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.