Honest opinions and the review that almost made me a hypocrite

Note: Please understand that I am not going back on everything I have said regarding reviews, reviewers, and reasons why you shouldn’t respond. I am, however, expressing disdain over a particular incident. I am not telling reviewers how to review a book “properly” or any nonsense like that.

I recently read a review of a book that I am particularly fond of that made me second guess everything I’ve ever said about engaging reviewers. It made me want to rage at the reviewer so hard I thought I was going to Hulk-smash my computer. That would have been a bad idea, of course, but nevertheless it upset me.

It was odd because this feeling came from a book that I had nothing to do with. I think we’re all a bit guilty of checking reviews for things that we like to make sure that other people have the same opinion. They don’t, but we can still hope.

So there I was, staring at this review on my computer screen, and I could feel my morals slipping. I started hashing out plans for a full on assault of the reviewer. I honestly wasn’t certain if I was legitimately angry or just annoyed. It’s silly thinking about it now, but at the time, I was really really upset.

Now before anyone goes off on me and tries to destroy my nonexistent career, let me provide you with a few facts. This particular book is part of a series, it’s a permafreebie, and the reviewer was pretty decent in their review for the most part. They did give the book a favorable star rating, but it was baffling.

So, keeping all of that in mind, allow me to share with you all what infuriated me so. The reviewer was upset with what they considered a “cliff hanger ending” and called the author of the book a scammer basically because the book is part of a series.

I can’t stand CLIFF HANGERS to begin with and […] I would of never gotten it to start with.

I hate being scammed into buying another book, if the book or series is good enough I would buy […] without the scam.

Now… What the fuck? What the actual fuck? Are books that are part of a series supposed to leave SOME issues unresolved because they are part of the overarching plot line of the series? Shouldn’t an author want people to read their other books? This book does not have a cliffhanger. I mean, it keeps you wanting to read more (as a good book should), but it doesn’t end randomly or set up a big scene to quickly end and laugh in your face. Just as a reminder for everyone- Miriam Webster defines a cliffhanger as

an adventure serial or melodrama; especially :  one presented in installments each ending in suspense

I don’t understand how getting a freebie is a scam. I honestly don’t. If you like the fucking book enough to read the rest of the books in the series, then the author did their fucking job. If you don’t, that’s fine. You don’t have to buy the other books. I know that might sound like a foreign concept to some, but you don’t. It’s not a requirement. So if you got a free book that you didn’t like, you only wasted a short period of your life; you were not scammed. I mean, if I considered every free book I didn’t like a scam, I’d be the world’s easiest fucking mark. I do have an alternate theory that the reviewer actually liked the book but thinks that they deserve the other books for free.

I would really like you all to weigh in on this. What are your feelings about this situation? How would you handle it? Please don’t forget to comment and follow!