Novel Ink: Books We're Scared of Reading Due to Ratings/Reviews

Books We're Scared of Reading Due to Ratings/Reviews

Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 12:00 AM

Have you ever been SO excited for a book, you preorder it, and you anxiously await its release date. Then as that date keeps getting closer and closer, you keep seeing negative reviews, so you go check out Goodreads only to see a 3.4 rating?

Or you see a book that looks interesting at a book store so you grab it, then when you get home, you check out reviews and see that they aren't so great, and the Goodreads ratings are even worse?

Does this change your excitement for the book?

Today, Erica and I are going to share with you some of the books that we were SUPER excited to read, only to become scared of reading those books once we saw reviews/ratings.

Christy's List:

Erica's List:

Have you ever been scared to read a book after seeing negative reviews? What are some books that you were hesitant to pick up?

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Christy

Christy is a 27 year old wife, mother, nursing student and self proclaimed book addict. When she's not busy spending time with her family or learning to save lives, you can find her with a book in her hands, and a smile on her face.

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rowangalathynius 12p · 532 weeks ago

Haha, actually, no! I don't preorder books much, and when i do so I do it for the library, but I actually don't check ratings till after I've read the book!
My recent post Book Blitz: Parched by Georgia Clark

2 replies · active 532 weeks ago

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Stephanie@Bookfever · 532 weeks ago

Yes, actually. I mostly give the books that have negative reviews a shot but there's always something in the back of my mind going like, what if it sucks? I do try not to read the negative reviews but sometimes they just jump out at ya, you know. I'm actually also hesitant to read Suspicion because I've seen people not liking it all that much. Eesh...
My recent post Waiting On Wednesday: The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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Lucia 94p · 532 weeks ago

This happens to me from time to time. I am glad I am not the only one :)
My recent post LIFE CHANGING READS #2: How Krista & Becca Ritchie restored my faith in New Adult genre

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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jeannius88 122p · 532 weeks ago

Yess, I totally regret it when I buy or request a book for review and then all the negative reviews roll in, which puts me off from reading it. It's a real book nerd problem lol!
My recent post Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick Review: Snowy problematic thriller

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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kindlemom1 · 532 weeks ago

Yes! This happens to me more often than not and especially, if I have already bought the book, it can be so disappointing. But, I have tried books even after the bad ratings everywhere and actually liked it so...it just goes to show that what some like others hates and vice versa.

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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kimbacaffeinate 80p · 532 weeks ago

Yes, this happens to be all the time. It usually involves the last book of a trilogy.
My recent post Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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lexxielin 66p · 532 weeks ago

I tend to look for books I want to read and not look at reviews before I find the time to read the story myself. I have had the opposite problem happen to me - really high ratings, and so my expectations were high and the story fell completely flat for me.
And I preorder books all the time! All my favorite authors are on pre-order, so that I will automatically get my kindle-book on the morning of the release :)

My recent post Waiting on Wednesday #29 – Sisters of Blood and Spirit

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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pin746 51p · 532 weeks ago

Yep I'm definitely affected by it! We Were Liars and Dangerous Girls are both high on my list. Even now I'm still hesitant to read them. I want the plot twist to wow me but at the same time I'm afraid I'd see it coming from a mile away lol....
My recent post WoW #29: The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1) by Jodi Meadows

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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pinkindle89 36p · 532 weeks ago

This doesn't happen to me too often, since I don't generally check ratings for books I want to read. If I think it looks interesting, then that's all that matters. There have been a few times when I added a book to my list, only to read a review from a trusted blogging buddy and promptly removed it. That's usually because there's something they pointed out that I know I'd hate and don't want to bother with it. The most recent case of this was Prince of Venice Beach. I also removed Tumble & Fall from my list, because holy crap, were those ratings awful! Plus my eARC expired and I didn't even know it. I might get it from the library eventually just so I can submit a review to NG, but that won't be until I get to ALL of the ones I actually want to read. :P

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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Sarah · 532 weeks ago

I definitely shy away from books that aren't getting good reviews from people whose opinions I trust, BUT I actually really enjoyed The Boy Next Door. I read it right when it came out, so there weren't any reviews to go by. Was it the best book I've ever read? Not by any means. But I don't feel like it was a complete waste of my life, either.
My recent post 2015 Challenges

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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Killian · 532 weeks ago

While I can't say anything about the books you mentioned, I often have problems pretty similar to this. I always say that, when I buy a book, I won't look at the Goodreads reviews because that will just make me depressed and I'll probably enjoy the book less. And then I go and read the Goodreads reviews and find out that everyone hates the book that I'm reading and I go off it.

However, when it comes to music I have a different approach. While I will quite often read reviews of albums I'm interested in before listening to them I always make sure it's from people I trust and respect, never some random Internet person who can barely string sentences together.

It's a pretty interesting topic so thanks for talking about it!

