Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEWS

Round of applause to Lyn Hywelalyn who won a prize for commenting on last weeks blog topic.

Today I'd like to discuss book reviews. If you look up book reviews it’ll say ‘A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is analyzed based on content, style, and merit.’

Now, tell me, how many of you have had a review based on none of the afore mentioned?

A review, if done well, points out strengths and weaknesses of the novel. It should include a statement of what the author has tried to do, evaluate how well the author has done it, and then give evidence to support that evaluation.


Here is an example of a bad review. NOT because it said my book sucked lol because the review followed no guidelines.
1.She started off saying I don’t like the paranormal genre. NOT a good start. It tells me she is going to hate it regardless.
2. She said she doesn’t know why it’s called a novel, as it’s only got 150 pages. It should be a novella. Mmm now she is ansy about the book being called a book!




I won’t bore you to death with the whole review, which sort of morphed into a critique in the end. Suffice to say she sat on her far too high reviewers pedestal, annihilated my characters, and said she didn’t care if they lived or died.
Not the review I'd hoped for!















I could have been very upset by this snarky review. I could have emailed her and ranted. Did I? No! Why? It wasn’t because of that stupid protocol that tells us never to argue with a reviewer if they give you a bad review. Let me tell you, if I think a review is unfair, or the person doesn’t understand the book enough to give a competent review, I’ll jolly well tell them so.
I said nothing because the person was an author who I felt had no understanding about how to review. So what would be the point of me asking her for a more detailed literary evaluation on why the story didn’t work for her, rather a than a rant about how much she hated it?






If, like me, you are using peer reviews because commercial reviewers are swamped, you need to be prepared for your author ‘friend’ to be honest. I would hate to receive a gushing review because the person was afraid I’d fall out with them if they didn’t.
I try to do one review a month. I am honest and straight down the line. If you’re a friend or a random author, it matters little to my opinion of your work. So beware if you ask me for a review. I will give an honest one.

Getting back on topic. We have all had horrible reviews at some point of our writing career. If you haven’t, well done, you are a super star. Be proud. But, if like me, you have, let’s break down what a review actually is. It is ONE person’s opinion. That’s it. Not the end of the world. No, you’re not a sucky author to be hated for evermore. No you should not put down your virtual pen and disappear into the ether. You can't please the whole world. Take it from a person, me, who has tried.


Today, I’d like to hear from authors who have received a review that they thought was a little bit unfair as the reviewer just didn’t ‘get’ the book. OR it was just unfair. No names or flames please. Just your opinion on the review.

Leave any links to reviewers you care to share, with your comments. They will get transferred to my author blog
Which helps other authors along the rocky path of the writers world.. The best comment will win a prize from me.

Enjoy your day