Fans of Interracial Romance discussion

So I recently read a book that featured a biracial hero that was not mentioned in the blurb. I was pleasantly surprised. But as I progressed through the book I discovered that not only was I not into it at all, but that the MC spent an inordinate amount of time (in my opinion) complaining that while her grandparents were black presenting and Cuban she did not consider herself black and she wanted people to know. There were various descriptions of her light eyes and red hair etc. In my opinion I felt she was so focused on " I'm not this" that it felt like denial and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I wrote a review and highlighted what I didn't like including that particular aspect all the while stating it was my opinion. Well the author left me two rather lengthy not so nice messages telling me I was wrong, there was no race denying and that she had a biracial friend review it and they loved it. I chose to stand by words as it was my opinion but I did amend my review to say the author clarified her intent even though I had a different take away. I got another message from the author saying she is biracial and that my remarks mad her so angry she'll never write another biracial character. I felt bad, encouraged her to understand that not everyone will like her books and begged her to continue writing characters of color. I eventually offered to delete the review. But the fact remains, I did not like the book and I still felt her character had issues surrounding race and identity. My question is, am I wrong to feel slightly manipulated into deleting a bad review? Am I wrong to have mention that what she intended and what I gleaned were two different things? Because it's been a few days and I'm still feeling some kind of way. I feel like I got bullied into changing my opinion. And I need some feedback from the group to see if I'm the wrong here.

Reading is subjective. No one book is going to satisfy every single person who reads it, even the 'best literature' doesn't do that and that is perfectly ok.

Your review is your opinion and should be respected as such - no matter if others agree or not. Also, GR is a reader space and authors should not be commenting let alone arguing with readers on their opinions of what they read. In your position (and I have had something similar but not as overtly negative happen to me), I would not have deleted the review.

Ok thank you! I deleted the review and honestly I felt not necessarily harassed but uncomfortable by the author’s attitude so I ended up blocking her. I realize the book was probably her baby and she wanted to defend her work but reviews are literally opinions. I was specific in what I didn’t like so that it wouldn’t just be construed as baseless. But wow she came for me on a personal level level that exceeded simple differences of opinion. I just needed someone, anyone really to tell me I’m not crazy for feeling the way I do!

You are definitely entitled to how you feel. I follow a lot of bookish stuff on the internet and authors invading reader spaces has been a big topic of conversation in recent months.

Well I won’t be reading any of her books anymore. And my 2 star review minus written comments is still sitting there for future reference. I just don’t think she handled the topic well no matter what her intentions were.

Out of interest, what book is it?

Lanie, hello. This has become an increasingly disturbing trend, meant to dissuade readers from writing what an author considers to be a negative review. Forgive me, but who gives a flying f*uck what the author’s INTENT is, if that intent is not conveyed to the readers? Have we not read myriad books authored by a black person, and hated the MC? Being black, bi-racial, multi-racial, white, etc., does not mean the author’s work should automatically be positively received by the readers. As long as the review is not mean-spirited, is not based on an ad hominem attack or is not a blatant politicization of the book, a review is based on that particular reader’s perception of the story. We can all look back and recall how some readers have given a book a 5 star rating while a few readers have given 2 stars or a DNF.

So, Lanie. Your review falls squarely within your purview, and NO other. DO NOT BE BULLIED BY ANYONE, AUTHOR OR NOT. Your review has validity. Also, I gleaned that what you wrote was based on your intellect and reading comprehension, coupled with how you perceived and conceptualized the main character’s actions, attitudes and dialogue. NOBODY. Hear me, Lanie—No f*cking body has the right to challenge your review. Last, I really, really want to know what book you are talking about.