Killian http://leaf-on-the-breeze.blogspot.ie/
My recent post Album Review: No Cities To Love by Sleater-Kinney (2015)

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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clockbirdstar 6p · 532 weeks ago

I usually ignore the rating of a book, and I try not to read any reviews for it beforehand. But sometimes it's impossible to ignore bad/good buzz making the rounds. I have read some books that were torn apart on goodreads and ended up loving them. :-)

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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Kristen Noel · 532 weeks ago

Oh my goodness! This happens to me ALL THE TIME. My boyfriend will take my phone away from me when we go to the bookstore so I won't back out of getting a book I've been wanting. I always look up the book on Goodreads, and bam. Hopes and dreams crushed! Tumble & Fall is actually on my list! This || close to buying it, and I just had to read the reviews. I've really got to stop doing that!
My recent post Priya in Heels Tour: Review & Giveaway

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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bluekaren 41p · 532 weeks ago

I look at the rating on goodreads after I read the book, or during if I am really struggling. I am reading a book right now I am considering for DNF, I looked on goodreads and see it barely has 3 stars. I should have checked first and saved myself the trouble. Books loose their luster when I see they are poorly rated in general. My reading time is valueable.
My recent post LACY EYE by Jessica Treadway

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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Alex · 532 weeks ago

Skinny looks like a very good, moral-filled book. I've been wanting to read that one for a long time now but just never had interest because of the reviews. If you do get a chance to read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!
My recent post Escape from Netherworld by David Kuklis + GIVEAWAY

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novaxwn 57p · 532 weeks ago

I'm actually the opposite. I get hesitation when a book gets overhyped [unless I'm part of the hype, which sounds so stupid.] Like the Winner's Curse series. I read the first one and it was eh. I don't know why it got so much hype and everyone says the next is so good and I refuse to read it because hype. Plus, I refuse to read VA, TFIOS, The Host and books that have become movies because I feel like they're going to disappoint me.

Also, ahahahaha tumble and fall. I have that one collecting dust on my shelf :')
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Shannon @ ISAM 71p · 532 weeks ago

Um, YES. All the time. And then I don't know WHAT to do. Do I read the thing anyway? Skip it? Or (and this is what usually happens) say I WILL read it, just not right now, and then read it on the 17th of Never. I am currently hesitant to pick up The Fire Sermon, though I'd been really wanting to read it. And Scripted. And I Was Here. Gah, too many!
My recent post Review: Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

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kirstymstudio 102p · 532 weeks ago

YUP, and recently Suspicion, too. :( IT'S SO PRETTY (should've known, really) .This is exactly why I don't check out books to review before I read them (obviously I see the rating, which does make me sad if it's low, but I still give it a go) with books I buy myself, have to otherwise It'll just take up space on my shelf. I also get that way when I see high ratings too, and it's all Red Queens fault, since it's still at 4.02 (and I think it was that or higher when I went to read it and DNF'D) so basically, I DON'T TRUST ANY RATINGS. NOPE. Though, mostly my safe zone is 3.70-4.0, when I know there's a good chance I'll like it.
My recent post Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award (Part 2)

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musicplusbooks 59p · 531 weeks ago

I know exactly what you mean! No matter how excited I am for a book, if it's Goodreads rating is under a 3.5, I do get put off by it. Almost all (if not all) the books on your list are ones that I've been rather put off by. >< I've also scared to read The Here and Now because it's getting a tonne of bad reviews. D:
My recent post STS #56: Must Catch Up With ARCs

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Pam@YA Escape · 531 weeks ago

I totally understand what you guys are saying. Sometimes I think it may be better to not read reviews and have almost no idea going in. But at the same time, with so many books to read and so little time, those reviews can help you skip a meh read. So I'm torn!! But yes, when the reviews get under 3.5 stars, that's usually a bad sign, and I'm not sure I've ever loved a book that had such low ratings.
My recent post Stacking the Shelves (79)

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darkeststorm 55p · 531 weeks ago

Yes! And then it's even worse (in a way) when the book has all these low ratings and negative reviews and you end up LOVING it. And then it's like "Well something's obviously wrong with me. Maybe I don't really like it?" Gah. I know what you mean about Tumble and Fall though, I was so excited, then I read some reviews and was like "Nope". Negative reviews/ratings are scary.
My recent post What Is Veronica Mars?

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SandySomewhere · 531 weeks ago

Yes yes yes and yes! Tumble & Fall and The Boy Next Door are both books that I added to my TBR list based on the description, but then the reviews started coming in. Worst than that are the review books that I request based on the description and then other bloggers start reviewing those books and the ratings start dropping. It really pushes down my excited about reading the book. I mean I don't ALWAYS agree with the masses, but often times I do--at least in the general sense. Great topic!

Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know

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samoak 35p · 531 weeks ago

Yes! I have several books that I had added to my TBR pile only to get weary of reading after seeing negative reviews. The Sin Eater's Daughter is the newest one on that list. I've seen several reviews of that one that put a bit of a damper on my excitement to read it. Darkest Touch by Gena Showalter is another one. And now Suspicion since I see it up there. :P

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