I don’t recognize cover models all that often, but there is one guy that I see everywhere – and it’s to the point where I think, “Not that guy again!” I honestly sometimes can’t remember if it’s the same cover that I’ve seen before or if it’s a new one. Part of the problem is that he’s pretty distinctive looking – and the focus on his covers is on his face, not his abs, so he stands out a bit more than some other cover models!
Now, of course, I’m glad that this guy has a lucrative cover model career, and he’s a really good looking guy, but I’m starting to get to the point where I groan when I see him. For this post, I spent about five minutes on Goodreads and found ALL THESE covers featuring him. Plus, walking through RT, I noticed him twice – and it’s not like I was even looking! I know if I’d spent any more time at all on Goodreads, I could have found plenty more examples, too.
Check it out:
Like I said, I like this guy. He’s all dark and broody and intense – I can see why people use him. But I think I’m ready for a break. Sorry, Mr. Smoldering Eyes Man – it’s not you, it’s me.
UPDATE: I created a Goodreads list just for him and I update it every time I see a new one. I call it Covers with Smirky Broody Guy (click the link to check it out).
What do you think? Does it bug you when you see the same cover models over and over again (or even the same cover?!) Any particular models that you feel like you’ve seen too much of? Link me up to a cover or two on Goodreads, I want to see!
LOL, yes. There are a few male models that seem to make the cover of a lot of books. For me, if the covers are similar I confuse the book or series.
Yes, this guy made me so confused for a while because I kept getting a few of these books mixed up!
The covers that get me the most are a lot of the NA covers that use the same guy and girl (you can’t see their faces, just their bodies) with her half-naked sitting in his lap. I’ve seen that same cover a million times with maybe the girl’s hair colored differently or sometimes they photoshop different clothes on her bottom half, but it’s all basically the same. I start to confuse books when the covers are so similar.
Exactly – I know authors have to use stock photos for covers, but some just end up being overused!
Several of these look like the same stock photo, so it wasn’t that the model got another gig necessarily. Such reuse of stock photos seems to be happening more and more on covers and it is pretty annoying! I found there is an example of this practice on a book I’m currently reading (Little, Big) which even got its own list on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/18322.That_One_Woman_With_A_Birdcage.
Ha! Funny! Maybe I need to make a Goodreads list for Mr. Smoldering Eyes Man. 🙂
I agree with what Lory said. I’ve seen the same stock photo used for several books (which seemed similar in plot, so of course we confuse them!). I know sometimes cover art can be expensive and out-of-budget, but it doesn’t make the sequential books with that same cover memorable…and it is annoying.
I know – I’m sure it’s a hard balance for authors, but it’s a shame when covers end up being overused.
He’s the new Fabio! But with Fabio those were paintings not photos. I actually have had 2 different books checked out of the library with the same cover photo, different publishers!
How funny!
Bwhahahaha! I LOVE this post! The thing is, I am in no way inspired to buy a book because of that guy. In fact, I find him a bit off-putting, so I can’t help but wonder whose genius idea it was to use him on ALL the book covers. I do love how he keeps getting clearly photoshopped makeovers though, that’s my favorite part of the whole thing 😉
I kind of liked him the first time I saw him – maybe even the second … but, yeah, it definitely wore off. And, yes, I do find the Photoshopping to be incredibly interesting!
I agree about the stock photos on covers becoming annoying. Four of the covers you showed are using the same stock photo. It gets old, but at the same time, it’s kind of funny. You’d think it would be just self-published books, but sometimes traditional publishers use the stock photos too. I’d love to see a master-list somewhere that people could add to, of books that use the same photos for the cover.
Yes, at least one of these books is published by a traditional publisher (the first one – Sacrifice). You’d think that people would see this one stock photo everywhere and decide to stay away from it, but no.
Yes!! I have seen this guy on SO many covers and I have to say that for the most part I do like him as a cover model. But I get what you mean about needing something different. It has gotten to that point where I get confused about whether or not the books are the same or not – so not so good.
Exactly – I get the books confused sometimes! And this one stock photo has been around for a LONG time – it’s time to retire it, people!
I’d noticed that guy on several too. The other one I’ve noticed is the real life couple on the Lux series and Significance series (they’re on others too but that’s the ones that come to mind).
I hadn’t noticed the Lux series people – now I’ll have to keep my eye out (and be annoyed with those too 🙂
There’s another too (but I can’t think of the name of the one I read) of a girl and the same photo was used on 5 covers that I found.
It happens a lot!
Yes!!!! There is a specific couple I see ALL the time. I never realize it’s a new book when I see it.
I know – it’s confusing, right?
