I don’t know about you guys, but I have a serious case of cover lust. I go weak at the knees when I see a beautiful book cover and am guilty of buying a book solely because of its book cover. Sometimes it pays off, other times it really doesn’t. Have you guys ever bought a book just because of book cover lust? Which book was it?

A book cover often give me the first impression of a book, so be it good or bad. I know they say don’t judge a book by its cover, which is true, but the cover undoubtedly does give you a first vibe of the whole book. If a book cover is poorly made the book usually needs to have a convincing synopsis and/or a good price in order to convince me to get it. The truth is that cover lust also applies for me when I’m only buying an ebook, the prettier a book is, the more likely I am to want to buy it. Is that sometimes bad? Yes it is. I might miss amazing books because of this mindset, but the one thing I have going for me is that I’m aware of the fact that I do it. Even though the book cover is a big part of my first impression of a book, it does take a seat in the back later on.

Way back I only went on book cover and synopsis when I was about to buy a new book but these days I tend to often go on friends and other amazing blogger’s advice. Especially when I buy a physical copy of a book. I want to know that my money goes to books that are worth it and that I know I’ll like. That doesn’t mean I don’t love it when a book has the most beautiful cover I’ve ever seen.

In the end having cover lust is not a bad thing, I think we all want pretty shiny things. However, what we need to remember is that a book is not its cover. A book is its synopsis and the story it’s trying to tell. If a book has a beautiful cover it’s only an added bonus. An author who has a book cover not as appealing as the next author shouldn’t be punished for that, because the truth is, most authors can’t choose their covers and/or doesn’t have a lot of options to go with. All authors, no matter their book cover, deserve all the love in the world if the story they have written is a good one.

A beautiful book cover can both enhance the beauty of a story and make a story that’s otherwise pretty dull appear more enchanting to the naked eye. I think we like to believe that books with beautiful covers are good, but I think in our hearts we know the stories worth putting our time and energy on, no matter what they look like.

Have you ever bought a book because of cover lust? Did it pay off or was it a complete bust? Let me know in the comments below!