I saw a picture of a display in The Works and it got me thinking about how much book cover design has changed.
So many adult romance books now have those cartoon/illustrated covers with couples looking like they’re straight out of a YA coming-of-age series. And fantasy seems to have gone in the opposite direction, with the endless swirly fonts, decorative lettering and whimsical illustrations that were traditionally associated with YA fantasy.
I’m not saying these books are necessarily written for teenagers, or that there’s anything wrong with illustrated covers, but sometimes I genuinely struggle to distinguish adult fiction from YA just by looking at the covers.
Why do “adult” books look so so childish? Is it a reflection of modern day adults being more youthful than say 30yr olds in the past? Or are these books actually just YA with sex scenes aimed at teenagers and not adults despite being classed as adult books?
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