Delighted to welcome back author and prolific book reviewer Robbie Cheadle, to share her criteria for writing a book review. I am sure useful for both authors who would like to know the key elements likely to be taken into account as well as fellow reviewers.
Prior to starting my blog in October 2016, I had only ever written a book review for school purposes. Those were grudge purchases and done with the aim of getting a good mark not highlighting for other readers the pros and cons of the book.
Since I started blogging, I have written over 150 book reviews and have gradually developed a method of assessing a book and a style of writing book reviews. Although I read all sorts of books from poetry and memoir to children’s books and thrillers and horror books. I read both classic books and contemporary novels.
I have five primary pillars that I consider, to a greater or lessor extent depending on the genre and nature of the book, when writing a book review.
Pillar 1: Plot
One of the first things I do when writing a book review is to give an overview of the plot. This must be sufficiently detailed to give a potential reader an idea about those aspects of the story that make it interesting and an enjoyable and worthwhile read, but it should not include any spoilers. The things I consider when assessing the plot are as follows:
- Is it unique? Is the premise new and exciting to me or have I read something similar before? This analysis extends to both the story line and, in a series, the nature and style of the writing. Do I feel there is a “sameness” about the writing that detracts from my reading pleasure;
- What is the pace of the book? Is it fast paced, aiming to keep you on the edge of your seat, or is a slow burn novel;
- Does it make sense? Does the story hang together realistically, or does it rely on unreasonable coincidences to make it work? I prefer the plot to be properly worked out so that the author does not have to resort to unlikely solutions to make it all come together at the end; and
- Is the ending satisfying? Do the mechanics of the plot come together properly and not leave me guessing about certain threads and aspects of the book? I do not like having to draw my own conclusions and fill in the missing pieces that I think should be resolved in the book. Obviously, there are some books which are intended to leave certain aspects unanswered and for the reader to draw their own conclusion about the subject matter because there is no definitive answer.
- It also must be appreciated that a book that is a memoir or a historical biography is not going to have the same level of plot as a thriller. This does not mean these books do not have a plot, it means that the plot will be more subtle such as the spiritual or emotional development of the main character or the resolution of a family conflict.
Pillar 2: Intended audience
Consideration of the intended audience is vital when reviewing a book. You cannot look for the same level of detail and complexity in a book aimed at middle school children as you would in a book aimed at adults. While children do like to be stimulated and can appreciate a reasonably complex plot, they cannot cope with high levels of intense emotion and any blood and gore as well as sexual innuendos should be limited.
I recently read a review of a book I had just reviewed (I always read a selection of other people’s reviews after I have written my own) which was for middle school children and which described a series of shark attacks. One reviewer commented that he thought the descriptions of the attacks should have been gorier and more detailed. I disagree as I believe graphic depictions of violence can be frightening, and even confusing, for children.
The nature and genre of a book needs to be considered when assessing the style of the writing. A book like George Orwell’s 1984 is going to contain far more detailed description, characterization and explanation than a short and sharp cozy mystery like Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
I also consider the time when the book was written. Classic books such as Charles Dickens’ novels were written at a time when lengthily description and excessive detail were expected by readers. I don’t believe it is appropriate to make negative comments about a style of writing that is old fashioned. In these cases, I prefer to look to the merit of the plot and story and its ability to stand the test of time due to its on-going relevance to readers.
Pillar 3: Characterisation
Characterisation is close to my heart when it comes to reviewing a book. I am a people lover and it is the characters in a novel that grip me and bring the story to life. When I review a book, I consider the characters, their age and their background, and how that fits together with their actions and reactions throughout the story. For example, in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Abraham Van Helsing is an experienced and respected medical doctor. He is a man of science who the other characters rely on to help save firstly, Lucy’s, and then Mina’s, lives. At the same time, he is a man who can accept that Dracula is a vampire and is drinking his victims’ blood and turning them into vampires. The reasons that he can be so open minded are shared in the book and are attributed to his upbringing in a town and country where the people, while deeply religious, are also superstitious and steeped in tradition and mysticism.
Another great example of excellent characterization is the Time Traveler in H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. The Time Traveler had to be an outlier in his time and a man of extraordinary innovation, determination and adaptability to undertake the building of something as unusual and front-running in its technology, as the time machine. These characteristics define him as a man and create the correct expectations in the reader for when he does manage to transcend space and time in his marvelous machine. His demonstrations of adaptability and resilience in the future time zones he visits are believable and almost expected by the reader due to his background.
