Books with ALL Five-Star Reviews.

[KirbyTails]

On my twitter, I keep seeing one or two authors who promote their books saying "[X] Five Star Reviews! [Title]" or whatever.

Then, when I click their links, that is ALL they have.

So then, these people are either REALLY phenominal authors, or else they have a large extended family willing to give them 5-star reviews.

At least, that's my thought process.

What are your thoughts?

[Millard]

On my twitter, I keep seeing one or two authors who promote their books saying "[X] Five Star Reviews! [Title]" or whatever.

Then, when I click their links, that is ALL they have.

So then, these people are either REALLY phenominal authors, or else they have a large extended family willing to give them 5-star reviews.

At least, that's my thought process.

What are your thoughts?

I don't know that it seems that fishy. That always comes up as an accusation, but I don't really buy it. Most people are only inspired to leave a review if they really loved or really hated something. My guess is that the ratio of 1/5 to 2/3/4 star reviews is skewed enough that you're not going to see that many 2/3/4 star ratings unless it's a product with a ton of reviews.

With that in mind, anyone who brags about that in promotion looks kinda dumb and needy.

[Krista D. Ball]

If you have under 5 reviews, it's easy to happen.
If you have over 5 reviews, I start to question it.

[KirbyTails]

If you have under 5 reviews, it's easy to happen.
If you have over 5 reviews, I start to question it.

Ha ha, yeah, 5 or so 5-star reviews isn't bad. In this case, though, a few of these people had something like 30+ reviews. o.O

[JRTomlin]

On my twitter, I keep seeing one or two authors who promote their books saying "[X] Five Star Reviews! [Title]" or whatever.

Then, when I click their links, that is ALL they have.

So then, these people are either REALLY phenominal authors, or else they have a large extended family willing to give them 5-star reviews.

At least, that's my thought process.

What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are that without some reason to say that, it is pretty mean spirited and yes, this does somewhat hit home. For a very long time I had nothing but 5-star reviews on Freedom's Sword and was quite sure there were people out there calling me a cheat and a liar because of it. *sigh*

Nope, not from friends and family. From LibraryThing who are notorious about being tough reviewers. If I could get my family to read my novels I would count it as a major victory.

Then it got some 4-star reviews but I figured people were still saying the same thing. Five days ago, 10 months after it came out it got its 22nd review which was its first 3-star review.

So my thoughts are that maybe you should have some reason for saying that besides that a lot of people may like the book in question. Would I tweet that particular tweet? No. But I wouldn't post accusing them of being cheats either.

So when I only had 5 5-star reviews I was honest but when I had 10 5-star and 10 4-star I was an obvious cheat? Hmmmm...

[R. Doug]

I wouldn't say it was fishy, but I certainly would like to know what they're using for bait.

Sorry.  Couldn't resist.

The first group of reviewers for almost any new book are most likely going to be from the author's friends and family, so the first half-dozen or so are probably going to be skewed in favor of the high end of the rating system.  Beyond that, well . . . .

[Zelah Meyer]

If all the reviews for a title are glowing, I sometimes check what other things the reviewers have reviewed.

I'm not talking about five star reviews saying that they enjoyed/loved the book (and, importantly - why.)  I'm talking about people who fail to describe anything about the plot but say it's the greatest book they've ever read and how 'it's just like *insert name of best seller* and if you love that, you'll love this one!'

If I check out a book that's purely the latter, I tend to just click the little X in the top right hand corner of the screen... I figure it's got to be bad if they're desperate enough to get fake reviews.

[KirbyTails]

My thoughts are that without some reason to say that, it is pretty mean spirited and yes, this does somewhat hit home. For a very long time I had nothing but 5-star reviews on Freedom's Sword and was quite sure there were people out there calling me a cheat and a liar because of it. *sigh*

Nope, not from friends and family. From LibraryThing who are notorious about being tough reviewers. If I could get my family to read my novels I would count it as a major victory.

Then it got some 4-star reviews but I figured people were still saying the same thing. Five days ago, 10 months after it came out it got its 22nd review which was its first 3-star review.

So my thoughts are that maybe you should have some reason for saying that besides that a lot of people may like the book in question. Would I tweet that particular tweet? No. But I wouldn't post accusing them of being cheats either.

So when I only had 5 5-star reviews I was honest but when I had 10 5-star and 10 4-star I was an obvious cheat? Hmmmm...

And I don't necessarily want to be accusatory. But I have seen some suspicious reviews in the past. I once saw a book with a single review that said something like, "You have not reached enlightenment until you've read this book." What?

[JRTomlin]

And I don't necessarily want to be accusatory. But I have seen some suspicious reviews in the past. I once saw a book with a single review that said something like, "You have not reached enlightenment until you've read this book." What?

