It’s Daylight Savings Time for many countries worldwide, meaning less sleep than usual. This edition of Covers of the Week focuses on couples in bed–trying to get some much-needed sleep, of course!

Daylight Savings Time, Spring Ahead!

It’s Daylight Savings Time again, and not the good DST in Autumn, where we get an extra hour of sleep. It’s time to Spring ahead and set our clocks forward by one hour– thus losing an hour of sleep. For some, this is a huge source of frustration, as that lost hour of sleep is hard to regain.

Why do we have Daylight Savings time, anyway? It’s to make better use of daylight, particularly concerning matters such as farming, school, and work. In other words, we alter time to work with modern civilization. (Life would be so much easier if we were house cats who sleep 18 hours a day no matter the time or amount of sunlight.)

Theme: Couples in Bed

In honor of that lost hour of sleep, we’re showing off romance covers where the hero and heroines lie together in bed. No, they aren’t telling each other fibs. These covers depict couples on their beds, looking as much in need of a nap as some nookie.

Here’s an interesting side note. Because so many romance covers from the last two decades feature couples in bed, we figured it would be a simple task to find images that fit this theme, taking no longer than a few minutes. It took a bit longer than that!

Certainly, there were many “boudoir” clinches. However, few retro romances feature couples simply lying down. Usually, the pair are in sensual poses: straddling, embracing, et cetera.

The majority of twentieth-century romances have covers that are set outside. If indoors, the couples were rarely prone but upright. Add this to the many contrasting aspects that distinguish old-school romances from modern-day novels.

The Covers

For the week of Monday, March 13, 2023, to Sunday, March 19, 2023, our Covers of the Week theme features couples in their beds, lying down, and about to get down to important business: sleep.

Theme Covers (from Left to Right, Top to Bottom)

• After Hours, Gina Wilkins, Harlequin, 1990, Dan Crouse cover art
• Enchanted, Elizabeth Lowell, Avon, 1994, Victor Gadino cover art
• Love, Remember Me, Bertrice Small, Ballantine, 1994, Elaine Duillo cover art
• Years, LaVyrle Spencer, Jove, 1986, James Griffin cover art

Your Opinion

What do you think of this week’s theme of couples in bed? Do any of the covers stand out to you as a favorite?

Do you have a recommendation for a future Covers of the Week theme? Let us know, and we’ll try it out.

As always, please drop a comment, and let’s talk romance.