All the Positives with Negative Reviews

How do you handle negative reviews?

the orang-utan librarian

Ahh the topic that will never die. Recently on book twitter (because it’s always on twitter) there was a flaming row debate about how people that write negative end of year posts (ie worst of the year/most disappointing etc) were evil and should burn in hell wrong to do so. So here we are again. Even though I’ve discussed this before (more than once), I feel like there’s still more to say on the topic. Because I would go further than saying “negative reviews aren’t that bad”- I think there’s a lot of positive things to say about them too. 

Negative reviews make positive reviews more meaningful. The whole point of reviews is to get an honest reaction from a reader- otherwise it’s not a review at all. As Briana from Pages Unbound pointed out in her brilliant post on this topic, sticking to purely positive reviews…

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone who follows and reads my blog!

Here’s hoping 2021 is a much brighter and enjoyable year.

I’m hoping to reopen my reviews again in 2021, stay tuned for an updated post in the new year for more information.

Review: Drayton ~ The Taker

Read from 3 – 11 December, 2020.

Synopsis: 

Drayton once believed he was a vampire. He doesn’t know what he is. Or why he has lived for thousands of years. He takes not his victim’s blood but the silky essence of their soul during their last breath. Often mistaken for the Angel of Death, his victims sometimes ask for forgiveness. Sometimes he delivers. After all, he is not without sin.

Blake Barnes commits suicide by freezing on Mt. Hood. As his life fades, he assumes Death has come to him in the form of a young man. In his last moments, he asks Death to find his family, to tell them he’s sorry. Drayton honors this last request as he absorbs Blake Barnes’ waning essence. He travels to the Lowcountry of South Carolina to find his family. But saying sorry is not always as easy as the words imply. Drayton seeks to unravel the mess Blake Barnes has left behind and the predator he’s unleashed on his family.

Review: The Contract Bride

Read on 21 November 2020.

Synopsis: Nik Adersol harbors a dark belief after the death of his first wife, Lira. Having loved him from afar for years, Sirene Dulantz is thrilled when contracted to become his new bride.But Nik’s not at all pleased to be presented with her, and Sirene wonders if she’s up to the task of healing the wounds Lira left behind. (An erotic novellete)

Bookish Things: 26 pages. The cover is pretty basic.

Where to buy: Amazon on kindle for $3.11.

My Review: 

bookshelves: 3-star-review, a-lil-sexy, fantasy, novella, romance-ish, something-missing

The first of G.L Drummond’s (A.K.A Gayla Drummond) stories I’ve read, this was merely a teaser.

The story is light, the characterisations not much heavier, but the writing was pretty solid and as such the story read easily.

This could easily be fleshed out and given much more depth of character. Doing so would allow the reader to care about Sirene and Nik.

What didn’t sit so well with me was the language used during the sex scene with Sirene. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no issues with the c-bomb being used in erotica, but it didn’t fit the tone of the scene and really threw the whole thing off. Everything else about the scene was gentle and tender but throwing in the c-bomb says the complete opposite. Talk about a cold shower!

I noticed one typo:
71% – Sirene had vaguely becpme (become) aware that she…

Review: Murder in his eyes

Read on 21st November 2020.

Synopsis: A woman becomes convinced a stranger she meets in a store is a local serial killer…

Bookish Things: 8 pages. The cover is pretty stock and doesn’t really add anything to the story.

Where to buy: Amazon on kindle for $1.32.

My Review: 

Bookshelves: awesome-authors, 4-star-review, crime, indie-author, mystery

Another amusing read by Tony Talbot. This one is a tasty insight into the mind of a woman who thinks she’s stumbled across a local serial killer.

True to his style, Tony spins the story on its head. The reveal was a little obvious but still a fun short read.

Review: Cage of Light

Read from 30 October to 20 November, 2020

Synopsis: 

Surreal dreams of love and death

Henry Dark has long believed that the world around him is a thin veil masking the true reality of existence.  Strange events start taking place, inducing him to take a trip West with his beloved wife Alice.  Their trip leads to the Lagoon of Lost Loves as well as a riddle duel with the King of the Trolls.

Is there such a thing as meaning? Henry asks himself, as he struggles to understand the very words he uses.  Is language a Cage of Light that captures meaning, or has the meaning escaped?  And does the trip they’ve taken draw Henry and Alice closer together, or is she to be a sacrifice in his search for the truth?

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What is it with all these words and do they have anything to do with meaning?” then this is the book for you.  Surreal and absurd, using language to express what can’t be expressed with language, Cage of Light will have you wondering if you ever understood anything in the first place.

Scroll back to the top and start your voyage with Henry and Alice.  You never know where it’ll lead.