I know that seems like a weird question.
I don’t have any problems or issues with reviewing or why we do so.
But I have noticed that I only tend to share reviews for books that are at least okay.
And to me, that’s making me wonder if I seem disingenuous.
I’m not lying about these books. I did like them, and when it comes to books I actually don’t like? I don’t tend to get far enough in them to be able to review. The only exceptions are the e-arcs I get on NetGalley. Even if I DNF those, I have to leave some kind of review as to why on the site. If I don’t I get punished, which kind of sucks. They really need to sort out their whole “I’m choosing not to review this” option because it doesn’t really work if you get punished for not enjoying a book.
That’s not exactly what I’m here to talk about though.
I do read good and bad reviews of books. Usually, if I reach a point in a book that I’m unsure of? And I want to see if the book is worth reading? Then I check out reviews. They’re pretty helpful there, and I want to be able to do that for others too. But can I do that without talking about the books I disliked?
I’m not so sure.
So I’ll be doing something new on here at the end of the month, every month. Or I’ll at least try to.
When I dislike a book, it generally only takes me a few pages to DNF. Maybe a few chapters, but I’m never far enough in for what I’d consider a fair review. And I’m not about to start making myself finish books I didn’t like.
But what I can do is share a couple of sentences about the book, and why I didn’t like it. As well as a couple of sentences about my favourite books of the month.
That way you guys get to see more reviews and opinions, including reviews of books I’ve bought and read without me trying to write out a full-on review for every book.
I’m going to try to make them entertaining. I got this idea from another blogger who does the odd mini-review, and I liked it. So I’m hoping this will be fun.
I never really want to do full-on wrap-ups as I tend to read a lot every month through a mix of reading in different formats. It would take me ages and be way too much stress. So a few books I liked and a few I didn’t each month? That should be a lot simpler and give you an idea of what I like reading and what I don’t.
How do you guys feel about the way you review? Is there a way you think you could improve? Let me know down below.
Lace and Dagger Books 
Mini-reviews are definitely easier. I think you always need to keep it flexible because there will be books you will feel you want to talk about a lot and others you want to keep short. Just remember, whatever works for you.
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That’s a good point. I think I’ll definitely throw in some mini-reviews here and there!
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I like the idea of mini reviews as well. For me, I try not to stick to one style or one type of review, I post what I feel is right about each book I read, however, after reading your post I realize now I have written very little about books I didn’t really like. Maybe I also need to come up with ways to discuss books that I DNF!
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I think we both need to think about that. Mini-reviews really might be a good way so we can just say what we liked and why.
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I too don’t tend to review books that I didn’t like or DNF’d because I don’t have a lot to say about them and I’m also worried about backlash from authors/publishers/readers. I prefer mini reviews but then it feels like I’m not writing enough, like it’s not a ‘proper review’ whatever that is.
Especially when it comes to netgalley, there’s a whole backlist because I just can’t get through some of them. Sometimes it’s just a wrong timing thing, other times I really don’t like the book.
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When it comes to NetGalley, you should definitely review those you didn’t finish. If you put them down as you didn’t like them at least. Provided you can say at least one positive thing about it and you don’t insult anyone. It should be fine! Hopefully, no one should say something and if they do, then, those people suck! A mini-review in those cases should be fine. But don’t blame you for leaving that isn’t timing as you’ll probably go back to it.
But I definitely get the worry! You like what you like though, and that’s okay.
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If I didn’t like a book I’ll probably not review it or just write a few lines as to why I didn’t enjoy it. BUT if I had lots of issues with the book then I will take the time to write a review (possibly a rant, although I tend to try to make it seem coherent). As for how I review books I like, I tend to unintentionally focus on the characters and build from there. It’s not perfect, but I’m very character-driven and that’s usually what I focus on the most, so it’s hard to do it any other way.
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Focusing on characters in the review if you’re character driven makes sense to me. You take what you take from a book. And someone out there will wanna hear more about the characters!
Rant reviews about all the issues sound fun. But I’d feel like I’d need to read the full book to be fair. And thanks.
But thank you for the comment.
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Agreed, there has to be be a bit of everything out there for people to judge whether they’re interested in a book or not.
I don’t usually DNF books, mostly because I almost always know what I will like. In the case I do not finish it, I’ll just shortly say why!
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