Julie-Anne: I dislike both these covers. US more than UK though, between the smokey stuff and the typeface it seems like a cheesy porn movie. It also has the look of an 80s music video. I guess I'd go with UK because I don’t hate it as much as US but it's still pretty cheesy - and sadly the series follows a theme of the cheesy, growly man face thing.
Danielle: I agree. I don't really like the cover, or the title, to be honest. The title of this book, and the US cover really make me think porno. Slave to Sensation? No thanks. Even as an erotic romance reader, that title would turn me off. I like the UK cover a fair bit more than I like the US. Nothing is appealing about the US, save the colour. Maybe. Maybe not even that. UK here.
J: So this guy on the UK cover isn't as growly looking, I don't mind this cover as much as the 1st one. Sadly that US cover is cheesier than the 1st one, it still has an 80s feel to it.
D: I like the UK cover guy's eyes. And his mouth is nicely shaped. Seems the men in this series have a real problem with getting scratches on their faces. Just no on the US cover. Nothing even remotely redeeming on that one. Nothing.
J: I like the blue eyes on the UK cover, even though they look really fake. The guy on the US cover is standing really weird, I don't like the pose - and I'm beginning to see the 80s thing seems to be a theme. I think it's more the typeface, the author name is too curly.
D: The man on the UK doesn't have bloody scratches, but it seems he got splashed by someone who does. Poor guy. He seems fairly neutral about the whole situation though. And seriously, WTF was the American publishers thinking with these covers? They seriously look like they were printed in 1984. Also, the model looks a little like Marky Mark. UK here again.
J: Had to ask my husband for help here because he looks like someone but I couldn't think who. There was a face in my head but I didn't know who it belonged to ... he looks like MacGyver!
D: Haha, MacGyver.
J: Seems we're back to broody on the UK cover. Still hating those US covers. The one good thing about the UK covers is the black, I've noticed through doing this that I like the plain covers better.
D: Uh oh, this guy got scratched too. These poor men. Are they wooing the wrong women? US cover is shamefully underwhelming again. I'll choose UK. He has nice eyes.
J: The mouth on the UK cover makes his expression really weird and the eyes look too fake, even more so than Caressed by Ice but his mouth is really horrible. Although, not as horrible as the US cover. As much as I hate full frontal faces on covers, I hate topless and headless torsos more.
D: US dude isn't headless! He has a chin! Okay. I don't mind the fake eyes on the UK cover. They're a pretty colour, but I agree about the mouth. Is he trying to snarl? Does he have a deformation? I don't know. I'm still picking it over the US cover though.
J: The guy on the UK cover looks terrified of something, maybe the photographer? There's no headless, naked full on guy on the US cover but there's cheesy couple posing - just as bad.
D: Maybe he sees that treacherous woman that is scratching all the models. He's worried she's coming for his other cheek next. The US cover looks like an 80's romance novel. Not attractive in the least. The typeface is cheesy too. Everything about it is cheesy. UK again. He has a nice mouth.
J: Maybe he just realised his pretty face is going to be scarred for the rest of his life.
D: Poor dear. They can do wonders with plastic surgery these days.
J: The US cover almost looks like a poster for a movie starring a young Kurt Russell - perhaps a firefighter that gets amnesia following an accident on the job? Still disliking both country's offerings but like the UK ones more.
D: Oh, nail lady only got one scrape in this time. He fared better than others. I completely agree with you about the US cover. As soon as I saw it, I was thinking of an 80's action movie with like Jean-Claude Van Damme or something. Ridiculous. UK again for me. He has nice eyes.
J: Another movie poster but this time starring ... possibly Bruce Lee. I don't know what to say at this point because I really hate those US covers.
D: I want to "like" your Bruce Lee movie poster! I had the very same thought. And this poor UK dude wasn't fast enough to escape the crazy nail lady. I hope it doesn't scar, since he's kinda cute in the "boy-next-door" kind of way. UK again for me.
J: Not as 80s heavy for the US one with this cover but still too cheesy for my liking. Sometimes the guy on the UK cover doesn't look as stupid, this one doesn't have as silly an expression as some of the others.
