Alison joins us today to talk about reviewing a book that you didn’t enjoy.
As part of Rosie’s Review-A-Book Challenge #RRABC, we continue our week of advice posts. See the link at the bottom of the page for details of the challenge and where you can sign up for a free book in exchange for a review.
Honest but fair – how to review a book you didn’t like
If you read books and write reviews, the chances are that you’re going to eventually be faced with writing a review for a book that you didn’t like. So what do you do?
Before you write and post that review, consider the following:
What didn’t you like? Be specific – was it the story itself? The characterisation? The plot? The pace?
Once you’ve nailed that down, ask yourself why you didn’t like that particular aspect or aspects. Was the plot too complicated? Were there plot holes? Were the characters not believable enough? Did they act without a reasonable motivation?
Now you have a clear idea of what you didn’t like, be honest with yourself. Was your dislike because there was an actual issue with the book itself or was it more to do with personal preference?
If it’s the former, then you need to decide if you’re going to review or not. Some readers and reviewers don’t like to leave a review if they can’t give a certain number of stars, for example, or can’t think of anything nice to say at all. You are under no obligation to review and you are not an author’s editor, beta reader, or critique partner. If you have been gifted a book in exchange for a review, then make clear before you even agree to take on a book that your review will be honest or that you will not review if you can’t award more than a certain star rating.
My personal opinion is that if someone has written a book, published it, and expects people to pay money for it, and there are fundamental issues, such as bad writing, grammatical mistakes, typos etc. then there is nothing wrong with leaving a negative review. If you decide to do this, then make sure that you aren’t rude or insulting, just say exactly what was wrong. For example:
‘The characters didn’t behave in a consistent way.’
‘The plot didn’t make sense.’
‘The novel needs a thorough proofread.’
Give examples if you can – they don’t need to be long or incredibly detailed, just give a flavour of what the issue is.
And if there was anything at all that you did like, however small, do try to mention this. So you could say that the main character was relatable, but unfortunately, they didn’t always behave in a consistent way. Or that while the settings were beautifully described, this description sometimes got in the way of the story. Or you loved the storyline, but that there were a few too many typos.
If there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the book, but you just didn’t like the content, then you need to handle this in a different way, in order to be fair to the author. If the characters swear, for example, and you don’t like swearing, then that isn’t a reason to review negatively – it just means that the book wasn’t for you. If there’s lots of sex, and you like ‘clean’ romance, then again, it just means the book isn’t for you. The same applies to violence, horror, the supernatural.
I would suggest that, in these circumstances, you either don’t review, or you try not to let those personal opinions cloud your judgement.
For example, when I finally read ‘Last Exit to Brooklyn’ by Hubert Selby Jr., I was faced with this dilemma. Reading it was, without doubt, uncomfortable, and unpleasant. I hated reading it, to be honest. But I can’t deny that it is absolutely a work of art. So despite the fact that I didn’t enjoy it, I can’t criticise it for the skill of the writing, or the talent that lies behind it. It deserves a fabulous review (okay, I did knock off half a star!).
So the key thing here is that you need to be objective. Yes, say that something made you uncomfortable, say there is a lot of sex, or swearing or violence, or whatever it was that you didn’t like, but also make it clear that this is a personal opinion and that even though the book wasn’t for you, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good, or that someone else might not love it.
Remember how important reviews are for authors, but also remember that the review isn’t for the author, it is for any potential reader who wants to know what they’re going to get for their money, and if a book is worth that money or the reader’s time. So do be honest, but do be fair.
If you’d like to read more about Rosie’s Review-A-Book Challenge #RRABC click here
Tomorrow John will be writing about why book reviews are so important to authors.
Reblogged this on Alison Williams Writing and commented:
My post for Rosie Amber on writing a review if you didn’t like a book.
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Great advice, Alison. Ultimately, a review is our opinion, but it’s important to give reasons for it, so others can see if the issues we might have with a book are likely to get in the way of their enjoyment or not.
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I do like to get a feel for what does and doesn’t work in a book.
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Very good advice. Sometimes I’ll only read the one and two-star reviews on Amazon, because they’re often the ones that readers have put more thought into. They can give me a better idea of whether or not I’ll enjoy the book than the gushing five stars.
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As a reader, I do look at the bad reviews, as they warn me of why I might not like the book. If it’s a snide dig at the author, perhaps a celebrity who is not everyone’s favourite uncle, that one-star review won’t stop me buying it.
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Me too April! I start with the 3* reviews then work down, only if I’m still unsure will I really read the 4* and above unless I trust the reviewers advice or it is a book that I really want to read.
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Me too, April – I read the bad ones, or at least the 3*. I rarely read the log 4 and 5* ones in their entirety, because what they’re basically saying is ‘yes, it’s good’. I also look at the ratio of bad-good. If a book has only 4 stars or less for its average, it means that quite a number of people had problems with it.
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Reblogged this on Indie Lifer and commented:
Some helpful advice on writing reviews.
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Thanks for sharing.
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What a great post with great suggestions! Thank you for sharing! 💕
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I read other people’s reviews after I have written mine, never before I read the book, It is fascinating to see them go from one to five stars. The only time I did not write a review was when I knew the author and didn’t want to criticise them on line.We never forget a bad review, do we?
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Hi Julie – you’re so right! But there’s a difference between a ‘bad review’ and a critical one. Like some books, there are some bad reviews. Not many, but if a reviewer doesn’t enjoy the book, they are more likely to skip bits and the review can become unfair. It’s only happened to me once, but I cannot be the only one!
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I was supposed to read and review Five Wives. I couldn’t do it…It just didn’t keep my interest, it was confusing…I decided I am not going to write a review because I can’t say that it was the author, since I know for a fact I just couldn’t get into it.
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That’s fine as well, not everyone will like every book. It just isn’t possible.
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No two people read the same book.
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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This is helpful advice. I blog about the books I read, but I don’t consider myself a book reviewer. It’s difficult when you read a book or try to read a book but it’s just not your cup of tea. Like you, I always try to find something positive to say about a book I didn’t like.
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Thank you Janet, really glad that you found it helpful.
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Hi Janet – finding something positive to say about a book you don’t like is an enormous help to the author. Many of us struggle from one crisis of confidence to another! Also, if a reviewer fails to do this, I think it reflects unfavourably on the review as well as the book.
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Reblogged this on Viv Drewa – The Owl Lady.
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