Authors & Reviewers: What Do You Think of Reviewers Who Don't Post Negative Reviews?

[Stacy-Deanne]

Hi All,

Due to the behavior of certain authors lately, some reviewers only post positive book reviews. Do you agree with this? Do you think it's fair?

I must be honest, I read a lot of review blogs and I have a lot of respect for reviewers who have the guts to post honest reviews, no matter how negative they are. As long as they are respectful, I don't have a problem with that. I think reviewers should post negative and positive reviews of the books they receive. It's fine if they want to give the author an option whether they want the review posted if it's negative. I just don't think reviewers should flat out say, "I don't post negative reviews." Some reviewers say that if they don't like a book, they won't post a review. But since when does being a reviewer require you to like something? I thought reviewers were supposed to review books they've agreed to review whether they liked the book or not?

I hope this isn't the new way of reviewing. When I go to a reviewer's site and see a mixture of positives and negatives, I trust that reviewer a little more than a reviewer who only posts reviews of books they enjoyed. To me that's not really reviewing if you don't display a variety in the type of reviews you offer. I'd skip a review site in a minute if all I'm going to get are five-starred, "glowing eyed" reviews of books. How can readers take that seriously if the reviewer doesn't appear to not like anything? That's why I like sites like Dear Author. They are honest with their reviews and give you a sample of very good book reviews and very negative ones. That's how it should be if you're gonna review books fairly.

I remember one reviewer who said, "I post all reviews. If the authors don't like what I post, they shouldn't have sent me the book." Now that's a reviewer with some balls, LOL.

Just my opinion. What's yours?

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Sandie Kirkland]

I have a little different outlook on this. I rarely come out and post vividly negative reviews. Instead, I might say this or that didn't work for me, or that I am probably not the target genre. That being said, I think there are things that can be highlighted in each book. I give a synopsis of the book, and then my personal reaction, then who the book would be a possibility for; i.e., what type of reader I'd recommend it to.

[Maria]

I don't believe that a reviewer should lie if they don't like a particular book. There is a way to be fair to the reader and the publisher/author.

Mostly, I love the books I read however if there is one I don't I usually say that it wasn't for me but my friend loved it (if this is the case) or I apprecaited this part. There is good and bad in everything and reviewers should be able to state their honest opinion. Not everyone likes everything and since it is my blog I will be honest in a kind way.

[Delaney henderson]

No - I think negative reviews should also be posted. If its all positive the reviews become meaningless. However --
there is a way to be constructive when posting a negative review, it is better to use some tact.

[Lisa Sheppard]

I started blogging so I could write about what I thought about books I have read. Sometimes that's going to mean that I get up on my soap box and yell, "You Have Got To Read This!" Sometimes I'm not quite so enthusiastic. I have been fortunate since I started blogging to not have come across any books that I really, really did not like. The ones I didn't care for, I tried to say something good about the book as well. And I've felt pretty anonymous with my little blog.

Now I'm sitting with quite a pile of books that I've recently gotten from publishers and authors. So my little insulated world may change a bit. But I still believe that bloggers have a responsibility to be honest with their thoughts. And readers have a responsibility to realize that the blogger's opinion is only one person's opinion.

[deb m (bookmagic)]

I post all reviews, good and bad. But I try to be tactful in the negative reviews. Reviews are important, they help us to determine whether or not we should spend money on a particular book. I think it is important to state why you didn't like the book.

[Helenita]

I've only started blogging this past April, so far I've had some good choices. I've given really favorable reviews until the most recent one. I didn't finish the book so I decided not to give it my usual rating system. I was honest about what I didn't like about it though. If you're interested, check out what I had to say about it.

