We sneaky Smugglers have just received from Lisa Kleypas the new American cover for her upcoming contemporary romance: Smooth Talking Stranger!
Here’s the UK version, posted earlier this week:
As you can see, there are some noted differences between the two covers. Any thoughts or preferences?
Here’s the early synopsis of the book (from the gals of Ramblings on Romance):
Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas (March 2009, St. Martin Press)Jack Travis leads the uncomplicated life of a millionaire Texas playboy. He makes no commitments, he loves many women, he lives for pleasure. But no one has ever truly touched his heart or soul. Until one day, a woman appears on his doorstep with fury on her face and a baby in her arms. It seems Jack is the father and this woman is the baby’s aunt. The real mother has abandoned the child to her more responsible sister. And now, Jack is being called upon to take responsibility for the first time in his life.
17 Comments
Cheri2628
September 22, 2008 at 11:36 amYou know, I think I like the UK version better. A guy holding a baby is sexy to me for some reason. And the US cover with a semi-naked woman is pretty common-place.
Christine
September 22, 2008 at 11:55 amI like the US cover better… but both are beautiful. Clean lines, simple poses, all white coloring. Both are pretty classy.
As much as I love babies (so much so that I even had some of my own), and as much as I agree with Cheri in that I love a guy holding a baby, I don’t particularly care for it on book covers. Maybe it reminds me too much of the baby books and magazines I always had around when my girls were babies.
I can’t wait for Jack’s story!!!!
Dev
September 22, 2008 at 12:05 pmI just have to ditto everything Christine just said. I like the US cover better; I don’t mind babies in the story, but I’m not really a fan of having them on the cover.
Carolyn Jean
September 22, 2008 at 12:39 pmJack Travis? I know him!!
Okay, I’m from the US and I like the US cover better. But maybe if I was from the UK I’d like the UK cover.
Pam P
September 22, 2008 at 1:06 pmUS cover for me, too. The UK cover is nice, too, but I don’t care for babies on the covers of my romance books either.
Ana
September 22, 2008 at 1:26 pmI really really like both of them! Very classy – very clean, as Christine says.
JenB
September 22, 2008 at 3:56 pmI like the version without the baby. A baby on the cover of a book tells me to “RUN! Run far away!”.
The cover is really pretty, but more for a parenting book or something. Or maybe chick lit that features a sexy single father as a supporting character. But dude w/baby just doesn’t scream romance to me.
(babies just ain’t my thang)
Kate
September 22, 2008 at 4:42 pmAgreeing wholeheartedly with Jenb, though I do think both are very tastefully done.
orannia
September 22, 2008 at 6:29 pmI think I prefer the US cover (and I’m from NZ so no bias here [although I should like to state that I do have a conflict of interest: I lived in the UK for 5 years] 🙂
I love the clean, simple lines of both. I don’t mind the baby in the UK cover but the shot just feels too close…if that makes any sense
orannia
Kristie (J)
September 22, 2008 at 7:06 pmI like the US cover best too. As Christine says, I don’t mind babies in books – just not on the cover.
Ciara
September 22, 2008 at 9:52 pmBABIES!!! I love it already. *grin*
guys who like babies? DROOOOOOL.
kmont
September 23, 2008 at 6:52 amThis is a tough one. I like them both, but if not for the titles of course I’d think it was two different books entirely. The U.S. one is typically nice, but hen whoa! That’s a baby, was my reaction to the second.
If the baby is important enough to be ont he cover, then that tells me la babe is avery important part of the story too. I dunno, I may have wished for that forewarning on the U.S. cover too, since I’m not as fond of baby romances.
Smugglers, maybe that should have been my dare review! Baby romance.
kmont
September 23, 2008 at 6:55 amHoly crap, sorry for the horrible spelling just then. Must go back to third grade.
Christine
September 23, 2008 at 7:03 amI think the Smugglers have just been dared to dare kmont!!! 😛
Rowena
September 23, 2008 at 7:47 amI like the US cover better too, it’s simple and yet sensual.
Thea
September 23, 2008 at 8:18 amI prefer the US cover as well (not because of an American bias, a lot of the time I think the UK covers for romance novels are much more tasteful than the US covers, in fact!). And…yeah, it’s because of the baby. I gotta echo Jen B’s comment–babies aren’t really my thing either.
But both covers are very well done, I like the similar color schemes, and the ‘clean’ feel to both. Although I like the lettering on the American cover better as well.
li
September 23, 2008 at 10:20 amTo me, both of them are more reminiscent of women’s fiction rather than contemporary romance. But I like both… ummm, after staring at them for 5 minutes, no preference!