Do. Not. Read. Reviews. Period.

On a Facebook group I’m a member of, a fellow writer lamented a scathing reader review they received where they were (literally) told they should seek out another form of employment, because writing wasn’t their forte.

I’ve made no bones about the fact that one of the worst things a writer can do is read their reviews. Newbie writers, at least. You cannot read reviews until you develop a thick skin and don’t let them get to you. A good review will send you soaring, while a bad one will put you in the dumps and make you question your choice to start writing in the first place. (And believe me, writers can do enough of that on their own without reading bad reviews.)

Here is an example, from my book “Love Slave for Two,” of why you shouldn’t read reviews. These are snippets of reivews about the same book.

The. Same. Book.

Keep that in mind as you read these snippets from different reviews to make up one conglomerate. I separated them with /’s:

Oh My God …… I Love this book . Holy Happy Hell  /  I don’t care what people say – it was a great fricking from the beginning to the end.  /  Terrible. That is all I feel like I can say.

The negative reviews already given to this book say it all; poorly planned plot, badly carried out. I only read it out of morbid fascination and curiosity as to whether it would improve. It didn’t.  /  This book was my first menage erotic romance novel and it was amazing! I’ve become a fan of menage things because of this book!  /  Despite the very cheesey title of this book…it is very good. It is long and as a reader you feel very involved in the story.

I’m not going to rehash a synoposis of the book since amazon has done that well enough and it’s covered in other reviews. This is a very well written book with well developed characters and a solid storyline that focuses on the developing friendship and romantic relationships of the three main characters.  /  I wanted to shoot Nevie, the big bawl baby main character, with my husband’s 45 by the time I got to the middle of the book.  /  It was incredible for me. I so enjoyed the love the triad shared and the depth of their relationships. I was NEVER bored.

This story was sooo good & so steamy!  /  Man was disappointed! When I buy erotic fiction, I actually want it to be erotic. Yes there definately needs to be a plot and the characters need to be developed but there has to be sex, a lot of it, and it has to be good. While there were a couple of moments where I thought, ok here we go, for the most part I had to force myself to keep reading.  /  I have to say this is the best book I have ever read and I have read plenty! Tymber Dalton is very gifted in making you believe that you are the character in the story or at least standing on the side lines watching. I stayed hot and bothered all the way to the last page! This is one of those books that you just can not put down.

Bottom line this book gets a 5. From the intense love scenes to the dynamics of their relationship, this is must have book to add to your collection. Don’t let this one pass you by!  /  This book was okay, average if you will, but I’ll probably forget about this Tymber Dalton novel as soon as the review is posted.  /  You will find this to be a memorable read! The characters are well written and clearly defined. It was exciting to see the changes in Nevvie as she becomes confident and strong in the arms of her loves. An emotional story with compelling characters is a winner, and with that combination we can overlook some of passages that seem a little wordy.  /  The three main characters are well rounded and I felt like I knew them as people, not just sex objects, at the end of the book. These characters know how to have fun and enjoy blistering sex on the same day. In fact, I was sorry to see the story end. The sex is hot and interesting, but not dark.  /  This book made me laugh, cry and grab a fan repeatedly.

What a let down and I wasn’t expecting much to begin with!  /  Love Slave for Two was a well written book. There was a detail in character development that you don’t often see in books of this nature.  /  Tastefully written and intoxicating erotic, LOVE SLAVE FOR TWO is addictively passionate. I could not stop reading this book and could have cried when it ended. Instead, I went back to page one and read it again! Tymber Dalton is now on my list of ménage writing authors to watch!  /  Love Slave For Two will always be on my keeper list. This story has stayed with me and I have reread it three times!  /  This book was long winded and did not live up to what I expected. It’s okay.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Way to go Tymber, you are now my favorite!  /  I’m sure I’ll get slammed for this review by someone, but seriously? 5 stars? eh, 1 and a half at best.  /  Well, I read it from a kindle, so I don’t know the # of pages….but the books is long, about 3 times the length of an average book. The sex is good (great)…and there is true romance. I loved it, and have now read it twice.  /  Bottom line this book gets a 5. From the intense love scenes to the dynamics of their relationship, this is must have book to add to your collection. Don’t let this one pass you by!  /  All in all, Love Slave for Two is a three-star. It’s average. I’ll continue to read Dalton but won’t pick this one up again.  /  Yeeeuuk, bleeuk, icky, poo. WASTE.  /  I highly recommend this book if you enjoy fully developed characters (which doesn’t happen in a lot of erotica)and explicit sex between loving partners.  /  Another beautifully written story – thanks Tymber!

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Okay, NOW can you understand why writers are fricking crazy?? LOL I mean, you can look at that amalgam and wonder if some of them even read the same book.

And again I say, dear newbie writers, DO NOT READ REVIEWS! LOL

(If you’d like to read “Love Slave for Two,” you can find the links HERE.)