Do negative reviews put you off?

[Rebecca, The Constant Reader]

Every time there's a book that I really want to read, there's always negative reviews. But there's always more positive reviews, and I normally don't let the negatives ones put me off. Most of the time, I enjoy the book so I was right to ignore the bad reviews.

Have you ever been put off by a bad review? Would you let somebody else's opinion stop you from reading something?

[Raevyn]

Most of the time I forget all about it by the time I read the book.

[Kerry]

Rebecca wrote: "Every time there's a book that I really want to read, there's always negative reviews. But there's always more positive reviews, and I normally don't let the negatives ones put me off. Most of the ..."

This is probably the wrong place to say this, but I don't find reviews all that instructive, books or movies. I suspect it has something to do with my tastes seeming to run different from everyone else.

The other side of the coin is how one feels about seeing all great reviews for a book; nothing negative. Do you believe those, or do you assume them to be all friends, relatives or paid?

[Spirit of Wonderland Reviews]

Honestly, even though I'm a reviewer myself, I don't read other people's book reviews anymore, out of habit. I often times find my opinions to be the opposite, or at least very different, from most everyone else, so other people's reviews rarely do anything to help me. The main reason though, is because I write reviews for every book I read, and I don't like reading a book with other people's thoughts or opinions running through my head. Then, my opinion of the book is skewed, and therefore, my review at the end of the book will be tainted (no way it can't, people are influenced by others whether they want to be or not). On top of the fact that I have a very hard time finding reviewers who don't put a ton of spoilers or ruin key moments in the book, with their reviews. Very irritating.

As a general answer to the question posted though, no, I doubt I would let a negative review stop me from reading a book I really want to read. Unless they're stating that there were things in the book I know for sure will make me not like it (and even that, I take with a grain of salt), I'll read what sounds interesting, regardless of other people's opinions.

@Kerry: You make a very good point. A ton of good reviews for a book/movie doesn't always mean it's good. I also agree with you, that reviews tend to not be instructive, because everyone is different and has different tastes. Personally, I take it all with a grain of salt, and usually don't base my decisions on the opinions of others, in any area of life.

[Cora, Tea Party Princess]

I enjoy reading negative reviews - it's all about how a reader connected with a book. I like seeing the different perspectives of a story, the different ways people translate it in their head.

I've read a lot of books which have negative reviews. Sometimes my views differ, sometimes they don't. I quite enjoy seeing if I'll like it when someone else doesn't, especially if it's someone I interact with a lot.

[David]

Cora Linn wrote: "I enjoy reading negative reviews - it's all about how a reader connected with a book. I like seeing the different perspectives of a story, the different ways people translate it in their head.

I'v..."

This is really interesting from a writer's perspective too. It's amazing to see how different readers draw different aspects from something you've written, even things you didn't realise you'd actually put in there.

[Andy]

Sometimes a negative review can reinforce my desire to read a book. For instance, if I'm in the market for some truly terrifying horror, and a reviewer negatively marks the book for being too scary, I'm more drawn to it.

However if a book is marked down for perceived poor grammar or bad syntax, I tend to stay away. This isn't always the case though, otherwise I'd never read Irvine Welsh, whose prose can sometimes be a little, erm....unconventional.

[Cozen]

No. In fact, I find that the small handful of reviewers that have rated a story at 2 or lower, more informative and trusting then all of those padded Fanbrats who seem more content with over loading the page with too many gif images, that have nothing to do with the story, then understand exactly the content of what they just read.

Those negative reviews have probably saved me my time and money. There is the arguement that every story will have some negative comments/reviews about the and well that is true, you can't please everyone all the time.

But that being said, when the 6, two star reviewers out of 400 touch on the same issues (spelling issues, two dinmensional pushover for the female role, unrealistic outcome, too much sex made all of them just boring) then I usually can gather whether what issues tend to pick on certain nerves and I safely steer clear of them..

This does not, however, mean I approve of out right valgarish language towards the author. There is a certain line that is not to be crossed and those have no place here.

But... This does not mean that reviews need to pussyfoot around it either. I have taken refudge and found company that seem to delight in giving more then the what you'd expect. Some times, I found reviews more entertaining than the actual book. There are many talented writers besides the ones behind these books. I find that they keep me on my toes to stay honest, true to my feelings that they inflict upon me, and keep my striving for creativity when I set to pen... Or is the keyboard?

Anyway, for feeling guilt or obligation to censor my feeling or thought on any story, well it all simply boils down to this one thing...


I PAID FOR THAT STORY.

