PJ Review: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
Paranormal Element: Revenants
Series: Revenants #1
Order Online:  Amazon.com

Audiobook review, copy purchased from audible.com

PJ's QUICKIE POV:
To say I didn’t like this book is an understatement – but I finished it. Yep, I trudged through it, hoping beyond hope that at one point it would redeem itself and turn into this brilliant piece of fiction instead of a French spin on Twilight. It never did. So, I’ll do a quick summation of why I didn’t like this book and follow it up with a Die For Me vs. Twilight break down to show just how alike these books really are.

REVIEW:
After the tragic deaths of her parents, Kate Mercier is dragged to Paris by her older, “party girl” sister to reside under the care of her French grandparents. Horribly depressed Kate finds solace in books and museums, rarely socializing with her peers at school. Until she meets über hot, Parisian, Vincent – and Kate’s depression is long forgotten as she slowly falls in love with him. But, as their relationship grows, Kate suspects something isn’t normal about Vincent and in a daring move she forces her way into his “family” and finds out the truth – Vincent is a revenant. An undead being forced to save people as a compulsion. And to make matters worse, like all universal truths every thing must have it’s opposite –Kate is faced with the evil revenants - those whose compulsion it is to kill.

This just drips with yawn worthy material. But, I was struck by the hype. I should have paid attention to more reviews…because the people that are saying it is just like Twilight. Well, they are right – but it came nowhere near being as good as Twilight. Between the hokey dialogue and lovey-dovey phrasing, the semi-formed plot, the silliness of the whole revenant mythology and then the sudden wrap-up at the end, Die For Me was just dead in the water. Don’t waste your money or your time.

To expound on my silliness theory let’s go over the finer points of what is a revenant. A revenant is a person that dies in the act of saving someone’s lives. No one knows why not everyone comes back as a revenant just some do. It takes three days (vampire like) to come back, but then you are “undead” and have to live the rest of your existence with a crazy compulsion to save other people. But, the thing is you “die” when you save other people and each time you “die” you age. You can’t help it, you have to save these people you have to go looking to save people. Then there are the evil revenants who die in pursuit of heinous death crimes. They come back as the opposite – with a compulsion for depravity. So, they buy nightclubs and live in catacombs – so they can kill people. Right.

Now, I know the revenant theory sounds like nothing Twilight-esque so here I will expound on the similarities of the two books. Brace yourself for the snark and spoilers – so if you want to read this book don’t go any further.

KATE	Alike	Not Alike, but still on the same lines	Similar	BELLA
Kate is human	X			Bella is human
Kate moves to Paris after the death of her parents.			X	Moves to Forks after her mom remarries
Kate is severely depressed with her new surroundings.	X			Bella hates Forks and is depressed.
Kate uses books to escape her pain.	X			Bella reads books to get away from her depression
Kate is kind of akward and doesn't think she looks good but is really the hottest thing to hit Paris in a long time.			X	Bella is socially akward and thinks she is ugly, but all the guys think she is hot.
Kate has an older sister who is a party girl and is constantly trying to get Kate out of her shell.		X		Bella has a father that is socially akward also but tries to get Bella to open up.
When Kate sees Vincent her whole world changes and she is suddenly not depressed.	X			When Bella sees Edward she is instantly drawn to him and suddenly Forks isn't so bad.
Kate sees Vincent perform a death-defying feat that makes her question his normality.			X	Bella is rescued by Edward and he performs a death defying feat which proves that he isn't normal.
Kate has no problem when Vincent reveals his non-humanness	X			Bella has no problem when Edward reveals his non-humanness.
Kate breaks up with Vincent because she can't deal with his non-humaness.			X	Edward breaks up with Bella because he can't deal with her humanness.
Kate parties without Vincent but finds life is empty without him.		X		Bella does stupid things like jump off cliffs when they are apart.
Kate tries to sacrafice herself for her love	X			Bella tries to sacrafice herself for her love
Kate posseses talents that no human has ever possessed before when dealing with the revenants.	X			Bella posseses talents that no human has ever possessed before when dealing with the vampires.
VINCENT	Alike	Not Alike, but still on the same lines	Similar	EDWARD
Vincent is a Revenant		X		Edward is a vampire.
Vincent is undead	X			Edward is undead
Vincent is immortal	X			Edward is immortal
Vincent doesn't sleep	X			Edward doesn't sleep
Vincent is plagued by the compulsion to save people's lives		X		Edward is plauged by the compulsion to eat people
Vincent is in-love with a girl that is decades younger than him	X			Edward is in-love with a girl that is decades younger than him
Vincent lives with his "family" a group of pepole that are just like him that he treats like siblings	X			Edward lives with his "family" a group of pepole that are just like him that he treats like siblings
Vincent lives in a big old mansion with lots of rooms where his whole family lives	X			Edward lives in a big old mansion with lots of rooms where his whole family lives
Vincent was just a shell of a man, living his immortal existence with no "joie de vivre" before he met Kate	X			Edward was just a shell of a man, living his immortal existence with no "joie de vivre" before he met Kate

This one did get a 1.5 because the narrator rocked (Julia Whelan)...and I would hate to spoil her craft with a funky 1 skull. Her French accent was perfect with all the French phrasing that Plum shoved in there and French locales and she transitioned the male roles wonderfully even with the French accents.

