As I’ve said on here repeatedly, I respect reviewers. I truly do. It takes guts to be a reviewer, especially a good one. So when I read a review of my book and they don’t see it just the way I did when I wrote it, I fight down the urge to tell them they read it wrong. Remember that scene in The Princess Bride (my favorite movie of all time)? When Grandpa Peter Falk is reading the story to grandson Fred Savage and he gets to the part where Westley dies, the grandson says, “You read that wrong!” Well, that’s the scene that plays in my head the first time I read a review.

Then I stop and think. Maybe they didn’t read it wrong. Maybe I wrote it wrong. Or maybe, just maybe I wrote it wrong for that particular reader. That’s what I call the “ow” moment. The moment when I really realize, “You just can’t please everyone.”

And so, continuing in my tradition of reporting all intelligent reviews, I have to admit, I got one yesterday that didn’t totally agree with me. However, because I felt the reviewer had really thoroughly read my book and given it a fair chance, I thanked the reviewer, and I’m reporting the review here. Here’s the most positive quote I could pull out of the review:

I had some really high hopes and expectations for this book, and while there were some parts I definitely enjoyed, I hate to say that overall, this one really didn’t work that well for me. –The Book Pushers, D+

I may have to stop reading reviews eventually. I know I’m getting too caught up in them when I take that “+” as a real positive. 😉

On the brighter side, Book Reviews & More by Kathy (who did like my book) is offering a copy of WHERE THE HEART LIES as part of the Winning Wednesday contest. Find out how to enter to win here: Winning Wednesday. And I’m leaving the entries open for another hour or so on my Amazon gift card giveaway. You can enter that here: Where the Heart Lies: In Hillsborough, N.C.

And that about sums it up. If you have read Where the Heart Lies and wouldn’t mind rating it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, I would be eternally grateful. I have been blown away by the response to this book (positive and negative), and I look forward to seeing where it goes.