This year, I have gotten more emails from authors and publishers unhappy about negative reviews and/or comment threads here at AAR than I have in the previous five years. It’s not a huge number but we’ve typically gotten one a year in earlier times.
AAR will, as it always has, continue to publish unbiased reviews. I’m deeply proud of the work our staff does and I stand behind it 100%. That policy is not up for argument.
For the sake of this discussion, let’s set aside that negative reviews are vastly outweighed at AAR by positive and it’s fine reviews. And let’s agree that all the comments here will aim to be constructive rather than in the vein of those damn authors, they should be grateful you review their books. What I’m curious about here is what do we, readers whose lives are lifted by the literature we read, owe authors when one of their works lets us down. Thoughts?
Speaking as both a reviewer and an author…
If you’re disappointed in someone’s writing, say so (unless there are concerns about the author or the author’s fans reacting badly, which is always possible – I once read about an author who offered a bounty on a reviewer). We owe authors honesty, but we also owe other readers honesty. I’ve bought books because people have recommended them. I wouldn’t want to feel let down because the review ignored serious problems in the story.
I also think that biased reviews don’t do authors any long-term favors. There was a review website, now defunct, where the owner would remove reviews if authors complained about them. Needless to say, that site was full of four- and five-star reviews, and personally, I don’t trust such review websites any more than I would trust a sports competition where everyone won a medal. So I didn’t read their reviews, much less risk buying books on their say-so. The reason I trust AAR’s recommendations isn’t just because the reviews here are balanced, detailed and well-written. It’s because the reviews are honest. Unless you’re Harriet Klausner, no one loves everything they read.
As an author, I’ve had only two really negative reviews, but they were both detailed explanations of what the reviewers didn’t like. Those are helpful too. An objective critique might mention something the author can take into account for future books. Of course, at other times, the reviewer and author simply have different preferences – if someone reviews a book of mine and says, for instance, that there are explicit sex scenes and this is really not their kind of read, I’m not going to shut the bedroom doors. But this is a great heads-up for other readers. And what doesn’t work for one person might be just what someone else is looking for.
Great discussion topic, Dabney, and I look forward to reading what everyone has to say about this.
Entertainment and reviewing are so personal–my whole family loves Arrested Development which I hate. I love Ozark which they hate. Both star Jason Bateman. I love him in one but the other… not so much.
Absolutely true. I always think it’s like trying to review ice cream flavors. If you love chocolate and someone else hates it and likes vanilla is someone “wrong”?
That’s why the detailed and thoughtful reviews here are so important. Even if my taste doesn’t align with a reviewer I know exactly why they did or didn’t like it. There are reviews here with grades I don’t agree with but none that makes me say “I have no idea why they think that or why it got that grade.”
What do you think about us placing the blurb for a book at the end of each review?
I like it. I’m also careful about review reading if it’s a book I’ve bought, have on hold or have immediate plans or read. An end blurb works for me.
i feel like reviewers owe the potential readers much more so than they do publishers or authors. If reviews and commentary are courteous, honest, objective, and specific, I can’t imagine what else they need. Once a book is released to be reviewed, the creative team just has to let it sink or swim. Its the nature of the business, like it or not.
I review every book I read on Goodreads, and provide an overview of what I liked or disliked a book. This is for my memory and sometimes my opinion changes on re-read.
I do review on Amazon if the book is a standout, 5 star read for me. I rarely give a poor rating on Amazon as I see it as store front for authors. I don’t see Goodreads as store front – maybe I’m wrong?
I decline ARCs as I prefer to buy the books I read. I believe my purchase gives me the right to read and review honestly.
Some reviews I’ve seen rated books very highly, yet when I read them, I couldn’t always finish due to what I thought was poor writing. So some 5 star reviews don’t feel honest.