Lolololol. I have a note in Evernote JUST for cataloging SAME couples. Here’s one of my longer lists. I see this couple and I want to break something. Honestly…
http://www.amazon.com/Regret-Me-Not-Danielle-Sibarium-ebook/dp/B00L1GBZLK/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SFW00WI
http://www.amazon.com/Just-Breathe-Vincent-Morrone-ebook/dp/B00KYG644G/
http://www.amazon.com/Raine-Adult-Romance-J-C-Valentine-ebook/dp/B00MY28XJC/
http://www.amazon.com/Next-You-Life-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00LEWYZVI/
http://www.amazon.com/Silo-Saga-Katherine-Kindle-Worlds-ebook/dp/B00KZ3BK2O/
http://www.amazon.com/Déjà-Bride-Contemporary-Christian-Romance-ebook/dp/B00200KCSS/
http://www.amazon.com/Different-Kind-Love-Friessens-Beginning-ebook/dp/B00O0CTJY2/
http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Ice-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00H7AZZYC/
http://www.amazon.com/Fight-You-New-Adult-Romance-ebook/dp/B00E4TC3C6/
http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Her-Little-Discipline-Submission-ebook/dp/B00REX6INE/
http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Rachel-Hanna-ebook/dp/B00B2TF8PU/
http://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Halloween-book-ebook/dp/B00GBJBGL6/
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Never-Forgets-Shattered-Memories-ebook/dp/B00QSNVHW8/
YIKES! That’s a LOT of books with the same stock photo! At least you know, since your books are generally diverse, that you won’t have a million of your same cover floating around!!
Mmmm… it does annoy me to see them so much too… But that is over kill!
Naomi @ Naomi’s Reading Palace
Yes! Definite overkill!
It bothers me like crazy! And I will admit – it makes me not want to read the book anymore. xD Because it bothers me that much! I have seen him everywhere. I also see a lot of the couples on Melissa Foster’s books featured somewhere else often too. And if you look at the cover of The Messenger by Leah Rose… she’s another one I see around in a lot of places too. Aaaargh!
Oh, yes, I definitely recognize that Messenger girl!
Haha, this is something that often frustrates me too. Because sometimes I start to envision the character as the cover model, and it’s a bit weird when you see the same person on another cover.
Another case like this, is the couple Pepe Toth and his girlfriend (I can’t spell her name,it’s too long and weird:).I first saw them in Obsidian by Jennifer L.Armentrout, but they adorn a lot of covers! I recently saw a whole list in GR dedicated to books with them on the cover.Here check it out!- https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/15049.That_Girl_Hot_Guy_from_the_Obsidian_Cover
Now I feel like I need to go make a Goodreads list for this guy!
In his defense, he’s cuter than Fabio! I’m so over seeing the same stock photo on cover after cover! Doesn’t matter if they change the hair or shirt color, we can tell it’s the same picture. Do publishers think we won’t notice? I’ve seen several different memes about the same photo showing up on different books so yes, it’s annoying!
Yeah, a little Photoshop magic can’t fool us!
Yes I regocnize this guy as well. There are a few other cover models, which I’ve seen a bit too often lately. Ofcourse it’s udnerstandable that he get’s used on more than one cover, but as a reader it’s still a bit jarring to see the same model on more than one cover. I often connect the cover model to the main character n the book a bit, so once you have read one book with a certain cover model it feels like that character is on other books whcih is weird. I recently saw Ari from Beyond Reach by Siobhan Davis cover on another book and that also was the same genre, so it was a bit weird.
Well at least there are different pictures from him, that couple from Pajonas her comment is even worse as it’s the exact same picture and pose every time. There also was that couple from Jennifer Armentrout her Lux series that got really popular around then. It seems that lots of covers with the same people pop up and then it calms down again and there’s a new model that’s getting more popular.
Yes! Stephanie’s links are the worst – those books all look exactly the same!!!
Isn’t Photoshop amazing?! 😉
Terri M., the Director
Second Run Reviews
It is! If nothing else, this makes you appreciate that!
I don’t think I’d mind as much if at least the pose or style of the photo was different for each cover. But the forever intense gaze or the slightly tipped head gaze.. after seeing it so many times it’s hard to see without laughing. Plus if I’m ‘picturing’ him as the main guy character in a romance and I like the relationship – it’d be really hard for me to picture the same guy.. with someone else!
Yes, he has the straight-on intense gaze or the head-slightly-tipped look. All the covers look the same!
Haha I’ve never seen him before but this is definitely bordering on creepy! I wouldn’t want all my heroes to look the same. 🙂 I love how they photoshopped his eyes into different colours each time, that’s pretty horrible.
I know – I remember the first time I saw him thinking that his eyes were so blue – so Photoshopped, that is.
[…] Nicole keeps seeing this cover model on books. […]
That’s hilarious. I just noticed this with two of the vampire romances my middle schoolers read, only it was the same girl.
My dad was a photographer and had his work with several stock agencies. Sometimes it got weird, with some friends of his showing up in those papers they fill blank frames with, or my nephew on the box of the candy the school band was selling. He had planned on his stock work being his retirement income, but right around the time he was getting too old to travel and do assignments, the internet exploded, and people stopped buying images that way–instead of spending $150 for the single use of an image, people could download stuff for free or nearly so. I hope that model is getting SOME income from his work!
I hope so too – he deserves it for all the covers he shows up on! It would be really funny to see people you know popping up all over the place!
I guess I was reading mostly YA and more traditionally published books around this time, so I didn’t notice it as much as I am now, but wow, now I’m going to really see this guy all the time! Glad I’m not the only one!
Ha! If you see him, add him to the Goodreads list! 🙂