Welcome to the first in (hopefully) a series that I’m doing mostly for personal interest… ‘The Changing Covers of…’ will look at how different countries have envisioned the same book (and how that actually changes over time).
On the topic of covers, some covers suck. Other covers are brilliant, but then the publisher decides to go in a different direction. I have way too many series where the series starts with one cover, but ends with something completely different. Luckily in YA, we have some honest-to-goodness GORGEOUS covers, and I think TMI is no exception. Let’s get started!
City of Bones, Early UK edition
This is actually the copy of City of Bones which I own, as I was an early adopter of the series and I live in the UK. The City of Ashes cover is similar (albeit red) and the City of Glass cover of this set was revealed… but the copy I received was of the original US editions (they decided to go in a different direction of what was then the last book!). I think this cover makes the series seem darker than it actually is, and although I picked up this copy due to rave reviews, I’m not sure this cover really reflects the fun of the first book.
Mortal Instruments series, First US editions
These were the original covers for the US (and later the UK) – I love the covers for the last three books (with their bold use of colour) and I also love the cityscapes. These will always be the original covers to me.
US edition, Redesign
Photo Credit: bibliomantics.com
I LOVE THESE COVERS. I think only after all the books were released into the wild, beautiful covers like this could come into existence. The spine art is amazing, and they go so well together as a set, with each book featuring one of the main characters. It’s becoming more and more difficult to resist buying a set of these.
Photo Credit: mybooksareme.weebly.com
UK Redesign
I’m not such a huge fan of these covers – whereas the images are intricate and the colours bright, these books look a little boring to me (in comparison to the action-packed US covers). Not for me, unfortunately.
Photo Credit: amyriadofbooks.blogspot.com
Germany
I like these, but they seem too fantastical middle grade for this series. I like the colours and the cityscapes, but not sure what if they set the right expectations for the books.
Photo Credit: gbshortcake.com
Movie Edition
This cover came out when the Mortal Instruments movie was released – and I think overall it’s actually pretty good. It’s dark and mysterious, and I still prefer the US editions, but it’s not the worst cover I’ve seen (and I think it would work well even if it wasn’t a movie poster).
Photo Credit: Shadowhunters.com
TV Show Edition
Not the edition I’d buy if I had the choice, but definitely a way of getting fans of the TV show into the book series!
Which are your favourite covers? Are there any here that you’d like to see featured? Tweet me at @annalisbooks or comment below!
Annalise x
AnnaliseBooks 
I have all the copies of the original first US editions, and those are always the ones I think of when I think of this series. So many great covers, though!
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I was looking for a page that would show the different covers. But have you noticed a difference in the paperbacks and eBooks? I have the city of bones eBook as well as the uk redesign book and I noticed that some of the information is different in the eBook. Help
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