Cover Awe: Color Combos | Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Welcome back to Cover Awe!

The Cautious Traveler's Guide to the Wasteland by Sarah Brooks. An emerald green cover. A gold train with many cars makes up the border. Smoke coming out from the train makes up the title.

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

Cover design by Donna Sinisgalli Noetzel

Amanda: I love how simple and thought the design is with the train border and smoke turning into the title.

Sarah: That border is So NEAT.

Lara: I’m loving those rich colours too.

Sarah: I love these collections of covers. So many pretty details to look at. The simplicity still says so much about the book. Love it.

The Confidence Games by Tess Amy. Bold colors of hot pink, purple, black, and peach make up a scene of two women standing back to back in front of a fancy hotel.

The Confidence Games by Tess Amy

Cover illustration by Yordanka Poleganova

Sarah: I can’t decide if I like this. It’s eye catching and very bi-color-flag noir almost.

Tara: I like the colours, but I think it could be much more effective with a few tweaks.

Sarah: It kind of reminds me of what my eyelids look like when I stare at something bright and then shut my eyes. Almost like it’s a negative?

Tara: Yeah, it has too much going on and too many elements blend together with the darkest colour (it especially irks me that the hair on the person on the right blends into a jacket and… a door? Who can say.). The title text also runs over colours that are too light in some spaces. So, overall, it forces the eyes and brain to struggle a little too much.

Sarah: I wonder if the overexposed sort of feeling is deliberate?

Tara: That’s a great question. It might be! I’m hoping so at this point, because I can respect it as a deliberate choice, even if I don’t love how my eyes keep bouncing around and don’t know where to land.

Triple Sec by TJ Alexander. An illustrated cover of a cocktail glass with a tasty drink. A feminine hand is holding the glass. Another hand is touching the stem. Another hand, this one tattooed, is dropping a cherry into the drink. The title is designed like a neon sign.

Triple Sec by TJ Alexander

Cover illustration by Petra Braun

Amanda: I love the subtle hint that this is a poly romance.

Shana: Oooh, I love the color combinations too.

Elyse: This is the kind of illustrated cover I’m here for.

Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson. A very dark green room with a plush wingback chair, wallpaper printed to look like a house, and framed photos. The chair has a camera and a splash of hot pink paint. There's a wooden table with a pink tube of lipstick. The title looks like hot pink graffiti.