Honest Reviews or Author Friends?

Why do we have to choose?

Probably one of the best things about being a blogger is being asked by an author to read their book, making friends along the way and developing a relationship with an author. But what happens when you liked their book, but not enough to give it the 5 star rating you know they want? Do you suck it up and post a biased review to keep a friend or do you stay true to yourself and keep your blog reliable at the risk of upsetting them, or even them unfriending you?

I always said to myself that I wanted people to see my blog as reliable, what’s the point in reading and writing reviews if you’re just going to 5 star everything regardless? You need your followers to have faith that if you recommend them a book, it’s because you genuinely think it’s worth their money. We all have different tastes, that much goes without saying, so it can’t be a surprise to hear somebody’s tastes clash with yours? I have things which annoy me in books and I do say what I wasn’t so keen on, but I follow it up with what I think may appeal to other people, I know everyone is different.

Which brings me back to star ratings…the dreaded 3 star review. It sits there innocently on Goodreads with the ‘I liked it’ sat underneath and yet nobody wants that 3 stars. Yes, the 4 ‘I really liked it’ stars are okay, but the golden 5 ‘I loved it’ stars are what will really get in the good books of any author. Does it really have to be that way? I pimp your work, I still promo it even though I’ve given my opinion, and I’ve said who I think will like it. I haven’t screamed ‘don’t read this book, it’s awful!!’ from the roof tops. I haven’t even said I hate it, or didn’t like it, I just said I liked it, but not loved and my rating reflects that. Why is this still deemed a death sentence to an author/blogger relationship?

I try not to bad mouth books in reviews; if I hated it I tend not to finish it and don’t bother with a review. I tend to find the 3 star reviews the most reliable and critical, they give the pros and cons and allow you to see what you might not like in the book. Is that not a bonus if you’ve encouraged one person to read it but deterred someone else who may have read it, hated it and given it 1 star? Isn’t that the point of a review? To help people decide if a book is for them? Does it not also restore your faith in a reviewer if they reserve the 5 stars for the books they genuinely were crazy for?

As much as we bloggers need authors, authors also need bloggers. Most of us are still happy to help even if your book wasn’t our thing, we’ll still help even if you only contact us when you need it, that’s what we do, because we love books and we love authors. But it’s got to be a two way street sometimes.

My review never bad mouthed your book, but my rating wasn’t what you wanted. I have to wonder, did you even read my review? Or was the rating the only thing that mattered to you? Why did I stress out and take the time to write it if those little stars are the only thing that means anything? Am I only of use if I give you the star rating you want regardless of my opinion? What happens to my blogs reputation then?

Just because I gave you 3 stars, doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, it doesn’t mean I think your writing is shit, it doesn’t mean nobody is going to read your books ever again, and it doesn’t mean I hate you.

So please don’t hate me for it.