I have also seen suspicious reviews, but you are saying in effect that ANYONE who has good reviews is a cheat.

[ShaunaG]

It actually bugs me that people say this. Yeah, sure some friends and family are going to read and review your book and they're probably going to have glowing things to say, but does that mean all of them are? For my YA series, book 1 has 15 reviews on Amazon, all 4 and 5 stars (I have some  2 and 3 stars on GoodReads) and only two of those 15 are people I know, my mom (heh) and a friend, but she read it before we became friends. We met at a neighborhood bbq, she found out I was a writer and looked up my book. The rest are from readers and bloggers - the bloggers are ones I've reached out to and asked them to read it and review it and got lucky that they all seemed to enjoy it.

I agree with the idea that you should look and see what is being said in the review and how many reviews they've done. When I see 1 star reviews and 5 star reviews from people who have never ever reviewed anything else, I start to question that.

[Millard]

Maybe we all have our KDP author eyes in though. Are regular customers so suspicious about reviews?

I was actually relieved the first time I got a four star review for a book that had, up to that point, gotten nothing but fives, but maybe that's just the KDP AUTHOR MIND.

[KirbyTails]

I have also seen suspicious reviews, but you are saying in effect that ANYONE who has good reviews is a cheat.

I'm sorry. I really did not want to come off as generally accusing everybody. Like I said above, it's one thing if the person has a few 5 star reviews...its when they have a ton, and it's all they have, that I begin to wonder. That said, there are some phenominal writers out there who deserve good reviews.

[D a l y a]

In my experience, 5-stars are hard to come by.  (Maybe it will become easier if I can grow as a writer!)

Here is an observation: You probably have to make people cry during the book to get a 5-star.  I suggest having someone lovable die slowly and tragically.  I'm not surprised when books with some tragedy get 5 stars.  (I'm thinking Nicholas Sparks here.)  

Another observation:  Books that lack a strong narrative hook (in my opinion) seem to get better reviews.  I think that when the plot is lacking, people will read on ONLY if they feel a strong personal connection to the author's writing style.  If you write a book with some intriguing mysteries, people might begrudgingly read on to find out "what happens" but then drop a bomb-review on your head after.

I've had friends read books (mine and others) and yet say they didn't like them.  I always ask why on earth did they keep reading.  They say they "wanted to find out what happened."

Now, in my mind, when I want to find out what happens next in a book, I am enjoying that book and will give it a good review.  It's apparent that other folks do not review by the same parameters as I.  :-)

[BrianKittrell]

Reviews follow a very strange trend to me. Mine tend to start off with nothing but 4 and 5 stars, then they'll start getting the 2's and 1's. I think this results from the people who buy based on the good reviews but who find the book not to be of their liking.

In this way, the customer reviews are not as wonderful and amazing as some might say, and everyone really has to check out every aspect of a book before purchasing to see if they think they might enjoy it.

It could very well be a self-inflicted wound for people waiting on reviews alone before they buy; they wait for the reviews, they see high ratings, and then they decide to buy based upon that alone. The only thing true with book buying is that you must figure out if it works for you because no one else can do that for you.

As to the OP's question, it can be a little suspicious sometimes. It depends on the context. If the reviews are basically 26 statements reworded of "OMG AMAZING BOOKM BUY iT NOW OMG", you can't really take it seriously in the first place. A useful review will tell you what they liked, what (if anything) they didn't like, and whether or not they recommend it for other people. The occassional review will "speak to the author", a style which I personally dislike; if you're writing a review, make it for readers. If you want to speak to the author, send them an email.

[JRTomlin]

I am probably over-sensitive on this topic because I have had a couple of novels that early on got very high review rankings. A lot of 5-star reviews. In fact I went so far as to ask a blogger who had given Talon a 3-star review on his site to please put it on Amazon. *I* wouldn't have taken the 5-star reviews Talon received first as serious reviews, but I SWEAR they were from people who had asked for review copies at LibraryThing and it does not have a reputation for having easy reviewers. None were from friends or family.

(My family is generally supportive but they just plain don't tend to read what I write. They sure don't do reviews.)

A Kingdom's Cost has always had a balance of 4 and 5 star reviews, but in the US it's never gotten anything below that. (Edit: Oops. I forgot that 3 weeks ago it got its first 3-star review, its 20th review) So, yeah, I've always been convinced there were people out there who said I faked reviews. If you read most of them (barring Talon lol) they really don't read like fakes though. Still...

I was probably over-sensitive on the subject. I'm sure no personal accusation was intended. Brian does have a point that often the first reviews are high for some reason. Maybe it's that people who review either love it or hate it.

[BrianKittrell]

I was probably over-sensitive on the subject. I'm sure no personal accusation was intended. Brian does have a point that often the first reviews are high for some reason. Maybe it's that people who review either love it or hate it.

