Sunday, July 10, 2011

Cover Review: Fairest of All

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by Tawni at The Book Worms where a beautiful cover is featured each week for all of us to admire. I am going to use my Cover Crazy posts as an opportunity to review a book cover I love or review any cover (even the ones I don't love) from a book I've read. This week's Cover Crazy is for:

Fairest of All by Serena Valentino

Isn't this cover striking? I'm a huge Disney fan, so I'm already biased in favor of a cover like this. Disney did such a wonderful job in drawing the Queen, making her look beautiful, evil, powerful, and terrifying all at once.

I love the swoop of her eye brow and her hooded eye. There really aren't many colors on this cover, but the colors that are here are gorgeous and help draw my eye across her whole face.

At first glance it may seem like this cover doesn't say much about the story, but it actually does sum up the book perfectly. Simply put, the story is about the Queen. We learn about her past and how it helped shape the woman we have come to know as the evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. There are a lot of events, but the core of the book is about the Queen: What she went through, what she thought about it, and how it affected her. It makes perfect sense then to have her face as the sole occupant on the cover.

You can't really tell from the picture, but on the real book the title is black like the background and the text is raised. This gives it a mysterious, spooky, and almost luxurious vibe, which is fitting for a character such as the Queen.

Added bonus? If you take off the dust jacket, the hardcover has another picture on it:


How cool is that? And it's so fitting that the beautiful face is on the jacket for all the world to see, but hiding underneath is her ugly crone's face reflecting the face of her ultimate personality.

The book is beautifully constructed, but the story inside did not quite live up to the magnificent cover. I'll have my review up for the book a little later.


What do you think about this cover?
Do you like it? Dislike it?
Does it make you want to read the book?
Interested in covers?
Be sure to check out another Cover Crazy post by Gina from My Precious.




19 comments:

  1. This cover is COOL!!
    Just amazing!
    :)

    Awesome pick

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  2. That cover is gorgeous and I love the inner cover, too! So clever. I really want to read this!

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  3. I agree completely. It is such a striking image. The cover artist is very talented :)

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  4. ahhh The inner cover is creepy! Very clever designs :)

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  5. This cover looks awesome! To me, the most pressing question this question raises is: why Disney?

    I'm looking forward to your review; I'm disappointed that "the story inside did not quite live up to the magnificent cover" since there cover is so clever, and I love the illustrations.

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  6. Omg that's so awesome! I also love the idea of the dust jacket too. Definitely should be a good read.

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  7. I have to say that I don't like that cover. It's seriously freaky. Urgh. I like the idea of the ugly face underneath the dust cover though.

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  8. I like the--very well-put, btw--swoop of the eyebrow, too. The only problem I have is that it makes the mouth anachronistic. It doesn't have the same kind of lines. The eyebrow and eye are sort of lazy, insolent, inquiring and inviting. The mouth is almost a sneer. Which fits with the queen's personality, but not with the cover concept. The dust jacket is about the cruel beauty that hides the ugly crone beneath--which is a great concept, I agree.

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  9. Oooooo I like it! Love that the title is black on black on the actual book, with only the raised texture to make it pop. Very, very cool!

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  10. I love this cover so much! I hadn't heard of the book before, so thank you! I've added it to my Wishlist. =^.^=

    ComaCalm's Corner

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  11. Love it! It most definitely is striking. And most importantly, it tells me exactly what the book is about and it makes me want to read the book!

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  12. I agree with you! There's some sort of awesome symbolism that the beautiful face is on the outside and the ugly one on the inside.

    P.S. I'm a Disney lover as well!

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  13. What is not to like? I agree with you. Great artist. I can hear her voice when I look at them.

    Following you now on GFC.
    Want to see what I chose?

    http://itstimetoreadmamaw.blogspot.com/

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  14. I never realized how much the evil Queen in Snow White looks like Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty until I saw that picture. I do like the cover - I know exactly what this book is about from the design/image.

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  15. Alex, Glad you like it! I wish they did more like this. I’d love a whole series of Disney books like it.

    Belle, I liked it! Not as much as the cover, but it was an interesting take on the Queen. Hope you like it!

    Nic, Very striking. It really caught my eye when I first saw it.

    Paper-Wanderer, I agree, clever and creepy!

    Pica, In this case, the answer to your question is because the book is published by Disney :P But it’s also about the Queen based on the Disney version of Snow White. I was disappointed too. I think it’s still worth a read, but the cover is still the best part, IMO.

    Steph, Glad you like it! It really does symbolize the story very well.

    The Slowest Bookworm, Aw, too bad! It is freaky, but I like that. :)

    Rubita, Thanks! I LOVE the way you describe her eye.

    Jenny, I really like that too. It looks so rich and almost eerie in person.

    Coma Calm, You’re welcome! I hope you like it!

    Aylee, I hope you like it! I think it’s the perfect cover for the story.

    Natalie, Yay Disney! The symbolism is so cool, I agree. :)

    Patricia, Thank you for following! I hope you enjoy your time here. I can practically hear her voice too!

    Logan, Huh, you're right! Maleficent is my favorite Disney Villain. I so don't want Angelina Jolie to play her in that movie I heard about. I think I might barf.

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  16. Love the beauty cover and 'beast' undercover!

    ~Alyssa
    Teens Read and Write

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  17. I don't really like the cover. The features are just a little too sharp to me for me to think of her as fair. But I love the concept of the prettier picture covering up the ugly face underneath on the hardback! Can't wait for your review!

    Heather

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  18. I don't even care what this is about... I NEED IT!!

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