Comments on: Breasts–I got ‘em, I don’t need to see ‘em

By: Melisse Aires

Melisse Aires — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:18:48 +0000

I’m with Leah. The last few covers I thought were really stunning were historicals with the heroine in a fabulous gown, but it was the gown that caught my eye, not the cup size.

I have bought Christmas romances because the snow scene was so pretty.

By: Leah

Leah — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:38:20 +0000

You know what I really like in a romance cover? Gorgeous clothes. And/or beautiful landscapes. In paintings, not photos. The more graphic a cover, the less likely I am to buy it.

By: MtnGirl4ever

MtnGirl4ever — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:56:57 +0000

If you want a really good magazine with fit models, try Oxygen instead. It rocks!

By: Susan Kelley

Susan Kelley — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:50:05 +0000

I hadn’t really noticed either but I certainly prefer a hot male bod on my covers. My publisher has given me four of them so far.
And about the cover models on Shape magazine, I must saw a commercial on TV as I write this pushing an athletic shoe. The girl was so obviously a 98 pound starving model without an ounce of muscle on her legs I wondered if the ad makers really think women are that gullible.

By: S. A.

S. A. — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:59:26 +0000

Breasts on a cover turns me off.

There I said it.

If they’re spilling out of a bodice or a bra, if their the focal point of the cover art, or you just can’t help but notice all that bosom I won’t buy the book at all.

Yes, I AM judging a book by its cover and I know I’ve missed out on a number of fabulous novels that were released with covers featuring maximum breastitude. Case in point: Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Avon imprint of It Had to Be You. I love SEP, but that freakin’ cover turned me off! Yes, I know it was an accurate uh, portrayal of the heroine’s ample assets, but I waited to picked up the book later, once it had a new cover. And I loved it.

For me, less is always more.

By: Angie

Angie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:41:14 +0000

I wonder if this is the same romance marketing wisdom which says that the (female) readers insert themselves into the story as they read? If the big New York marketers think the readers want to have the heroine’s adventures, maybe they think the readers want to have her body too? And of course Everyone Knows that every woman in the world wants a couple of basketballs stuck to her chest. [cough]

Sort of along the same lines, though, I remember an online discussion some years ago about how many romance authors gave detailed descriptions of the heroine’s breasts — how big and round and firm they were, how prominent the nipples were, what exact color the areolas were, etc. This was the writers, not the cover artists or the marketers, so obviously those writers (and it was a LOT of writers) thought there would be some significant interest on the part of the reader.

Somehow the idea went around that romance readers are kind of obsessed with the heroine’s boobs, and it’s not a new idea, even if there’s a new manifestation of it now.

Angie

By: Kimber Chin

Kimber Chin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:56:33 +0000

I LOVE the whole male chest, cut off head cover.
Why?
Because I always picture the heroes as Asian (like my hubby).
This cover allows me to put my own face to the hero.

BTW…I think most of the Regency heroes ARE Asian, they have coal black hair, a year round tan, and a hairless chest.

By: Marissa Turner

Marissa Turner — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:09:05 +0000

I will admit, I’ve bought such books… and made fun of the female. Because my breasts measure in a bit further down the alphabet than D, and I know for a fact that a large breasted woman cannot wear a strapless bra. And, her thighs do touch.

I hope the trend ends soon. I’d rather go back to staring at female butts with ass antlers (tramp stamp tattoos) than boobs.

By: Lou Gagliardi

Lou Gagliardi — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:57:22 +0000

I haven’t noticed this trend. But then again, I usually don’t pay attention to the female on the cover, but the male.

And that’s coming from a macho guy who happens to read romance

By: Donna

Donna — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:52:57 +0000

Are the artists males perhaps? And that’s what THEY want to look at while working? LOL