If the attitudes and reactions of the characters in a book are unbelievable and inappropriate to me, I will not enjoy the book regardless of how brilliant the plot is.
Pillar 4: Research
Most people might think that research is only required for historical novels, but this is not true. It is necessary for all books to be based on factually accurate information if they are to be believable and enjoyable for a reader. If a book is science fiction about a future time, the reader would expect the technology demonstrated in the novel to tie back in some way to our current expectations as to where technology is going. It needs to be grounded in reason and possibility.
If a memoir writer includes information about chronic illness or health problems, the circumstances and symptoms need to be factual. This doesn’t mean that you must be a doctor to write a medical thriller, but it does mean that the basic facts relating to medicinal events and specific medical references in the book need to be correct. Authors do not need to provide masses of detail around specifics like medications and procedures, these could bore a reader who doesn’t need that sort of advanced knowledge demonstration, but it does need to make sense and be reasonable.
Pillar 5: Language and editing
I have left this pillar until last because, although language and editing are important in a book, I accept that the odd slippage can occur, particularly with Indie writers who don’t have access to the same levels of detailed editing that a traditionally published author would have. This does not mean that I can accept a book that is badly written from beginning to end, but it does mean that I have a tolerance level for the odd small spelling mistake or missing word and do not penalize the writer for small mistakes like this. I feel it is a bit petty to note little things like this which only occur a few times in an entire novel. It is a different story if the entire book is poorly written, as I find incorrect language usage annoying. I get distracted correcting it as I go along and am unlikely to finish reading a book that is clearly written by a second English language writer or is badly translated from another language.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the above pillar are the guidelines I use to review and comment on books. I hope that you find them useful and have similar ideas to me as to what elements constitute a good book.
Thank you, Sally, for giving me this opportunity to collect my own thoughts in this regard and to share them with your readers.
About Robbie Cheadle
Robbie, short for Roberta, is an author with five published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with her son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about her mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with her mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of Robbie’s children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications. Robbie has recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential her children’s books from her adult writing, these will be published under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. Robbie has two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.
I have been drawn to the horror and supernatural genres of books all my life. At the age of ten years old I embarked on reading Stephen King’s books including The Shining and Salem’s Lot. These books scared me so much I had to put them aside by 6P.M. in the evening in order to get a good night’s sleep but they also fascinated me. I subsequently worked my way through all of Stephen King’s earlier books as well as those of Dean R. Koontz.
I have read a large number of classics, in particular, I enjoy Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Charles Dickens and the works of the Bronte sisters.
I am hugely interested in the history of the United Kingdom as well as the mythology and tales of the paranormal that are abundant on this intriguing European island.
A small selection of other Sir Chocolate stories co-written with Michael Cheadle and other work by Roberta Eaton Cheadle
One of the recent reviews for Through the Nethergate
In this YA paranormal story, Margret moves into an inn her grandfather runs after her parents die. She has a unique gift of seeing the ghosts that live there. My favorite part of this book is the ghosts and their stories, which are taken from history. The attention to detail drew me into the story and tugged at my heart. I loved it when Margret interacted with them, but I couldn’t bond with her at first in everyday life. Yet, the rest of the story was so intriguing and held my attention to the very end. Not only does Margret deal with ghosts, but there are also evil entities involved. The description of hell and bringing in current events was clever. The rich history shared through the ghosts and the good vs. evil theme made this a page-turning read
Read all the reviews and buy the books:Amazon US
And on Amazon UK: Amazon UK
Read more reviews and follow Robbie on Goodreads: Goodreads
Connect to Robbie Cheadle
Website/Blog Roberta Writes: https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/
Blog: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/
Website: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SirChocolateBooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite
My thanks to Robbie for sharing her perspective on book reviewing today and she would be delighted to answer your questions. Thanks Sally.
How true that we shouldn’t judge past literature with our own or modern tastes. Dickens wrote his books in serial form to be read aloud round a cosy fire – at least that is how I like to imagine our recent ancestors. Reading aloud is slower, the listeners would have time to digest his delightful descriptions of people and places.
As for research, all writers need to do some, even writing about places you know, look at the map to check street names or recall how how easy it might be for a character to get from A to B. I once read a novel where the character came down from Lancashire to London for the day, saw all the sights far and wide and still managed to catch the afternoon train home!
