Before and After: A White So Red and The Scarlet Dagger get new covers!

As some of you may know, I reviewed Krystle Jones' The Scarlet Dagger last year. It was one of my favorite books of 2011. I gave it five hearts and awarded it a Kat's Meow. 

Over the last couple weeks, Krystle has been posting about the new cover she had made for The Scarlet Dagger. She has also shown the novel (and final) cover for her next book, A White So Red.

Since I'm rather fascinated -- okay, I'll admit it I'm obsessed right now -- with cover design, I thought that I would take a few minutes to share some before and after images. I think that these designs have come a long way and the new covers look great. I'd also love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to share your thoughts!

The Scarlet Dagger

Before

After

The strength of Sloane’s heart is about to be put to the ultimate test.

After the Eclipse – the night vampires began openly slaughtering human victims – everything changed. Out of fear, the government salvaged what remained of the human population and enclosed them in massive, security-laden cities called White Sectors, while marking the vampire infested territory as Red Sectors.

When seventeen-year-old Sloane McAllister’s twin brother disappears, she seems to be the only one who thinks he isn’t dead, and vows to stop at nothing to find him. Gathering her courage, she braves the Red Sector to search for clues to his whereabouts. By chance, she encounters Aden, a handsome, charismatic vampire with a hidden agenda. He turns Sloane against her will, and whisks her away to his underground city. Enemies quickly become friends as Sloane struggles against her attraction to Aden, and resists her growing loyalties to the creatures that ruined her life. But the vampires themselves are the least of her problems. The city is harboring a devastating secret, one that could change the tide of the war and threaten to destroy everything Sloane has come to believe in.

Heart-stopping action and scorching romance collide in this dystopian, urban fantasy thriller.

A White So Red

Before

After

Take back what is yours.

Seventeen-year-old Snow’s life changed forever the night her stepmother, the Queen, sent her huntsman to cut out her heart. Fleeing for her life, Snow runs to the Silver Forest, a place as dangerous as it is enchanting, and begins an adventure she could never have dreamed.

With no one at her side but a rowdy band of carnivorous dwarves and an arrogant, rogue prince who’s too handsome for his own good, Snow must confront the challenge that’s been laid before her: Kill the Queen, and take back the kingdom that should have been hers.

But if she is to succeed, Snow will have to tap into a powerful, ancient form of magic, one that may have been sleeping inside her all along.

A White So Red is a dark, sexy retelling of the classic fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Both of the new cover designs were done by Robin Ludwig Design, Inc. 

Personally, I think they both look great. I really, really love the cover for A White So Red. The contrast in colors, the way that the vines balance the image, the way it all fits together ... It really does seem to fit the type of story being told. 

What do you think of the new covers? What do you think of covers in general? How much do they influence your book buying habits? I'd love to hear all of your cover related thoughts, so please feel free to leave a comment.