Winning Heart by Laura Browning

About the front:
The beautiful animal on this cover is a true eye catcher. Sure there’s a woman at the top, but my eye is drawn to the beast, the blackness of its hair. I think of Black Beauty and the old drawn covers of that book when I see this. I imagine riding off into the sunset with the horse, even without a saddle, knowing I am one with the animal, clutching to his mane as we ride away.

At the outset, I imagine a story of courage and serenity focused on a younger market. The girl atop the horse looks ‘young-ish’ to me, though I wouldn’t peg it as YA (young adult).

I love the color in this, too. The blue-green is complementary to the browns and the light desaturation gives it a faded feel, maybe even a bit of western idea to me.

The interesting thing to me is that in the photo there is a lead line attached to the bridle. Is that indicative of someone holding our horse and rider back? Keeping her from coming into her own? Or just an ‘extra’ in the cover that has no specific point? It’s fun to wonder what is in an image that applies and doesn’t.

Here I want to curl up with a warm blanket outside of a campfire and read. Maybe even with a friend.

Now let’s look at what the back says:

Can love beat a lust for revenge?

Nelson Anderson is one of the richest men in America, but his life has become a quagmire of bitterness and the need for revenge. Wynter O’Reilly is a gutsy girl determined to make her life better–and she just may be the tool Nelson needs. All she needs is a little polish.

To his surprise, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks helps heal emotional scars that all the money in the world can’t fix. But just when Nelson realizes that, his own plot for revenge may cost him not only Wynter’s love but her very life.

Warning: contains explicit sex, language and violence.

Does it match? Front to Back without the in between?
Not at all. Now I’m thinking ruthless tycoon who thinks he knows better than everyone else. My focus with the back is very much on him and not her, while the cover coveys a completely different impressions. The use of the word ‘girl’ suggests this is a younger woman and an older man, though I have no sense on his age of course. The ‘wrong sides of the tracks’ cliche makes me think ‘urban’ where the cover makes me think more ‘western’. Are horses on the ‘wrong side’? Where is the revenge playing out?

And the warning really surprises me. This cover conveys none of that type of story. Is it erotica? Or is it just plan ‘explicit’. I don’t know from those two things.

That’s okay though, because the cover has intrigued me enough to plop this one on my bookshelf! It just won’t be a campfire read anymore. 😉

Will you add it to your bookshelf virtual or otherwise? Share in the comments!

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Buy it at: your local bookstore or Amazon Barnes & Noble AllRomance BooksOnBoard

Coming December 1, 2011!