Well, there are a number of things that probably go into it. One thing I have seen is that once someone notices a plot hole, a negative thing, a missing word, or something like that and posts the 1-star, several other people will eventually follow suit. It's like they didn't notice it before, but a review comes in and suddenly, that's the flavor of the week.

Some will boost up a low rating if they feel like the average is too low, and others will rate it far lower than they might have originally if the rating is too high for them. I've had that happen before (he left 2 1-star reviews solely to reduce the average rating).

But, these things will happen, and rarely will Amazon do anything about it. If you think reviews are staged, flag or report them and move on. Life's too short.

[JRTomlin]

Oh, well, I don't pay much attention to other people's reviews and *try* not to pay too much attention to my own. That way lies madness.

[cecilia_writer]

I have a book with 29 reviews (various star ratings) on amazon.co.uk the last time I looked, and as far as I am aware none of these are from family and friends, not even the 5* ones, and I haven't faked any of them. It's been a free download for months and has been downloaded tens of thousands of times, so this is why there are so many. My paid novels have only attracted a handful of reviews on Amazon.
I've noticed something similar to what Brian mentioned, that the average star rating tends towards 3* over time but this may just be some sort of statistical thing with everything coming back to the norm!

ps I don't actually read the individual reviews any more as I agree with the previous poster about the madness.

[KirbyTails]

(My family is generally supportive but they just plain don't tend to read what I write. They sure don't do reviews.)

I tried to get my boyfriend to read it and do a review, but it's pretty much impossible to get him to read anything that isn't in audiobook format.

I just got my first review too. It was 3 stars. I'm cool with that in itself, but I can't help but wonder if people will see a thing with my one three star review vs. something with 30 5-star reviews and think, "Well OBVIOUSLY everybody likes this book a lot better!"

Ha, I'm so new at this it's not even funny. It's at the point where I'm suspicious that I've only had sales because my forum friends are taking pity on me and purchasing them in secret, which is pretty ludicrous.

[HeidiHall]

I always want to add a comment to reviews that address me by name saying, "I swear, I don't know this reviewer." But first, I never respond to any review. And, second, it's actually flattering to have a reader feel they know you after reading one of your books. Reviews are a strange beast, but even though I know there are people out there who fake them, I want to believe they are the minority. If there's any doubt, I sample - which I tend to do anyway. I think Indies writers are sensitive to this because we get accused by association. But it's also possible the author has targeted the correct audience and given them what they want. Okay, now I really need to get back to writing or all those reviewers asking for the next in the series are going to revolt

[Terrence OBrien]

Perhaps people who don't like a book drop it and don't waste any more time on it.

[BrianKittrell]

Oh, well, I don't pay much attention to other people's reviews and *try* not to pay too much attention to my own. That way lies madness.

Oh, I agree wholeheartedly. I've read mine and a glimpse others sometimes, but when I feel that twang in the back of my head, I know it's the signal to run away.

[Nell Gavin]

One-star reviews might rankle you, but they're really your friend. There is a widespread suspicion against books with only five-star reviews. This is especially true because readers out there have learned that - sometimes - a one-star review on a book that previously only got five stars disappears within 24 hours. That's because of a really noisy and demanding author who reports the review, and cries, apparently. Those obnoxious authors in the past (I'm talking 2004 or so) made it more difficult for authors to have bad reviews taken down nowadays.

I got a one-star review for Threads on the UK site the other day. I winced. Then sales rose. Apparently the one-star reviewer sold the book for me.

You have to have that mixture. You really, really, REALLY want to dissuade people who are not your audience from buying your book. If a one-star reviewer speaks to those people and talks them out of the purchase, you're blessed. You've just avoided more one-star reviews. Those reviews also speak to people who would like your book. If the reviewer is someone potential readers can't relate to, they'll buy your book BECAUSE of that review.

[Zelah Meyer]

I downloaded a freebie book the other day on the basis of a detailed one star review rather than on the blurb.  OK, so it was free - but I'm still pretty fussy about fiction.  I do push my comfort zone a little and download freebies of stuff I wouldn't usually buy in order to try something new - but it still has to sound like something I might enjoy (and, as mentioned, I'm pretty fussy about fiction!)

The blurb made it sound rather dull and not my sort of thing, the review was complaining that it was too light and they disliked a few other things that I either like or don't mind, so I went for it.  Haven't had the chance to read it yet to see whether that was the right decision or not - but I thought I'd share as confirmation that one star reviews can work in your favour. 

[Chrystalla]

A reader I met on Goodreads contacted me to say he liked my novel, but it wasn't exactly his thing and would give it 3 stars, and if I still wanted him to post it...

I said hell yes!  A review is a review is a review. It's an opinion, and I appreciate it.