The Romantics by Galt Niederhoffer
First line: ”Laura sat in her car at the foot of a dirt road, clutching her cell phone and map.”
I’ll admit I’ve had The Romantics for a while. Every time I went through my TBR pile, I’d pick up the cover, ponder it, remember the good reviews it had received, and yet choose another book instead. I believe, as I’ve talked about numerously on this blog, that it was the cover that gave me pause. I have nothing against romantics, so it wasn’t the title. In fact, I’d venture to say I’m one myself.
On the one hand, the cover is artfully done. It looks like a ripped page, the rose split in two, and covered by three pieces of tape, which glisten in the light, like real tape would. However artfully done, it didn’t grab me and say, “read this now.” What were the publishers trying to say about the book? The art gave it an early 19th century feel, a classic, something that would require a bit of effort to delve in to, and effort is normally the last thing I have in spades at the end of the day.
For my trip to Colorado, I wanted to pick five books to accompany me on the long car ride, and there it was again, the rose beckoning me to pick it up. I did. And, because I partly felt guilty for making it wait so long to be read, I began reading on my sojourn to Kansas. I’m glad I did. The Romantics is nothing like the cover imagines it to be. This is not a slight to the wonderful illustrator or designer, but everything to do with marketing the book to the right audience. Continue reading