From everything I've read, the majority of authors don't want to have negative feedback sent directly to them - and yes, that goes even if it's meant as constructive criticism. Here's one take on this, from Chuck Wendig:
Hi, Definitely Don’t Tag Authors In Your Negative Reviews Of Their Books .
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Chuck Wendig
And here you might say, “But I have a right to write a negative review.” You do! And you should! Mildly dislike a book! Totally despise it! I just don’t want to hear about it. If I want to hear about it, I’ll seek it out. I do think there’s real value in leaving authors with a sense of agency in this
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It’s on us to find the reviews. If we wanna roll around in the bad ones or pickle ourselves in the good ones, we can consent to that and seek the reviews out.
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Is it the end of the world if you tag us in a negative review? No. Will I mute or block you or make a frowny face at you if you do? Almost certainly. In the same way I don’t tweet at you to tell you that your shoes are ugly or your child’s haircut is shitty. I think we can shore up this social contract a little and realize that some things just don’t need to be told directly to a person.
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And here's another article, with links to some Twitter discussions:
Don't @ me.
Criticising the cover isn't quite the same a criticising the novel, of course, but especially since it's drawn by the author I would assume the same rule for politeness applies there. If you want to comment on it, I suggest writing it in a review at Goodreads or Amazon, that way the author can seek it out when/if she's in a mood to read negative feedback.