Because I’m Not Looking For the Next Moby Dick
Not every novel is going to be the next great masterpiece. That doesn't mean it's not a perfectly enjoyable 4 or 5 star read. I’ve caught some flack recently for my “lack of 3 star reviews.” Because, after all, how can everything I read be that good? Well, that’s a good question. First let me dispel one myth: yes, almost everything I have read in the last 2 years has been THAT good. Maybe I’ve been lucky in my choices. Most, well actually almost all, of the books I’ve read in the last 2 years have been recommendations from friends and other readers. I’ve been reading the books they already loved. And once I find an author I love, I tend to read their backlists, their ARCs, and their new releases. These are novels from authors I know I already love, so yeah, I expect them to be good when I dive into page 1. Fortunately, I haven’t been disappointed. Yay me! And yay authors!
Perhaps another element is that maybe I look for different things in a book than other readers and reviewers. Actually, I think every reader and reviewer brings things to a book they read that will make their reading experience different. It could be anything from the last book they read, to life experiences that mirror the plot, to their current headspace when they start reading. I guess whatever frame of mind I’m in, one thing that doesn’t really change for me is that I’m not expecting everything I read to be the next great classic novel. I don’t need an epic to be a happy reader. Sure I love a big, thick, girthy novel to immerse myself in. I’m not going to turn down 484 pages of Brennan. Or Dominic Russo. Or Jesse . Or Moon. But I’m also not going to turn my nose up at 265 pages of Tracker , Dalton , or Jericho . Some are exactly as they're meant to be within their lower numbers of pages, full of action, steam, and emotion. There is definitely something to be said for quality over quantity. Relatable characters, a solid story, intense action, and intense relationships can be built on a solid foundation with succinct wording and excellent plot pacing.
Still other books lead their authors down rabbit holes that build suspense, deep character backgrounds, and intense slow build relationships. And I love those, too. I don’t see a lengthy slow burn as lacking pace and steam. Rather, I savor the buildup waiting for the inevitable plummet into intensity that may only encompass the last 30% of the book. But, man, that 30% is wicked passionate and fiercely powerful. Don’t believe me? Read anything by LJ Evans. Slow burn perfection!
No matter which book I’m reading, one thing always sticks in my mind: length doesn't relate to rating. Connection does. (Wait, did I just make a “length doesn’t matter” statement in regards to something romance novelly? Anyway…) I need to feel a connection to the characters and their story. My ratings and reviews don’t come from word count, they come from the connections I feel. Immerse me in the events of a story, and you’ll own my mind. Bring the emotions, and you’ll own my heart. Make me want to share everything in the book with everyone I know, and you know you own my soul. And yes, I can find that in a rom-com just as much as I can a slowburn, gut wrenching, tear jerker.
I read a comment recently where a reader made the claim that (and I’m paraphrasing because the screenshot I took made me so angry that I deleted it, because who needs this kind of negativity) everyone knows that ARC readers are liars, so the first reviews for a book are disposable. And yeah, it made me sooo angry. Because, dammit, what a sucky obnoxious thing to say! Why the heck would an arc reader need to lie in a review. A review is an opinion. And an ARC review is just as valid of an opinion as someone who reads the book from an author’s backlist years after it’s published. I’ve read several ARC and early publication reviews that were negative and sometimes downright mean. Did they lie? Were they posting that review just to be malicious? I would hope not, because I like to think that doesn’t happen with people who choose to spend their time on something so amazing as reading. I just think they read the book differently than the other readers. They were looking for something else, and when they didn’t get it, they wrote an honest expression of that in their feedback. If that wasn’t their intent, then shame on them. Because, damn, that’s a really horrible thing to do to an author.
And yes, I’ve read books I didn’t really connect with- as ARCs, as new releases, and from an author’s backlist. And you know what? I chose not to review them rather than leave a negative review. Because in my mind, those books just weren’t for me. And that’s ok. Because while I might consider a Kayley Loring or Pippa Grant rom-com to be just as pivotal and epic as A.M. Johnson’s Let There Be Light, Avery Maxwell’s Saving His Heart , or Brittney Sahin’s The Broken One, I know that’s not the same for everyone else. And that’s ok. After all, I know people who believe Moby Dick is brilliant classic literature and extol its praises to anyone who will listen. I am not that reader. And I am brilliantly ok with that.
So here’s my recommendation: read what brings you joy. Read what brings you pleasure. Read the novel you need right now. And immerse yourself in the beauty of what it is intended to be. No matter how many pages, what genre or tropes are involved, or what anyone else thinks about it. And be confident in your ability to love it for what it brings to you. And only you.