[G.G.]

I take reviews with a grain of salt. It seems I don't have the same taste as everyone else anyway, be it movies, books or music. So what someone classifies as a masterpiece might not even spark my interest.

Also, my view on reviews took a plunge lately, when an author approached me asking me to review his work. Nothing wrong with that, so sure, I said. Why not?
Once he sent me his books, he asked me to ONLY post a review if I put 4 or 5 stars. Did I review his books? NO, I did as asked, but I feel I cheated the readers somehow because quite frankly the reviews would have been bad. I would have had to mention how the stories read like newspaper: No feelings, no dimension, nothing, just facts after facts. Oh, sure the sentences were well written. I did not notice any grammatical mistakes, but that does not make the story a good one.
I can live with typos and mistakes but I can't enjoy a book if the characters are not well fleshed out. So yes, sometimes I get put off by bad reviews if it has something to do with the characters development.

[Valentina]

I don't really read the reviews before reading a book. I check the rating, but if I decided to read the book, I'm not going to give up just because someone else didn't like the book.

I read the reviews after, and honestly, enjoy the negative ones more. They have a more realistic touch to them (if written properly, not the hate reviews).

Another reason why I try to stay away from the reviews before reading the book myself-spoilers.

Tastes and opinions vary. It's said that no 2 people have ever read the same book and I find this very true-everyone interprets the book in their own way.

So no, bad reviews don't put me off.

[Rachel]

I've been burned by trusting glowing reviews and then absolutely hating the book. I've almost exclusively moved to using the book samples available on my kindle to decide whether to buy the rest of the book. As an author I would love to see how many samples turn into sales.

[Cozen]

Careful. I've been burnt by misleading samples too. There are several books I purchased (one in particular comes to mind), because the first few chapters were awesome but as soon as those sample chapters were done, the story went down hill- and fast *cough*cough* "Tall, Dark, and Lonely", uh-hem.

The book left me so seething irritated I literally couldn't function right. Kept thinking about the story all the time until I had to force myself to calm down and write try to put it on paper what elicited my FEELINGS for it. The sample was awesome... The spelling and sentence structure was fine. Author even had a gift with words. She could tell some great scenes. It was the story that I found that was so... something. So unbelievably incorrect it should have been a sci-fi instead of a romance contemporary. I mean "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" made more logical sense to me than it did. But there was only 4 and 5 star reviews for it. I could not believe it.

Sometimes I wonder if people are softer on their reviews, like perhaps they were ask to write an honest review. They might be too afraid to say anything too negative about a book. Nothing below a three star.

Then there is the self publish group. I feel they have more to gain if their book has lots of positive reviews for it. I think the term "Padded" is what they call it when friends and family add many of positive and favorable reviews to up the ratings. I've read an article on that topic and it didn't paint such a rosy reality for the self employed author. I am more wary of books that don't have any 3 of lower stars.

Then there is a the "Fan Brat". Can't say what I really want to say on that group. 30 gif . and jpeg. images for one review does't seem to slow them down or detour them from adding their own 30+ gif. and jpeg. packed review, mostly consisting of men with above average appearance. Many times they don't have a single thing to do with the the story in any way.

I honestly read one review, on a 2nd book from a series that I felt just ruined every positive thing I wrote and felt about the first book, and well, I'll summarize it; "I was going to give this book a much, much lower rating, but the Kaden brothers are hot so I am giving it a five star".

My very long lost point here, samples can be misleading as much as ratings and reviews can. I feel more obligated and complelled to write a review whether it be a positive one or a not so possitive.

[Rachel]

I agree with you that even samples can be misleading (Starling comes to mind - great out of the box action scene and then a lot of wandering around for the rest of the book...) but, I've also been saved from books that I otherwise would have bought. I guess there is no one guaranteed way to find books you'll love.

[Sandra]

Before I read a book, I do tend to look at what others think, I usually will go through and try to at least get a sense of the book, and whether there are good or bad reviews, I still will go and read the book. If I happen to read a book and realize the negatives were right, I tend to write my own review and comment on it as well, or if its the opposite where I loved the book and found people who did not than I will still mention why I liked it.

[Keeleigh]

Usually if I'm reading reviews it's because I'm already really interested in the book, so it's unlikely that a reviewer would put me off.

If it's a book that somebody has recommended off of goodreads and I'm not sure I'll like it I usually read reviews from people that I know have similar tastes in books as me.

