Reviews: The Good the Bad and the Huh?

Take any book you've written that has gotten either a luke-warm or bad review (if you've had any) and compare it to reviews of the same book that were glowing. What's the difference? What was the one essential element the reviewer mentioned that didn't work for them? Was it one, or many? Was it something they just couldn't put their finger on?

I'm asking this question for a specific reason. Today I read a review of one of my novels where the reviewer said as a whole the book didn't work for her. Fine. Fair enough. Different strokes for different folks and all that jazz. Just to be fair the very same book was highly praised on another review site, so I'm running 50/50 on how it's been received. Not a big deal. However, when I got into the meat of the review, I didn't really find anyting specific that didn't work for the reviewer. It seemed the reviewer liked the individual elements, but not the book as a whole. Which had me saying, "Huh?" And it got me to thinking - and that's never a good thing.

Generally, I read my reviews as a learning tool. Especially those with very specific reasons they thought something fell flat, or wasn't fleshed out enough, ect. Of course taking this information with a grain of salt is imperative. I just like to keep it in the back of my mind for when I'm crafting another story. It makes me more mindful of certain aspects I might let fall to the wayside. Let's face it, writing is not for the faint of heart. You are juggling balls and spinning plates while trying to keep your story moving forward, your characters interesting and your plot side-stepping the dredded saggy middle. Sometimes I know I forget one aspect of the equation that might make the entire story read like a dissertation on quantaum mechanics. In other words, there is something important in there, it's just indecipherable.

But this isn't just about my reviews, or one's I've received on my books. If I want to try a new author (new to me anyhow) or read a series I've not any real idea about, I go to the reviews on amazon.com. My experience with that seems to be about the same as with my own reviews. Someone will like the book in question, and someone won't. How then do I find this helpful at all? Because I know what I like. If someone writing the review writes for instance that the heroine is bratty or selfish - I'll generally going to stay away from that book. On the other hand, if I'm reading a review of a sci-fi or epic fantasy and someone says the romance was unneeded, I know I'm probably going to like it. *big smile* Sometimes though the reviews are just rehashes of the blurb. That's not really helpful since it appears on the book page right above the reviews. In that case, I just take my chances if I really want to read the book - or I'll get it at the library.

I know some authors who don't even read their reviews, and others who wrap their world around them. I think I'm somewhere in the middle of the road. I read them, if they're good, I'm glad. It means someone "got me" and my odd view of the world and sense of humor. If they don't - aw, well, whatareya' gonna do?

So, tell me, what's your take on reviews? Do you listen to the good, throw out the bad and scratch your head at the huh? Or do you just strike it up to different tastes?

-Kate