Judging a Book by its Cover (and Title)

Okay, so I read a lot of books. Usually it's something one of my friends wrote, or a recommendation from a friend, or something that's getting a lot of buzz. But recently, I've decided to try reading something I've never heard of before.

Shocking, I know.

Buy here

So I go to the Kindle (which is how I read now. I know, you're disappointed), and I simply start clicking around. I find this book called FLAT-OUT LOVE by Jessica Park. I read it--and I really like it. Like, like it a lot.

It's not exactly YA, but it reads very much like a YA. I suppose this is called New Adult (Julie, the MC is a freshman in college), a genre I'll admit I've been skeptical about and honestly, a little scared of.

See, I don't want the entire plot to be the romance. Don't get me wrong. Romance is essential in the books I love, but I've read so much that I'm getting weary of the busy/scorned/betrayed/world-weary woman falling for the sexy/hot/tall/dark/handsome/motorcycle-riding guy. That said, I still read a lot of those and enjoy them. I know, I'm a mixed bag.

Anyway, I've derailed here. I've read several NA novels, and I've found they're not really my thing. I've found them to be a bit romance-heavy, and sometimes more sexy than I want to read.

But FLAT-OUT LOVE wasn't either of those. There is romance--and I really enjoyed and was rooting for it. But there's more. There are other--more important--plot lines going on. Real relationships and real problems being explored. Some romance, but not the immediate kind of romance, but the kind of relationship that takes months to build.

That's why I loved the book. So I finish, and I want to read more books like that. Well, the Kindle (or Amazon) will tell you what other books people are buying when they buy FLAT-OUT LOVE.

And I started judging. That cover looks too romance-heavy.
That cover looks too sexy.
What is that on the cover?
I can't read that title. (Remember, I'm on the Kindle. It's small.)
I can't pronounce that character's name.

I'd only click on the covers that looked like I might get something that had substance and sported a title I could read easily. Then I'd read the book description. I'll admit that none of them piqued my interest for one reason or another, and I'm still looking for my next read that's like FLAT-OUT LOVE.

But I realized that book covers and titles are really important to me, and I think, all readers. It's our first judgement of a book. It might be that we'd really enjoy what's behind the cover, but we'll never see it if that first impression isn't done well.

Do you find yourself judging books this way? And do you have any recommendations for what I can read if I loved FLAT-OUT LOVE? I'd love to hear them!!