What I think about *Bad Reviews*

Essential. Bold. Honest. Don't Hold Back.

These are the thoughts that rush through my head when I'm reading or writing a bad review. Because I think that it's necessary. Not everyone will love every book, that's a given. So why is it bad to express your dislike of a book? We see all the time that bloggers and independent reviewers are being attacked for bad reviews. And I just don't understand why. Why shouldn't I be able to tell you exactly what I think about a book? It's called freedom of speech, darlin'.

I'm gonna tell you, and if that offends you, well, shouldn't ought to be reading it, now should ya? That's what star ratings and such are for. If you can take a bad review, and be happy (well as close to happy as you can get) after reading it, I am so much more likely to read your book. If you attack someone, you kind of lose all respect from me.

I'm just gonna say it, to put it out there:

I'll read your book if I read a negative review and it expresses dislikes that I enjoy as a reader.

I'm ten times more likely. The thing about negative reviews is that sometimes I disagree with what the reviewer is saying. Sometimes we go a bit over the top, don't you think? Sometimes I just have to shake my head and whisper, "Naw, that ain't right." Because maybe they just insulted the author. Maybe they just said they wouldn't ever read another book by them.

To get this straight, I love snark. If I'm reading a review that's snarky as all get out but has valid points, I'll probably be dying of laughter. I'll be nodding my head yes and giggling at your gifs or language. But say something negative about the author? I'll be upset. But I'll get over it.

I feel like bad reviews make a largely good impact. I love reading them, and I will seek them out-- especially if I felt strongly either way about the book in question. Love the book? Check. Seek out negative reviews. Hate the book? Check. Seek out negative reviews. Either way, I love them.

How do you feel about "bad" reviews?