The book was “His Fake Fiancé by Fiona Murphy. As I stated in my now deleted review the book was billed as a light cute romantic trope. It was not. I had other issues with it beyond the aforementioned and I detailed them. (Overly long, plot all over the place, characters suddenly insignificant, controlling Hero labeled as Alpha, bdsm themes without warning and a weak main character among other things) I think it just bothered me that she came at me hard saying she would never write another character of color after saying she was biracial. Which I took to validate my point, that she had issues with her identity if she only feels comfortable writing white women despite not being all white herself. And the discomfort bled into her writing because her MC suffered from it as well. And the main character was negatively denying her heritage. I wish I hadn’t deleted my review and I’m trying not to be petty and repost it but I honestly cannot believe a grown woman came at me because in essence I stated my opinion.

Lanie, the fact that the author failed to address the other substantive issues you raised in your review gives me pause also. Why was the biracial aspect of the story of paramount concern to the author. If I still had my review, I would put it back—but that’s just me. You are a much nicer person 😁. Just keep on doing what you’re doing, and try not to ruminate about the BS.

I’m going to sleep on it, but I may repost a new review that blows up her spot for bullying me. Through everything I reiterated that I still didn’t like the book.

You are entitled to your personal likes/dislikes. When I read reviews the bad ones are just as if not more important to me. Why was it not a good read to you? What did you find lacking? How could it have been better? Those are things I look for in a bad review. So what I'm saying even if you didn't answer those questions, it still was your opinion and should be respected as such.

I definitely answered all those questions. Sometimes I err on the side of humor and joke about how a book isn’t good. But in this case I stated why it didn’t work for me. I appreciate all this advice. I needed understanding or validation or insight and I’m glad y’all provided all three!

I second SassafrasfromAmazon's comments, and agree with all of you.
Lanie, you are entitled to your opinion of the book, and should have left up your original review. Some authors need to realize that reviews are for readers - not for the authors.
If this particular author got all bent out of shape over your review, that's her damn problem. She sounds like one of those authors who will only make things worse for herself, since she has a thin skin and can't keep her mouth shut.
If you aren't familiar with it, you should read up on the Kathleen Hale story; authors behaving badly don't bode well for the authors.

So I was going to sleep on it but now I’m getting inspired. I’m reposting a new review since I didn’t keep the original.

**UPDATE**
The review is back up. Newly written but in the same vein as the original. I did opt to take the high road but I couldn’t resist throwing her under the bus just a little and letting people know she came at me. The funny thing is, the book isn’t a best seller and my review hardly made a difference but at least I can rest easy knowing I said what I said. Thx everyone!

BRAVO!!!!!!👍🏽

I second that BRAVO!

Lanie wrote: "**UPDATE**
The review is back up. Newly written but in the same vein as the original. I did opt to take the high road but I couldn’t resist throwing her under the bus just a little"

Good for you. I read the review and it's hardly an attack. In every single writer space, they tell you not to react to reviews, not even the positive ones, so it's more an issue of her being in her feelings and jumping in front of the bus than you throwing her under it imo.

I gotta say, I feel so much better knowing that it’s back up despite her opposition. I didn’t realize her comment would reappear when I reposted but that’s fine by me. She deleted her other more aggressive comments but I still have a record of them so I don’t feel bad at all for saying my 2 cents. Whether I threw her under the bus or she jumped in front of it is irrelevant now. I think she should just stay out of the road all together and watch from the sidewalk. Thanks everyone for the support. Y’all really came through for me.

Good for you for putting the review back up! It's so trashy and unprofessional for an author to attack or try to argue with a negative review. If a read about an author (or their friends) doing that, I absolutely will not read their books. It astonishes me how many do this.

Lanie never let an author make you delete a review. You do not have to like an author’s book. You can give a book whatever rating you want to give it and write or not write a review for the book. Stand by your review. I always do, when I write them.

If an author is sensitive to negative reviews, then don’t write or should I say write and published the book. Everyone is not going to be on the same page the author is on.

Now concerning race, if a person is half black, they do not have to say they are black. They can say they are biracial. Every half black/half white person does not come out looking black, some comes out looking white and a lot of them will tell you they are white. Would they be wrong for saying that? A lot of people would get mad at them for saying so.