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Thanks for adding your perspective Janet and I agree..And with Google maps it has never been so easy to get street views of virtually every major city and town in the western world (or so it seems).. hugs
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Thank you for joining in the conversation, Janet. It is entirely true what you have said about historical works. I am currently reading The Thorn Birds which was not written that long ago but long enough for modern writing styles to have superseded this authors style. I am crying like a baby in some parts and thinking how wonderful it is for a writer to evoke such strong emotions in a read. Something we all aspire too.
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I loved The Thorn Birds though it is a very long time since I read it, after it was made into a good TV drama.
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I enjoyed The Thorn Birds as well. The characters stayed with me for a very long time after I’d finished it.
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I had a crush on Richard Chamberlain from the age of 11… so I read the book after I had seen the television series.. I enjoyed both…xx
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I think I saw the television series first, as well.
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Excellent input. Robbie’s pillars are a fantastic approach. Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks James.. another helpful post on the art of reviewing something that you, Kevin and Robbie are very good at.
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Much appreciated. 🙂
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I am glad you think so, Jay. Hugs.
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Thank you for this post. All good points to consider when writing.
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Great Antoinette, glad you found useful..x
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Thank you, Antoinette
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What a great approach to writing a book review, Robbie. And its formulaic nature makes it easy for people who might be apprehensive about writing book reviews. Just yesterday I had one reader contact me and ask me to write a review of one of my books for her. I explained that that’s a no-no and that it’s really very easy to write a review. I’m not sure she believed me. I should send her this article. Thank you!
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I have been writing my reviews according to this formula for a while now, Amy. It is useful for me to have an approach when writing a review to ensure I don’t miss out important points for consideration.
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Thank you for this very good posting! It has be done for me. Lol Hope i will be encouraged enough starting with a own book review, as soon as possible. My last one has be done centuries ago, at school. Michael
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I am glad you enjoyed this post, Michael, and found my pointers useful. This is how I do it but a review does not have to be long. It can be a sentence.
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As Robbie says Michael.. just one sentence is enough…hugs
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Thank you, Sally, for hosting me with this post. It seems that a lot of people feel quite intimidated about writing reviews. I hope they enjoy this post and it offers a few pointers.
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It does Robbie and an easy to follow guide for everyone…hugsx
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Good tips, Robbie. I too find I am more tolerant of grammar/printing/spelling errors. They are in all books, not just Indies. I actually had a commenter list my three errors in her comment. I took note.
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Thanks Jacquie…x
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Oh Jacqui, doesn’t that irritate you? It does me although I don’t react. I had a reviewer spend about three sentence of her review saying that I should have had a comma in one sentence. I don’t agree and neither does Terence. It feels a bit petty. I only commented once on the use of a swear word in a kids book. I don’t like that and know there are others who would object.
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Robbie is an excellent reviewer so these tips make a great deal of sense.
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I agree John..thanks for adding your recommendation too..hugs
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Thank you, John, I am glad you think so.
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😊
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I agree with your approach, Robbie. Regarding the Plot pillar, however, I avoid summarizing the plot and rarely read a review that starts with one. Many such “reviews” have little to say beyond the plot summary, other than “I really liked this book.” I think the only time a plot summary is needed in a review is when the book’s description at the retailer’s site is minimal. On the other hand, the aspects of the plot you have noted (uniqueness, plausibility, etc.) are definitely worth addressing in reviews. Unfortunately, I think many readers equate book reviews with book reports and therefore are reluctant to write them. This is another good thing about engaging the community of writers on WordPress–we are more apt to write reviews!
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Thanks for adding your views on the subject Audrey all very useful points.
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And thanks to you, Sally, for hosting all these informative and entertaining posts!
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I also avoid a lot of plot summary when I write a book review. I give just enough to provide the context for discussing my reading experience.
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That makes sense to me.
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Thanks Liz, I give a bit of an overview with a focus on the uniqueness or inspiring aspects of the book. I have discovered that I love writing book reviews although they usually take me at least 1 hour to write. They force me to unpack the book in my mind and assess what I liked.
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It takes me that length of time as well. I want to be sure to do the book justice, and that does take careful thought.
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Quite Liz and the idea is to encourage other readers to find out more…hugs
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I just wrote a review of a mystery thriller, and was so afraid of spoilers, I barely mentioned the plot except to characterize it as Byzantine.
