I've had a long list of TBR (to be read) books. Some publicists asked me to do some, and others I won in book launches or at events. I always give reviews for free books. I feel compelled to. During Covid, I took down my reviewer status off my website. There are other reasons, but I'm getting into that in a future post.
However, if given a free book, should I post bad reviews or refrain? Here's the thing. What if you can't read it, the book is a DNF (did not finish)? I have seen people give terrible reviews, and they'll admit they read the first page only or not much of it. I feel that is hardly fair to the author. Recently, I got about 20 pages into one book, 5 pages into another, and about 10 pages into a third. I do not feel that I gave the books a fair chance and tried again, realizing that I hadn't taken anything in last time. I started over. I did not even get as far as last time. I did not finish them so have not reviewed them. There is a fourth I'm reading I'll mention later on.
So, is it them or is it me? Author or reader? The answer is both. Here were the author-reader relationship problems with the books given to me (keeping books anonymous).
Book 1: 10 pages
Reader issues: it was a hardback, told as journal entries; it has a similar premise to one of my books, and I have ADHD. These are my issues. I have carpal tunnel and it hurt to hold the book. The journal entry style which could've had more character personality did not win me over. I did not care about the character. The premise got me excited and I thought it would be fantasy like mine, imbued with the same depth of the subject matter. It did not. Last, which this will crop up often, I have ADHD. Still, it is rare for me to have any issues reading books or writing them. I go into hyperfocus and devour books.
Book issues: nothing engaging or gripping happened in the first five pages worth of journal entries. I didn't connect to the narrator, care about them, and no action occurred. Nothing moved the book forward. This book was taken in by a renowned publisher and won an award. Now, I love me some capital L literature, the weird and the different a bonus. This, I could not get into.
I've kept it to try again one day. I can overcome a slow start if it improves.
Book 2: 5 pages (then 25)
Reader issues: it was too much for me. My ADHD made it difficult to follow multi-threaded storylines and people, wrap my mind around all the different creatures/species, or focus on a character. I couldn't tell if the stories would eventually come together somehow. It seemed like too much in one book and disjointed (FYI, I usually don't have this issue and write very complex plots and characters with big casts, but--the next section is what triggered the ADHD issues).
Book issues: labeled as a romance, but no inkling of tension or attraction between the characters, massive list of characters so which main characters to focus on was not clear, sudden stops in the middle of a scene for page-long descriptions of characters, like mini-info dumps that pulled me away from the story. Everything felt disjointed.
I will not read or review this. The narrative style with random description breaks and little flow or connection between things is not something I can overcome easily.
Book 3: 20 pages (then 40)
Reader issues: again, the carpal tunnel issue and ADHD--due to life issues that interrupted me on this one. It was to a point I was so tired, I couldn't hold the book up. The style took me some getting used to. It's more descriptive than I'm used to, less page-turning, but the characters made up for it, and there were nuggets of action--everything moved forward.
Book issues: nothing. Well written. It's all me needing to be in that mood to enjoy a book rather than devour a page-tuner in one sitting. I've always been a runner, not a walker. Life. When you have dark times and a book has a dark mood, sometimes it's just too much.
I got it in ebook form now and think that will help me tremendously. I will review it soon.
There is a 4th book I read recently that was a fantastic read I had trouble putting down, which goes to show readers just have specific preferences. The writer-reader relationship across the page matters, chemistry matters. I will review this book next post.
My point: readers should do some self-searching when they want to write a poor review. Analyzing the above information, the book's format is starting to matter to me (need ebooks), as well as the beginning hook and the narrative style. Pacing is determined by my mood. I'm going to stop taking free books, cut back reviews, and heavily vet what I read by using the sample feature on Amazon to see if it pulls me in. This is what I did before anyone asked me to review books, so it is where I will head from here: helping out reader and writer both. Choosing books I have great chemistry with.