D: I was thinking the same thing about the US cover. Still cheesy, but at least modern-ish. A little 90's still maybe. Wait, when are these books set? Maybe there's a method to the publisher's madness? UK dude almost got away, but Psycho Hose Beast got him in the end. He has nice fake brown eyes though. And he has a nice mouth. UK for me.
J: Don't know about when they're set but the first one was published in 2006. Why Hose Beast?
D: You know, it just popped into my head. A Psycho Hose Beast is someone who sucks all the energy and attention from everyone around them. It's used in the movie Wayne's World by Wayne Campbell to describe Lara Flynn Boyle's character.
J: This US cover is exactly the type of cover I think of for cheesy romance novels. It's what I would hold up as an example of a horrible cover.
D: Ah. Psycho Hose Beast strikes again. Perhaps these UK dudes should be more careful about who they date? This lady gets around. I still like it better than the cheese of the US cover though.
J: So this US cover looks like it's going for a similar but different cover to the UK. It's not as cheesy as previous covers but I still wouldn't buy it. I like that they've done a wee design at the side but it's 3 different designs and looks weird all together.
D: I agree. At first I thought it looked like bad wall paper, but then I noticed there was a thorny vine, and half of a zipper, and some crazy gray-scale roses, and then the wall paper. His fake eyes are nice though. I don't mind them. The UK guy is very ... I don't know ... boring? Compared to the other guys. He doesn't have any nice/not so nice fake eyes, he doesn't have any real redeeming facial features. He's just dull. However, still better than the US. Perhaps if the US only had the dude without all the crap, I may have selected them. This US cover is definitely the best of the bunch so far.
J: And US are back to the same style, why did they change just that one cover? I just noticed they moved away from that horrible curly typeface a few covers ago though, so that's a good thing. The UK covers are all so similar to one another that it's hard to actually say anything about them.
D: That is a weird thing that they just changed the one cover. Though this cover is better than all that 80's cheese of the others. Even though the UK covers are all practically the same, I like that. I like that they're just plain, with half a dude on it. And this guy escaped the PHB! Maybe he put an end to her, and that's why his eyes are closed. He feels bad about knocking off his friends' girl? I still pick UK though.
J: And of course just as I said that about the UK covers being the same, this one changes it up a little. Still extremely similar but the face isn't full frontal anymore. That US cover reminds me of another cover but I can't think what one. Not as cheesy or 80s music video/action movie poster as past covers but the whole headless body thing is way too overdone on book covers.
D: Oh damn, I spoke too soon. PHB is alive and well it seems. He looks sort of contemplative about the whole situation. Though the US cover looks like a man-sized Jenks from the Hollows books on it. If he has curly blond hair, it could be! I'm still sticking with UK.
J: The hands on hip pose? Yeah, he does look a bit like Jenks.
D: Yeah, though I suppose in the Hollows, it's considered his "Peter Pan Pose", so maybe he's like Peter Pan?
J: UK cover slightly different again but still similar enough to other that you know it's the same series. That guy looks familiar (Oh, he kinda looks like the dude from Hannibal!). The US cover is a bit "meh", it looks all dramatic with the long coat flapping in the wind but then the rest of it is just ... nothing.
D: UK kind of went in a different way, but I agree that you can still tell they go together. It almost looks like it was drawn or painted. The fake eyes are nice though. I don't mind them. The US cover almost looks like he could be Angel from Buffy. I'll pick UK again. Keep it consistent.
Julie-Anne: I haven't read this series but the first few US covers piqued my interest in their cheesiness. I would never buy them based on either cover but if I had to pick overall? I'd go UK, at least the spines would look good on my bookcase if nothing else.
Danielle: I also haven't read this series, but this is an author that has been recommended by many of my like-minded friends. Based on the UK covers, I would read them. Besides, I need to find out what happened with the Psycho Hose Beast. I'll probably look them up and see. The US covers would completely turn me off though.
Julie-Anne: Maybe Psycho Hose Beast is actually just extremely clumsy men? They all injured themselves while walking, apart from those two guys. One was close enough to get sprayed on and the other guy is just thinking "What the fuck? Living with these guys is like living with the three stooges!" Although the consistent scratches intrigues me too, I'd like to know what the deal is.
Danielle: Maybe that's it! I didn't even consider it could be the clumsiness of the men. I just assumed a woman was involved. I just assumed these were strong, virile men. Hmm...
