(NOT OFFICIAL) Book Cover Illustration for "Heated Rivalry" by @rachelreidwrites
So happy to have this ready for Pride Month!!!! This is my first time delving into the Contemporary Romance/Sports genre since I usually stick to Fantasy/Romantasy, but I wanted to challenge myself with something I wasn't familiar with! And since I love the series, I figured this would be a great opportunity for me to play around with my own interpretation of the book cover, drawing inspiration from both the book and the series!
I started with a rough idea for the narrative I wanted to convey: highlighting Shane and Ilya's relationship. The crossed ice hockey stick symbolise their public rivalry which is the first thing audiences in this world would pay attention to, but I posed their upper bodies to subtely shape a heart - a hint to their hidden feelings that the public isn't privy to. The back cover is stylised to resemble their phone messages, their main form of communication of the years. The chat background consists of symbols that tie into the narrative, like their hotel keys.
My main focus were to merge atmospheric colours with a dynamic, action-focused perspective!
