We’ve all heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. And normally I don’t. The cover may catch my eye, but I always try to check the back or take a peak inside to read the first few lines. With so many books out there, no one has time to read them all. I like to assess whether the story and writing style are a good fit for my personality before committing to a book.

But there are times when even the most well-intentioned reader gets suckered in by an awesome cover. I confess that these are four young adult books that were in my cart or library queue before I even read the back. I knew, just from looking at the cover, that I wanted to read them.

Each of these covers drew me in and got me invested in the characters before turning a single page. They presented themes I recognized like fairy tale tropes, princesses, & Cinderella but with some kind of twist. These eye-catching covers got me desperate to know more.

Granted, these aren’t necessarily my favorite books of all time. But they satisfied my craving for a fractured fairy tale romance. Like a new flavor of M&M. The base is there but there’s something new and tasty buried inside.

Have you ever been captivated by a book cover? Did the book live up to your expectations? Share your cover confessions in the comments below. ^_^