How I review: AKA, the method to my madness
As I get new followers, I periodically like to write little reminders about how I review, because unfortunately, I think people tend to find me through my negative reviews and think I'm a negative person. (No joke: I once ended up on a badly behaving authors list because someone didn't like that I gave THRONE OF GLASS a bad review.)
I am very, VERY snarky but I try not to be mean-spirited about it. I try very hard to keep my reviews from being personal (which is why I tend to avoid authors whose politics I disagree with) and keep my focus on the book without being too mean. I don't have jars of authors' tears in my basement and I don't even particularly enjoy writing rant reviews anymore. Over the past couple years, I've gotten pretty good at avoiding books that I think I won't like, so when I write a one-star review now, it's because I was expecting to like it and thought the book was genuinely bad or because reading it made me angry.
RATING RUBRIC:
5-star review- ABSOLUTELY loved it. Will shout about it to anyone and everyone. Probably will spam it to people periodically on Facebook or Twitter. I still think about this book sometimes while sipping wine and remembering Tuscany.
4-star review- Missed that something-something but still stellar and definitely left me star-struck. I want to be this author, or at least the social media version of this author. Really, really enjoyed it and will probably still spam it to people (although maybe not as often). Only when it slides into my DMs and I'm feeling lonely.
3-star review- The friend-zoned review. I like you babe, but just as friends. You kind of annoy me too much to be seen with you 1:1 in public, but I'll still go out with you as a group. Will still recommend, but probably with a caveat. If you're safe for work, I'd hook you up with a coworker. Not my fave, but not my enemy. You can still come to my birthday party.
2-star review- Meh. You're all right if I look at you cross-eyed, although if you sat next to me, I'd think about moving seats. Most of my DNF reviews are two-star reviews because I usually stop at the point where I can feel my annoyance turning into outright dislike. I don't hate you but you bore me. I'd say I'd leave you on read, but I don't even really want to read you, either.
1-star review- Don't worry, it's not you, it's me (shh, it's actually you). This book made me mad. It's like seeing social media posts from my one douche relative that I can't unfriend without causing a family incident. Reading this book actually made me feel like I'd wasted my time. I probably said "un-fucking-believable" at least once while trying to read you. Girl, bye. Call me never.
More notes and caveats:
-I DON'T read friends' books unless I'm pretty sure I'll like them. I've lost author friends in the past who didn't like that I gave them honest negative reviews and I'm not about that drama life. I've built my brand up by being honest and I'm not doing anyone any favors by recommending something I can't stand by. This is my hill. The one I'll die alone on.
-I am an author but I will never go after anyone who writes me a negative review. I don't believe in sabotaging other authors and I don't revenge-rate. Sometimes I will read authors in the genres I write in and usually I like them but sometimes I don't. I don't rate out of jealousy. I don't believe that authors are "in competition." I don't like drama. I'm just here to write reviews and talk about books.
-If you want to do me a solid, check out the books on my god-tier-romance-novels shelf, best-young-adult-books shelf, best-sci-fi-fantasy shelf, and my nenia-recommends shelf. These are my absolute faves and contain the reviews that I wish more people knew me for. I became a book blogger because I wanted to bond with people over the books I love, and as cathartic as a good rant can be, I'd rather read something I enjoy.
-I don't typically send out friend requests because I don't want people to feel pressured into accepting just because I have a high follow count. I'm actually pretty shy in person and the impostor syndrome is real. I love new friends, though, so please feel free to add me. I'll probably accept.
I am very, VERY snarky but I try not to be mean-spirited about it. I try very hard to keep my reviews from being personal (which is why I tend to avoid authors whose politics I disagree with) and keep my focus on the book without being too mean. I don't have jars of authors' tears in my basement and I don't even particularly enjoy writing rant reviews anymore. Over the past couple years, I've gotten pretty good at avoiding books that I think I won't like, so when I write a one-star review now, it's because I was expecting to like it and thought the book was genuinely bad or because reading it made me angry.
RATING RUBRIC:
5-star review- ABSOLUTELY loved it. Will shout about it to anyone and everyone. Probably will spam it to people periodically on Facebook or Twitter. I still think about this book sometimes while sipping wine and remembering Tuscany.
4-star review- Missed that something-something but still stellar and definitely left me star-struck. I want to be this author, or at least the social media version of this author. Really, really enjoyed it and will probably still spam it to people (although maybe not as often). Only when it slides into my DMs and I'm feeling lonely.
3-star review- The friend-zoned review. I like you babe, but just as friends. You kind of annoy me too much to be seen with you 1:1 in public, but I'll still go out with you as a group. Will still recommend, but probably with a caveat. If you're safe for work, I'd hook you up with a coworker. Not my fave, but not my enemy. You can still come to my birthday party.
2-star review- Meh. You're all right if I look at you cross-eyed, although if you sat next to me, I'd think about moving seats. Most of my DNF reviews are two-star reviews because I usually stop at the point where I can feel my annoyance turning into outright dislike. I don't hate you but you bore me. I'd say I'd leave you on read, but I don't even really want to read you, either.
1-star review- Don't worry, it's not you, it's me (shh, it's actually you). This book made me mad. It's like seeing social media posts from my one douche relative that I can't unfriend without causing a family incident. Reading this book actually made me feel like I'd wasted my time. I probably said "un-fucking-believable" at least once while trying to read you. Girl, bye. Call me never.
More notes and caveats:
-I DON'T read friends' books unless I'm pretty sure I'll like them. I've lost author friends in the past who didn't like that I gave them honest negative reviews and I'm not about that drama life. I've built my brand up by being honest and I'm not doing anyone any favors by recommending something I can't stand by. This is my hill. The one I'll die alone on.
-I am an author but I will never go after anyone who writes me a negative review. I don't believe in sabotaging other authors and I don't revenge-rate. Sometimes I will read authors in the genres I write in and usually I like them but sometimes I don't. I don't rate out of jealousy. I don't believe that authors are "in competition." I don't like drama. I'm just here to write reviews and talk about books.
-If you want to do me a solid, check out the books on my god-tier-romance-novels shelf, best-young-adult-books shelf, best-sci-fi-fantasy shelf, and my nenia-recommends shelf. These are my absolute faves and contain the reviews that I wish more people knew me for. I became a book blogger because I wanted to bond with people over the books I love, and as cathartic as a good rant can be, I'd rather read something I enjoy.
-I don't typically send out friend requests because I don't want people to feel pressured into accepting just because I have a high follow count. I'm actually pretty shy in person and the impostor syndrome is real. I love new friends, though, so please feel free to add me. I'll probably accept.
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by
Beth
(new)
Oct 06, 2022 12:14PM
The three-stars are the toughest. Almost always it's "it was good, but it could have been so much better." And then it's paragraphs and paragraphs of explaining myself.
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Beth wrote: "The three-stars are the toughest. Almost always it's "it was good, but it could have been so much better." And then it's paragraphs and paragraphs of explaining myself."Omg yes. Three star reviews are the worst to write. I call them A Treatise of Meh.
