Let's Discuss: Writing Reviews

 

So it was after I got done writing all those other posts and was trying to fall asleep that another idea came to me! Naturally, I crawl out of bed and look for writing tools to jot a few talking points down so I could remember what my sleep addled brain was trying to tell me that was a good idea! lol.

Writing Reviews

I noticed after I was writing a review for a book I full on loved from beginning to end, that I was writing a LOT of things in my review! I touched on everything that I enjoyed, the action, the romance, the plot itself, the pacing, the twists and turns. I made comparisons to something else that made me think highly of the book for emulating. No stone was left unturned!

Then it got me thinking...I do this a LOT when I enjoy a book! When there are so many things I want to talk about to let other readers know why this is a GREAT read, I can't seem to rein in it! I sometimes try to keep the reviews to a decent length, one that isn't overly long, but then I thought, I don't mind at all reading a longer review if the reviewer loved it! I want to know all the positives and why this book was so exciting!

Now on the flip side, I find if I didn't enjoy the book quite to the same extent, I don't want to harp on all the reasons why. I've read a few books already this year that I expected to love, but when I started reading them, I realized the flow wasn't quite what I was expecting. The pacing was off, things weren't always explained in an easy way and there were too many questions as to what the heck is going on.

There are times I do find my mind drifting when I read some of these and I have to snap myself back to attention. It's not that the book is terrible, but there is some kind of disconnect. And why I do want to tell other readers why the book didn't quite work for me, I don't want to tear the book apart in a length review either. Because, I obviously finished it, there was something I was enjoying, something made me need to finish this book to the end.

But even still, I don't want to harp on all those negative things. So I'll simply state what wasn't working for me. Perhaps I was just reading the book at a bad time like with too much going on with work or other stress factors. I still include the things that did work, because obviously the author worked their butt off on this book. I make it clear that I did need to finish the book and I was nowhere near the point of DNFing, but there was a disconnection somewhere and I make that clear too. I've always said that not every book is for every one. Some people will thoroughly love a book where others will just be meh. For instance, I'm not a TOG fan at all. I do enjoy her other two series, but TOG was just meh for me.

In the end, what you see is a much shorter review for a book I only liked versus seeing a longer review for a book I couldn't put down and loved so thoroughly!

 

So what about you? What are the lengths of your reviews? Do you try to keep the same structure or do some books make you need to talk longer or possibly even shorter? Do you notice a trend in what you write for books you loved versus ones you maybe just liked?