First things first: the winner of the remaining RWA giveaway books is…Joanne V. from her comment on the Something New blog entry. Congrats! Email me with your information.
Confused by what, you ask? Review opinions. While paging through Romantic Times (RT) last night I saw that the new ratings system is in place (will discuss that one tomorrow…). Also saw that Suzanne Brockmann’s newest, Into The Storm, got a 4 1/2 Stars Top Pick rating. On the RT scale, that means “fantastic” and the only rating higher is 4 1/2 Gold. None of the romantic suspense offerings this month earned the highest ranking, but Brockmann came close. Reviewer Jill M. Smith said:
Instead of international terrorists, the men and women of Troubleshooters and Seal Team 16 are up against a home-grown horrific killer. The interplay and character development make this story especially entertaining for longtime fans of the series. All of the protagonists are haunted by their own brand of ghosts; how they cope and who they choose to let in ratchet up the emotional drama in another excellently paced, action-filled read. Brockmann delivers yet again!
AAR disagrees. Reviewer Sandy Coleman gave the book a D+. That’s not a good grade. That would be the exact opposite of a good grade, in case you’re confused. Of the book, Coleman says:
Frankly, Into the Storm reads to me as if Brockmann changed her target audience – well, without letting that target audience know, of course – because this truly is a book that doesn’t deliver any of the complexities of those that showcase the author at her best, including Over the Edge and Gone Too Far. From the juvenile dialogue, the childish actions and reactions, and the fact that the plot isn’t really a plot, it seemed as if I were reading an entirely different author despite the familiarity of many of the names.
Now, AAR is known for tough reviews. In the interest of full disclosure, Sandy Coleman gave me a B- for Viva Las Bad Boys!. Frankly, after seeing how NYT bestseller Brockmann got a D+, I was absolutely thrilled with my B-. Coleman said very nice things about my dialogue – something I view to be one of my strengths. She didn’t think my premises were all that probable, but said: “Helen Kay Dimon keeps Brava’s successful Bad Boys franchise moving along nicely with a trio of pleasant stories” [notice how I'm ingoring the fact she spelled my name wrong - for the record, HelenKay is correct but "Helen" and "Helen Kay" are not] and “A perfect book to tuck into a beach bag…” I did find it interesting that she didn’t care for Player’s Club, the second novella in the anthology since, almost universally, people loved Player’s Club. So, this was new. But, again, I didn’t get a D+ so all is well in my household.
Enough about me, back to Brockmann: What’s the real story on the divergent review responses? Review prejudices, different tastes, fangirl v. non fangirl, honest disagreement – I have no idea. Thanks to this dispute, I will have to buy the damn book and decide for myself, which is what I usually do anyway.
Subscribe to Posts
First of all congrats Joanne!
HelenKay,
as a reviewer/reader I can tell you that reviews are really a matter of personal taste. As a reader I like make my own opinion about a book, especially when there are such controversial reviews about it.
by Danny August 11th, 2006 at 2:23 pmi see that a lot too. many differnet tastes. to be honest Suzanne books are given a favorte rating at RT more than rest of romance reviews site. different people opinons is all
by kim h August 11th, 2006 at 4:34 pmI read RT, but I can’t say that I take the reviews to heart as much as some people. I read what sounds interesting to me. We all have different tastes, so it’s hard for me to think of reviews being my only source of choosing reading material. It’s a collection of things, not just one thing.
For the record, I am eagerly awaiting this book by Suz.
by Stacy ~ August 12th, 2006 at 12:59 pmI am not a reviewer but I do review’s for myself and I have put together a Live Journal site where I do add the review’s I did. Incase I ever become a reviewer. But I think people have their own opinions on review’s. I don’t always go by what people say I usually do give the author a chance and read their book and see what I like or don’t like.
I also agree with Danny.
Hugssss
by Linda August 13th, 2006 at 1:43 amLinda.H.
Helen,
I just looked at your photo section. I love the picture’s Looks like you had alot of fun
Hugssss
by Linda August 13th, 2006 at 1:57 amLinda.H.
I don’t know. Brockmann is hit or miss for me, but the AAR review strikes me as a kind of, “not to my taste, therefore not good,” review rather than an objective appraisal of the book’s strengths and weaknesses.
It sounds like she was disappointed on a personal level with the book, and let that color her review just a tad too much.
by cep August 13th, 2006 at 5:01 pm