Doing something a bit different today. So pull up a chair, grab a favorite drink (green mint for me today) and let’s chat. I’d like to talk to you about reviews. Why I do them – or why I don’t.

As an author myself, I do reviews for other authors to help them out. This is not an easy career we have gotten ourselves into and I figure every little bit helps. And for some reason, review seem to be the way sellers decide where your book goes in their analytics. Plus, I love to read. And tell others about the books I read.

But, if you ask me to review a book for you, I see that as a sort of contract between us. Although you can’t force me to give a review, once I’ve accepted your book, I feel obligated to read it. That’s just who I am. But there are times… I’m reading one right now that I do not like. But I am slogging my way through it – mainly because it’s by a writer I have loved in the past. Had I read this one first, I would never have bought another by her. I had certain expectations when I picked it up and it is not living up to those expectations. In this past year, I have read almost 200 books. Of that 200, there were only two that I did not finish at all. One was sent to me as a paranormal fantasy – one of my favorite genres. When I opened the story, the first two pages were full of zombies and gore. If you read my “So You Want a Review” page, you will see the first thing I say is that I do not read horror. Or gore. Or zombies Or anything like that. Ever. I will not do it. And this person sent me his book anyway. His blurb (which I did read) lied about what was in the story. He lied to me about his story. And his name is now in my notebook to never read another book of his, to never recommend him, and to never help promote him. He broke his contract of expectations with me. I did not write his book up at all. The second one was a nonfiction book that was not well-written, had no citations for quotes, and no footnotes or endnotes for those citations along with other nonfiction issues. But understand this, reviewing is completely subjective. I may detest a book, but others may love it. What I will do is give those I enjoy as honest a review as I can. But as always, it is only one person’s opinion – mine.

Two books out of 200. Most of them I enjoyed. A few, like the current one, I slogged my way through, but I did finish them. A friend asked me why I kept reading if I didn’t care for the book. It goes back to that implied contract. I really do try to find something good in each book I read. I know how hard it is to write one, let alone get it published. And I will continue to promote authors (except that one guy!) when I am able. This is my contract with you, the author.

And coming up in the next few weeks, you will get a look at my favorite books for the year. So stay tuned for the Best of 2024 from me. And keep writing those 5 Sparkler books!