On Covers and Curse Workers

I just finished reading RED GLOVE, the second book in Holly Black's Curse Workers trilogy.

And GAH! This trilogy!

Understand: I LOVE the stories. Love the characters, love the cons (oh my GOSH, the cons), love the powers, love the world. I think I liked WHITE CAT better than this one (the big con felt . . . connier in the first book), but RED GLOVE was still very good.

When I read WHITE CAT, my only problems with it were a minor plot issue and the cover.

Guess what my problems are now.

So, the minor plot issue is really minor. More of a world-building nitpick than anything: If everyone wears gloves all the time -- and the murderer was wearing gloves when she was caught on camera -- why would Cassel need to wipe prints off the gun? (And do police even use fingerprinting if everyone wears gloves all the time?).

 
But the cover. It's better this time -- it's not whitewashed, for example. Actually, it's a pretty cool design, but . . . I dunno. See, I think boys would love this book. Crime bosses, con artists, murders, brothers. What's not to love? But the cover's PINK, man. Even I was embarrassed to read it in public.

(Okay, so I'm very easily embarrassed. But still, it'd be nice if the cover could be more...neutral.)

8 comments:

Matthew MacNish said...

That cover looks really bad from where I'm sitting. It probably doesn't help that it's small, and on a backlit LCD, but mainly I just don't like dudes whose hair looks like that. Srsly, that is a dude, right?

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Dude! They changed the cover!! It was much cooler (and boy friendly) before. BTW my son (14you) has read all the books - loves them.

Sarah Ahiers said...

...i've never even heard of these books, but just like that i totally want to read them.
Cons, crime bosses, murders, brothers?? Those are all things i lurrrrve!
(but yes, i would totally catch, and nitpick that fingerprint issue. I'm mildly irritated already and i just learned about these books)

Steve MC said...

That cover to Red Glove does look a bit, um, erotic?

But very cool you've found a series you love. And no clue on the fingerprints unless they were fingerless gloves. Or their pet ape was playing with it.

Eliza Tilton said...

I agree with you on the cover. I wonder if this one has more e-book sales....

Laurel Garver said...

I agree with above. It looks like an erotica cover, or possibly a romance set in the roaring 20s. That typeface screams flapper to me.

Jack said...

It is a nice cover, but if I was to just glance at it I would think it was a girly romance and not pick it up. So I can see what would mean. It just doesn't look like the kind of book you described.Though the book itself sounds rather good.

Angela Brown said...

Had you not pointed out that the story you were talking about and the cover went together, I wouldn't have known. I got nothing about cons, crimes, nothing at all to give me any hint of anything other than girly-boy-hair and something about a red glove...which would put my mind more along the "bow-chica-wow-wowaa" frame of mind.