Let's Discuss: Finale Cover Changes

Picking back up on yesterday's topic, let's continue the cover change topic. I might have discussed this once before but since yet another new cover change was announced recently, I decided, let's talk about that! And how it was on the LAST book of the series! 

So prepare yourself...this is a ranting post! ;)

Finale Cover Changes

Nothing irks me more about cover changes when it happens on the LAST BOOK! I mean seriously, this has to be something publishers do just to annoy readers. Make them need to re-buy the books in mismatching formats in order to have matching cover schemes! It's unreal, yet they do this all the time I feel like! Like every few major series they decide to CHANGE the cover scheme and then re-release however many books in PAPERBACK with the new cover look and leave it at that. It's sooooo annoying. 

For this example I'm looking at Jennifer L. Armentrout's Origin trilogy:

Here is what they looked like in the beginning. I admit, I loved these covers!! Yes. They are totally simplistic. There's no people on the cover, and yet I felt like it was fresh, unique! It almost seems rare these days to have a cover without people on it, though her Covenant series id one of them I'll give you that. But I just loved these colors and had been hoping that The Brightest Night would be a purple color because how gorgeous would that be? And then maybe throw in some crescent moon shaped confetti with the stars and suns. It would've been beautiful.

Instead. They changed the cover scheme.

Though I loooooove Jennifer's books, I admit, I am not a fan of these covers. Plus the cover models look different on all the books. So it doesn't even feel like this is supposed to be Evie and Luc! Who are all these people?!

And I know publishers doing this is nothing new. But what I hate, ABSOLUTELY HATE is that you can no longer have your matching hardcovers. You basically have to wait until the final book is in paperback (and hope there's not another cover change) in order to have a matching set. Is it so wrong to want a matching set on ALL LEVELS?! That you want your cover schemes to match and your formats to match? Now I will have two GORGEOUS hardcovers with a mismatched final hardcover or reduce myself to buy the paperbacks to sit next to their matching hardcover. It's not linear!!

And of course we can't forget to include the An Ember in the Ashes quartet change that happened mid-series.

So An Ember in the Ashes actually has three covers because I forgot about the first paperback change. Which was even more simplistic than the original hardcover. I mean, there was nothing wrong with these covers. They were a little plain. I mean you can barely notice Laia on the original hardcover because she's so small.

Then the series got its makeover at book 3:

Now I will admit, these covers are freaking awesome! We have the main characters all on the covers and it's totally badass! But again...the publishers decided this change was "necessary" and they re-released the first two paperbacks with the cover art. THE PAPERBACKS! Yes, B&N later re-released the first book in a special edition hardcover that had a different paper for the cover instead of the ultra smooth velvety goodness. But that still leaves book 2 in a paperback format and only a paperback format with this cover art. WHY?! WHY WHY WHY! Why can't publisher re-release the books in BOTH hardcover and paperback with the new covers, that way people can buy the one they are happier with. Instead, publishers make thousands of readers worldwide despair at the mismatching series on their shelves. Being someone who has slight OCD tendencies, this realllllly bothers me when I look at my books on the shelf. I usually go for the matching cover in mismatched formats because there is NO way I am making myself wait even longer for the next book. Sabaa's releases haven't been quite uniform as we all know, and I totally understand why, but yeah. Soooooo not waiting for the paperback of A Sky Beyond the Storm just to have a matching set.


What's your opinion on these mid-series cover changes or end of the series cover-changes? Which is worse to you? Does it bug you that because of these changes we almost NEVER have a true matching series unless we wait extra years to have a matching paperback set?