It’s time to appreciate category romance covers again! For this edition of Covers of the Week, we’re focusing on Harlequin publishing in the 1980s. For the week of Monday, November 22, 2021, to Sunday, November 28, 2021 (boy did November fly by, or what?), let’s look upon these passionate category romance covers from Harlequin.
Romance covers
Covers of the Week #32
The Regency era is the most popular setting in historicals. For the week of Monday, November 15, to Sunday, November 21, 2021, our theme for the covers of the week is Regency romances. Enjoy!
Covers of the Week #31
We love giving attention to overlooked romance book cover artists. For the week of Monday, November 8, 2021, to Sunday, November 14, here are some fabulous Leslie Pellegrino-Peck painted romance covers to look over. Enjoy!
Covers of the Week #30
One of our favorite style of covers is the combination of a lone heroine and beneath that, a smaller image of an embracing couple. For the week of Monday, November 1, 2021, to Sunday, November 7, please enjoy these lovely “pose and clinch” covers.
Covers of the Week #29
Gothic romances hold an important place in the annals of the romance genre, with dark brooding heroes, strong-willed heroines, and gorgeous covers illustrated by the master artists. For the week of Monday, October 25, 2021, culminating on Halloween Day, Sunday 31, 2021, let’s delight and take fright in these creepy Gothic romance covers!
Covers of the Week #28
At Sweet Savage Flame, we’re getting into the Halloween spirit. For the week of Monday, October 18, 2021, to Sunday 24, let’s enjoy these paranormal romance covers featuring werewolves, psychics, vampires, and witches.
Covers of the Week #27: Horses on Covers
We’ve highlighted quite a few romance covers here at Sweet Savage Flame. A common theme for many is to include animals, particularly horses, in the background to demonstrate passion and vitality. Some equines weren’t content to be cast as mere decoration, however. Neigh, these horses demanded a starring role with the couples engaged in their usual passionate clinches. (That sentence came off a bit odd, didn’t it?)
The Male Authors of Vintage Romance
While women comprise most of the Romance genre readership and the vast majority of writers, there are many men who enjoy the genre, too. In fact, in the early years of romance, there were quite a few male authors, who had to use pseudonyms to publish their works.
Covers of the Week #26
We had a lot of fun a couple of months back doing Covers of the Week #12, where we posted images of when romance covers by talented artists go hilariously bad. So we’re doing it again! For the week of Monday, October 4 to Sunday, October 10, 2021 (which happens to be my birthday week), enjoy these silly or awful-looking covers that make us smile.
Link: The History of the Clinch Covers
At Dr. Maria DeBlassie’s blog Enchantment Learning she hosted a presentation by our Twitter pal Daily Clinch @Artof the Clinch. We recommend watching this informative video on the history of romance novel clinch covers. They touch upon the genre’s past as well as discussing pivotal cover artists, models, authors, and more.










