[timskorn]

I've had some detailed reviews, some in the middle, and some pretty short. Ever had a review that summarized your story so much, it made it seem really generic? Don't get me wrong, I love that the reader enjoyed it, it's just funny to read such a simplistic rendition of it.

To their credit, I'm sure a lot of reviewers try not to reveal too much in their review either. But it reminds me of a funny summary I read once about Romeo & Juliet: Two teenagers fall in love in three days and then kill themselves. Doesn't quite do the actual story justice, but it gets the point across! lol

What's your best review that boils down your complex story into a trite dime-store novel?

 

[Janet Michelson]

My book IS a trite dime-store novel, so there's no problem!

 

[timskorn]

Maybe mine is too and I'm just in denial! 

 

[Quiss]

Yeah, pulp fiction all the way!

I'm still trying to figure out if "I'm a sucker for a happy end" is a spoiler.

 

[Victorine]

My personal favorite from Not What She Seems:

"Well...It's Different...A lot of weird things go on in this book, yet it is a good story. Many things you would never expect."

 

[OliviaF]

My favorite description of my first book:

"This is NOT a book if one is expecting a Twilight type 'romance' - it is not. It is more mature and realistic for it's time period with actual growth of the character in the end."

 

[RoseInTheTardis]

I feel like this is why writing summaries/synopsis/blurbs is so hard. If you boil anything down enough, the plot can sound stale, silly, or any number of negatives. I attempted one of those Twitter pitch contests once but every time I fit my story into 140 characters (less, with the hashtag) I was like "No one will want to read this."

 

[timskorn]

Yeah, pulp fiction all the way!

I'm still trying to figure out if "I'm a sucker for a happy end" is a spoiler.

Hmm...that is tough. I don't want to know if it's happy or not, even if I'm expecting a happy end. Knowing that whatever drama unfolds will be worked out in the end is sort of a spoiler...even though that's an expected story arc.

Victorine: I wonder if some people are really afraid of giving anything away in a review. I think a lot of people don't feel inspired to write much more than that, either. What benefit is there for them to write a one-page review over a one-sentence review?

In the end, it's great that anyone feels compelled to write anything about our books. It's also interesting to see how a story is seen from someone else's POV. Different people relate to them in different ways.

 

[Kathleen Valentine]

My book IS a trite dime-store novel, so there's no problem!

*snicker*

I got a review on my two revenge short stories that said something like "one story is people talking about making sausage and the other is about a guy driving around thinking up ways to kill a girl he knew in high school." Short, concise, and totally off the mark.

 

[Guest]

This one from Goodreads made me smile:

"Really a novella. Sci Fi in its classic form with a naked passenger thrown in for interest."

 

[Kia Zi Shiru]

This one always makes me laugh (let's forget the fact that somehow non of my characters ever have piercings... Maybe I should change that).

"This is teenage angst at its best, sparse, polished, and sharp like a Goth piercing."

Also, this doesn't sound too bad as a blurb right?

"Black Sheep: Letting go of the Past is a heartbreaking tale of a young man fighting to survive his demons to be able to move on."  (Yeah, story has no fantasy elements )

 

[Andrea Harding]

As a reader, I hate spoilers in reviews. I try my hardest never to mention anything about plot - I'll talk about character, the writing, what I like, what I don't like - but these days I hardly ever talk about the story itself!

I think half the battle with a GOOD review is making sure that it's intriguing enough to entice someone into reading it.

Anyway, I'm off topic. But I once read a review of a book before I read it and it just said 'I find Clowns really creepy and scary now.' The asshat gave away the only possible plot spoiler with that one sentence.

 

[timskorn]

This one from Goodreads made me smile:

"Really a novella. Sci Fi in its classic form with a naked passenger thrown in for interest."

lol...some funny stuff here. I guess he was just kind of cruising along until the naked passenger part came along and he sat up and said, "Oh here we go. Now this is different!!"

 

[swolf]

"This is the finest entry I have found in the shopworn "I discover a close relative having cyber sex and I move in to see if I can get a little bit of that myself" category."

I never realized it was a category, let alone shopworn, but at least he liked it and gave it four stars.

 

[Guest]

lol...some funny stuff here. I guess he was just kind of cruising along until the naked passenger part came along and he sat up and said, "Oh here we go. Now this is different!!"

I guess...

 

[Elizabeth Ann West]

You've never had the fun that is #shakespearein8words on Twitter!