Anonymous wrote:When I dislike a book, I don't review it. Seems mean.

Same.

While there may be something off happening, a lot of these books have a ton of reviews. A book will always appeal to someone, so that person will rate it highly. I hate it, so I just leave it alone. Or give it a 3 on Goodreads and move on.

While my DNFs are rare, I won't ever rate a book that I don't finish. That said, I'm not finishing it because I hate it!

Anonymous wrote:Use Goodreads for more honest reviews. Many people won't leave a written review for a bad book, but they will rate it low. Amazon doesn't allow you to rate a book without follow up commentary.

I know an author who solicited and drummed up reviews for their forthcoming book at every occasion; casual get togethers, kid birthday parties, block parties. Hard sell tactics but must have worked. No surprise that this book got all 5 star reviews on GoodReads and Amazon. There was great fanfare once the book launched with even more glowing reviews. Not self-published.

I no longer read reviews on the well-known sites.

Follow a few reviewers on Goodreads whose taste is similar to yours.

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed on Goodreads that SO many of the reviewers got the book for free and then magically they give an "unbiased" high rating for the book. I've noticed this specifically with books I hated and it just feels like a scam.

I'm an ARC reader, so i get books for free. My opinions are honest, but I only accept or request ARCs for books I know I'll enjoy. So, my 4 and 5 start reviews that I post before publication day on Goodreads or on publication day on Amazon (that's usually part of the agreement) aren't scams. They're my honest reviews.

On the off chance that I mess up and request an ARC for something I don't enjoy, I will give a low rating and explain why. Most ARC readers taking reviewing seriously and give reasons for their ratings. There are some newer authors who get really mad about this, but this is part of the deal - if you put your work out there for consumption, some people aren't going to like it.


The star rating with no text are usually the bots.

I've noticed on Goodreads that SO many of the reviewers got the book for free and then magically they give an "unbiased" high rating for the book. I've noticed this specifically with books I hated and it just feels like a scam.

Haha I just Googled this exact question and this thread popped up. Have noticed it too, almost all books on Kindle have an average rating of 4.5 stars. Not possible or even likely. Must certainly be gamed. I’ve been bamboozled into some real turkeys - self-published stinkers with clearly no editing rated 4.5.

They are not. Choose, "Most recent" for reviews, instead of best reviews which show up automatically.

Anonymous wrote:Use Goodreads for more honest reviews. Many people won't leave a written review for a bad book, but they will rate it low. Amazon doesn't allow you to rate a book without follow up commentary.

I agree to some extent but Amazon now owns Goodreads. I get a pop up on my kindle whenever I finish a book and the review gets shared with both Amazon and Goodreads platforms.

Use Goodreads for more honest reviews. Many people won't leave a written review for a bad book, but they will rate it low. Amazon doesn't allow you to rate a book without follow up commentary.

Most of the reviews for Amazon products, not just books, are put in Amazon's viewing order. Choose "Most Recent" and you'll get a better idea of what people are really saying.

When I dislike a book, I don't review it. Seems mean.

In general I do not like Amazon for book reviews.

There probably is some gaming going on — especially with very new or very specialized books, although it probably isn’t coming from the publishers.

I think most people are more likely to review things that they really like, expected to really like, or really hate — rather than booked or other products that are just okay — but nothing special. I tend to read reviews that go beyond Amazon (NYTimes, for example). I also appreciate the reviews by VINE readers.

Has anyone else noticed this? I can’t get a clear sense of the quality of a book since nearly all books have the same rating. Do publishers game the system? How does that work? Questions!