[The Lateiner Gang]

I also got a very negative response from an author the very first time I gave a respectful, negative review. I mean, I honestly felt that the book deserved the review it got. It was not a well written book at all. I was harassed so much, that finally I took down the review entirely. For the most part, what I do now is unfortunately, will not request a book from a new author to review. I will either go buy a book that I want to read and if I like it, I will review it. I also request books from bigger, established publishers that are books I have either heard of or have read something by the same author or are part of a series I enjoyed. If I am buying the book, I have a right at that point to only review the books that I like. As well, I have requested a few books on here from authors and marketing groups which have never showed up. I do not know the time frame to allow a book to come, but after a few weeks of a no show, I sort of lose interest and move on. What works best for me now is to ust make the purchase or like I said, request what I know will be a decent read from a bigger house and at least my site's fans know that if its up there for review, I loved the book. Unfortunate, but not worth the trouble otherwise for me. Remember, the reason at least my family, and hopefully you decided to take that step and create your site was to # 1, have fun. Getting bothered for being honest is no fun :O(
Dave
(Dad of The Lateiner Gang)

[Mary @ The Sweet Bookshelf]

maybe they aren't reading books they know they wouldn't like? So maybe they just don't HAVE a negative review to give....

[Patricia Ortin]

What is the point of a review if you won't give other readers / authors the piece of your mind? For me writing reviews means sharing an opinion. I did get violent reactions because I said I hated the whole plot, or that I wish he/she could have done this and that or that I feel like there's something missing, blah blah blah. But that doesn't mean I have totally influenced my friends into reading/not reading it. It just gives them some sort of a heads up on what to expect. Plus its fun when they read it and disagrees with what I wrote, it becomes a full on discussion. Plus how are the authors going to improve?- an author who doesn't take criticisms are the cocky ones. I do love reviewers that have balls like the one you quoted. Whose that? So I can follow th blog.

[Lexie]

It used to be that I read everything, no matter how much I got bored, disgusted, terrified or uncomfortable. I didn't post reviews back then, I'm talking when I was in middle school/high school so like a decade ago, but as I got older I realized I didn't want to waste my time on a book that I wasn't getting into within the first 30 pages.

When I began writing reviews it was for books that I had in my possession. I didn't actively begin seeking out books for a number of months (because I have enough books that I read/buy I don't really need to if I don't want to) because I didn't want to have the moment when I receive a book I didn't like and have to post about it.

My policy is pretty clear: if I request a book I will review it. I will state clearly if I didn't *finish* the book in my review however, if I don't like it. If the book is sent to me, without prior communication, I will review it if I finish it. I've begun to have posts that are 'why I didn't like this or that book' where I have a short paragraphs about my feelings on the books.

I suppose it would be different if I was being paid, because then it would be my job, not my pleasure activity, but I don't see the point in wasting anyone's time. And I know there are bloggers who feel that we are 'paid' with the free books, but I work about 45 to 50 hours a week as a nanny, I am taking (at any given time) upwards to 3 online classes during a month to get my degree as a Paralegal, on top of that I drive my sister around to her activities, I cook and clean for my dad, uncle, brother and sister and I run errands for my mom who has a variety of health concerns. The only reason I'm able to read *at all* is because I only need about four hours of sleep each night and I have about a hour break during work when the kids are sleeping and I don't have other social obligations most weeks.

I'm sorry if I sound very defensive, but I can't begin to tell you how many people e-mail me, lambasting me because my reviews tend to be happy happy or passable happy without any true unhappy reviews. Reading is the only activity I can look upon without stress, and reviewing is me trying to be less of an isolationist and more extroverted.

[chrisbookarama]

Reading is a hobby. Most book bloggers aren't professionals. People should understand that you have limited time for it and want it to be enjoyable while you're reading. Too bad that you have to defend yourself over it.

[Lexie]

Exactly. I still only rarely request books directly from publishers. I belong to a number of lists though, where publicists say 'I have so and so avail to review!' and then I carefully only choose the ones I will finish, but I receive books I have no interest in, in genres I do not read very often (if at all) and I don't feel an obligation to those books. If I'm already pre-disposed to dislike a genre, then I'm probably not going to like the book. There have been exceptions (Alice Kimberly and PC Doherty have given me a reason to read mysteries), but by in large it doesn't happen.

Ah people complain over bloggers feeling a sense of entitlement to receiving free books, but there also seems to be a sense of 'I sent you this free book, you have to review even though you dislike the type'.