For quite a long time I reviewed regularly at Amazon. I enjoyed exercising my mind, sharpening my wits and taking care with my composition, language and honesty. The negative reviews were always the ones I took most time and care with, choosing to leave them overnight often before posting them to ensure I wasn’t just “mouthing off” or being “cute”. I felt that negative reviews needed to be open and honest AND, most importantly, comprised of points that gave examples from the book and not just a flippant comment based on nothing or a particular grievance. Negative reviews are sometimes longer than the positive ones – and I discount the really crap “I loved this book – 5 stars” which are completely useless and ought to be banned by Amazon – because if carefully written, there is often a lot to discuss if you want to justify your opinion. Positive, A or 5 star reviews are lovely to write but should not gush, should not smack of “fan-girl” adoration but, again, should demonstrate examples from what you have read. I usually go to the negative reviews first on Amazon. Some are pretty crappy one liners that don’t help and should be taken down but a well-written, logical, clearly expressed negative review can be a pleasure to read and a learning experience certainly for the reader and, hopefully, for the author as well. And, PS – when offered Vine Voice status from Amazon, I declined because I wanted to be as neutral as possible.
I think I was writing my comment at the same time as you, Elaine, as I agree completely re. Amazon reviews, and it’s why I’ve almost stopped posting them. Sites like ours, that provide in-depth critical reviews are becoming fewer and farther between and often get drowned out amid all the fangirl squee, which is what some authors and publicists seem to expect these days.
I don’t review at Amazon or, any more, at Goodreads just because I want to take the time to get a review right.
As a reviewer, my position is and always will be that reviews are for readers. End of.
It’s my ‘job’ as a reviewer to help readers to find books they will enjoy, but also to steer them away from the ones I think aren’t worth the money – and considering the price of many new, high-profile books these days (a subject we’ve discussed on various threads over the past few months), I think that part, pointing out the not-so-good books, is even more important.
Of course, a review is, by its very nature, subjective, and that all of us who read reviews regularly will find reviewers whose tastes tend to align with ours and so we’re more likely to set store by what they have to say. It doesn’t always work that way; Em and I, for instance, tend to agree more often than not, but very occasionally will find a book or author that we have completely different reactions to; case in point; I loved Boyfriend Material, she (a massive Alexis Hall fan) didn’t.
Having been doing this (reviewing) for a decade or so, I now have relationships with a number of authors, some of whom have become personal friends. All of them know that my reviews are honest and while have they’ve been disappointed when I’ve not been able to recommend a particular book, do at least appreciate my honesty and in some cases have, as Marian says, been prepared to look at whatever the criticisms were and perhaps to use them to inform their future writing.
I, too, was surprised at the number of complaints received recently – they’re few in number as Dabney says, but that number has gone up, and I do think that the increase in the use of “reviewing teams” and publicists who ask reviewers not to post negative reviews has a part to play in this. The unmitigated squee of the 4 and 5 star reviews one finds on Amazon and Goodreads may be encouraging those authors to think that every review they get should be like that, so that a dissenting voice comes as more of a shock. And all that squee is just as likely to turn me off as a batch of low ratings. I no longer post reviews at Amazon (or I do it very rarely) because I hate that my well-crafted (I hope!) and considered review will inevitably get lost among a chorus of “Great Book – 5*!!!- which are no help whatsoever to anyone when it comes to deciding whether or not to buy a book.
Which brings me full circle – reviews are for readers. As to what I owe the authors of the books I read/review? I owe them what I give them – an honest opinion, which is I hope what I deliver in my reviews.
a small disagreement:
on amazon, I consciously look for the reviews that have text, and only consider those.
so your voice is not lost.
Only difference:
Here, on AAR I like some “blurb” for a book at the start of a review. I expect all the detail on content, etc.. On amazon, the site provides the “blurb”, so I tend to skim or ignore reviews that start with a synopsis, or only give me a book blurb.
There, just mentioning an opinion based on some facts about the book is sufficient for me, such as gripping tale, well argued, or some such, it is supposed to be for consumers by consumers, not the same standard as a reviewer here.
my view.
Would the blurb still work for you if we put it at the end of the review?
I’m almost 100 percent sure that the pandemic might have something to do with this. People are at home, they’re bored, they’re going to spend more time dwelling on what they’ve seen.
I think that the other thing is that the VAST majority of books are published by a few places and those places have commensurate power. The big publishers are, increasingly, not giving out books for review and are relying instead of blurbs by other authors. My sense is that we, as an independent review site, are likely to be turned down for more review requests simply because we are independent.
I am only a reader, no professional activity in any way related to books.
So, standard rules apply:
I owe authors respect, as I owe every human being.
And if I can manage, kindness.
When they disappoint me, I owe them a bit of clarity and of thought, what part of my disappointment are they accountable for, and what is just bad luck, or faulty expectation, or or…
.. before I act.
