Someone really hates me...
I've always believed that when you put a book or story out on the marketplace, you'd better be prepared for any kinds of reviews. That's the nature of the business, and reviewers shouldn't be under any obligation to cushion the blow to spare the author's feelings if they didn't enjoy the story.
That being said, I just got a really virulent review which made me believe that the reader may not quite have understood what my book is about. Here's the review, in blue, with my comments.
Rife with sexism. I've always found fantasy books that use sexism as a major plot point to be tired and dreadfully boring.
Before the Storm is set in a land that's based on Victorian England, which wasn't exactly known for its enlightened and modern views on women's rights. I tried to make this clear from the story.
Seriously, you couldn't think of anything else? You had to make life miserable for all your female characters?
I had to make life miserable for the heroine, Alex, because I doubt the story would have been very gripping if she had started out married, pregnant, rich, safe and happy.
But life wasn't miserable for Lady Victoria or Susanna, so I'm not sure where this criticism came from. They don't exactly have an easy time of it in the battle, but it's a battle, what can they expect? They survive it, they're not injured and Victoria becomes the Word of the High Quorum in the end, so she's not at all miserable. As for Susanna, even her dog was fine at the end of the battle.
Furthermore, I just got the impression that the book was written by a dirty old pervert.
Excuse me, I am not old.
And this is all the more strange when you consider that my publisher, Samhain, routinely releases gay romances, menages and possibly BDSM (I haven't checked on that). I think there's even a book with one woman and five guys. Compared to that, Before the Storm is pretty vanilla. There's one sex scene which I think is hot but which isn't exactly going to give the Kama Sutra a run for its money.
But perhaps that the half-naked couple on the cover, the blurb and the fact that the book was released by a romance/erotica publisher didn't warn the reader that the book would contain sex. For that, I am sorry.
That being said, I initially intended to give this two stars, because the writing itself isn't the worst I've come across. But, in the end, I was rolling my eyes too much at the lame misogyny that I couldn't abide giving it more than it deserved.
Well, at least there was one compliment in the review.
Don't waste your time on this one. I recommend finding a fantasy with a decent heroine that can stand up for herself and doesn't take people's constant crap.
...You know, I think I'll just provide a link to the first chapter, so that anyone who's curious can see just how Alex stands up for herself. I'm really not sure what the reader would have wanted her to do under those circumstances.
Oh well. Can't win 'em all.
That being said, I just got a really virulent review which made me believe that the reader may not quite have understood what my book is about. Here's the review, in blue, with my comments.
Rife with sexism. I've always found fantasy books that use sexism as a major plot point to be tired and dreadfully boring.
Before the Storm is set in a land that's based on Victorian England, which wasn't exactly known for its enlightened and modern views on women's rights. I tried to make this clear from the story.
Seriously, you couldn't think of anything else? You had to make life miserable for all your female characters?
I had to make life miserable for the heroine, Alex, because I doubt the story would have been very gripping if she had started out married, pregnant, rich, safe and happy.
But life wasn't miserable for Lady Victoria or Susanna, so I'm not sure where this criticism came from. They don't exactly have an easy time of it in the battle, but it's a battle, what can they expect? They survive it, they're not injured and Victoria becomes the Word of the High Quorum in the end, so she's not at all miserable. As for Susanna, even her dog was fine at the end of the battle.
Furthermore, I just got the impression that the book was written by a dirty old pervert.
Excuse me, I am not old.
And this is all the more strange when you consider that my publisher, Samhain, routinely releases gay romances, menages and possibly BDSM (I haven't checked on that). I think there's even a book with one woman and five guys. Compared to that, Before the Storm is pretty vanilla. There's one sex scene which I think is hot but which isn't exactly going to give the Kama Sutra a run for its money.
But perhaps that the half-naked couple on the cover, the blurb and the fact that the book was released by a romance/erotica publisher didn't warn the reader that the book would contain sex. For that, I am sorry.
That being said, I initially intended to give this two stars, because the writing itself isn't the worst I've come across. But, in the end, I was rolling my eyes too much at the lame misogyny that I couldn't abide giving it more than it deserved.
Well, at least there was one compliment in the review.
Don't waste your time on this one. I recommend finding a fantasy with a decent heroine that can stand up for herself and doesn't take people's constant crap.
...You know, I think I'll just provide a link to the first chapter, so that anyone who's curious can see just how Alex stands up for herself. I'm really not sure what the reader would have wanted her to do under those circumstances.
Oh well. Can't win 'em all.