Friday, June 05, 2009

Opinions?

The Harlequin Mills and Boon Romance covers are getting a revamp in the UK, starting August.

And 4 books per month are being released as 2-in-1s.

My 'A TRIP WITH THE TYCOON' is out in September and here's the brand spanking new cover.

I have my opinion but I'd love to hear yours (then I'll share!)

So come on, 'fess up. What do you think? Honestly?

13 comments:

Joanne Coles said...

Honestly? Don't tell, but I'm not keen.

Also I think the 2 in 1 idea might backfire. Some romance authors I auto-buy, others not so much. I wonder if the ebooks are 2 in 1 too or you can buy them separately.

By the way, the two authors on the cover of the book you showed are auto-buy for me :-)

Aideen said...

Hi Nicola,

Seeing as how Joanne has been honest I feel I should be honest too. I LOVE this new cover. I actually prefer it. The wonderfully soft focus screams romance for me. This new look will entice new readers in my opinion and might even put an end to people judging books by their covers, because let's face it, some M&B covers are simply OTT.
As for the 2in1, I don't know what way that will go. But it's certainly a great way to meet new writers we might not have previously read.

So a big yes from Ireland, the new cover gets my vote.

Aideen.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, well, I guess I like it just fine. . . don't think this will make sense, but it doesn't feel like a major change, but maybe my mind just keeps looking at it like it's a special book/cover for the month, and not the usual way all the covers are going to go. I might be in the US, so I'm used to ours covers, but having gotten and seen plenty of the foreign versions, UK particularly, I'm also quite used to those. . . so it's different, pretty nice, but doesn't feel like it's the usual sort of covers just yet. But I'll get used to it, like we do when covers change here. :)

And I love 2 for 1s -- it always feels like I'm getting a bonus, whether I've read one or both authors, or if my purpose in buying a double is for one particular author. . . still feels like a freebie, and I'll always take more to read! :)

Lois

Kat said...

I think it's elegant, but I wonder if it's too women's fiction-ish for romance readers who are used to the traditional HMB covers. I love 2-in-1s/ I notice the Mills & Boon branding is bigger than the title and author. Very interesting from a marketing point of view.

juliemt said...

I'm in two minds about both the covers and the 2 in 1s actually. On one hand, I think that the new covers are lovely and very romantic and classy, but on the other, I think that they are too mainstream and although they might attract new readers, they might alienate some of M&Bs core readers.

I dislike the idea of the 2 in 1 as like Joanne, I buy by author rather by series, so there are some authors I buy and others I don't. I guess I just hate being forced paying for a second book that I might not have bought otherwise.

Julie

Lacey Devlin said...

Actually I really like the picture! Some of the others I don't like so much but I guess that's true of any artwork. In Oz there's already a lot of 2-in-1s and I have to say that sometimes I don't buy a book by an author not on my fav list just because I can't really justify paying the higher price when I only like one of the stories. It will be interesting to see the results :) I guess there's always the argument that a well known author will be bought and that will introduce the reader to the other author coupled with her work, hence expanding everyone's loyal reader base.

Liz Fielding said...

There a lot wrong with the 2-in-1 set up for the author but the reader gets a terrific deal -- £4.99 instead of £6.38 for two single titles -- but I have to admit that this is the best of the new covers I've seen so far.

I do think that the fact that the Mills & Boon branding is larger than either title or author name is a mistake. Almost as if they're afraid people won't realise that's what they are. And that's a problem why?

On the 3-in-1 reprint anthologies, we get the sophisticated slender rose with the M&B logo on the spine and the back. Nothing on the front except the title and author names. And sales of those have taken off.

But maybe authors are too close to them to be objective.

Caroline said...

I don't normally buy 2-in-1's as a rule - even if it does work out cheaper - even though I usually buy up to 6 - 10 books a month I still buy 1 book at a time. (Odd? Yes but that's me!) The new covers? Ummm. Not sure. The "rose" looks like a very very old cover M&B had many years ago and seems to dominate over the cover photo of the H/h. It doesn't offend but in my opinion it's not the best... Take care. Caroline x

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

Thanks to you all for being so honest.

With covers, I've learned to go with the flow.

While I think I've been lucky with the pic on mine, having to squint to see the author name and title is discouraging.
And the pale pink may get lost on the shelves amid brighter books?

I loved the vibrant hot pink of the old romance covers, they really stood out.

I like 2-in-1s when I buy, because often I discover a new author I like.
As an author, who'll get half the royalties, I'm too keen ;)

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

Liz,

As authors, I don't think we're too close.

We're readers too, and buyers of our series (I spend way too much on books!) so we're part of the target audience too. :)

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

Joanne C,

you bring up an interesting point.

You mentioned I'm an autobuy, as well as Fiona Harper.

But what happens when we're in a different duo and you only get to buy 1 book a month?

I can see where this is going to be tough...

Liz Fielding said...

PS I love the US version of this cover. That Taj background gives a real feel for what you're going to get.

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

It's my favourite cover, Liz!

I've been so lucky, as the Taj has special significance in the book, and is the site of several key scenes.