Authors do not owe me much, really. They do not owe me a certain book, a certain speed of writing, a certain quality… They do not even owe me a book that is free of bias, or satisfies my moral standard, or even just makes sense. The cases where authors actually owe me something are rare. I cannot think of any realistic ones. So they do not deserve any shaming, or personal attacks, or even certain kinds of criticism.
So if I do not like what they do, I am not owed anything, and cannot behave like I am.
What remains is:
The type of criticism others mention: Say what you dislike and why, avoid personal attacks.
I try to live by that in general, avoiding shaming people in public, and attacking them.
I would rather walk away and not be heard.
I’m not on Good Reads and I rarely look at Amazon reviews (even when I do, it’s after I’ve read a book and I’m wondering if other readers picked up on some of the same things I did). Other than here, the only places I regularly comment are Dear Author, SMEXY, Book Binge, and Smart Bitches (especially their twice-monthly What Are You Reading feature, where I tend to post mile-long comments about the books I’ve read). I think what we as readers owe the authors whose books we read is to read the book they have published, not the book we were expecting or the book we wish they had published. I also think as readers we have to be honest with ourselves about tropes and plot devices to which we are resistant and admit that before we begin a book that (based on the blurb) features one of those elements (for example, friends-to-lovers rarely works for me…so I tend not to read those books, but when I do, I try to keep in mind as I’m reading that I may be irritated less with the book itself and more with a generalized displeasure for the trope). I’m not expecting to read keeper shelf material every time I start a new book, but careful plotting, competent editing & proofreading, along with thoughtful, emotionally mature characters who speak and act like people who are beyond the 8th grade go a long way to making me more likely to see a book to the end. I think all we can do is endeavor to read a book with an open mind and be honest & fair when we’re discussing it.
I do struggle with how to review tropes and plot devices I know I don’t really like. On the one hand, I want to bring fresh eyes to them–it’s always great for me when someone reviews and likes a book in a trope I’m not really interested in (this happened to me with the Maria Vale books) because those reviews encourage me to read out of my comfort zone. On the other hand, if I know I don’t like May/December romances, should I review one? Does my inherent squick factor at that make me an inappropriate candidate?
Just my opinion but here is what I think I “owe” when doing a review: I owe it to authors to read their book before reviewing it. If I dnf it after five pages, I shouldn’t review it. If I just skim a book, I should say that and personally, I wouldn’t review a book I just skimmed. I owe it to author’s to be meticulous about complaints. If the author spent three pages telling me why her character did something I shouldn’t say “The author never explains why. . . “. If I don’t buy the explanation I should say so but I shouldn’t accuse her of not offering one. I should double check before accusing her of getting her facts wrong. This has saved me many an embarrassing moment re historical facts which I thought I knew but actually didn’t. I owe it to an author to keep my focus on the book and her skill in delivering what she was selling. I can say she is a bad writer, I shouldn’t say she’s a bad person. If I don’t like an author because she has made herself and her views the product rather than her work (and a lot of authors have done this lately via twitter and Facebook), I don’t review her. If I don’t like an author’s previous works, I don’t review her. I think its petty to pick a book for review when you haven’t liked the author’s previous works and are essentially just slamming her for the sake of slamming her. The exception I make to this is goodreads. If an author is C average for me and everyone is raving about the brilliance of her newest, I might pick it up to to see if the hype is true but I will mention all that in my review on goodreads. Regarding goodreads or amazon, I read a ton of their reviews before making a judgment on a purchase and I also check to see what else the reviewer has reviewed. People have different tastes and if that reviewer consistently gives good grades to books I hated, I know our tastes are polar opposites.
I buy books that have a well written negative review, so a negative review doesn’t always mean the loss of a sale. However if all a book has is positive reviews, I will go to the library for it rather than buying it. Books that receive all fours and fives have been reviewed only by fans, friends and family.
My debt to any product review (and a book is a product for sale) is to have authentically tried it and interacted with it before reviewing it. I’m not looking to make a bestie of an author when I pick up her work. I’m looking to find my next great read and my expectation for a reviewer is that they help me do that.
Should add that publishers can be an author’s worst enemies. By marketing to the wrong audience (thrillers are selling right now – we’ll call this WF book a thriller!) or by comparing it to a book with which it has nothing in common, they set the novel up for failure.
Totes agree. This is why covers still matter to readers, I think.