It also depends what the reviewer has said, for example a lot of people have voted American Psycho lowly due to it's violent scenes and of course the infamous rat scene. I however am not put off reading books with unpleasant themes and characters so I'd be less inclined to let that type of review influence my decision to read it.

However I do like knowing where people thought the book was weakest and seeing if I agree with them.

[Jan]

I like to read a sample of reviews, so after reading a few higher starred reviews I'll check out the lower ranked reviews. I just like to see what people thought about it and what specifically they didn't like. Maybe it wasn't a fast enough read or had too much detail. Sometimes it's just not what they expecting (too dark or not serious enough).

It never puts me off from reading a book I'm interested in, but it gives me a better picture of what to expect.

What's funny is that a lot of times what people give the book a low rating for is what others are praising about it!

[Ellie]

I don't seek out reviews before I read a book. I form my own view and read the reviews when I've got my own opinion, then look to see how my view compares with the consensus.

[Saxonjus]

I would be wary if any book didn't receive a negative review! We all have different tastes in genre & authors.A good mixture of reviews usually a good sign for me.

[Taja]

I actually always take note to read at least one really negative review and one really positive one, and then make my judgment. If the negative one looks well thought out and explains things well, I take it into account. Same with the positive one. Then I decide If I still want to give the book a go or not :)

[Brijit]

It depends on what the reviewer has to say. If they're commenting that the book has a lot of typos or grammatical errors (and it has to be more than just a couple of mistakes for me), or the characters and/or plot aren't well-developed, that will probably put me off, but if they're giving it a bad review because it isn't to their personal taste, it won't.

Since there are a lot of struggling indie writers on Amazon, I get it(I'm in that boat myself)-- the work isn't always going to be perfectly professional and polished, but as long as the content is strong, well-written and clever-- I'm open. I can think of at least one very successful indie author who always has one or two typos in her finished product, but her books are always a blast to read, and without a big fancy publishing house backing her up, you can't expect her material to be flawless.

I do get frustrated with people who don't at least TRY to put together a polished project and then expect readers to pay for it. To me, it looks like they're just trying to make a fast buck without any concern for their art or craft (or the consumers!) and I think writing just for the money it can bring in is ugly. Plus, it gives indie authors a bad name-- and there are some truly talented writers out there who are struggling to find an audience.

[Lynnette]

If I think about it, I've adopted the habit of reading the 3-star reviews first There are people out there for whom only To Kill a Mockingbird gets a 5 and for them a 3 is good; there's another large group out there who don't have it in them to give a 1 or 2, so 3 is as low as they go.
So, on this particular book, what kind of 3's did it get?
I've read 3-star reviews that started out "I enjoyed reading this book and hope the author does a sequel" and it's only in the third paragraph that the least negative comes out.
I've read 3-star reviews that were harsher than most 1-stars: "It's obvious the author copied book XYZ and that book was crap so why did they bother?"
The 1-star and the 5-star can have something else going on, but I suspect very few of the 3-star have an axe to grind (or polish).

[Rebecca, The Constant Reader]

I recently read which has a lot of bad reviews. But I really enjoyed it. I'd already bought it when I saw the bad reviews, and I'm sure not sure if I would have bought it had I seen the reviews first, since I'd never heard of the book before anyway. I only bought it because it was in a 3 for £5 deal, but I'm glad I did :)

[David]

Cripes,some of these comments make me almost wish my novel Alloria had less 5* reviews, but one of those was from our moderator Rebecca. I think in that comes my perspective,who wrote the reviews, what else have they reviewed, and do their reviews come across as genuine?

[Rachel]

Will someone else please read Through Glass, by Rebecca Ethington. I can lend it from my kindle or it's only 99 cents on Amazon. It has an army of 5 star glowing reviews and for the life of me I don't understand it. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Finishing it was a chore. People are saying things like they cried through it or "OMG! Blew me away!" and "words can't describe how amazing" and "if you buy nothing else this year..."

If you love it I promise not to hate you, maybe...

My review of it is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[G.G.]

Sorry but I am at a lost. Why would you advertise a book that you HATE?
So the book can have more sales?

[Taja]

Maybe to seek reassurance in others and see if she really is the odd one out for not liking it? Just my guess

[Rachel]

Like Taja said, I'm seeking reassurance. I'm just wondering if maybe I'm getting too old for this genre (Paranormal romance). Maybe all the glowing reviews are 14-year-old girls.

As far as advertising - I hold no ill will toward the author - I found her writing style irritating - but I find the reviews for the book even more irritating. Maybe we should start a new thread called, Do Positive Reviews put you off?

[G.G.]