I feel that when a biracial say they are this race, they are denying their other race. I do not care how people sees them as. Say you are biracial or say I am this race and that race. I know some biracial people that is part black will say they are black and they have that right, My favorite female character is Alyssa Locke from Suzanne Brockmann’s books. She says she is black and I am fine with that.

I am black, not African American. Charlize Theron is African American.

If an author attacks a reader behind their review, the reader needs to make it known to others. Reveal the author’s name. They have to realize readers do not need them, they need readers.

The funny thing is, my review would have gone mostly unnoticed had she not come for me. All she did was draw attention to it with her bitter response.
Also Arch I totally agree with your definition of African American. I refer to myself as black because I am not African and neither were my parents or their parents. I’m too far removed from Africa to claim it outright. On the other hand black encompasses whatever I may be at first glance. A person could be from the Caribbean or Canada or the Uk for all we know yet we’re so quick to slap the African American label on them. Clearly my ancestors are from African however I think black also acknowledges my immediate ancestors who tended fields, sat in the backs of buses and drank from separate fountains all the while not having a clue what part of Africa they belonged to. ( and we have the only racial identifier that encompasses a whole continent and not a just a country. Like saying someone North American instead of American.)

Lanie wrote: "The funny thing is, my review would have gone mostly unnoticed had she not come for me. All she did was draw attention to it with her bitter response.
Also Arch I totally agree with your definitio..."

Lanie: I agree with you 150%. I also identify myself as Black American and not African American because of my ancestry is far removed from the African continent as well. I agree with your definition and explanation as well. Now, I have also been reading about your issues with the author and I will check it out to see what she has said. This is very disconcerting because an author should look at reviews as a learning curve and review their material before releasing their books but it is clear that the author you mentioned has issues. Take care and thanks for your comments!

Lanie wrote: "The funny thing is, my review would have gone mostly unnoticed had she not come for me. All she did was draw attention to it with her bitter response.
Also Arch I totally agree with your definitio..."

Arch wrote: "Lanie never let an author make you delete a review. You do not have to like an author’s book. You can give a book whatever rating you want to give it and write or not write a review for the book. S..."

I also identify as Black now, and not African-American for the same reasons, even though I was born in an African country by Black (American) parents... :)

I am tempted to buy and read this book by her now, wondering if I will (most likely agree if it plays out how OP is describing it) but I dont want to give the author the payment satisfaction even if I end up leaving a bad review. Is it on KU? Maybe ill borrow it.
I am most likely being petty with these thoughts but I really feel like, if the Fiona Murphy was more confortable and secure in her writing ability and ger racial identity, she wouldbt have gotten so hot and defensive to the point where she calls out specific reviews. If its good writing, the good points will outweigh the bad. Ive left several reviews where there were 4 or 5 stars but still included what i disliked about the story - but if the rest of the book was written well enough to "cover for it" i still have a 4 or 5.
I will be checking out her good to bad reviews ratio and what people are saying about her book, but also now I cant discount that, if there are no bad reviews, is it only because she bullied everyone into deleting them too.
DO NOT FEEL BAD Lanie!

By all means read it! I’m curious myself to see a genuine reaction to one of her books. I noticed a lot of her reviews for it were generic calling it “steamy” or “couple goals” but they didn’t actually review the book in the sense that they discussed the writing or character depth etc. I’ve said repeatedly it’s my opinion but with the support I’ve been getting I can’t help but think that maybe my opinion isn’t quite so isolated. I know writing a book isn’t easy but if she couldn’t take criticism then maybe she shouldn’t be trolling people on a book review site. The comment she deleted was way worse than the one she left. And honestly it was that comment that got me rethinking everything. If you read it, do me a favor and post a review. I’d love to see what you think.

What timing.