Oh, yes, this big time.
I don’t buy books with all 5-star reviews. I don’t trust them. And I’ll buy books with several negative reviews if I can tell from a well-written negative review what bothered the reader,and know it probably won’t bother me. I also do not review DNF books other than to say why I didn’t keep going. I generally don’t rate them unless I’ve gotten almost all the way through.
This makes sense! I agree that it is a bad idea to review an author you really haven’t liked – unless the reviews make it seem like something has changed. There will always be authors that just don’t work for us – either their writing or their politics. In these cases, I think once we’ve stated what we don’t like about their work, we don’t need to restate it with every book AAR reviews. The readers can decide what authors make sense for them.
I completely agree with this. I recently read a poor review on another website of a historical romance I had been looking forward to. The review called out a secondary character as a racist portrayal of Indian people, a gay villain, a lack of focus on women of color in the suffragist fight and a culturally appropriating tattoo. The reviewer couldn’t get past any of this to give an assessment of the core romance and quality of the writing, and in essence gave the audience the perception that the book (and maybe the author?) ought to be canceled on this basis.
I went into reading the book with trepidation (because I had pre-ordered it) and found that the review actually really lacked nuance. The secondary character was “on screen” for a grand total of four pages (and clearly strongly disapproved of the hero in a way that made him sympathetic), the “gay villain” wasn’t really much of a villain (the characters parents were in the end). The tattoo part was silly and could have been avoided but I don’t think it was enough to really merit a F grade. The romance between the main characters and the relationships between the heroine and her friends were the main focus and I thought it was excellently written. A more balanced review could have communicated this and given readers a fair warning about potentially problematic aspects while acknowledging that a complicated romantic entanglement was well executed. I think the reviewer went in with expectations of a “woke” historical romance and graded the book (with an F) accordingly when it didn’t deliver. I’m not even comfortable posting this opinion over there for fear of being called an insensitive racist Karen.
I think I read that same disappointing review, TinaK. If we’re thinking of the same book, it is reviewed much more fairly at AAR. We also had a good, civil, adult discussion about the tattoo in the comments.
Like you, I think good reviews point out both the strengths and weaknesses of a work within the proper context of the genre among other nuanced factors. Someone attacking a novel as a racist/homophobic mess because it doesn’t suit their woke expectations and saying nothing else about it is not the same as creating a thoughtful review that addresses these issues without throwing a name-calling, hissy fit about them.
“I’m not even comfortable posting this opinion over there for fear of being called an insensitive racist Karen.”
If you and I are talking about the same website, which I won’t name, I got quietly banned there for expressing a controversial difference of opinion. Their house, their rules, but I much prefer venues like AAR that are willing to let posters agreeably disagree (such venues are, sadly, few and far between). Moreover, I’d like to see the term “Karen” in a pejorative sense thrown in the same rubbish bin along with other uncouth slurs.
I agree about the Karen thing for sure! There are 1000s of women who are named Karen and this must be so hurtful and infuriating to them. How is that being ‘woke’? It’s just another way to dismiss and marginalize people.
I reviewed that book here and opted to spend my word count discussing storyline and characterisation to try and present a balanced picture of it as A Romance Novel. One thing I did point out as problematic – the heroine hitting the hero for no good reason -seems to have gone unnoticed by those outraged reviewers. If the situation had been reversed, I doubt the book would have made it past the editing stage.
That’s a good point, Caz. So many people have been caught up with the other aspects of the book they didn’t like, I completely forgot about the heroine assaulting the hero. In addition to the flagrant double standard, there’s a kind of disconnect between what a number of readers think they should feel irate about versus what actually deserves some ire. I won’t deny that the tattoo making light of a deity is a sensitive issue, but when irate reviewers focus largely or solely on that, they’re ignoring what may be a larger problem.
Frankly, I’ve noticed there is a disquieting amount of misandry in certain circles. As in the heroine hitting the hero might be something certain people would either shrug off or actively cheer. This disturbs me a lot more than the often inexplicable meltdowns certain readers experience just because a white woman wears a kimono, for example. Shouldn’t we be more concerned as readers about heroes and heroines who physically hit each other than what clothes they’re wearing? Sure, we can talk about faux pas and iffy representation too, but I think it’s problematic when hurt feelings are treated as being far more important than hurt bodies. And that goes for real life too.