Ah, but you shouldn't second guess yourself! All books are not for everyone, even if it's a style you usually enjoy.

I LOVE your idea of a new thread with that name! Because, I have had problems with some 5 stars reviews also. I'm not difficult to please regarding books, styles, and stories, so when I see something with lots of 5 stars that I absolutely did not like, it always leaves me wondering.

[Sherry]

I like to read a few of the 5 star reviews just to get a jest of the book. Then I look at the 1's and 2's. Negative reviews would not put me off if it is a subject I am interested in. And I am interested in a whole lot except the "bodice rippers".

That being said I would like to make a comment about authors. I am not one myself so I guess I don't know all the facts. But..... I think there is NO EXCUSE for having typos, bad grammar (unless part of a character) and bad punctuation. I know if I were an author I could find at least a few people, even if they were friends and family to read the book with a red pencil in hand. Being in a rush to get the book published is no excuse. They may have a wonderful story but if I am always distracted by the mechanics of the book, I put it down.

Just saying.... sorry if I hurt any feelings.

[Sassy Savvy Fabulous]

I don't let a bad review discourage me from reading a book I let a bad review guide me to "sample " the book on my kindle if I notice I agree with the bad review by the time the sample is done I do not purchase book. I have loved many books others have hated and hated books many have loved, everyone has their own opinion. I use the bad review as a guide line

[James]

Actually, often a bad review closes the deal for me and leads to me wanting to read it even more and make the purchase. Sometimes I can tell that all reasons the reviewer hated it are exactly why I would love it.

I have written movie reviews for years and learned a long time ago that opinions are so subjective they can differ vastly, even between two people who generally have the same tastes.

Examples: I have "Passion" and "The Family" on my best ten films list from 2013. A fellow reviewer whom I respect and like had them on his worst! I was a big fan of Siskel&Ebert and yet they absolutely hated some of my favorite films of all time including "Empire of the Sun" which is in my top five. One of my favorite novels is James Ballard's "Crash", an avante-guard work I consider a visionary masterpiece of literature and, yet it is despised here in the review section of GR. I mean hated.

Another thing about reviews to be wary of. A lot of popular books and authors suffer from backlash, perhaps out of jealousy at times, and are the victims of toxic reviews. I noticed this with Dan Brown, John Grisham, and now Stephanie Myers. Opinions about their work aside, these writers became superstars for a reason. They know how to tell a story and connect with readers.

So I guess that was long-winded way of saying, no LOL - negative reviews don't deter me. But if I was reviewing this post, I most definitely would slam it, "Caterino takes forever to say what could have been said in one sentence."

[Sher]

It depends. If reviewers just write that the book was horrible without explaining why, I ignore their reviews. If reviewers admit that they didn't finish the book, I ignore those reviews as well. If they do provide reasons, I'll consider them if the reasons matter to me.

Sometimes it's exciting to just take a chance despite the negative reviews. Some books with negative reviews turn out to be the books I love.

[Vanessa]

Just saying... Even the best traditionally published books have occasional typos! Human error is common regardless of proofs! :)

[Rhoda]

Rachel wrote: "Will someone else please read Through Glass, by Rebecca Ethington. I can lend it from my kindle or it's only 99 cents on Amazon. It has an army of 5 star glowing reviews and for the life of me I do..."

I know you wrote this a long time ago, but I know exactly what you mean. There is one author on Amazon that simply loves herself, and I swear the good comments are all from her friends. The woman literally put over 150 "thank you and acknowledgements" in the front of her book. I truly believe that those people are the ones who then felt obligated to post a good review.

[Rhoda]

Personally, I do not rely on reviews at all, unless the majority are bad (or even). It is because people are different and enjoy different things that we have so many genres, and books geared for different age groups.

I also think that authors often use a "less formal style" for certain reasons, and a more formal for other reasons. I recently read a story and was going to give it 3 stars, then when I looked at the author, she was only 14 years old. THAT made a difference to me. Her premise was good, the mechanics needed to be developed.

I do love some bad reviews though... when I see things like "Did I read the same book?" I do have to laugh. But like anything when you deal with the public, it is impossible to please everyone.

[Vanessa]

I know what you mean about laughing at some bad reviews... It is pure entertainment! :)

[Richard]

Tastes are subjective. One persons trash is another persons treasure reviews good and bad are an extension of that. Even the best written novels have bad reviews and some of the worst tripe to ever be splattered across the page is revered by some. Personally I'll read a sample, if that catches my interest I'll spend my money. Reviews are rarely ever a factor in my decision.