It’s a dilemma when you read a book by someone you like and want to do a review for but there was actually more you didn’t like in the story than you did. I’ve recently had this experience again and I did leave the review but it’s very short and incomplete since i didn’t want to hurt this person’s feelings. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that not all books will appeal to every person and I also know that there are probably some of my stories that people don’t like but I still don’t want to say things that would cause someone angst about their work.

This book I read had a great story premise but I didn’t like the heroine. She was one of those that did some really dumb things and seemed weak. I have a real hang-up about heroines like that. I actually think it’s because I’m strong myself and have zero patience for reading about someone who isn’t.

One of the other issues with the story, I blame on the editor. One of the big reasons for editors is for them to find repetitive words and/or phrases that the writer uses. I always, always have what I call a crutch word in each of my stories (and they are usually different for each one). I try to catch them myself but sometimes I don’t. This book I just read had a crutch phrase and it was used 25 times in a story that was less than 200 pages long. It started to feel like I was being bopped in the head with it. I even at one time said out loud, “Okay, I get it.”

So, what do you do if asked to do a review and there’s not much to say?