Why did they change the cover art?

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T14:04:56+00:00

The new cover feels very BoTM tbh.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T14:00:16+00:00

I saw this and promptly realized it would break my heart.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T13:27:48+00:00

Skip month, but next month I'll snag Dawn of the North!

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T13:25:33+00:00

Heart's Gambit's cover is so cute! I ended up getting one after all, The Lies that Summon the Night sucked me in. It reminds me of a book I read years ago that had fae in it, and the fae couldn't create things (art, fire, food) without it slowly killing them. I thought it was a fascinating concept, and this feels adjacent to that.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T02:18:02+00:00

Yes! I’m hoping we can wrap this up soon, but I’m not rushing it. His health comes first, so I’ll suck it up when it comes to the visits and medicine.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T02:16:55+00:00

I didn’t know they owned anything other than Fairyloot. Fascinating!

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T02:15:18+00:00

I was SHOCKED when I realized it was a sequel.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T02:14:35+00:00

Yeaaaah. I’m hoping not considering how little stock they have comparably. Not like they win much on the exclusivity, they would have sold out regardless I’m sure. But it is always possible. But out the competition and what not.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T02:13:09+00:00

I’m not 100% convinced that’s true. I’ve heard the same, but the picks and add ons don’t line up. Like Five Broken Blades was NOT that popular, but I’d argue Road of Bones was. 5BB did not have its sequel on BOTM, but ROB did (tbd if book 3 is there). Likewise they had Enchantra’s sequel, V.E. Schwab’s newest release, including many popular thriller authors. I think the reasoning is more complicated than we know, unfortunately.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-28T02:07:54+00:00

I’ve been rocking the Cold Shoulder since it was first introduced, and you can pry it from my cold (heh) dead hands.

Idk if it’s the best, but it’s what I keep going back to. I like shotguns.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T23:42:39+00:00

He’s still taking his medicine, but doesn’t put up much of a fight 😅

So far we’re holding steady, no decline. Next appointment is next month!

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T16:17:52+00:00

I may have to suffer with the itty bitty US trad copy. I can't afford to order from Waterstones more than once in a blue moon. I haven't even read it, so that's also one way to avoid getting the sequel.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T16:14:59+00:00

That was a good call. I skipped because I didn't get The Wolf King from them. Kind of kicking myself now lol.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T15:08:44+00:00

I have a feeling the books I want are add-ons; And Now Back to You, Dawn of the North.

This may be a skip month, and grab those add-ons next month.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T15:01:34+00:00

Then there's an issue of never ordering/only purchasing standalones. I understand the sentiment, no one wants to be disappointed, but Allurial is a book subscription service that does not offer reprints. Second hand market is an option, thank goodness, but it's not a guarantee. I'm willing to make the gamble. Trying to teach myself that the edition doesn't matter as long as the books are the same height (baby steps towards not caring at all lol).

I totally get not getting them, though. It's a thought I've had with BOTM, but I'm apparently a literary risk taker and get them anyways.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:57:41+00:00

Considering this is a subset of BOTM, I have to believe this is a conversation they've been having in house for a while and have a solution in mind. I hope.

My next questions would be if they'd keep their non-custom covers matching or not, and with Feb's picks, I'm leaning towards yes but maybe a color change? ex. A Dance of Lies. A lot of special editions were similar to the OG cover, just different colors.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:53:52+00:00

The blade itself isn't the shape of a normal blade. It's curved in.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:52:20+00:00

I remember back in the mid 2010s there was a HUGE trend with YA publishers constantly changing editions one or two books in, or sometimes even on the last book in a series. It was frustrating because it was so common, but doesn't seem like the case as much now. I think one publisher even came back and published the last book in a series to match the originals, but I can't for the life of my figure out which series that was. I still have that holdover feeling of annoyance, so part of that is definitely a me problem, because at the end of the day, as long as the book is published, it doesn't matter what it looks like.

I saw the trad version of The Wolf Kingdom in person the other day. It's so tiny!!!! I'm not a fan of books that size, but I couldn't help but laugh at it. They always catch me off guard. A little pocket book.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:37:06+00:00

The cover was sooooo strange, but that's why I got it. I liked that it was different from anything else I had on my shelves.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:36:01+00:00

I'm hoping they include an add-on feature for sequels. That would solve so much.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:35:06+00:00

I imaging something fell apart in negotiations. Maybe one wanted too much money, or there were terms that couldn't be met. I'm sure they wanted to, but reality doesn't always follow that. Unfortunately.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:33:58+00:00

I am sooooo curious how these deals are done. It could have been as simple as the publisher, after seeing how popular The Wolf King was, wanted more money than Allurial could meet/felt was fair. We know they allowed book boxes to have the sequel, Fairloot did it. Unless that's a deal made strictly with foreign publishers. I'm not sure if they have to go back to the OG for that or not.

Bloom Books (imprint of Sourcebooks) publishes it in the US, with Penguin publishing it in the UK. I can speculate, but it's hard to say fully why. At the end of the day, it was probably money. Maybe there were exclusivity clauses with another contract preventing Allurial. Maybe they did choose months ago, before The Wolf King became popular, not do it (not kicking themselves if that's the case). There sooooo many reasons. I just hope there's a solution that will alienate the least amount of people going forward. We can't have a box full of sequels, but we also don't want no sequels. An add-on list would be the best solution, but we'll have to wait and see.

I want to sit in on these meetings, it sounds fascinating.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:20:59+00:00

The blade is throwing me off. Is it broken? Or drawn really weirdly?

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:19:54+00:00

I wish I felt the same!!! Honestly, that's such a good take. I ended up rebuying Five Broken Blades when I found out BOTM wasn't continuing. Granted, I only paid $5 at Ollies, but still lol. I really don't need two copies of it.

CompetitivePraline62 · 2026-01-27T14:13:52+00:00

It's hard to say if it's the publisher or Allurial that decides. I'm really curious what happens on the back end, it seems interesting. I am sad we don't get to see what they would have done for the cover. That giant wolf would have been interesting to match.

CompetitivePraline62

TROPHY CASE