Yes, there’s definitely a pick and choose list for outrage with some things that light the meter up and some things that just get looked over. While we all have things that bother us more than other things I always feel like I get a very balanced view from the reviews here which is always enhanced by the discussions in the comment section.
One other thing I love is that when reviewers here are questioned or even challenged about a review or an opinion they answer back and explain why they think that. It’s a dialogue not a diatribe and **respectful** disagreement is always welcomed.
Hi Tina, I saw that one too and it was after it was reviewed and discussed here. While the tattoo was certainly a point of discussion, it was only one aspect of the story and even the people here who pointed out the problems with it and generally provided a lot of context (and very nicely put I want to add) didn’t have a problem with the “villain” or the body of the story.
One thing I noticed at the other site was that a person who used to post here, who is very socially aware and culturally sensitive posted a kind of “rebuttal” to the review stating all the things you mentioned and defending the author and the things she did right.
As I say elsewhere here, Lisa Kleypas really got hammered over what amounted to a couple of lines in a book a few years ago and also got an “F” grade for a book I really liked and felt was a celebration of an unusual independent heroine and a very romantic story.
I really don’t like it when people are more interested in making a splash or a statement and “cancel” a work with other good qualities when it could be better served by saying “there was so much that was great in this book but X, Y or Z kept me from loving it because there are these issues that I think need to be addressed or discussed.”
I can say I got so much more from the thoughtful posts people (and one poster in general) shared here about the context of the tattoo and why it was hurtful than just someone saying “this is an outrage”.
Speaking as a reader, you owe me an explanation of why you liked or disliked a book. That actually matters more to me than the grade you give it. Someone recently gave a book a lower grade because the plot seemed to her to be overly complicated. Now for me that’s a plus—I love a complicated plot.
Speaking as an author, you don’t owe me anything. I appreciate any review, but I don’t expect everyone to love everything I write. (I may expect that of my sister, but not of other people.) I do expect an honest review of the book I’ve written, not of the book the reviewer wanted me to write.
That sounds simple, but I know it’s not. I get really annoyed at books by authors I have frequently read when a new book is far below what I expect. I also get annoyed by books that could have been much better if the author had spent a little more time working out the plot and building up the characters. That’s one reason I don’t write reviews—I’m afraid I would come off sounding nasty.
For me, if a reviewer says, I didn’t like this book’s overly complicated plot, and I like complicated plots, then I think the review, not the book, isn’t for me.
I like complicated plots, too – but there’s complicated that engages you and SO complicated that it’s difficult to understand and is in danger of switching the reader off. This happened to me recently in a book I reviewed just this week – and after I’d written the review, I went to look at others to see if it was just me who thought that way – and it wasn’t. Which is, I suppose, an argument for reading a number of reviews before making your decision!
I do think that if a review is way out of sync with what other reviewers think, I will look at that review more critically.
First, I don’t think of 3 star ratings as negative. (B-/C+) I may be out of step, but when I enjoy a book, but don’t think it’s especially unique, or it’s light and fluffy, I rate it as “good,” which is 3 stars. Worth the time but not a masterpiece. I enjoy well-written 3 star reviews because they often give a “what I liked” and “what didn’t work” sections which is really helpful.
I’ve rated relatively few books 5 stars. 5 stars are reserved for books that wow me (or brought me unexpected joy), either because of the incredible quality of the story and writing, or because, even if flawed, they represent something fresh and unique. Another thing, on GR when I review my audiobooks, a great narration can pull an overall rating up, and a terrible one can pull an overall rating down. However, in the body of my review I always write my rating for the story and the narration separately.
As a reader, I appreciate reviewers mentioning tropes that the author uses, and whether they enjoy them or not. I have my own quirks and, with so many books available to read, probably won’t pick up a book with tropes I know will irritate me. I probably miss a few good books that way, but overall it’s a good approach for me.
I enjoy Goodreads because I follow reviewers that I’ve grown to trust over the years, and whose tastes I understand. Those tastes don’t have to align with mine. In fact, I like to follow reviewers who enjoy different kinds of books because I gain insight and have on occasion been prompted to read outside my comfort zone by a great review. I don’t look at ratings that don’t have text reviews, and ignore reviews that don’t give some detailed reasons for the rating. In the beginning when listing my books on GR I didn’t do text reviews, now I regret that mostly because my memory isn’t that great and I now have no idea why I liked or disliked the books.
