It's All About Perceptions

They say authors have to have thick skin. I never knew what “they” meant until reviews for my work started tumbling in. Now I do. Overall, reviews for my books haven’t been bad (knock on wood), and in some ways – especially when I listen to other authors talk about scathing reviews – I feel lucky. There are some here and there that leave me thinking, “Huh? Did you really read the book?” And others where I roll my eyes. But opinions about books are as varied as the way people look, and though I know I shouldn’t read the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and other sites (not because they’re bad but simply to save my sanity), I can’t entirely make myself ignore them.

Take a recent review for STOLEN FURY. The reviewer gave it four out of five stars and said:

“I bought and read this book because of seeing it compared to “Romancing the Stone” on Amazon. After reading it, that description ended up being a very accurate one. The beginning was great! I then enjoyed the near constant action and the relationship development very much. It would have been a 5 star read for me if the ending hadn’t been off for my tastes. Too coincidental at one point which I could have lived with, it is fiction after all. But then to end with a sudden separation instead of some good communication to get to the HEA? I was a riding an amazing high, thrilled with the book and looking forward to it being a favorite re-read until then. I can go with a flat start, or middle but not feeling flat at the end of a good book.”

Okay, overall a good review. Except for the ending, right? This is where perceptions come in. And my own personal biases. You see, I love romance novels. Always have. And even though I believe in love at first sight and two people having a soul-deep connection from day one, I also know that long-term love takes not only heart, but a strong mind and dedication to make a relationship work, even though the bad times. And as much as I love romance novels, the HEA after two days and life-threatening circumstances often leaves me scratching my head and thinking, “Will this really last?”

Unfortunately for this reader, most of my books have some kind of separation at the end. By choice or not, by one character or both or uncontrollable circumstances. Since my books tend to span very short timelines (usually a week or even less), I just don’t honestly think real love grows and develops that quickly. Not the lasting type, at least. Not when most of my characters never knew each other before the book started. And definitely not when my characters have been put through soul-changing tragedies and near-death experiences.

My characters are real to me. And when I’m writing a book, after all that suspense and danger and passion, I always stop and think, What would I do? Obviously, what I would do isn’t always what my readers would do, as this review shows. But then, I suppose that’s not a bad thing. Imagine if all writers wrote the same things. How boring would that be?

I have a special treat. My publisher sent me ARCs of my May release – MARKED, Book 1 in my new Eternal Guardians Series – and I’m giving one away on my blog. Simply hop on over and figure out how you can win an ARC before the book hits store shelves!

And in the meantime tell me, do you buy books based on reviews?

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