Speaking Of Pain In The . . . Reviews.

Every author has a love - hate relationship with reviews. We love them when the reviewer loves our book. We hate them when the reviewer has issues. Hahaha! I couldn't help that. But we all know a lot of how we feel about a book has to do with our own issues. 

If you're reading a book that the hero has the same name of your ex, you may have a hard time liking the story. Or if you had a bad relationship with a guy who bossed you around or maybe go as far as being abusive, then you're less likely to like Alpha heroes, especially those that are a little rough around the edges. 

Or you're in bad mood and the book you picked up leans toward romantic comedy, you'll think it's stupid and not funny.  Or you don't like sex (that's so sad) and someone recommends a book with some graphic bedplay/wallplay/tableplay/etc. in it, you'll think the heroine is a slut and hate the book. (Though that's ironic as it usually takes two in a romance. So the guy is a slut too. Only fair to call him that if you're going to call the women names.)

So as a reader, I've always kept all those things in mind when I read a book review. Especially if the reviewer cannot give me a really good reason not to want to read it. If she talks about being too much sex and not enough plot, I'm more likely to buy it for sure.  I do love hot books. Thus why I write them. If he talks about a too stupid to live heroine or hero (yes, they do exist too), then I may want to read the first few pages before deciding. You know I love Alpha males, but if I read one that talks like a cave man, I'll turn it down in a heartbeat. You my mate, you spread legs, you mine. Grunt. Grunt. Can't stand those.  I don't mind the quiet and silent types -- oops, I've gotten off track here. Off Alphas and back to reviews.

I guess I'm trying to tell everyone, if you see a book with mostly one stars (cups, hearts, arrows or whatever) on a review and very few or none of the larger numbers, then sure the book may have a problem.  But when you see a few or a good handful, don't worry especially when they're mixed with many of the larger quantity stars. Just read the first few pages. If you don't find the way the hero or heroine acts interesting, then chances are the book isn't for you.

Want Your Stories Vanilla Or With Sprinkles and Swirls?

My kids love to tease me on how I love for the interior walls of my house to be white. So I gave in, and my husband and I painted the living room, kitchen, hallway and bathroom a sandy tan color. They turned out rather nice.

The reason I mention this is I was thinking today about some of the things people say in my book's reviews. I know. I'm to ignore the reviews and write what I like. And I do love my story. If someone else had written Circle of Desire, I would've placed the book on my keeper shelf and look for more books from that author.

Let me tell you why.

I love books where the hero and heroine are different from the hundreds of other books out there. I like the guy to be really good and really bad and all in the same book. He's not vanilla. He doesn't always do the right thing for the right reason. He's human. He's influenced by what has happened to him in the past and what is going on in his life at the time and how he wants the future to be. The only part of the book I want to be the same as all other romances is that when he falls in love, he falls hard. That helps the happy ending to be believable.

The heroine needs to be strong but not bitchy. She voices her opinion when and how she likes. She doesn't bite her tongue, unless she wants the guy to stick his foot into his own mouth. She can stand toe to toe with the hero and still come out being her own person. BUT, I want the book to be believable when it comes to life. I know that when a woman and a man are trained in martial arts, most men can beat women. Not always, but men are made to be strong. That's just the way they're built. (THANK YOU, GOD!)  I don't want my men to be dumb as I want the women to be smart. So women are smart enough not to try to beat a guy with strength but with her brains. And sometimes, when the woman falls in love, she doesn't mind the man being stronger. There is nothing wrong with that. I want my woman (beginning to sound weird, but you know I'm talking about the heroines I write in my books. LOL!) to love being a woman. She doesn't want to be a man. She can do a man's job, but still be a woman at the end of the day and be happy about it.

None of my heroines are abused by the heroes. Especially in Circle of Desire, Olivia loves to play rough with Collin. She likes that he gets turned on when they fight. They're not hitting each other in the face. Actually, it's more like wrestling, with one tripping the other and a lot of rubbing of one body against the other.  She's not afraid of Collin. She knows he's a good guy having to do a hard job.

If you want goody two-shoes heroes and heroines who whine about how their high school sweetheart cheated on them or how their daddies didn't get them their ponies when they were little, go read the vanilla books. Please don't read mine.

Or just grow up.

[By the way, if you like Circle of Desire, please go to Amazon and Barnes & Noble and/or anywhere you can rate it and do so. And if you feel like it, say one sentence of something positive.  If you didn't like it, then why in the heck are you reading my blog? LOL!]

Something To Think About

One of the drawbacks (only a few) about being published is that anyone can review your book. A site that's popular with many readers is GoodReads. If I was only a reader, I would love this site. Great suggestions from friends and family and even some strangers. BUT, everyone can also post a review and several booksellers pull the reviews from there. Just as Amazon has everyone and his sister and brother reviewing.  And at both sites you always get one or two people who LOVE giving the lowest rating or say distasteful things about a book. They take such glee in it.  You can tell. Because why would you read another book of an author's if you hated their first one, no less two or three more?

