Monday, August 20, 2012

Is There Such Thing as a Good Bad Review?


Today I got an email from a blogger who agreed to review Special Offers.  Her review will be posted in a couple of days, and she sent a copy in case there were any errors (which I appreciate, and there weren’t any).  I’m not sure, however, what to make of the review.  She gave it 3 stars  –  an “Eh, Whatever”  on their scale -  mostly because it didn’t have enough action.  On the other hand, she also says, “While creating memorable, quirky characters, Special Offers leaves a little more action to be desired. Watch out, though, because this series has the real potential to go places.”  (Here’s the link, but it won’t work until it goes live on August 23)

So, I guess it’s a good bad review?   I agree that Special Offers wasn’t action packed, but the nature of the story dictated when the havoc was introduced.  And I can use the comments to improve the next book (which is a work in progress and definitely has more action already).   The reviewer did seem to enjoy other aspects enough to add the positive comment at the end.

Seriously though, a 3.5 star garners a "Worth a Look".  Just a half a star takes the recommendation from "Eh, Whatever" to "Worth a Look"?  And really, it seems from the comments that the reviewer was not entirely not recommending it.  Regardless of my biased opinion, "Eh, Whatever" it is.  I’m just happy she didn’t hate it; if 3 stars gets you an “Eh, Whatever”, what’s a 2 star rating, “Better than Having a Sharp Stick Shoved in Your Eye”?

Added note:  2 stars is not "Better than a Sharp Stick in your Eye", it is "Not Recommended".  Which initially made me feel better in the sense that the reviewer wasn't not recommending it.  However, upon further investigation, I discovered that even though ratings go from 1 - 5 (one being "Burn It" and 5 being "A Golden Fave", with half-points in between) the lowest rating actually given is a 3.0.  Consequently, in reality, Special Offers was given the lowest rating used by the reviewers.  I am, therefore, officially calling this my first bad review.  Which is good, because it isn't really that bad.  That's my story, and I'm sticking with it...