Let’s Chat!
Something that happens to everyone. You see a cover and say “oooooooh pretttttty” you read the blurb and go “YAAAAAAS!”. Then you pick it up and things go all wrong. It’s not what you expected, and that sucks. As a blogger who’s job it is to review said book it big sucks. Nobody likes giving bad news and I wish that every book was the love of my life but sadly that’s not the case. As much as it sucks I owe it to every reader that follows us to give the honest truth every time. I go out of my way to be sure that my critical reviews remain just that, critical. Even going so far as to ask opinions of more experienced bloggers and rewriting reviews multiple times. Now why this post, well because today I had my first encounter with an author who not only did not like my criticism, but also used her platform to lie to her followers on all her social media and website about me. Calling me unprofessional, joking about killing me, lying about the contents of my review, even lying directly to me and Julia when confronted with this. As hot as this tea sounds, it’ll be rather mild. Names, book titles, character names etc. have all been covered because I’m not about to be that douchebag, but I am going to break down what happened and explain WHY authors have got to stop doing this. So, that said, let’s chat.
The Review
This review was a bitch to write. I wrote and rewrote it. I went to more experienced bloggers for advice to be sure I wasn’t bashing it. I doubted myself and rewrote it again. I actually even edited it last night because I noticed typos I missed from just being done with trying to make it safe enough. Was I critical? Oh yes. Did I bash this author or her book? No. Simple enough right? Wrong. As I was prepping to schedule this to go on our website I did what I usually do, check out the authors social media to be sure I’ve got all the correct links. That’s when I discovered a blog post she made about my review.
The post
Of course a post like this would garner sympathy. And if I’m being honest had she been truthful about my review I would have never confronted her. But obviously my review is vastly different than the evil trolling way she portrays it. Not once did I say I felt there was too much going on. Nor did I say her characters didn’t behave in a way I would. I never said anything even alluding to those statements. So we were (rightfully imo) pretty unhappy about this. Threads and threads of comments saying I’m a faceless reader who just likes books for free. Or I’m unprofessional. Jokes about killing me for her. Julia ever my protector confronted her. And that’s when the lies really get going.
The confrontation
Pay close attention to the second sentence in the last image. My review was the first left on goodreads. Maybe she misunderstood where I received my copy from? Doubtful. I honestly think she expected to never be confronted and was trying to save face.
Showing my review was the first goodreads review, posted three hours before her blog post.
What is too Far?
Yes, yes, jokes. Haha. It’s so funny to joke about killing a person for critically reviewing your book. All the authors do that. (Sarcasm)
Also, lying about a nameless faceless reader. Feel free to check my goodreads, it’s actually linked here on the site. My name clearly says who I am and my blog name with my sassy little face right beside it. Not only did she lie, but she entirely misled her followers into thinking I’m a troll. Surprise! I’m not.
The final confrontation
For an ending as unsatisfying as the ending of her book, she just continues to lie even when given the screenshots showing her admitting it was my review. And funnily enough denies joking about killing me on the very same thread where that was.
Final thoughts
Authors, LEARN FROM THIS. I’d like to say this is a fluke, but it’s not. Bloggers review less and less because we are stuck between be honest and potentially be attacked or silence. Readers aren’t dumb, they know this, so they trust reviews less and less. Not only do you hurt us, you hurt YOURSELVES. I know there are thousands of amazing authors out there who would never do this. And I love each and every one of them. But despite that, this is becoming the norm in the indie romance book community.
The Hatters 
Leave a reply to Badly Drawn Theater Cancel reply