I thought the cover I’d seen for Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum (review) was pretty iconic. Bold and unique. Flowery, but in a really inviting way. But here is a sample of the covers that could have been courtesy of RandomHouse.
And this is what they settled on in the UK.
What are your thoughts? Who did it best?
52 books or bust 
I love the blue floral one – so striking and memorable. However look closely at the UK one – it’s clever. The traditional embroidery features broken wine glasses amongst the flowers.
Ah yes, I see it now.
Very glad they didn’t go for a pic of woman/ legs or bed sheets – too obvious and plays up the less interesting (not the right word…) element of the story.
Yes, there were many ‘potential’ covers that turned me off the book immediately. Both UK and US did a good job in the end.
I think the US cover is very memorable and striking – it makes me want to pick it up. It was super interesting to see all the possible designs for the cover and there were many that could have also worked, but definitely not the sheets one!
Both are much better than any of the covers with women and beds on them! I might never have read it. I kind of like the UK version, for some reason.
I know. The cover came so close to going so badly.
If I may… there are two puns and a bit of a “code” on the cover…
Given that it’s your book, I think you may and should. I got one of them on my own and the other from Literary Disco, but the code is lost on me.
Think of the flowers as characters. Also, if you look at it, it sorta resembles an anatomical heart. I do so love it. The pb cover is a knockout too. But in a different direction.
It totally reminds me of an anatomical heart and always has. Not seeing the characters as flowers, but maybe that’s because I’m looking at it on my phone right now. Any idea when the PB cover will be release to the world?
PB coming out I think in late November / early December. Yeah, it’s subtle. I can’t say bc it gives away some of the book! How DaVinci Code of me! (zap me and I’ll tell ya…)
I can’t stop watching that video! Some of the covers are awful/set the wrong tone, but I really like the ones that have a train ticket on them. And I really love the US cover!
I wish there were more videos like this out there.
Fascinating! I would have plumped for the first cover even without seeing the video and reading the the author’s comments, although I hadn’t spotted the broken wineglasses on the UK jacket which is a nice touch but perhaps a bit too subtle. Both infinitely better than rumpled beds or stockings…
How cool! I liked the ones at the beginning of the video with the legs pretty well and I also liked the ones with beds on them, since both felt appropriate to me. I’m very glad they didn’t go with one of the ones with partial glimpses of a woman on them – face, chest, legs – because these strike as objectifying an overdone cover images.
Interesting. I think you are the first person to like the ones with beds. I can’t wait to see how they change it for the PB. Essbaum says it goes in a very different direction.
I noticed no one else was liking them! I can see where they’d seem cliched and overused in new adult covers especially, but I just felt like they fit the story. For me, the empty bed captured not just the role sex played in this story, but also the way it seemed to leave Anna feeling empty still.
No. I agree that it captures the story quite well, but it’s not the kind of cover that makes me want to pick up the book.
So cool! I love the U.S. cover, but there are some other really great options (and some terrible ones) in the video!
I like the first cover as well. In SA we get the UK cover, unfortunatelly
I imagine SA is a little like Canada. Sometime we get the American cover, sometimes we get the British cover. I bet you get the Australian cover a fair bit.
I lean towards the first one.
Holy cow, that’s a lot of covers haha. I’m glad they went with the one they did, but I also liked the line drawings of the hands covering the woman’s face. I’m just #grateful they didn’t go with any of the photos of women and their limbs.