I've had an author leave a snarky comment on a 1 star DNF review of her book that I wrote because of a totally unnecessary graphic rape (of a throwaway character) scene from the villain POV... it seems that some of them never learn.

You know, kittykat, I’m so glad this hasn’t happened to me because I would unleash the fires of hell onto their snarky little heads—I’d probably be barred for life. Hmmm. Maybe I’d have to temper my response.😬😬😬

Yep I did want to let rip, but I was quite polite in my response and my review is staying up. This is the second time it has happened to me, but at least it wasn't an outright attack as I have seen/heard about some dreadful ones.

Kittykat-Quite right. We can’t allow these type of authors to dissuade us from giving our perspective so that other readers can make informed decisions. One reviewer’s OPINION is one of many. You had every right to give that book a 1 DNF. I have done the same. Readers need to know this information IMHO.
Take care.

The worst feedback I ever got was from a stan. They came into my review to complain about me trashing the hard work of her favorite author with my opinions"

I was like, "well, duh, that is what a review is... an opinion."

I noticed they hadn't left a review for the book and suggested they write a positive one to offset my negative one.

They responded that they "didn't have time to write a review."

WTF?

But with authors I have been lucky (knock on wood). One of my favorites was from Crystal Hubbard after I complained that I bought the book blind because I couldn't find a blurb. This was before self pubbing and ebooks took off. She commented that she'd make sure her books got blurbed online.

Another interaction came from what I believe was a new-si author at the time. I had done a fairly negative review of a book her book. She was very gracious and responded that she understood not everything was everyone's cup of tea and thanked me for the review.

I typically write reviews for books that I didn’t like. Every now and again a book is so amazing I write a good review. However I usually stick to books that were poorly written. Just because I don’t like a book a doesn’t make it bad, it just means I didn’t like it and for those books I don’t write reviews. It’s the ones that are riddled with grammatical errors, plot holes, 1 dimensional characters or elements that are insulting to the reader that I write reviews for. Because honestly I’d want to know in advance if I’m about to waste my time. If a book blows me away I leave it at 4 or 5 stars so some other reader can discover the joy between the pages. I realize with mostly negative reviews I walk a fine line between troll and reviewer but I try to focus on what/why I didn’t like it instead of just calling it trash with no explanation. As a reader I try to remind myself I’m under no obligation to love any book regardless of what an author may say to me. I definitely forgot that for a minute and I’m grateful this group showed up to remind me of that.

What I find incomprehensible - the number of writers who are incapable of constructing a proper sentence.
If you call yourself an author, then it behooves you to get the sentence right, doesn't it? How else can you tell the story effectively? Now I am not talking about one mistake, I am talking about such badly written sentences that you think it is someone using google translation. Isn't grammar taught anymore?

If I am paying for a book, I expect quality of plot, the story telling, grammar, eloquence of language and punctuation. If none of these exist, I refund and depending on my mood, may leave a review. This past year, I have gotten lazy and have not read many IRs choosing to focus on my other favorite genre - SCIFI.

SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "You know, kittykat, I’m so glad this hasn’t happened to me because I would unleash the fires of hell onto their snarky little heads—I’d probably be barred for life. Hmmm. Maybe I’d have to temper m..."

I'm the same way, but you already know that. lol

What I don't understand is why these authors don't 'get it'. Don't they realize that by arguing with readers/reviewers, they're going to lose in more ways than one? (I.e. readers, fans, agents, publishers... MONEY). With the exception of bigtime famous authors with a huge fanbase, these authors won't escape unscathed.
They insist on engaging negatively, then cry all butt-hurt when they get called out on their crappy behavior. It's best for them not to engage in any case, as the reviewer space isn't for them.

Justine wrote: "What I find incomprehensible - the number of writers who are incapable of constructing a proper sentence.
If you call yourself an author, then it behooves you to get the sentence right, doesn't it..."

IKR? They should utilize the service of a few beta readers and a line editor, if they can afford it. At the very least, use a free or low-cost writing program/tool.