As for what we owe authors–honest reviews. But as others have said,reviews are for readers and that’s who I’m trying to inform with mine.
I am neither a reviewer nor an author, but as an avid romance reader, I value both positive and negative comments on novels. I take no review as absolute, but I appreciate hearing how plots, characters, and writing style contribute to a book’s enjoyment/disappointment. Authors, if you are writing only for yourself, ignore the negative reviews; but if your works receive many negative reviews and you write for the reading public, you might want to change things in your writing. Thanks, reviewers for ALL your reviews!
As an author who’s trying kind of hard to get read, I have many feels on this topic. :-)
I’m in the position of seeking reviews and so far getting almost none. I have received 5-star ratings; I’ve received a 2-star rating. Since the 2-star was not an actual review, I have no idea what the ‘reviewer’ didn’t like about my novella. A rating does me – as an author OR as a reader – no good at all, absent context, i.e. detail.
A review should be clear about what the reviewer did or didn’t like, full stop.
As a reader, I owe a lot of reviews. I think I do owe them, because of the above: some authors (like me) need product reviews because they aren’t getting reviewed by sites like AAR. If I read something and a lot of buyers have reviewed it, I feel there’s less need to do my own review.
As an AAR commenter, I don’t know if my comment on someone else’s review is necessarily helpful but since I read very few of the books reviewed here, I’ll chime in if I have a Thing To Say. (It’s not that I don’t want to read more books, but time is an issue.) I don’t expect the authors to be lurking, trying to learn from reviews. Some of the authors I particularly like make a point of saying they don’t read reviews, and I don’t blame them at all because it’s hard enough exposing yourself to criticism without having the details running on an endless loop in your head. However, readers might find what I have to say helpful, so.
I am making an effort to engage with some other authors. In part because I admire them and I’d like them to know. In part because if we actually click I might at some point feel there’s an opening to ask them to read one of mine and provide a blurb. Without editorial or buyer reviews, that kind of ‘hey this doesn’t suck!’ comment could help readers find me.
I don’t engage with Goodreads, see above re: time. I have more than enough books to read to fill the time in which I am not a) writing b) working for a living. :-)
I have great sympathy for authors who are having to do everything to promote your work all by yourself ChaCha1. I can tell you that I *do not* use either Amazon or Goodreads to find books to read, it that helps you at all.
Good summary, Chacha1. But I feel the need to address this point:
“In part because if we actually click I might at some point feel there’s an opening to ask them to read one of mine and provide a blurb.”
Lots of authors have had that idea, but you have to be super careful about this, particularly when it comes to Amazon. A while back, some authors thought they had a good “scam” where they would make a deal to give each other five-star reviews. They got caught and some had their KDP accounts terminated. I’m not saying this is what you’re thinking of doing, but ever since that debacle, Amazon has been really strict about authors reviewing other authors’ work- even legitimately. Today, authors can still get their reviews stripped or accounts banned for daring to like another authors’ work because that “you review me, I’ll review you” incident is still fresh in Amazon’s mind.
As for blurbs? That’s probably a bit safer. I had something similar done to one of my works, but I’d be extremely cautious about it- especially if there are reviews involved.
As a reader, I owe an author the price of their book, either directly through my purchase or indirectly through my tax dollars supporting my public library. Period. For years I’ve read variations on Neil Gaiman’s statement that George R.R. Martin is not my bitch and therefore owes me nothing. That works both ways.
Reviews on sites like AAR are written for readers, not authors. What makes a review useful to me as a reader is an honest evaluation of whether the book achieved what it was attempting. In that regard, Is it worth my money? I do think an AAR reviewer who knows that they don’t like a particular trope shouldn’t publicly review a book where that trope is key to the story. Read it to expand your boundaries, sure. Review if it made you change your perspective on the trope, great. But just to say you didn’t like something you expected you wouldn’t like? That’s not useful to me as a reader.
I will review a book, especially a self-published book, on Amazon if the author has requested both good and bad reviews to help the book do better on Amazon’s algorithm. I view those reviews as a favor to an author I’ve enjoyed, but the substance is still directed at other readers. My reviews on Amazon tend to be short (a few sentences) and positive.
