"Kenya pulls you into the story . . . no matter how f'ed up you might think the situation is she makes you believe that there is potential for anything and everything to work and fall apart all at once."
Megan Martin on Complicated by You
When my book "Complicated by You" hit the Interracial Romance Bestseller's list this week at #15, I was blown the f*** away.
I was shocked for TWO HUGE REASONS:
1.On Goodreads the review score was so freaking low and there were a lot of negative reviews.
My second reason is that this was not a book I thought that many would be able to swallow, especially my dedicated fans. When many of them didn't like it, I definitely understood and was glad they at least gave it a chance.
Then "Complicated by You" hit three freaking bestseller's list!
Yet, the negative reviews on Goodreads continued to come, and again. . .I know exactly why some can't deal with the book. It's not grammar, plot-line bad character development, or any of the technical writing things that turn people off of a book.
It's the freaking situation my main character is put in, the decision she has to make for herself to be happy, and perhaps. . .just maybe. . .a few people want to slam my hero in his balls.
A few love him. . .they just want to cut his penis off!
I get it.
I want to hurt him too. I tried so so hard to get his ass to do what I wanted him to do. Would he? No. Would any of those damn characters listen to me as I yelled at my computer? No. They just did what the hell they wanted and then forced me to write it all down.
Sorry.
I'm ranting!
So people are buying the book. On Amazon, I have five reviews that rock. Three four stars and two five stars.
On goodreads?
3- 5 Stars
4- 4 stars
2- 3 stars
2- 2 stars
There are shelves for this book that say:
disturbing
so-disappointing
didn't-like-it
Meanwhile, Complicated by You continues to rise on the Interracial Romance Bestsellers' list and sell really well.
My mail inbox is full of readers begging for the second book, demanding still that somehow Jay (the hero) gets his balls cut off, and for some strange reason they want a POV done for two secondary characters Pipe and Cynthia (in which I'm actually considering doing just for the fun of it).
Anyway, why am I saying this all in a blog post?
For one, I don't truly believe that Goodreads Reviews matter much to a book's success.
I see authors all the time going crazy when they get some negative reviews on that site or even others.
They say they're "defending" their book.
I say shut the fuck up and write another book.
Keep moving forward.
It's bad business.
Bad for your writing career.
and Moronic at best.
Even statistics agree with me. In the recent study:
The Readers Sound Off! How They Read, What They Like and Where They Find Us By: Marie Force
When asked which reviews are most important to them, 50 percent chose the reviews posted to retail sites. Goodreads was a distant second at 16 percent, followed by blog reviews at 13 percent and publication reviews (RT Book Reviews, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, etc.) at 10 percent. An additional 10 percent of the respondents listed “Other” sources than those provided by the survey.
So why are authors yelling at book reviews?
I think it's two reasons:
One- the person is insane.
Two- the person just doesn't know any better.
When you see this happening, just send them over to this post. It will make them either feel better. . .or yell at me instead, which is fine. I get yelled at all the time.
Meanwhile, if you haven't read my Goodreads Review for my own book (which many say is kind of in bad taste for authors to do, but I don't listen). Either way, check it out!
MY REVIEW FOR Complicated by You!
Complicated by You is dark at times and odd toward the end. It was so so so much fun to write it.
“Sometimes love makes you do dumb shit. Stuff that you always told yourself you would never do, that you’d never let happen. Then you fall in love and all those limits shatter away like glass. You get cut, but you don’t feel it. All you sense is love. Only that connection keeps you breathing another day.”
He spun around and stopped my talking with a kiss. . .
. . .and not just any kiss, but one that ignited flame to wick and set a blaze through me. I burned into a crispy husk of ash and need. I melted right there at the end of the stairs, wet, soaking so bad. . .
“Let me go.”
“No,” he whispered.
“I back down when I know I’m wrong. I back down when I know I can’t win. With you I won’t back down, I’ll keep coming harder and stronger. I won’t sleep or eat. I won’t rest. . ."
