Tabby Talk is a discussion post I thought I'd do occasionally where I'll share my random thoughts on something and include my cat in them ;)
What do you look for when reading reviews?
As book bloggers, we write our own reviews and read other bloggers' reviews. Is there something specific you like to read about in a review? World-building? Character developments? For example when I'm reading a review, I tend to keep an eye out for the mentioning of romance. I'm a diehard romance addict so that's important to me in a book.
On the other hand, is there anything you don't like to see in a review? Besides spoilers of course ;) I'm not talking about the style of reviewing (like some people use gifs in their reviews) but rather the content of the review. Is there something you absolutely don't want to see being talked about in a review?
Ripple and I also really love to look at artistic shots of book covers~ So what about you? What do you like and not like to see in reviews?
Spoilers and negative talk is definitely a no for me. I'm not talking about a negative review but actual bashing of the book or author. I just think it is uncalled for and unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteOhh me too. Thankfully I haven't come across a bashing review yet. A negative one sure but no bashing :D
DeleteOh my goshhhh Eileen your kitty is so cute! <3
ReplyDeleteOkay soo I like to see honest things in reviews: what annoyed them about the book? What was particularly grating, or particularly awesome. I don't mind minor spoilers, though! And YAASSS, I LOVE seeing how readers thought the romance(s) were. (That way I can stay away if it seems terrible...)
I don't really like it when people mention how they felt about the ending, unless they liked it. i.e. when someone says "I felt like the ending was rushed and wasn't that good," like I get that but sometimes that just puts me off the book, even though I might like it, you know? So that can be eliminated and instead readers can focus on the book as a whole when reviewing instead of zoning in on if the ending was disappointing or not.
Great discussion!
- Aila @ One Way Or An Author
Haha Ripple thanks you <3
DeleteI'm guilty of talking about the ending lol... It's so hard not to though when the ending contributes to your overall feeling for the book. I do try to explain it as best as I can so hopefully that's ok :P
Oh dear, that photo of Ripple, be still my heart... he's so adorableee!!
ReplyDeleteI'm always on the lookout for mentions of cliches, love triangles and cliffhangers, because I'm not overly fond of the overuse of cliches without new twists and the same goes for cliffies and love triangles.
I understand we all have our preferences and our subjective tastes and ways to talk about things, but I'm not really keen on reviews that say absolute things like "the writing wasn't good" or "I didn't like the main character" and don't add anything else about the why's or examples of why the writing wasn't good... because things are different for different people.
All the hugs and kisses for Pili <3
DeleteI definitely look out for all the three things you mentioned. I can't stand love triangles, it kills the romance for me so I try to stay away from those. It's been hard though :S
I always try to explain myself like why I think this character wasn't likable or why this plot didn't work for me. If it's a personal preference thing I try to state that too :)
I hate it when a blogger reads outside their genre preferences and spends half the review telling why they hate that genre. That has nothing to do with the book and if you take on a Science Fiction book you have to review and rate it as as Sci-Fi, not a grnere you hate. I used to do music reviews and if I was sent to a Country Western, or Bluegrass concert (I hate both of these), I had to review them based on how good a CW or Bluegrass band they were. Were the musicians great? Was the show entertaining? If yes then great review! I couldn't down grade because I hated the genre. I feel that is how books should be reviewed. If you can't keep yourself from down grading because of genre hate, then you shouldn't agree to review those books. I also can't stand the regurgitated reviews that are basically the Goodreads synopsis, a couple of blurbs from the back of the book and an author bio with a rating and maybe a couple of sentences from the blogger themselves. Why bother? I want their opinion. I can read all that other stuff on my own. Great discussion topic, Eileen. And smooches for Ripple. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a thoughtful reply La <3 I totally agree. When you're reviewing a book, you should consider what it is first. If it's something you don't like, why even bother reviewing it? People baffle me sometimes. Thankfully I haven't come across too many of these reviews.
DeleteOmg I cannot agree with you more on people who repeat GR summary! It's something I very carefully consider in my reviews. I try not to reiterate the story since it's all in the synopsis already. Hopefully my reviews don't sound repetitive :) *Ripple kisses for La*
Personally I'm most bothered about characters. For me they make or break a book, so if a reviewer says that pretty much all the characters were unlikable then I would probably not read the book.
ReplyDeleteI do always like to know about world-building if it's fantasy or sci-fi too!
I find that I'm very lenient about whether I like a character or not. I try to rationalize their actions and most of the time they turn out acceptable XD World-building in fantasy and sci-fi is super important for me too!
DeleteYou and I both think alike then because I also look to see the mention of a romance. If it's not mentioned, I have a less desire to pick the book up. And that's the thing I dislike with YA books because they don't always have one or in the first book in a series, it doesn't.
ReplyDelete~Karina @ A Reader Under The Sea
*high fives* For me, even if it's just a hint, I'll take it. I like a slow burn romance so most of the time I don't mind waiting. Even if it's torturous lol...
DeleteI definitely don't want spoilers, but I find most bloggers are very good about that! I like honesty and balance -- what were the positives and negatives? Also I like to know about the reviewer's personal experience reading the book. What moved them? Did the book move fast or slow for them, and why? Was there something that annoyed or touched a nerve? I think context is really important. It's okay if the reviewer didn't like something as long as I can understand why.
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting me know! I was mentally going through your list and I'm very happy I was able to check off most, if not all, of them :) I always try to justify why I feel the way I do!
DeleteI like to see pros and cons in my reviews. Oh, and those awesome book pics that some reviewers do - YES! (Wish I had that talent!)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Same, I wish I was as artistic and creative XP
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