Speaking purely personally, I generally avoid picking up books with tropes I don’t like or where the story sounds like it just isn’t “me”, and I think that many of my fellow reviewers here would say the same. We all want to like the books we choose to review and to be able to review them positively, but as it obvious, it doesn’t always work like that. And sometimes there’s no advance notice of a trope or plotline you normally avoid – but again, speaking personally, I will always try to make it clear that my criticism of it is down to my own preference.
“As a reader, I owe an author the price of their book, either directly through my purchase or indirectly through my tax dollars supporting my public library. Period.” As a writer (and a reader), I agree with you!
I agree with much of what has been said: reviewers’ comments are for readers, not authors and publishers. I *like* long form reviews; and I really appreciate that other readers can comment on a review.
Wow! Another great ASK topic! I’ve read all the responses so far, agreed with quite a few of them, and have some thoughts to add: 1) I’m sorry you’ve been getting flack from authors and publishers about your reviews. This is all speculation just based on my observations, but I think the increase in criticism has to do with a wider cultural problem. Frankly, authors and publishers are running scared because this is, unfortunately, an era where complaints can lead to contracts being dropped or books being pulled pre-production. I don’t consider AAR to be part of this culture, by the way, but as a third party that is much smaller than Twitter, Amazon, or Goodreads, you may look like an easy target. A scapegoat, if you will. Just remember what happened during that RWA kerfuffle a few months back. Was anybody calling for Amazon to withdraw offensive books from their catalog? Or to curtail positive reviews of allegedly “racist” books? Of course not! Because Amazon is a behemoth. Those complaints would disappear into cyberspace because a company that large is virtually untouchable. But a relatively small, articulate website with a faithful following? That’s an easy target for bullying. 2) I have a problem with the overuse of the word “owe” these days, as in “authors owe readers this” and “readers owe authors that.” When did we get into this mindset that we’re somehow indebted to each other? Like Deborah said, the reader owes the author the payment for the book either directly through buying it or indirectly through borrowing it via legitimate channels like public libraries. But that’s it. The author already did her job by writing the book. Sure, readers, reviewers, authors, and everybody else should treat one another with respect, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s owed. It’s just plain decent. 3) Reviews are an interesting thing. A lot has already been said here about the subjectivity of readers likes and dislikes, and I’d just like to add a little bit more to this concept. First, as many have said, a one star review can actually help an author sell books. If the reviewer says, “Ugh! The sex scenes in this romance were way too graphic, and the characters never seemed satisfied with plain old missionary,” a reader might say, “Gee, I’m up for some wild sexy times that go beyond missionary. I’ll check that out!” (Trying to keep this relatively clean for AAR…) Conversely, a five-star review can drive readers away as in, “OMG, awesome! This is a real tribute to the old days of romantic thrillers when the men were tough as nails and the women were slinky and seductive,” only for a reader to say, “Ugh, this sounds way too old school for me. Skip.” Second, one star reviews can help make a book look legitimate as in people other than the author’s friends and family actually read it. Third, no two people ever read the same book. One reviewer can adore the same exact elements another reviewer condemned. So while a glowing review can be an ego trip for an author and a bad review can be a cause for a conniption fit, I think overall that authors would be better off ignoring them (a herculean task, but we can try). For one thing, it’s impossible to please everyone. It’s never going to happen, and trying to do so is going to end up flattening out characters and narrative to appeal to a wider audience rather than telling the story the author wants to tell. Like it says in The Elements of Style, writers write for themselves (and hence why so few of us make a living at it…) Fourth, while it’s true a detailed review can point out writing issues, I honestly think good editors are better suited to the task of helping authors hone their craft than good reviewers. For one thing, editors tend to be writers themselves and shop their own work around. So they’re working from an inside perspective, so to speak. And although some reviewers are in the writing trade outside of critiques, it’s more of an outsider’s perspective. I compare it to how film critics like the late Roger Ebert look at films versus how film makers like Quentin Tarantino look at films. Both have different insights, but I suspect film makers would rather have Tarantino’s approval than a professional critic- at least from an artistic standpoint. Even then, editors- like reviewers- can… Read more »
I agree with Caz: Reviews are for readers and AAR is a community of romance readers.
