The new Mills & Boon "Romance" covers have now been revealed on Amazon here in the UK.From August the books will be sold as 2-in-1s in the UK -- still the same four books only cheaper for the reader £4.99 for each volume instead of £6.38 for two single titles. I know it's not going to suit everyone, but it is a terrific bargain.
You can pre-order them now on Amazon, or buy online direct at Mills & Boon in July when they'll also be available to download as eBooks. There will also be two more single titles available at £3.19 each.
Normally changes come in baby steps so that the readers don't lose sight of a series. This new look is a giant leap.So what do you think? Are the new covers an improvement? Modern and fresh? Or, like me, are you wondering why the Mills & Boon logo is larger than either the titles or the authors' names?
Do you buy the brand or the author? Or do you have your own ideas of an ideal cover for a romance? Which romance cover made you reach out and grab it?
Do share.
19 comments:
Um, not keen, me.
I've always been a bit anti 2-in-1s because I buy books for the author, not the brand, and I'd feel I'd wasted half my money. (Now if it was 2 Liz Fieldings in 1, that would be a different story entirely.) Also they take up more space on my shelves that I might prefer to have for someone else.
And yes, Liz, like a lot of people, I do happen to feel that it is THE AUTHOR who deserves star billing!!!!!!
Not completely sure about the covers either, to be honest.
I'm not keen on 2 in 1s either. I don't like being forced into buying two books when I just want to buy one. I know that they're better value, but I buy by author rather than by series, so I wish they just updated the covers without the 2 in 1s.
I love the current UK Romance covers, so it's a shame that we won't see them anymore as I think they just encapsulate the line.
I think M&B should take a leaf out of Harlequin in the US and give each series its own individual look. And the author should have star billing. I doubt whether I'll be able to make out the title and author on the bookshop shelves seeing as the font is so tiny.
Mmm, I don't like 2 in 1's as I buy by author so don't buy all the line - not sure about the covers, the logo is a bit overpowering and I think the authors name should be bigger. Are they keeping the larger font inside, Liz? I must admit I do like that about the romance line - much easier on my eyes.
Thanks for that, Jan!
Julie, I do love the US covers, especially the Romance ones. And the star billing -- name in big letters over the title for those of you not familiar with them.
And I wonder about the colour coding, too. It seems unnecessarily divisive, narrowing rather than inviting choice.
Nell, I haven't thought to ask about the print size. If they are still larger print the books are going to be doorsteps.
There was a time when the pound was stronger, that it paid to buy the books from Amazon.com, if you could wait a few days and they produce a larger print edition, too. And nothing is changing there. All six books will be issued retail as single books.
Gosh, looks like we all have the same sentiments. I also don't buy 2 in 1 books. I buy mostly books that are by a specific author. Sometimes a cover will catch my eye, or the bright colors, and I will pick it up and read the back cover.
I love artwork on covers more so than actual photographs of people and certain colors I gravitate to such as pink, red, blue, and yellow. You should see my keeper shelf. Very colorful!
Great topic Liz! You always provide such wonderful thoughts for fodder!
I love the new covers. It's true that the logo is a bit overwhelming, but overall, the design is such an improvement over the glaring pink with the Americanish cover pics. (What was wrong with the orange covers in the first place??? They were lovely. And you could put them next to the older yellow books and the colours didn't clash at all. Orange and pink though? Uhm ...) (Rant over. As you can see, I have very strong feelings about people trying to ruin the look of my M&B shelf. *g*) Imo, these new covers definitely make for grab-worthy books.
As I love the 3-in-1 By Request releases, I will surely also buy the 2-in-1 Romance books - if I like the cover blurbs, that is. :) 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 books are great for finding new authors, I think. (Of course, after a while you know most of the authors of a line, but still!)
Whew, glad someone is happy! It's important for writers than readers like the covers. Even more importnat that they recognise them when they see them and aren't left utterly confused at the bookshelf when they swoop on the first Friday of the month and bypass books that don't look right.
Liz, I have to order them online anyway. *g*
Since I posted my last comment, I've come to realise that 2-in-1 books mean you can no longer shelf them according to author. Argh.
Does anybody else think that the new M&B logo looks slightly retro? When I first saw the cover pics, I actually thought they'd gone back to an older logo from the 1980s. Then I checked and realised I was wrong.
Nevertheless, I do think the new covers have fresher look, which I find very appealing. Now I just need some excuse to hop on the next plane and look at them all lined up in a "real" bookstore. :)
I want to see the new covers in the flesh as it were.
And will I buy? It depends on the blurbs. The problem with 2 in 1 is that sometimes both books do not appeal. Then it is a case of do i want to pay the increased price for the book I want.
I do know that they have had a tremendous response to the Lords & Ladies collection for example. And other countries have done well. I just read in the Desire sr ed Q&A on eharlequin that Desire is expermenting with 2 in 1 in the US, even though they are doing v well in sales...
I have to admit that I'm wild about those particular covers, Michelle, which seem a bit washed out to me. But I've seen one of the September ones and that really is a "grab me" cover.
I'd heard that 2-in-1s were doing v. well in other parts of the world so I guess we'll have to wait and see how it plays in the UK.
I still don't know who my first two partners will be. The first book is a Christmas title so no prizes for guessing the theme for that one.
We've already got 2-in-1s for some of the other lines in Australia. I'm not a fan. I grumble every time I have to buy a book I only want one story out of and sometimes I don't end up finishing the other story because it didn't grab me at all.
It also means that I won't buy a book that I would have if it wasn't a 2-in-1. I'll always buy my favourites (ah ha like yours!) but if there are two authors together who aren't such favourites or well known to me and I only love one of the stories I usually won't buy it :(
I had some 2-in-1s in Australia a while back. They seem to have stopped doing them, though. Which seems to contradict sales in other parts of the world where they've done well.
The cover art is not terribly eyecatching, I'd have to say. By virtue of being 'washed out' it doesn't do much to attract the eye.
Not a fan of 2 in 1 books as I buy by author. I hope this is not a wave of the future, frankly. Would much prefer to see them go back the way they were. And yes, I like the US covers a lot more than the UK ones.
Nell, I've just heard from Richmond that the Romance series will still be in larger print.
Hey Liz, I will only buy 2 in 1 if one of the authors is a must buy author for me. I buy new authors (new to me anyway) by reading the back blurbs and sometimes the first page or so... although in the last couple of years or so the most successful thing in getting me to buy new authors is the ehar online reads.
I don't like the look of the new covers, but I don't get M&B here in HI so it won't really affect me. I think the author name and title should be bigger than the M&B logo though...
I don't like the look of the covers and think
Like most people commenting, I'd be put off paying more if I only wanted one of the titles - I buy by author, not series. Not sure about the covers overall, I'd need to see one in the hand, I think, but it is a pity you can't read the authors' names easily - with such a standardised look is there a risk that readers might think "I've read that" because they don't spot author and title?
The Historical 2 in 1 series have sold really well, but I wonder if that is because they are reprints and a chance for readers to catch up on favourites they have only recently got to know and missed first time round. And the covers for those series are lovely.
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