All three of those books have cutesy, sweet covers with similar titles.
Don’t cha think?
I didn’t even know until the second book was out they were historicals.
I haven’t read any of them yet. Have you? Did you know they were historicals? Is it just me that thinks they scream contemporary?
I ran across Kristina’s website because she was apart of the Romance Unleased site. And I have to wonder how Kristina Cook has any fans at all.
Really. If you are a historical fan, how do you know to pick her up? If you are a contemp fan, you aren’t getting what you thought. So I was happy when I hear she was getting a new look for the next book… silly me…
Her first covers were so very sweet contemp like. And they matched. She had a theme going on with the covers and with the titles. So to wrap up the series… they give her a completely different contemporary cover and a completely different title.
I thought publishers were finally starting to put some faith into branding.
He’s Notorious For His Wicked Ways…
Frederick Stoneham thoroughly enjoys the life he leads as one of London’s most disreputable rogues. When his father arranges for him to wed Lady Eleanor Ashton, he believes his decadent lifestyle can carry on uninterrupted. After all, he remembers Eleanor to be plain and timid–not the kind of wife who will demand attention or insist he leave his mistress. But Frederick has a change of heart when he sees the striking beauty Eleanor has become…
Can She Reform Him?
Eleanor is stunned to discover she is to wed Frederick Stoneham—the man she has secretly pined after for years, despite his reputation. When Frederick’s former mistress tells her a horrible lie, Eleanor feels betrayed. But Frederick’s persistence—and a passion that refuses to be ignored—are slowly melting Eleanor’s resolve. Now Frederick must prove to Eleanor that his days as a rake are in the past and that she is the only woman he will ever love…
Yeah, those covers scream contemp and almost chick lit. It’s too bad that the last of the series got ‘f’d up.
The so scream “contemporary” I can’t imagine why anyone looking for a good historical would even give them a second glance much less actually pick them up. Yikes.
Oh, and Frederick is not a romantic hero name (or am I the only one that thinks that?). Frederick is the slightly drunken best friend that always needs money. 😉
BUT! Now we know… and knowledge is power!
Now I just need to get the book 😉
Y’all make it sound like Cook has some say about her covers. Nope (or at least I’m fairly certain she doesn’t).
Tina, if you like regencies, read Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. That Freddy really is a fop of a Freddy and he turns the whole idea of hero on its head–but he’s perfect. Jack, the handsome rake with broad shoulders and laughing eyes? He’s a loser.
My hang up is with names that don’t fit the era. Frederick, George, Stanley, Oswald–those nerd-o-la names work for a Regency hero because those are names I know people gave their poor unfortunate offspring names back then.
I’m not a member of the historical accuracy police. Heck, I’ll even put up with names like Slade or Buck or Stone for nobility in a Regency as long as someone says something like “heavens, what sort of name is that?”
Have publishers lost their faith in branding? Heck, no. But if the cover makes people think a regency historical is actually some kind of contemp, maybe they should change the cover look. Publishers have changed an author’s NAME, let alone covers and titles. And kate r is right, the author usually has little to no control over the cover. Or the title.
And why can’t Frederick be a manly name? ‘George’ doesn’t exactly ring my bell as a name, until it’s attached to ‘Clooney’ and then…dingdingding! I think romance authors have actually sanitized historical names to a large degree; you don’t see many heroes named Increase (like Increase Mather) or Resolved (like the Whites on the Mayflower named their kid). Not everyone was named Jack or Alec or Duncan.
Hey Kate!
No I don’t think the author has a say really at all. Unless she is a biggie. Nora Roberts could prolly say that is shitty, I wanna another.
I thought I was getting my idea across with the historical posts with contem cover but it has been over a few days so maybe you didn’t see the others. I do think in this case it is worse.
A big point of my question is:
I thought publishers were finally starting to put some faith into branding.
I am pretty okay with names for the most part. Where some go omg what was that name I will have to go back and reread it because it just doesn’t register one way or the other.
As far as the name Frederick goes–well, the hero in one of my all-time favorite historical romance’s name is Jocelyn! From Mary Balogh’s More Than a Mistress. At first, I thought I was going to have a hard time with the name–to me, Jocelyn is a woman’s name. But it’s really all about the writing, I guess, because by the time I finished that wonderful book, the name Jocelyn suddenly seemed *really* sexy and very hero-like.
I’d much rather have an era-appropriate name like Frederick for a hero, than yet another nickname like Hawk or Stone, or even worse, a totally modern name.