Why I Leave Negative Reviews on Books

Leaving bad reviews on books has a bad rap in the write community. I get it. I understand that the author put a lot of time and effort into their book, and it's hard to get a bad review. But I also think negative reviews have their place in the world.

So today I'm going to be sharing why I'm okay with leaving negative reviews on books. Will my thoughts on this change when I'm (God-willing) an author? Who knows. These are just my opinions at the moment.

(As a full disclaimer, I was inspired to write this post by one Ariel wrote on her blog. You should check it out, and follow her blog while you're at it.)

I Want to Be Honest

If I didn't like a book, I don't want to lie and say I did. Leaving false reviews won't help anyone, least of all the author.

That being said, I try not to be unnecessarily harsh with my bad reviews (except in the case of point two). Especially if I know the author, but didn't enjoy their book. I try my best to simply and clearly explain what I didn't enjoy about the book.

I also make sure to add whether I disliked it because of actual problems, like bad writing or poor characters, or if it's a personal problem, such as including a trope I don't enjoy.

For example, Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz read like bad fanfiction, so I gave it a bad review. Or on the other side, To Best the Boys was a popular book and there's nothing wrong with it. But I personally couldn't get into the story.

I don't want others to miss out on a great read just because I don't like an element that they love. So I always make sure to add a caveat if it's that kind of negative review, encouraging others to try it and see for themselves.

I Want to Warn Others

It's one thing to have bad writing. It's another thing if a book has bad content. Gratuitous sex, lots of cursing, glorifying bad behaviors, or evil themes.

In that case, I want to leave a negative review to warn people like me who might not want to read that kind of content. For example, Gilded by Marissa Meyer included graphic child murder, which I made sure to mention in my review because I wasn't prepared and probably wouldn't have read it if I'd known.

In the case of a book glorifying evil or having bad themes, I think it's especially important to leave a warning to others. The fewer people that read that kind of book, the better.

I Want to Give Feedback

Writing a review that gently points out the ways a book could be improved can help an author grow. (At least, if they read reviews.) If a common theme comes up a lot, such a poor climax or wanting more character development, then they might want to consider working on that in future.

I feel like our world has gone a bit soft on feedback. We only want to hear the good stuff. But it's the more negative feedback that shows us where we can grow. (And yes, I'm talking to myself here too.)

There are many great authors whose first books aren't that great. Heck, my first published book probably won't be as good as my later ones. But without constructive feedback, none of us can grow into a better writer.

Bonus: Negative Reviews Are Psychologically Good

Did you know that negative reviews actually make a product more trustworthy? I've been studying marketing and psychology a lot since becoming a copywriter, and this is something I found fascinating.

Which would you trust more? A book with only five-star glowing reviews? Or a book with mostly five-star reviews, but also some four, three, two, and maybe even one star reviews?

The second one, right? That's because we're mistrusting of something that looks too good. If a book only has five-star reviews, you start to wonder why. Did the author pay for all those reviews? Are they bots?

But if a book has mostly good reviews with a few bad ones mixed in, it's more realistic. Not everyone's going to like every book, which means there should be some bad alongside the good.

That's not really a deciding factor if I leave a negative review, but I think it makes a good case for why it's okay to not leaving a glowing review on every book.

Let's not forget this gem of a review on one of the most beloved novels of all time

Conclusion

To sum up this post, I'm okay with leaving negative reviews for a variety of reasons. But the biggest thing to remember while doing so is to be kind whenever possible. Someone did write the book, and they have feelings that can be hurt. Find a balance between being honest and being kind, which will be different for every book.

What are your thoughts on negative reviews? What's the worst book you've ever left a review on? Tell me in the comments.