Saturday, December 29, 2012

Book Reviews--The Good and the Bad


One of the results of free-Kindle days is that more people get copies of my books and along with that more reviews are posted. That's great as long as the books get into the right hands. Some people take a book because it is free and then find it is not the type of book they like. In these cases the reviews are not so great. 

However, most recently, the so-called bad reviews have been simply the readers' honest opinion of the books. Yes, the negative ones hurt. Especially when readers criticize something and I know they are wrong. For example one review for Where Love Once Loved posted on Goodreads said "POV bounced around too much -- sometimes within the same paragraph."

This book was written as a romance where point of view (POV) alternates between the male and the female protagonist, but never in the same scene much less in the same paragraph. I consider myself somewhat an expert when it comes to POV, having studied under Bonnie Hearn Hill. I felt like adding a comment to the review challenging the reviewer to show an example of POV switch in a paragraph  But, I didn't, and I won't. Besides, most readers don't care about POV switch. Just read any John Gresham book. Makes me wonder if the reviewer is a writer.

The same reader said there were too many characters and too many subplots, and criticized the actions of some of the characters. She was even annoyed by the George McCullough character. This particular character spoke for me, the author. He is my age. He has my memories. He has my history. The only difference is that he is black and I'm not. He was also the strong Christian influence in the book. I wonder if that is what annoyed the snot out of the reader.

Many other readers love the characters and marvel at the way I was able to include so many. But, still, I know what the reviewer meant. From a traditional publishing formula romance, the book is a failure. I worked with a publisher before independently publishing and I know what they want. I cut some subplots, but I couldn't cut them all. Perhaps the book would have been better if I had. Or, as the reviewer said, write separate books for each subplot.

I may do that. That is, write separate books. The sequel is more about Karen. I thinking of another book about Liz or Josh and Cindy or Tony. Liz's story is actually continued in The Vengeance Squad and the unfinished sequel I call The Vengeance Squad Goes to England.

I appreciate every review and every comment. Good or Bad.

Here are some of the more recent ones for THE VENGEANCE SQUAD:

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars the vengeance squadDecember 19, 2012
By 
Kathy Akers (Harold, Kentucky, US) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
Very good book. You can almost feel the emotions of this young man. I'm glad it ended like it did. God is always with you!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read!December 20, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
Captivating and hard to put down, I could see myself thinking like the main character and seeking revenge. The author does a great job developing the characters and putting them together, as different as they are, to do amazing things.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!December 20, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I was surprised that it was so good since it isn't a well known book and I haven't found many of those. It kept me reading it all day and all night until I finished it! I could not wait to see what happened from one chapter to the next. I would highly recommend reading this book if you like to be on the edge of your seat!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read.    Held my interest all the way to endDecember 23, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
You need to read this book for  a look at what God can do in your life   and the test of his will

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great bookDecember 27, 2012
This review is from: The Vengeance Squad (Paperback)
Great book. Well Written. Very believable characters. Shows how one can get mad at God after losing somebody and How God can bring you back. Sid Frost might be a new writer, but he is a great suspense writer. God bless you

Here are some of the more recent ones for WHERE LOVE ONCE LIVED:

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars WHERE LOVE ONCE LIVEDDecember 20, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
LOVE FULFILLED - WHAT A WONDERFUL ACCOUNT AND THE ENDING WAS SO SWEET. SIDNEY FROST DID A GOOD JOB ON THIS ONE


1.0 out of 5 stars not so goodDecember 22, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
I am fairly easily entertained, but found this book hard to read, with details coming after the statements - as if an afterthought. The amount of drama sustained by the characters was also brought across not very believably. I like the story concept and the characters, but felt the story was told poorly, as if this was a first attempt by an immature writer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Purchased on kindle freeDecember 23, 2012
It was pretty good. Tasteful. Held my. Interest would a good book for my granddaughters to read. Liked that it was based on scriptural vales.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Good BookDecember 27, 2012
This review is from: Where Love Once Lived (Paperback)
Shows the bumpy road to going back to your true love. How our secrets can get in the way How our Lord can always be with us even when we are doubting.
God bless you


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