Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week’s theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!
This week’s theme is ‘Cover Redesigns I Loved/Hated (submitted by Rachelle @ Shell’s Stories)’. We all know we shouldn’t judge books by their covers, but we also all know that we do and, frankly, we all should. If a book looks like a romance and you pick it up and start reading only to discover a horror novel, you’re probably not going to be impressed.
When it comes to covers, I like fairly simple designs. I love bold colours, pretty typography and illustrations and, like many fellow readers out there, I’m not typically a big fan of books with people on them.
Today I’m going to share with you some cover redesigns that I really like, because a good cover design really can be the deciding factor when it comes to buying a book!
(Aside from the first, where the older covers are on top and the redesigns are on the bottom, all the covers on the left are the old covers, and the redesigned covers are on the right.)
His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers
This entire trilogy has had its covers redesigned to match the Courting Darkness cover and they’re so pretty. I also love that the redesigns have kept each of the heroines’ colours; Ismae’s still red, Sybella’s still gold, and Annith’s still green. To be honest I like the original covers as well, but I would love to one day own the new covers – I just can’t justify buying them when I already have copies of the original trilogy!
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
I really don’t like that first cover. I get what they were going for, but it’s just ugly. The new edition, though, looks so classy and understated and I like it a lot. One of these days I’ll cross this book off my TBR!
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
I don’t dislike the original cover, I think it’s quite charming in that traditional high fantasy way, but I love how simple this particular redesign is, and how it let me imagine Sorcha’s appearance for myself.
The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta
This first cover was the only one available when my parents very kindly got me this book for Christmas, and now this beautiful new edition is being released in the autumn to match the cover of the sequel and I wish I could justify buying it.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Again, I don’t dislike either of these covers but I adore this more recent cover from Bloomsbury Modern Classics, so much that I did immediately go out and buy a copy after I finished The Song of Achilles in 2017. This is one of my favourite novels, and I always make an exception for favourite novels when it comes to multiple editions.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The first cover is a bit too busy for me – my eyes always struggle to figure out what they should focus on – but I love how clean and simple this newer cover is, which is the edition I own.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
All of Adichie’s novels and her short story collection were re-released with these gorgeous new covers inspired by African designs and fabrics and they’re so pretty. I actually own most of them, but Americanah was the one I couldn’t justify buying because I already own this older edition which, to be honest, I don’t love.
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
I do own both of these, though. Agnes Grey is one of my favourite classics and Anne is my favourite of the Brontë sisters; in my opinion she’s certainly the most feminist of the three, but sadly her work is still so underappreciated because she didn’t write Gothic. If she hadn’t died young, though, a lot of literary critics believe she’d be as well loved today as Jane Austen. Did you know her other novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, outsold Wuthering Heights when the two were first released?
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
I don’t dislike the Penguin Modern Classics edition, I have all of Jackson’s novels in these editions so I’m happy to have a matching set, but this newer edition is so fun!
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
Let’s face it, these early Virago editions are kind of hideous, and I love this particular redesign of Jamaica Inn. A lot of covers seem to make Jamaica Inn appear more cheerful than it actually is; they give it the kind of cover that would better suit Frenchman’s Creek, and while Jamaica Inn isn’t a depressing read by any means it is quite dark. This newer cover perfectly captures the world of Cornish smuggling.
Jessticulates 
I agree about all of these, but especially that Vicious redesign, it’s so much nicer!
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I agree with all of these except Handmaid’s Tale (I have always liked the busier cover, for whatever reason!) and Americanah- though I do like them both. But the others, YEP. Vicious is SO much better- I honestly avoided the book for YEARS because of the ugly cover, oops. Love the new Brilliant Death and Grave Mercy ones too. And that Jamaica Inn is FABULOUS!
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I haven’t read Jamaica Inn, but I love that new cover. 🙂
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Omg yes, the Vicious redesign!! Also, how did I never notice that the His Fair Assassins books got redesigned? I thought they were epic before but they’re truly epic now!
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Woahh, I didn’t even know about the His Fair Assasins original covers. I have this thing where I don’t really like covers with real people on them, so I prefer the second edition. And omgg, the redesign of Vicious is SO MUCH BETTER!! I don’t know what they were thinking with the original.
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Some really great examples! I realize in looking at your covers that it’s mainly contemporary covers with people on them that I don’t care for — I do tend to like them for historical or fantasy books. I still have my original copy of The Handmaid’s Tale from when it was released and I’ll always think that one’s the best, but I do like the red and white version (on the right) featured here. I agree, the other is kind of busy, and looks almost pretty at first glance, which isn’t really the right feeling for this book. My favorite version of the Shirley Jackson book is this one:https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1tY7yFy8SL.jpg So creepy!
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I also like the second cover of Vicious. The first one screamed more graphic novel to me than book. The Grace Mercy new covers are stunning.
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I love the new covers for His Fair Assassins too. Those colors are fantastic.
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I love the His Fair Assassin covers- both old and new. and I hadn’t noticed they kept the color schemes- how cool is that? I’ve only read the first book- I need to read the rest.
The Daughter of the Forest is a good one too- I had not seen that new one!
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I think the new Vicious cover is better as well. It looks really simple but they managed to incorporate the “blacking out words” detail and also reference to the death-related superpower, which is already a lot!
And that first Handmaid’s Tale is far too busy, I agree. It took me a few seconds to realize what it was supposed to portray.
Great list!
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Vicious definitely upgraded. 😀
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Oh yeah, that Vicious cover is not great. Definitely like the redesign better. Seeing all the redesign covers for His Fair Assassin makes me so happy. I love them so much.
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Yeah, that redesign of Daughter of the Forest was spot on. It really has a timeless feel to it.
My TTT.
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How could I forget the His Fair Assassins books?! I LOVE the cover redesign on those!
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I absolutely love the redesign of A Brilliant Death! Now I want to see what the sequel looks like😊
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The sequel’s really pretty, too! 😀
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There’s another cover for Handmaid’s Tale which I think is amazing (because if you look carefully, there’s a hidden picture in it!).
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I’ll have to keep my eye out for that one!
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I love both versions of the Grave Mercy series.
My TTT
https://thereadingrebel.wordpress.com/2019/08/06/top-ten-tuesday-book-cover-redesigns-you-loved-or-hated/
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They’re so pretty!
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I really like the cover redesign for Song of Achilles.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
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It’s such a pretty cover. 🙂
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