PJ Review: America Pacifica by Anna North

Genre: Adult, Sci-fi Dystopian
SciFi Element: Dystopian
Order Online:  Amazon.com
ARC provided by Amazon.com for review

PJ's QUICKIE POV:
The growing trend in dystopian fiction has sucked me in, hook, line and sinker. I thought I was getting another gem with AMERICA PACIFICA, the concept seemed so very original. Unfortunately the tone and descriptions of the world ruined it for me within the first few pages. The novel was just too gritty, the descriptions left a terrible taste in my mouth and I felt like I was swallowing back bile as I read through these pages. This, I guess is a remarkable testament to the writers abilities, but I think Ms. North took it too far, for me anyway. I was so busy entrenched in the smell of seaweed, the thought of communal bathrooms, public masturbating, unwashed armpits and greasy hair that I couldn’t attach myself to the character of Darcy. I wanted to wear gloves as I read this book, I didn’t want to bond with the story and main character.

REVIEW:
The dystopian tale of AMERICA PACIFICA takes place on the island of the same name. The main character is Darcy, whom has just turned 18. A generation ago the inhabitants fled North America as it was overrun by glaciers from an impending ice age. The island is a horrendous place to live if you are poor. The poor basically live in shantytowns that are being sucked back into the sea. Darcy is among those poor, her only respite and friend, her mother. Yet, that is taken away from her when her mother disappears and Darcy is forced to search the island for her, finding out more and more about her mother’s past and her role in the creation of AMERICA PACIFICA.

I don’t want to go into specifics, but this novel left me with a bad taste in my mouth. The writing had an abstract and almost dull feel to it, probably to enforce the emotions of the main character who was a recovering huffer - so she herself was a bit abstract and dull. I just didn't want to read about this world and when sex was introduced, but not as a romantic device, but a "user" situation, I knew this just wasn't for me.  The novel had the tone of a Steinbeck novel, that gritty, in-your-face, depressing quality that takes a certain mind-set to get through. Yet, Steinbeck wrote about real issues, real world depression that you could treat as a history lesson and AMERICA PACIFICA was all fantasy which left me unable to relate. I felt no hope while reading this novel, only a disturbing obsessive compulsion to bathe - and I think the human condition to triumph is what makes a dystopian great.

This is a DNF but I made it through 2/3rds of the book so I think it is fair that I gave it a review. I just couldn't take anymore so I put it to rest.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
This is not for the feint of heart. Adults only, sex and violence. I did believe this was a Young Adult novel, because the character was 18 and it was marketed to young adult readers - it is not. Marketing Fail.








Similar Novels

1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

PJ Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Genre: Young Adult,  Dystopian
SciFi Element: Post-Apocalyptic World, Zombies

Order Online:  Amazon.com
Stalk the Author: Web |  Facebook | Twitter
Review copy provided by Amazon Vine.


PJ's QUICKIE POV:
What can I say about BUMPED? Compared to the wonderful dystopian titles that have been released this year, BUMPED, well should be BUMPED, right off the shelf. Rilly, rilly. This book was for shock value only, a controversial topic was picked, expounded upon but was not taken to a logical conclusion. It was all window dressing with no heart or soul. The concept was interesting but the implementation was mind-numbingly vapid and then labeled a satire. Yet, the whole time I was reading it was like a train-wreck - I just couldn't stop, no matter how bad it was.


REVIEW:
In the future of BUMPED adults over the age of 20, because of some widely spread disease  are rendered infertile. It is the patriotic thing to do for teenagers to get pregnant and hand over their babies for adoption. Because of this phenomenon American consumerism takes over and those evil profit moguls step in and begin to exploit teenagers for birthing and money making purposes. Factions form and among the pregnant and wanna-be preggo teens Pros and Ams are made. Pros are girls that are sponsored by couples desperate for children. Their "sperm" is chosen for them and they are given money to stay pristine until their optimal conception time when the hired sperm steps in and they BUMP. Purely professional. Then thre are the Ams, the amateurs who just BUMP with their boyfriends, or in orgy parties, or just with random optimal sperm donors around their school and town. Once conception is achieved there baby goes up for auction.

