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Ah, We Dare. A title that exudes boldness, courage, and just a hint of… PowerPoint military fantasy roleplay? Eric Thomson’s cover for the first book in the Ghost Squadron series is what happens when someone combines the swagger of a recruitment poster with the design...
Ah, Standing on Stolen Ground, where the only thing more chaotic than the romance is the graphic design. This cover feels like it was born from a late-night Canva binge after watching three episodes of Fixer Upper and one Appalachian ghost documentary. Let's start...
Oh, Hobtown. We love you, we truly do — but we also don’t understand you. And we’re pretty sure your mystery stories are cooked in the same pot where folklore and fashion mistakes go to ferment. This cover is doing… a lot. Let’s start with our heroine, who appears to...
There are book covers that make you stop and stare in awe. And then there are book covers that make you stop and stare because you genuinely can’t believe someone looked at the final result and said, “Yes. This is it.” Terra’s Evil Children falls firmly,...
“Spirited away... by questionable design.” Welcome back, brave browsers of bad taste, to another installment of Horrible Covers, where no genre mashup is too awkward and no stock image goes unshamed. Today’s spectral misstep: Anna and the Grumpy Ghost, a cover that...
If there’s one thing you expect from a title like The Rockin’ Country Collection, it’s bold cowboy hats, guitars, boots stomping across dusty stages, and maybe a whiskey bottle or two. Instead, what we get is… a washed-out black-and-white engagement photo that looks...
When you hear the phrase Afternoon Delight, your mind probably drifts toward steamy escapades, Marvin Gaye on repeat, or at the very least, something suggestive enough to raise an eyebrow. Instead, this cover delivers… a pastel watercolor postcard of Main Street, USA,...
This cover is so on the nose, it might as well come with a thunderclap and an ominous “dun-dun-dunnn” sound effect. Pain from the Very Beginning wants to deliver raw emotional depth — instead, it delivers Photoshop filters, murky shadows, and a lightning bolt that...
What Happens When You Mix: A Photoshop gradient explosion A mannequin with godlike glow-up syndrome Fonts that scream “Why use one style when you can use four?” Layouts that read like IKEA instructions for a galactic invasion You get The 100 Year Clones–a book cover...
Welcome to another eye-watering installment of Horrible Covers, where questionable aesthetic decisions meet the printed word. Today’s subject? A YA mystery cover so aggressively whimsical it could double as a 2023 bullet journal starter kit. Let’s dive in. A Deadly...
Ah, The Witch Prophecy. You may not know what this book is about—and, thanks to this cover, neither do we. The ancient Fates have apparently foreseen the destined meeting of a witch and a werewolf... but clearly skipped the part where a designer would also join the...
Welcome to Battle Confused: Dumpster Edition In a world ravaged by war and apparently also by 2003 Photoshop filters, two gritty heroes stand amidst the refuse of a mid-'90s PC game cutscene. One's holding a weapon the size of a microwave, the other's sporting enough...
A Note to Authors Featured Here
The purpose of Horrible Covers is not only to critique but also to highlight how much cover design matters to a book’s success. Many authors set out with the best intentions but end up with covers that don’t reflect the quality of their writing — sometimes because they tried to do it themselves, sometimes because they relied on someone who wasn’t a professional cover designer.
We understand how frustrating that can be.
Our aim is simple: to help writers put their best work forward with cover art that does justice to the story inside. If you’ve been featured here and are ready to level up your presentation, reach out through our contact form and mention “Horrible Covers Author.”