Friday Face-Off is an idea originally thought up by Books By Proxy which I stole from the fantastic The Tattooed Book Geek. The idea originally was to compare UK and US covers based on an assigned theme each week and choose the winning cover. I will be twisting it slightly: not specifically US and UK covers, just different editions.

Happy New Year everyone! The turkey dinner has been eaten. The presents opened. The tree and decs have been packed away. Auld Lang Syne has been sung and my 30th birthday has come and gone. So now it must be time for the first Friday Face-Off of 2017!

This week’s theme is a cover featuring an ocean: “What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams”.

For this week’s cover I have gone back to an author I have reviewed and turned to for Friday Face-Offs in 2016 – Neil Gaiman and his book The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Cover A:

Cover B:

Cover C:

Cover D:

Cover E:

Cover F:

Cover G:

Cover H:

Cover I:

And the winner is… IT’S A DRAW!

This week, I could not pick a winner between covers D and H. These two stood out massively for me for very different reasons. Cover D felt whimsical, almost fantasy-like with a sense of wonder. Cover H, on the other hand, felt dark, moody, atmospheric even. I loved the feel and look of both, so I have to call this one a draw!

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with my winner, or does one of the others work better for you? Let me know in the comments!

Next week will be looking for a cover featuring a clown: “Nobody likes a clown at midnight”. I think I know just what I am going to pick for this!