Melody has been primed for her PRO position since she was a newborn. Her parents, economist, rightly guessed the way the world was heading and prepped their perfectly adopted child to be a high grossing baby making machine. They just didn't expect for Melody's identical twin sister to show up in her godreak attire and change Melody's whole world.

All I can say is that someone was watching a little too many Sixteen and Pregnant on Mtv and came up with this book. Complete train wreck. Let's write a book with a lot of sex talk, religious talk and consumerism talk - squish it all together in one controversial read and let everything sort itself out in the end and so we don't get too heavy, shove in some comedic portrayal and label it a satire. I'm surprised they didn't blame the disease on global warming or conservative thought just to jack up the controversial topics a little bit more.

Because of the statement before, you might think I didn't like this book because it offended me. And honestly, it didn't offend me, because I really couldn't find what stance this book was taking on anything. At first it seemed it was against religion...because of the ridiculous way the "godfreak" sister was portrayed. But as the book progressed it seemed to take a a pro-Christian outlook. I just couldn't garner the message through all the glitz and I think that was my problem. Maybe I just don't get satire. Maybe I need a glowing neon sign that says "Message" for me to get it. In then end the only thing I got out of it was Bump for Love Not Money -- so don't be a prostitute. Good message, but really how many people need to be told that?? LOL

Dislikes -

1. The vapid future speak, words like bump, preggy, rilly, it was forced and halfway through a paragraph I would be completely confused because I wasn't following all the trendy jive and then it would smooth down into normal speak. The tone didn't flow.
2. How everything was so extreme - the religious twin was dressed from head to foot and even in a veil, they had fake pregnancy bumps that tweens would wear around because it was cool to be pregnant. Seemed a bit over-the-top.
3. The fact that this wasn't really a dystopian. Melody was railing against an ideology instead of a ruling body.
4. It was like Brave New World meets Tila Tequlia.
5. There was just really no plot, just a lot of controversial topics.

Likes -
The idea was original.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
I can't recommend this book. I also do not recommend this for teens. And it is not about the sex or the cursing or the hinting at racism, orgies, and blatant materialistic behavior. No, it is none of those things. It was the fact that all of those things are included in this book, but there is no definitive message interlaced in with these things to counteract the negative messages. Yes, in the end Melody railed against the box she was placed within - but it wasn't because she had her own way of thinking and needed to express herself. No, it was because of the actions of other people around her. In the end she made the right decision because of choices other people made for her, not because of herself. It just painted a bad picture and I don't think this is suitable for young consumption.










Like this, Like That:

1. Sixteen and Pregnant - Mtv

Book Blogging 101 - Informing an author about a bad review

This is where I pretend that I know what I'm talking about.

Spawned from the Big Sis, Little Blog program, Book Blogging 101 was born. Do you have a question? Leave it in the google docs form and I'll try and answer them in the order they are received.

Q: An author has asked me to do a review of their book, which I didn't like. I'm planning on posting the negative review, however should I send them the link to it as they asked me to review it or rather not rub their nose in my critics? Thank you! 

A. From what I've heard authors don't like to have their noses rubbed in bad reviews. But, on the other hand I've had them email me and say please send me the link once you are done and then check in a few times via email for the review.

It is a battle of the rudeness right? First, you don't want to be rude and ignore them and never send them the link, but on the other hand you don't want to insult them with the bad review. On top of it, they might get upset when they read the bad review, which you definitely don't want to do. What a quandary!

Some bloggers go so far as to not even pen a bad review. If the books gets under a such and such rating they won't write it. This of course is up to your discretion as a blogger, but personally I think that is a sort of cowardly way of doing things. You are in this hobby to state your opinion of things...do it.

I understand warring factors go through your mind. It just recently happen with my Halo by Alexandra Adornetto review. The book came from a publicist that I had just made contact with. She had sent me two books, once of which was Halo and asked for the review links. The first book was fine, I liked it I sent the review link. I could barely finish Halo. I didn't want to anger my new contact, but then again I didn't like the book. I actually wrote her in advance of writing the review and told her that the review would not be favorable, but I hadn't written it yet. She simply replied with a thank you and did not ask for the "bad review" link. I might have had a different reaction from the actual author of the book, which is why they have publicists!

In the beginnings of my blog bad reviews weighed more heavily on me, I was just making contacts, getting my feelers out and really just trying to make friends. I didn't want anyone pissed at me, especially not people in the publishing industry and authors. It happens though. I can think of two reviews where the authors were very angry with me after sending the links, but they had asked for them, so I sent them. I got scathing emails in return and I did reply, simply stating that my review is my opinion and I wish them luck with their book.

My first bit of advice would take care when writing the review. I have another BB101 post about writing bad reviews here. I would read that before you pen your bad review. You might hate the book that you just read, but there are certain ways that just are in bad form when penning your review. Take care and have a respectful tone when writing it. Think of it as if you are giving the author constructive criticism instead of throwing their book in the trash, lighting it on fire and cursing it's title ever chance you get.