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I am sure it is great Liz… you had be at Byzantine…xx
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🙂
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Your point is well made, Audrey, thanks for sharing it here. I agree that authors, writers and book bloggers are predominately the people of write reviews of books. Very few others will review a book, at best they will rate it on Goodreads.
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Thank you, Robbie. The WordPress writers’ community is a helpful one.
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Oh yes, a wonderful community, Audrey.
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This is great, Robbie. I for one hate writing reviews – I guess going back to memories of dreaded ‘book reports’ for school. I shall keep your pillars for future reference.
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I am glad you found this useful, Mary. I like writing book reviews and sharing the joy of a good book with other people. I also like the challenge of assessing a book and delving into its good and bad points.
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Thanks Mary..hugsx
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Brava Robbie. Spot on pointers for reviewing. 🙂 ❤
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Thank you, Debby.
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This is a great guideline for writing book reviews. Thank you, Robbie! ❤
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Thank you, Vashti.
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Thanks Vashti..hugsx♥
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This is an excellent formula for any review. I appreciate the time that Robbie takes in writing a substantial review without giving away too much.
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I am glad you like my reviews, Pete. I spend time on them to make them interesting and useful.
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I agree Pete…thanks
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I’m still getting the hang of writing book reviews, so I found Robbie suggestions very helpful to keep in mind moving forward.
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I am glad you found this post useful, Liz.
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🙂
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Great Liz.. thank you…hugs
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Reblogged this on Robbie's inspiration and commented:
I am over at Sally Cronin’s delightful blog, Smorgasbord, today with a post about writing book reviews. I have set out my approach and thoughts in this regard and would love to know how other people write books reviews. Let us know in the comments.
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Thanks again Robbie.. certainly got the discussion going very well..hugs
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Reblogged this on Daniel Kemp.
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Thank you for sharing, Danny.
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My pleasure 🙂
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thank you for sharing.
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What a useful post! Thank you, Robbie and Sally.
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Thank you.. glad you found helpful.
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Thank you
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author & Book Blogger and commented:
Interesting! A lot of the same things draw me to a book and I also consider the age the book is written for. This is why I divert some stories to my Loleta Abi site.
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Thanks Traci and a good idea as you know your audience for your sites..hugs
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Thank you for sharing, Traci, and for your thoughtful interlude.
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You’re welcome, Robbie!
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I don’t write as many book reviews as I should as I am not very confident ..This is ideal bookmarked …Thank you, Robbie and Sally …Hugs xxx
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Glad you found helpful Carol… ♥
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I did… I have a, few reviews to write so it will be really helpful xx
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I hope you find it useful, Carol. Book reviews are appreciated by authors even if they are only a sentence or two. I tend to approach my reviews like a literary assignment, it is the way I am.
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this just seems like a helpful way to think about a book, even if one is not doing a review.
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I agree Jim.. very useful..x
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Thanks, Jim. I think I pick up more while reading a book as a result of reviewing with this agenda in mind.
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I agree. I often forget most of the story of most books within a couple of weeks of reading it. Using your approach may help me remember more about more books!
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Thanks, Robbie. I do try to cover similar points in my reviews as well, although I don’t always talk about the plot in detail, unless I think the description available is not clear enough or it misses something readers might be interested in. It’s a great guide and very useful tips. Casual readers, of course, don’t have to worry about covering everything possible. Their opinion will be welcome, and the more reviews they write, the more they’ll develop their own styles and tips. Thank you, Sally.
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Thanks for adding your perspective Olga and as you say just say what you thought about the book personally.. hugsx
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Thank you, Olga. I think I learned a lot about reviewing from reading your blog and reviews.
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Wow, Robbie, 150 reviews? That is impressive and your points make sense. I’m glad you take the time to write such thoughtful reviews and I wish more people would. I do read many on Amazon and shake my head when someone leaves a negative review about a technical issue rather than the actual content. Thanks for hosting Robbie today, Sally and Merry Christmas to you both and to your families!
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Thank you Terri and to you and your family too…hugs ♥
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Thank you, Terri. I have also read those sorts of reviews. Sometimes they make me smile. How is the author to blame if the book gets bent in transit?
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Merry Christmas to you too, Terri.
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I like your approach, Robbie. Your reviews are always thoughtful and balanced.
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Thanks Teri..hugsx
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Thank you, Teri. I am pleased that you think so.
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