I’m a little odd. I can admit it.) ^_^
Ahh. Thank you, Margaret! I have a lot on my plate right now, but I hope to get Definitely re-released next year. The next book in that series is partially written, too, so hopefully it won’t be too far behind. I finish up with school this December, and I *hope* that means I’ll have a little more freedom in my schedule for writing.
Ah. Interesting. As someone who started out writing historicals for a small press, I can say – finding the cover art for historical novels is REALLY hard. You need to be with a big press that has that art department. My cover artists always did their best…but it was really hard. And a lot of what was out there for historicals simply wasn’t appropriate. (I can remember the cover artist finding a cover model for one book…and then having to paint a shirt onto him.) And historicals are more the purview of big publishers than small presses and indie publishers, so you might be onto something there. That big art department has a lot of horse power behind it.
I hope so too, Heather! It amazes me how authors can juggle so many balls and still manage to write the most amazing CCR! I will be looking forward to the second book in that series.
Thank you for including Home to You, Heather. This was indie published so I had a lot of input with the cover designer I had hired. In the original photo, the side of the woman’s dress under her arm was cut way lower than I was comfortable with, and it was an easy fix. ~whew!~
Yes, I’ve often seen articles asking readers to give books a go where the cover is atocious because the book can be great, especially for newly published indie authors. You have great covers and great books now. :)