Consider This - Reviewing a story/manuscript

I find that sometimes I hand a story to someone to read and give me some honest feedback and I get "Gee that was a really great story. Thanks." But nothing that is going to help me make it better.

Yes, all people LOVE praise and the more the better (yes please). BUT, in terms of helping a writer make their story the best it can be, a short "That was great." isn't that helpful.

Some people see some things that can be fixed. Others see other things: big picture, small picture, details, technical etc. So a variety of reviewers can be a good thing - hence a writers' group can be very helpful if everyone in the group knows how to critique.

I have found a useful formula for giving critique goes something like this:
1. Give a run down of what you think the story was about. This goes to theme. Maybe you thought it was about something other than what the author intended or thought.
2. Outline some things that you felt worked well. Like I said, every author likes praise, but also it helps the author know where their strengths lie and what they probably don't need to change. (And lessens the blow of number 3.)
3. Outline some of the things you felt didn't work: be specific. Was it theme, big things, little things, technical things? Maybe there was something you felt was missing or could have been expanded or was too much of a digression. These are the things the author will want to fix and giving some ideas of what was wrong will help them fix it.
4. Find one more positive thing to say about the piece. It's always good to end on a positive note AND there will always been something good you forgot to say at 2. Maybe it is a big picture thing you could include at this point.

Like or dislike the genre or the story, you can still be an effective reader and critiquer if you read it critically (not for enjoyment but to work out what worked and what didn't).

Keep writing.