Authors and writers have spaces of their own to hear feedback on their work (editors, beta readers, writing groups, classrooms, book signings or publicity events, conferences, social media) and while they can always peek at what readers are saying about their writing in reader spaces (AAR, Goodreads, blogs, social media), I believe they should do so with the understanding that the community isn’t built for them. Personally, I think it reflects poorly on authors who use their social media account to disagree with a critical Goodreads review or comment on a less-than-flattering blog post.
I also wonder if this discussion of critical romance reviews is shaped by gender and genre. Since I began reading romance, I’ve been surprised by the over abundance of effusive positive reviews I’ve seen outside of AAR. Does the hype reflect a genre that revolves around literally and metaphorically bringing people together?
Romance is also understood as distinctly feminine; a genre by women writers, about women’s lives, for women readers. Women are expected to be nice and non-confrontational, express mild or non-disruptive opinions, and be warmly inclusive or welcoming on behalf of a larger social group. In romance specifically, do unabashedly critical reviews interrupt expectations of gender?
I don’t think readers “owe” authors anything, but for myself, I try to write or think about books as if they’re written by real people and keep my opinions grounded in the work they produced and published. I also gravitate towards reviews, podcasts, and Instagram accounts that take strong positions and make effective or interesting arguments. Even if I disagree or reacted to a book differently, it always gets me thinking.
Those are all excellent points, Cece. Your second paragraph from the bottom about how “critical reviews [of romance] interrupt expectations of gender” is particularly insightful. To add to that, some people probably aren’t used to romance being reviewed seriously at all. It’s almost like they expect nothing but starry-eyed positive reviews extolling the virtues of Fabio and feel gobsmacked that such a genre could ever be critically discussed.
Thank you, Nan De Plume!
Yes, I agree! Online, in mainstream media, and even in my own life, I’ve noticed that some people are taken aback by serious conversations about romance or seem to be “expect nothing but starry-eyed positive reviews extolling the virtues of Fabio”.
I wonder if this comes from an earlier period in romance, when the genre was thoroughly denigrated, academic scholarship was either non-existent or patronizing, and fans weren’t able to find one another as easily on the internet. If readers had to push back on external criticism of the genre so often, were they disinclined to listen or tolerate internal criticism (i.e, negative reviews)? By perhaps drawing a rosy picture of romance, were they trying to shout down rampant criticism and draw in new readers?
I think we’ve entered a new time for romance and I’m delighted — I’m definitely someone who enjoys reading romance uncritically as much as I enjoy critical discussions of it!
“I’m definitely someone who enjoys reading romance uncritically as much as I enjoy critical discussions of it!”
I agree that there’s definitely room for both. Sometimes, you just want to read something for over the top fun, no analysis desired or required. And sometimes, you’re dying to know what someone else thought of the brilliance or train wreck you recently read.
Just as an aside: In all fairness to Fabio, I did have the pleasure of meeting him once- long before I read my first romance novel. He was very sweet to everyone who wanted to talk with him- even annoying people like me who were trying to sell him stuff (he had a vendor’s booth for protein shakes, long story).
Oh my gosh, I’ve heard about Fabio’s protein shake booths!! I collect the old Johanna Lindsey covers that feature him and it’s lovely to know he’s a genuinely generous and sweet guy.
Oh, he is. And he was definitely generous with his time, even when he was talking with obviously star-struck fans. He didn’t rush anybody, and he was very approachable and accessible. Heck, a lot of people hugged him for pictures! Can you imagine many other celebrities who would allow fans to get so intimate? Not saying they should have to, but Fabio was just unbelievably kind to everyone whether fans, customers, or fellow salespeople.
Getting back to what we were saying about romance not being taken seriously as a genre because of it being female-centered, there was a great three minute clip about this on YouTube. It might still be there. Basically, Chris Rice (son of Anne Rice) and his partner/husband (can’t remember which) interviewed Christina Lauren (two people) a few years ago. They had a nice talk about how weird it is that frivolous things men tend to like get taken way more seriously in society as a whole than frivolous things women tend to like- even though they’re all just forms of entertainment. I think they brought up how silly it is that football and over the top action films where the whole military can’t hit the broad side of the hero are somehow considered superior to sweeping romance novels. Interesting stuff…
Yes, I agree with that! Action movies are just as much wish fulfillment/escapist fantasies as romance novels but we definitely think of them differently. It’s really, really interesting to me how romance is often considered a deviation from popular culture or inherently “niche” while traditionally masculine genre products are considered part of the mainstream.