If you’ve followed KEEPER BOOKSHELF through various social media you will have noticed that things around here have really slowed down in the past month.

There is a reason for that and I’d like to take a moment to explain.  (I know I don’t have to but I value every single visitor and you should know why I’ve been more quiet lately.)

1.  Cataracts – yeah need the left eye’s cataract removed so I can actually see again.
2.  Moving – we had the sudden opportunity to move from our apartment into a house and grabbed it with both hands – but that meant moving in under 4 weeks  Yikes!
3.  And the final nail yesterday – Knee Replacement Surgery in early March.  *sigh*

It seems that 2016 is hitting hard on the “needs to be taken care of NOW” kinda things in life.  Oh, I’m not complaining really – my life could be far, far worse so I’m grateful for the blessings I have – and the intervention on all of these things that will make it “all good” in time.  Time, there’s that word again.

So, we move in 6 1/2 days now  *gulp* and of course I’m not ready.  Wait for the internet connections shouldn’t be more than a day (fingers crossed) so hopefully I can get back on track and plan ahead for March/April within a week.

If you don’t see my reviews or these little comment rants of mine – don’t worry, I’ve not left the building, just stepped out of the room for a short break.  I keep telling myself that by Summer things will be so much better – it’s the getting there that’s the scary part.

I just finished reading a really good article for Indie writers on how to handle receiving bad reviews.  And it made me think that perhaps the Three Stars review has gotten kind of a bad rap lately.

Now I totally understand why every author wants to see Five Stars – I do, honestly.

But please, don’t look down on the Three Stars review as if that person didn’t like or worse, hated your baby.  It doesn’t mean that – to me, for certain – nor to most other reviewers either.

I can only speak for myself – but to me those Three Stars mean that your book was good, entertaining and I’d recommend it to a friend.  I see nothing wrong with that description.  I didn’t hate it.  I didn’t love it to pieces either.  But I liked it, I enjoyed my time in your world and I can honestly say to my best friend –  you gotta pick up this XYZ book ‘cos it’s really good.  There is no hate involved there, at all.  I “get” that to an author it’s always going to be somewhat personal because this is your creation.  But those lovely Three Stars simply mean that I liked it.

I doesn’t mean that those who review for the big news agencies or magazines and get paid for giving their opinion – or the new book blogger who is sitting at their home computer late in the night after the kids are in bed are that much different in their valued opinions either.  Any review is that particular person’s reaction to an author’s words.

(I’ll make an exception here for the obvious Trolls who wouldn’t know a good book if it hit them upside the head… they don’t count and never will.)

While I take the rating system of Goodreads or Amazon into consideration when deciding how many stars any book gets – ultimately what it comes down to is whether I’d tell my friend about your book.  Would I rave?  Would I say it’s great?  Would I tell them to run out and buy it ‘cos my copy is sacred now and cannot have a broken spine?  Is it a good fast read for those times you only have an hour or so of quiet time?  Is it something that will stick in your head long after the final word is read?  These are the things that tell me how many “stars” to award any book.  And, yeah, I’ve given my favorite author of all times a Three Stars review, because that particular novel deserved it… In My Opinion.

Authors, writers – please I beg you — think like Michael in The Godfather,  “It’s business, it’s not personal.”  My thoughts in a review of your precious baby are just that – my personal opinion.  I’m never “reviewing the author” – I’m talking about your book… and how I reacted to it.  Someone else may have a completely different reaction – and that is perfectly fine.  ‘Cos last time I checked we’re not robots just yet – and we all get to put in our two cents worth on what we think.  But it’s not the end of the world or a writer’s career.  It’s just my opinion and a Three Stars review is saying I liked what you did there, good job.

Have you ever had those moments when you read something and then just sat back and went.. what the______?

Yeah, me too – just now.  And I’m tired and annoyed enough to toss caution to the wind and say something about it.

I was putting up an Amazon review for a book I just finished and scheduled for later next month, and while there I looked over some of the other reviews (something I’ll do after I’ve gotten mine done and ready to drop – okay, so I’m nosy).

There was a glowing review for this story (and it is an amazing, fun, sexy and entertaining story) – but I’ll be damned if I believe we read the same story because some serious facts were, let’s say scrambled up a bit.

The review states that our hero, a bear shifter, walks into town and finds out that his secret of being a bear shifter has been discovered.  Ahmm… no.  He’s a sheriff who in the very first few pages of the book makes clear that this is a shifter friendly town, heck he even humorously wonders if the towns folk voted for him specifically because of the old “bear shifters are lucky to have around” legend.  So… no, no big shifter secret discovery.  The review goes on to note that our heroine looks up when the sheriff walks into the diner where she works and is excited to see him because she’s been attracted to him for some time now.  Ah, no.  She’s been framed, is on the run and when she sees the sheriff (for the very first time ever) enter through the door she is panicked and ready to run out the back but she holds it together on the off chance that he doesn’t know that she’s a fugitive.   *sigh*

Look, I know that often times we are reading three books in three different formats, and at times details get messed up.  All human here, we make mistakes.  I just… feel bad for the author when I run across that type of review.  Because the story this person talks about on Amazon isn’t the story that someone is going to read after they’ve purchased it based on this review.  And that is not going to reflect back on the reviewer, more than likely it’s going to point right back to the author.  And that’s not fair.

So, yeah – sometimes I wonder if I’ve read the same book as other people.  And it’s not just this one example but this one kind of broke the seal on my annoyance this morning.  Am I going to regret posting this?  Hmmm… no.  It’s my opinion and my blog so nope not regretting it one bit.  I simply wish that if a reader is going to take the time and effort to put up their thoughts on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or anywhere retail – that they actually tell the general facts of the story they’re talking about… not start writing a whole new book.  If I’m reading reviews before I plop down my hard earned money for something to read, I want to know about the actual book and not be disappointed when it doesn’t match up with the basic facts in a review.

We have a family move coming up in the next few weeks.  Finally leaving apartment living and going to the house.  I cannot wait!

It’s the getting to the finally unpacked and home part that’s the major pain in the butt.

This opportunity came up suddenly – but it was impossible to pass up.. so I’ve a lot of packing to do, changing address forms to fill out and sleepless nights ahead.  But I’m telling myself I can sleep in the new house with no neighbors loud music or fire alarm bells ringing (usually false but still) – I may sleep for a week but it’s gonna be So Worth It.

So, why this post?  Well, I’m going to be offline a lot in the next few weeks.  I’ve some scheduled posts up and coming – plus I’ll try to hop on for an hour or so during coffee breaks when I can.

I will apologize from my heart for any inconvenience this sudden move will make on my reviewing commitments.  But frankly – this was something I simply could not say no to… so I’ll be around just not as much until some time in February.

…now where did I leave that masking tape and marker?