I wish an author would roll up on a negative review I've written of his/her work. I'd be like, "Girl, you need to go sit in a corner and clip your toenails. Bye."

Monique wrote: "Justine wrote: "What I find incomprehensible - the number of writers who are incapable of constructing a proper sentence.
If you call yourself an author, then it behooves you to get the sentence r..."

I do recall years ago I stopped reading a particular author because I found the writing sophomoric, moronic, the plots incredulous and with too much drama for me. I wrote a review about my dislike and a reader commented on my review taking exception to my review (back when Amazon allowed you to do this.) I just told the commenter that he or she must be the author and to step off. There wasn't another comment.

On the one hand, I think it's awesome that aspiring writers can publish independently instead of hoping and praying a publisher will accept them. (We've all heard the story about how Harry Potter was rejected twelve times!) On the other hand, though, this means there's been an influx of e-books that are very low-quality. It's made me wary of self-pub. Then again, there are plenty of popular, traditionally published books I found astonishingly bad, too! At least we have the internet to sift through reviews, but even then, I've come across plenty of clearly fake ones and I absolutely can't stand that. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that the internet changed certain aspects of books and reading, and the prevalence of e-books and the online book community makes some authors feel entitled to join in on that community and debate reviewers, defend themselves, smack talk reviewers or even other authors, as if they graciously shared their work with us rather than selling us a product. It's all so unprofessional.

I'm late to this party, but what a great topic and I must say I am so glad you put the review back up. Disclosure before I say what I'm about to say: I have published some books, so I am speaking as both a lifelong avid reader and an author.

Valid reviews like yours are so important. What I mean by valid is you had valid concerns and expressed them. That's what's supposed to happen in reviews. Unfortunately, there are b.s. reviews all over the place on GR and Amazon - both b.s. positive and b.s. negative, and neither of them help readers select books and definitely don't help authors hone their craft.

As a reader, I get furious when I get suckered into reading crap because of five star reviews. Then once I actually read the book it becomes glaringly obvious the reviews were either paid for or were planted by a few hundred "friends" of an author (that's why I refused to tell friends about my books, lol...I'd rather have all my readers who don't leave reviews than to have fake reviews).

Reviews that highlight actual specific reasons why something did not work (or on the opposite end, why they did work) are important, and you should never feel pressured to change your opinion.

I'd say the only time a negative review is b.s. in my opinion, is when either there is an obvious reason for the negative review that has nothing to do with the actual book (e.g. a stan supporting their favorite author by trashing another author in a similar sub genre) or if the reason given for the negative review is something that was clearly stated in the description/blurb. It upsets me when I read negative reviews that waste my time (and are not fair to the author) and seem to be some kind of petty morality policing effort to eliminate sex or adult language from books, and get romance clean and wholesome only. If a description clearly makes it obvious there is cursing or sex, and you don't like those in books, then...duh (must I state the obvious?)...don't read the book. I see tons of reviews like that, some kind of sly form of censorship or something. Just as readers get to choose what to read, authors get to choose what to write. (I remember one book in particular where the cover was a half-naked guy nailing a girl against a wall, her legs up in the air around him, and reviews talked like it was a shock there were sex scenes in the book...I almost peed my pants laughing so hard at how stupid it was, and then got irritated they wasted my time with b.s. reviews...then of course I had a moment feeling really bad for the author). It's like, if I know darn well I hate sci-fi then I have no business posting a review on Amazon about how much I hate it and how awful the book is. That's just petty. That's the only times I consider a negative review to be crap, because it detracts from the whole point of reviews.

Bottom line, you had valid concerns and you expressed them. Again, I have to say I'm so glad you put it back up.

Josine wrote: "I'm late to this party, but what a great topic and I must say I am so glad you put the review back up. Disclosure before I say what I'm about to say: I have published some books, so I am speaking a..."

I totally agree with your comment!