Reading and Reviewing

As an author, I understand the importance of reviews more than I ever did before. They effect reader's decision to buy, which directly effects the success of the book and the author. Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly difficult for authors, especially indie authors, to obtain reviews for their books. Many reviewers charge for this service, and even more only review books through organized tours where the organizer is paid by the author or publisher. I do not judge either of these practices. With so many books on the market, and more and more of them indie, it can be hard for reviewers to wade through them.

In the spirit of helping authors, I make a point to review any book that I enjoy. Most of my reviews are place on the Indie Elite blog, but I thought I'd start giving an excerpt from the reviews here as well. This month I've got to shout out about The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton. I downloaded this eBook from B&N when it was free and I have not been paid by anyone for the review, which is my honest opinion.

If I didn't know this book was indie, well, I wouldn't have known. From the first shocking page, I was hooked. I've been bored with YA lately and I've read one too many books about psychics and mind readers so I didn't expect to get past page one. Wow was I surprised. Not only did I get past page one, but I looked forward to getting on my treadmill so I could read more, and stayed up late into the night turning pages. It's rare for a book to captivate me like that. Not only is the writing captivating and clean, the characters are compelling and complex.

For the remainder of this review, I hope you'll drop by the Indie Elite blog.

Comments

  1. Thanks for the excerpt review; just by seeing how hooked you were, I am too! Also, thanks for the reminder about reviews (: I'm off to read the rest (:

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    Replies
    1. I think you'll enjoy it! She's a captivating writer.

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  2. Reviews are so important these days ... and so hard to get ... yet without them, our books look lackluster. Your review of this book has me going to the book page. See what you did? :-)

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  3. Just downloaded it from Amazon. Thanks for the recommendation, Heather!

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  4. I agree with you about reviewing all books I enjoy. Why not give the author some help and let others know about a good book.

    Have a great day.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews

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  5. I hear you about the reviews. As just a reader, I hadn't really given it a second thought. But once I started into my own Indie path, I realized the importance of reviews and can certainly say it's a tough job but glad to still do my writing thing. Hey, maybe one day I'll actually earn a living from this passion of mine :-)

    Keep reading and reviewing, Heather. And have a great weekend :-)

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  6. Interesting. Another to add to my to-read list.

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  7. "Effect"... it's not the same word as "affect."

    Anyway, I agree that reviews are important; and they do definitely affect my decision to read a book. However, a useful review tells me something about the book in question. Themes? Setting? Main characters? Key plot points? Style of writing? Comparable authors?

    As well as the strengths of the book; what are the weaknesses? If a review includes nothing but glowing praise (and a reviewer's other reviews also contain nothing but glowing praise) then that review will likely be discounted.

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  8. I picked this up a short while ago and will have to try and move it up the list to read. Thank you for sharing with us, I am glad it was a treat.

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