Thankfully no one has been truly ugly about my book but I've seen some harsh language on some of my favorite books from authors like Anne Stuart and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I think both of them are wonderful writers. Sure, I've liked some of their books better than others, but that has more to do with personal taste than with them doing anything wrong.

Anyway, with the industry being small as it is, I won't ever enter into Goodreads a book that is less than five stars. Just doesn't serve any purpose. Others do and truthfully I don't have problem with them having an opinion different than mine, but it's the hateful words that bother me.

I will say I've learned a few things about reviewers. When they're on Goodreads, if they haven't set their profile to private, I'll look at their reading list. I'm amazed when I see they don't really read romantic suspense (maybe have five or six of them listed). So I'm not surprise they give mine a low rating. They don't really read RS.  Or if they have lots of RS and all of them are rated low. HELLO! You obviously need to find another genre to read.  So far, it's helped me get over a couple of low ratings. 

If you're on Goodreads, look around at the overall ratings on your favorite books. It's amazing how low their ratings are. I swear someone loves bringing down those who hit the New York Times best selling lists.

Side note: I wish Goodreads wouldn't let those who have a private profile do reviews and rate books be added into the rating system. Who knows what the person is really up to? I'm cynical enough to believe some people will use it to bring down ratings on books for possibly less than honest reasons.  Just my opinion.

Then on Amazon, if you see someone rate a book low while several others are high, or even the opposite, click on the reviewers' names. Amazon gives you their stats on what they've reviewed. It's amazing how many of the self-published books with five stars will often have people who've only reviewed that book or only that author's books.  How do we say family and friends?  That's a dead giveaway.

That's why I don't ask family and friends to write a review on my books. I do have one friend on Goodreads who did, but she reviews several other authors too. And she meant what she wrote about all of them including mine. And she doesn't say ugly things. I didn't ask her for a written review.

So by checking out that info, that's how I handle THOSE type of reviews.  Breaking it down helps a lot.

BREATHLESS

Anne Stuart did it again. The third in her House of Rohan series (BREATHLESS) was even better than the first (RUTHLESS) and I loved the first one. The second (RECKLESS) was very good, but the other two were awesome.

I love have she writes the bad guys who are the heroes. Their sexy and so redeemable. Of course, in real life I would stay miles and miles away from them.

Book Quote

"Any woman in this house is a whore, my child. So, for that matter, are the men. Let me get you a glass of wine and we can discuss this." The King of Hell, Viscount Rohan to Elinor Harriman

Anne Stuart's RUTHLESS

Delightful book and the next one RECKLESS was wonderful too. Anne writes some of the most spine-tingling, sexy anti-heroes I love to read.

[Note: I'm late posting because my internet keeps going out at my house. So frustrating!]

Another Good One

Last weekend, I also read Anne Stuart's latest, RUTHLESS. Oh, my. The woman writes the best anti-heroes. The hero has a wicked sense of humor and such snappy dialogue. This book isn't for the faint of heart. If you liked the first half of THE LIBERTINE with Johnny Depp and his wicked ways, then you'll love this book. One of the best parts of Anne's book is that it ends happy-ever-after, so unlike Depp's movie.

I can't wait for the next one. Just two more weeks.

Love That Girl

Last weekend, I read Victoria Dahl's lastest historical. Oh, my goodness! I loved it. How does she do it? Not only great funny, hot stories, but so well written. The woman is a genius.

At the conference last July, I was lucky they gave out free her lastest contemporary. I even got my roommate to wanting to read it because I was laughing so hard and couldn't help myself and read her parts of the books. Vicki is so talented.

Be sure to read them

YA All Grown Up

Check out this book. A beautiful book with a gorgeous, hot hero. I started reading yesterday evening and all I could think of on the way home today was that I couldn't wait to read more. It's in first person but artfully written so you know what all of the characters are thinking and feeling.

Book Reviews

I hadn't planned to do book reviews, but I've done two so far because I enjoyed them so much and couldn't hold in my excitement. So I've decided, what the heck? Of course, you might as well know I will only mention those I really enjoyed. Thinking positive has a lot to do with what you talk about. In case you're not sure what I mean, if I read a book that I consider to be a disappointment, it will not be mentioned here no matter if the author is a friend or not.

How Much Is Too Much?

I've been enjoying Victoria Dahl's TALK ME DOWN so much. It's funny, sexy, hot, and even more important the characters have heart. There is one scene in the book where the heroine wakes up after having wonderful sex to artfully done pictures of her body parts (no none of the private ones). Vicki did a great job writing that scene. I almost cried from the beauty and sweetness of it.

I have laughed so much and I've enjoyed the way they can't quit thinking about each other in every way. It makes me remember how my husband and I were when we were dating. Heavens, we're still that way and we've been married thirty-five years. So if anyone has a problem with the way the two characters are horny for each other, they need to get some-some because obvious they haven't in a very, very long time.

Buy the book and you'll see what I mean. You won't regret it.