Fans of Interracial Romance discussion

I know that some people only rate books and not write a review for them, even if they gave the book five stars.

Do you think that some books only deserves a rating and not a review?

Definitely. Sometimes I don't really have anything to say about a book. So I only rate it. If asked, I will definitely explain why I gave a rating, but generally, there is nothing to say.

No. I think if I took the time to read it, I can share my feelings about it. I don't see the point of rating and not reviewing. That's not a review.

As an author, if someone is going to review my book, I'd like to know their feelings about it. I am flattered to receive a good rating but that doesn't tell me how you felt about my work. If you give me five stars or four, and skip on a review, I can take that a little more than someone who might give a book one or two stars and doesn't say why you gave such a low rating. I always leave a review and if I don't feel like leaving a review, I just won't leave anything. It depends on what people feel of course but for me, I think if you really liked or hated a book, you can leave at least a few lines explaining why.

A review is to help other readers know more about the book and what you may or might not enjoyed about it. If you only leave stars, first off, people wonder did you really read it at all. A lot of people on Goodreads just put stars but sometimes with these kinds of reviews, you doubt the person even read it. A lot of folks on GR tell authors on here they are gonna read and rate their books but then they leave only stars and you figure, they probably didn't read the book because they can't say anything about it. The ones who actually said things about the books are the ones whose reviews aid other readers. If you liked it, say why. If you didn't say why. That's what reviews are for, LOL. I figure leaving just stars is not necessary. That's not a review. I want folks to understand why I said what I said about a book I've read and I want others to know hey, I read the book. I hope my reviews help other readers out there. That's why I review the books in the first place.

On another note, if someone just leaves a book one or two stars but doesn't say why, I think they might be just trying to sabotage the author or book. Just leaving one or two stars can be seen as a fake review. The same as just giving someone five stars. This could come from a friend of the author or the author themselves under another profile.

A person doesn't have to leave long reviews of course but a few sentences explaining what you liked or didn't is very helpful.

If you are uncomfortable about reviewing a book because you might know the author on here and you didn't like the book, don't do anything. That's what I do. If I don't like a book from an author I know personally, especially a friend, I won't do anything.

I also make sure that if I gotta leave a negative review, it's honest and respectful and I explain what I didn't like as well as what I did. Shoot, reviewing the book to me is why I love reading so much, LOL! I get to share my opinion and help others who might be "on the fence" of that particular book.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

If I see a book has a lot of reviews already, I usually won't feel as compelled to review unless someone asks, but sometimes I just have something to say. I usually prefer not to review every book in a series though, LOL.

I know that in my books, I've probably have a book or two with just a rating. That's because I have to remember what the book was about. I have read a lot of books years ago. I might need to go back to the book and refresh my memory.

Now, if an author buddy of mine wants me to read their book. I would rate and write a review on their book.

Not every book that I read reaches my book blog.

As an author, I love to know what readers thought about my work. I want to know what didn't work for them, what did and why. I just wanna know, LOL! I think all writers want to know what readers think and reviews are the only ways to know that. Even if it's negative, the review (if it's honest and from the heart) can help the author because it alerts them to things they might need to address from now on in their work.

So overall, reviews help everyone to a point. It's up to what the person wants to do of course but for me, I'm gonna leave a review or not anything at all.

Best Wishes!

I know one author that said she doesn't read reviews.

When I write reviews, I am not trying to help or not help an author. I feel that an author should own their story. I don't need to tell them what they need to do. Some reviewers can be flat out rude to authors.

I strongly believe if a reviewer thinks that an author has done so much of a bad job with their book, then they should write a book and let the world see their work.

I agree. I'm the exact same way.

Tina wrote: "Definitely. Sometimes I don't really have anything to say about a book. So I only rate it. If asked, I will definitely explain why I gave a rating, but generally, there is nothing to say."

I have made a commitment to write a review for each book I read, from now on. I agree with all of your reasons given for why reviewing books is important, Stacy-Deanne. I'm not trying to judge anyone who doesn't write a review. But I do think reviews are very important. To NU's point, there are a lot of reviews for some books. But I try to write my review as a personal experience, so that my thoughts are there. Book reviews are like journaling for me. I started doing them on my blog, and then a friend told me about GRs, so I do them here now. Like Arch, not all my reviews get posted on my blog now. I have had a few authors asking me to read and review their books. I will say no if the book is not to my taste, because I feel that the cards are stacked against the book getting a good rating, since I go into it not liking that kind of genre. I try to be honest, but I will not be hurtful or disrepectful to an author. I've seen some reviews that are very cruel and mean. I don't agree with that. Nothing wrong with saying you don't like a book and being honest about it, but I feel you should keep the tone respectful, and put yourself in the author's shoes.

I feel the same way about books that I know I won't like. I usually don't request those ARCs because I'm not really out to give bad reviews or make myself miserable either, LOL.

I don't like to hurt anyone's feelings.

Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "I don't like to hurt anyone's feelings."

I agree.

I think getting reviews are good and important because a lot of readers go by them. When I check out a book, I don't think it looks good to see only a few reviews especially when it's a well known author people don't hesitate to pop on there and tell you what they think. Reviews can help acquaint a reader to an author, especially a new author. It also help a reader determine whether they want to invest in the book. As we all know many books don't go into a lot of detail about things like sex scenes, language and so on. Readers who are easily offended can use honest reviews to warn them off from such a book.

I remember one book that was flat out erotica on Amazon. One reader got on and complained the book had too much sex in it and gave it a poor rating. This author had websites, reviews from other places and so listing her as an erotic writer, even on Amazon. That isn't a fair review to me.

But I do like the reviews to be an honest discussion and for the most part, Amazon reviewers are pretty good about that, outside of a few folks who like being mean.

I don't like to intentionally hurt an author's feelings either, but if the book is just beyond bad, it's hard for me to not say something. Bit will find a constructive way to say it. At the same time, if I truly loved something, I'd let them know that too.

Unfortunately, I've bought more e-books that haven't been available on Amazon so I haven't always been able to give reviews. Given that I've said this, I will also make it more of point to write reviews.

But if you read a really bad book, isn't it more merciful to just leave a one or two star and let that speak for itself?

I know that sometimes when I read a bad book my emotions run from the very mildly exasperated to the aggravatingly frustrated. So to sit down and have to write a review after having spent time with a book that you probably threw against a wall sometimes just doesn't seem worth it. And actually depending on how aggravated I feel, it could actually spew out in the review.

I have written reviews about books I didn't like. As a rule I don't though. Generally I am only moved to write reviews of books I disliked if I was really disappointed in them. If my expectations were high or if it is from an author I normally love and somehow the book didn't live up to what I feel could have been it's potential.

Eh, it depends. If I'm disappointed, as you said, I might write a bad review. I might also write a bad review if I feel the author just slacked off on something that really brought the book down. If one sentence is enough to describe the problems in the book or there's not much to say, I might let the rating stand alone.