Alisha Rai just revealed the cover for the first book in her Modern Love series, THE RIGHT SWIPE (Avon, July 9, 2019). In line with a broader trend in romance toward illustrated covers, THE RIGHT SWIPE features a pink cover with its main characters shown looking at their phones.
For me, this new cover trend has become shorthand for “straight to my TBR.” You’ve seen it with several releases from Berkley — Helen Hoang’s the Kiss Quotient, Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date and the Proposal. Helena Hunting’s The Good Luck Charm (Forever) cover is illustrated, as is her 2019 release Meet Cute (April 9; Forever). Its main characters are set against a yellow background drinking from straws in a milkshake glass.
More than a cover design trend, it also represents a shift in format and price point for some authors, as Trisha Haley Brown and Jess Pryde pointed out on this week’s When in Romance podcast. These covers appear on trade paperbacks, a larger format book than typical romance mass market paperbacks. It’s true for Alisha Rai’s 2019 summer release, which is currently pre-order priced on Amazon for $13.49 for the paperback and $9.99 for the Kindle version. Rai’s previous Forbidden Hearts series with Avon was a mass market paperback with a cover price of $7.99. I personally prefer the larger trade paperback and I’ll still be basing my buying decisions on budget and interest in the story. If authors get a little more dough, more power to them.
Refinery 29 raised a question about whether these illustrated covers will help attract a new segment of readers to romance. As much as I enjoy these covers, my cynical side asks, is it about expanding the addressable market? Or are these covers just a convenient, more cost effective way to check the box on representation? Maybe both? Separating the business issues from the social implications is hard. While the trend is not exclusive to authors/characters of color, I wonder whether an (un)intended side effect is illustrated is a way to make PoC more “palatable” to a broader audience as romantic leads. I want to believe authors wouldn’t ever stand for that. I’m still working through what I think the answers are and how I feel about them.
As a reader, I want both — the pretty illustrated covers and the ones that make no mistake that people of color are thirst objects. We haven’t yet had our fair share.
Now how about that synopsis for THE RIGHT SWIPE?
Synopsis:
Alisha Rai returns with the first book in her sizzling new Modern Love series, in which two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom.
Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career—and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules:
– Nude pics are by invitation only
– If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice
– Protect your heart
Only there aren’t any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night… and disappears.
Rhi thought she’d buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful—and in league with a business rival. He says he won’t fumble their second chance, but she’s wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk…
