Welcome to our new edition of The Good, the Bad and the Are-You-Kidding-Me? This is the place where we let our shallow side rules and we do judge books by their covers (ok we’re just judging the covers but still!!). This week’s theme  came from the cover reveal of Playing to Win. Pervs Admirers of the male body that we are, we couldn’t help but start discussing how easily a man chest on a cover can turn from super sexy to very disturbing. Here’s the result of our little bit of research 😉 I know man chest on covers are not universally loved so it’ll be a good excuse to discuss the topic!

Disclaimer: We were THIS close to using all the cover in the Play by Play series, because let’s be honest they rock! But we’ve been good girls and we kept looking for other covers. *await the head-patting* *purrs* Ok now we can start.

Susi: Okay as we already admitted we do adore the Play by Play covers with a passion. That guy just looks perfect and those pants make me wanna pull at the strings. LOL I do like that he just looks real and not like you know bad photoshop and a bucket of oil. I love the contrast of his skin color to the background and pants. It’s just kind of stylish. Al thumbs up. The Dream of a Dark Warrior cover does shine through its colors. I love that the whole picture itself is kept in black and white and makes the title and author name pop like that. The chest itself is intriguing because of scar and I do like that even though we actually do only see chest it’s not that overwhelming. It’s balanced just right. Great composition in my eyes. surprisingly I do like the half cut off face. His expression looks a bit grim and determined. Yum.
The Insatiable cover is not that easy to judge for me. When I see it on the pc I’m all it’s okay but not that outstanding BUT when I pick up my print copy it makes me swoon. I think the whole look of the book including the spine and back of the book makes it work. Both are kept in an orange and have these swirly thingies you can see at the title and author name. Also the body itself looks less yellowish on my cover. BUT i don’t like his bellybutton but well I do have a little bellybutton disorder so it is prolly just me. 😉
The Sweet Possession cover is special for me because of the colors. It looks so soft and touchable. I do like that the guy has his hand so possessively on her hip. *sigh* And well I do like how he is build. It’s exactly the rigth amount for me- not too bulging. I have to admit that I don’t like the half of his face so much though. He looks so soft. And now that I stare at it for a bit longer there are these 3 gray lines under his mantitty. That does look weird. But oh well. At least he’S not perfect. 😉

Caro: Somehow I KNEW you’d mention that bellybutton LOL. *drools at covers* I have a bad addiction to the Play by Play covers. They are perfect. I also really want to pull on the strings of his pants. I love the colors, I love how his body looks. Seriously I just LOVE it.
The Cole cover works for me. It’s simple but oh so yummy. He’s not over-muscled and the ‘lack’ of colors make it easier to focus on him.
Insatiable is a cover that grew on me. At first I wasn’t sold by this lean but muscle guy but now I appreciate his muscle definition. He’s sexy in a different kind of way. I think it’s the lighting that make it work. Also the guy isn’t posturing or trying to show his muscles.
Sweet Possession is soooo pretty. It’s sexy and sweet at the same time. It conveys a sense of love, not lust. I also think it’s the lighting that makes it work. The colors are soft. 2 thumbs up

Susi: Now that you say it I think the posturing is a big factor. We don’t want the guys who try too hard.

Caro: Now let’s hope we’ll nave have a cover with a man touching his bellybutton. LOL *runs & hides*

Susi: Ewww, seriously. Ick ick ick!

Caro: See, as much as I loved the covers from the top, these just don’t work for me. It’s hard to say exactly why but I’ll try. Pack Challenge looks awkward to me, it’s not bringing anything special to the cover and the weird booby angle makes me cringe. The Darkest Hour’s problem is that the man looks like a Ken doll. He looks like he’s made of plastic Also there’s something disturbing about a half naked man packing heat
Alright so maybe my problem with Breakaway is not only coming from the naked chest. I think the ugly green color isn’t helping. The man’s body doesn’t do much for me though. ⇐ Hard to explain why.
Jacked up makes me want to laugh Too much posture, too much arm muscles. I don’t like it much.

Susi: I think the Pack Challenge problem for me is that the part we see on the cover isn’t chosen really well. The way the left side is cut of his moob looks like a boob to me. And well it just seems to be randomly pit together. There just seems to be missing something to pique my interest.
The Darkest Hour shows what I don’t like at all- oily chests. when I look at this dude I’m thinking: “Don’t hug me or my cloths will be ruined with stains I will never get out.” Yes, I’m weird.
I have to say I actually do like the dude on the Breakaway cover but the green ruins it all. makes my eyes hurt really bad.
As you said, Jacked Up is a bit overdone. The pose, the oil again and well the muscles. It’s too much for my taste. Makes me think about anabolics. I have to say I do liek the rest of the cover though. The font and all that rocks. And still I want that book so bad.

Now it’s your turn! Which cover do you like which do you hate?
Are you a Man-chest cover addict/hater?
Do you also find it weird that the same thing can turn out great as it can turn completely stupid?
Is there a scientific explanation to this Man-chest dilemma? lol

About Caro The HEA Lover

Caroline is a HEA loving, yarn addicted French who's desperately hoping to get a HEA of her own. If she's not reading then she can be found knitting while listening to Audiobooks or watching Tv shows. Her secret addiction is reading websites that make fun at other people's expense (DYAC, Failbook)! Caroline also blogs at the Secret HEA Society with Susi.

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