Blurb, cover, reviews or first page? Which one actually sells you a book?

R. S. Breed · 2026-01-14T09:38:00+00:00

Picture yourself on a book's store page, or standing in a shop with it in your hand. You've got four things to go on: the cover, the blurb, the reviews and the first page. Which one does the deciding? The reason for asking is that authors tend to treat all four as equally important and pour effort into each. For most readers there's probably one that makes the call, and three that only have to not put you off. So, readers: What order do you look at them in? Some people go straight to the first p...

R. S. Breed Founder

8 months ago
Picture yourself on a book's store page, or standing in a shop with it in your hand. You've got four things to go on: the cover, the blurb, the reviews and the first page. Which one does the deciding?

The reason for asking is that authors tend to treat all four as equally important and pour effort into each. For most readers there's probably one that makes the call, and three that only have to not put you off.

So, readers:
- What order do you look at them in? Some people go straight to the first page and never read the blurb at all.
- Which one can talk you out of a book you were otherwise keen on?
- Do you actually read the reviews, or just glance at the star rating and the number of them?
- Has a great first page ever won you over despite a cover you didn't like?
If it depends on genre, say which. A thriller reader and a fantasy reader might give completely different answers.