Cover Characteristics: Book Covers featuring Faces

 
 

I know a lot of people don’t like book covers with faces, but sometimes they’re done really well and are really beautiful or striking. I especially love illustrated ones because it gives me the chance to see the character exactly as they’re meant to look and to connect with them before I even start the story, plus I’m a sucker for pretty artwork. Even photos can be great if it’s not a photo I’ve already seen on multiple other books and if the whole cover is well done.

So… here are some book covers I love that feature faces!


Infernal Providence by J. Armand
Insanity by Cameron Jace
Want by Cindy Pon
Birds of a Feather by S. Margrave
Artemis Invaded by Jane Lindskold
Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins
Spell Bound by Jacob Z. Flores
Unhinged by A.G. Howard
Mars Girls by Mary Turzillo
Asylum 54.0 by Nadege Richards
 

Pin the Collage!


 

The Bionics Saga by Nadege Richards

Asylum 54.0 by Nadege Richards | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Sanctum 92 by Nadege Richards | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

These are so pretty and eye-catching, and I love how they match up when they’re next to each other!

 

Mars Girls by Mary Turzillo

Mars Girls by Mary Turzillo | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

This is some gorgeous art!

 

The Splintered Series by A.G. Howard

Splintered by A.G. Howard | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Unhinged by A.G. Howard | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Ensnared by A.G. Howard | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

These covers are just so fantastical and pretty! I swear that guy on Unhinged is looking into my soul.

 

The Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge Series by Jacob Z. Flores

Spell Bound by Jacob Z. Flores | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Blood Tied by Jacob Z. Flores | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Spell Fall by Jacob Z. Flores | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

These are all so simple, just a person, and yet, I find myself drawn to them and curious about the characters. It must be in the eyes!

 

Nameless Series by Jennifer Jenkins

Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Fearless by Jennifer Jenkins | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

I love how BOLD all of these are!

 

Artemis Invaded by Jane Lindskold

Artemis Invaded by Jane Lindskold | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

Something about this one is so striking and kind of ethereal. It’s so well designed, including the font and everything.

 

Birds of a Feather by S. Margrave

Birds of a Feather by S. Margrave | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

I just love this art and all that attitude in the character’s facial expression.

 

Want Series by Cindy Pon

Want by Cindy Pon | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Ruse by Cindy Pon | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

These covers are gorgeous with such pretty and cool colors!

 

Mad in Wonderland Series by Cameron Jace

Insanity by Cameron Jace | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Figment by Cameron Jace | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Circus by Cameron Jace | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

They all have basically the same image, but they’re still so colorful and fun!

 

The Immortal Coil Series

The Immortal Coil by J. Armand | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Shadows of Humanity by J. Armand | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
Infernal Providence by J. Armand | reading, books, book covers, cover love, faces
 

I’ve always loved these beautiful covers!

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Which books cover featuring faces is your favorite?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

36 thoughts on “Cover Characteristics: Book Covers featuring Faces

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  1. Di @ Book Reviews by Di

    Wow, some of these are gorgeous! I’ve never really been one of those people though that have something against faces on covers. When I am against it is when I have no idea who the person is or they don’t match who they are supposed to be, you know? Like the publisher never even bothered to tread the book but just stuck a pretty picture on it to sell it.
    *sigh*

  2. Suz

    I’m not usually one to like faces on covers but some of these are really nice.
    The Bionics Saga, with it’s clever lining up of the faces across the books, is my fav, but the artwork on the Warlock Brothers is awesome. Makes me wish I could draw.

  3. Angela

    I tend to like covers with people on them but not so much the face, but when you see that character staring straight at you from the cover, it can really draw you in!

  4. Sam@wlabb

    The Splintered books (and all Howard’s books for that matter) have exquisite covers. I like Pon’s a lot too. This is the first time I am seeing Mars Girls, and I love the color scheme and illustration style.

    1. Kristen Burns

      They really do! And I also really like Pon’s covers. I’m surprised more people haven’t mentioned liking Mars Girls because I think that one is so gorgeous!

  5. Greg

    Faces can be funny. I kinda like the Bionics covers, especially as you note the way they go together. Nice! The AG Howard covers are amazingsauce and I’ve always loved ’em.

    The last two Nameless covers are pretty badass too, wit the red and black.

    Rogue Hounds I like too! and the second Insanity cover.

    Man, picking a favorite is tough! I don’t know probs one of those AG Howard ones.

  6. ShootingStarsMag

    I’ve always really loved the covers for the Splintered series. They’re just so cool. I think faces can work okay on covers, but like you said, using the same model as other books will make it seem a bit too generic. Illustrated covers are pretty awesome though!

    -Lauren

  7. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    Book covers with faces are a difficult one for me. I think they can look really good but they just aren’t usually covers which draw me into a book. I do like those Cindy Pon covers, though. And The Splintered series are really cool, but that’s partially everything else on the cover and the colours, I think.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’m the opposite, that when it’s a good cover, like these, a face draws me in more. It makes me feel a connection to the character. But yeah, the Splintered covers just have a lot of cool design stuff!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Oh, definitely. I remember once reading a series with an MC and two love interests and looking at the cover like… who are these people??? It’s so frustrating when that happens. I love the Unhinged cover and honestly I just like his face, haha.

  8. Olivia Roach

    I am not the hugest fan of faces on the cover, but if you are going to do it, the best way to do it is the way you’ve shown here — when it’s clearly not a real model’s face. But I guess a graphic design or artistic design face is a lot more bearable to me! I have actually read Insanity from the covers you selected but I really didn’t like that book >.>

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yep, I love the illustrated ones! But yeah, if not that, then it at least needs to have some nice editing or design. I don’t like the covers that are just a photo of a model either. I actually haven’t read any books on this list except J. Armand’s lol.

  9. Lola

    I usually like covers with faces, if well done ofcourse, although it’s also nice to see covers without faces on them. These are all great and I like how they still give a feel for what the book is about a bit about the characters too.

    The Bionics saga covers looks awesome and that’s neat how they line up when next to each other, but also don’t look weird when viewed separately. I always thought those Splintered covers looked great, they sure catch your attention. And I am not surprised you included the Immortal Coil series here, I like those covers, although they do make me wonder if each book follows a different main character.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, they definitely need to be done well, like these! I also like when they do a good job of also giving you a feel for the book, the genre, the mood, the characters, etc., as most of these do.

      I didn’t even notice they would do that until I put them together, but it looks great! The Splintered covers are definitely eye-catching! The Immortal Coil books all follow the same POV character despite the different covers 🙂