Once you have a respectful, but honest review then my next bit of advice would be to email the author and be honest,  but only if they are requesting a link to the review. If they haven't requested a link, don't.  You don't want to rub it in their face that you wrote a bad review about their book.

Q: I know you do wonderful blog designs. I have seen them around the major book bloggers. I am still fairly new at book review blogging and only have 48 followers at this time. I really want a nice looking blog to go along with my content, but I just don't have the money to afford a big and fancy design at this time with only 48 followers. Is there any other sites you can recommend that has great designs focused on books for my blog? Any tips or hints on what should be on my blog to make it professional yet fun?

A. You know the new templates under Template Designers in BLOGGER has some great templates that you can customize easily just by playing around in it a bit.  It might not be as fancy as the ones I design, but you can make yourself something nice and make it yours by adding special touches, like searching for a free background that sets you apart.

My tips and hints: less is more. You want to make sure that you have FOLLOW gadgets on your site to make it easy for people to follow your blog and anything else is just extra. I did a BB101 posts on gadget must haves, here. That is a good one to read.

To keep it professional: Stay away from the frou-frou stuff. The playlist widgets and large banners from social sites, the countdown widgets for books and things like that. They tend to really slow a blog down. Put only integral widgets and gadgets up there to keep your load up and your readers scrolling seamless.

To make it fun: Add unique touches that make it your own. Reflect your own personality and reading habits with images or fun unique tidbits in your sidebars. Add fun quotes, or fun links. Make it your own.

Ask your BB101 Questions here...

Book Bloggin 101 - Bad Reviews

Spawned from the Big Sis, Little Blog program, Book Blogging 101 was born. Do you have a question? Leave it in the comments section or email me parajunkee at gmail dot com

Q. What to do about Bad Reviews?


One of the things that got me started on this book blogging endeavor was a bad review. A really bad review. (curios?) When you purchase a book you feel you can say whatever you feel. I buy tickets for the latest blockbuster that absolutely blows...I rant. Same thing applies to a book. I run over to B&N pick up a book I've been coveting for a few weeks and by page 50 I'm so disappointed I could pull my hair out and shove this book down the garbage disposal. I then, quickly pen a snarky review that plainly states how much the book sucks and what I think about the authors ability to pen a coherent sentence.

But what if the author contacted you personally and requested a review? What if you've established a report with the author and she/he is really nice? 

Even if you haven't been in touch with the author, think of what a review is. It is a critique of someone's work of art. Someone's body and soul made paper. They have put their hard work into this novel, tried for years to get it published...and you the reviewer have just dragged it through mud and called it trash. But it is your opinion. 

If you have my same tendencies...they lead toward snarky.  But snarky can be cold and disrespectful. And when you break it down, you do not want to be disrespectful. It makes for bad reviewer karma. You as a writer...and that is what you are, you are writing your reviews, flexing your wordsmith muscles by writing about writing...should strive for constructive criticism (in my opinion) wrapped in niceties, instead of insulting sarcasm. Like when your BFF squeezes her size 12 frame into a size 6 faux leather spandex jumper - do you say, "Damn girl, your butt looks like over-heated cheese curd erupting from a tuperware bowl" or "Sweet cheeks, you might want to reevaluate that outfit, I don't think that is the look you want to go for."

State your opinion. State your feelings. But do so in a tone that is respectful and cites the reasons for your dislike. Don't just say "IT SUCKED." Give reasons, like the characters were unrelated, the plot was predictable, it was run-on sentence after run-on sentence. Same thing goes for if you really liked a book...we want to know what formed your opinion, not just...SO ROCKED. If you have trouble forming your thoughts, write and outline, or bullet points. Jot down pros and cons and then form them into paragraphs. 

The one thing to remember during this whole thing is to not be afraid to voice your opinion. The author might be the greatest twitter buddy you ever had...but if their book wasn't the greatest they might just want to know the reasons why.  If you are worried about what the review will do to for the author's book sales, give them a choice.  I've had a few authors state that they would rather a 1 star review than no review at all. No matter what it is getting the name of the book out.  Bad publicity is still publicity right?

What do you think about this? Do you write bad reviews? They do tend to be to provoke negative reactions.  Look at amazon.com for example...all those 1 star reviews tend to have a lot of NOT HELPFUL votes. Would you rather just not write a bad review? Or have you rated a book higher than what you really wanted just because you didn't want to upset the author?

Blue Aspen by Tenaya Jayne

Blue Aspen by Tenaya Jayne

FYI: I am giving away my copy of this book at Blog with Bite. Enter Here. Contest will be ending today (Dec. 12th) Copy was provided by the author for review.

Synopsis: When seventeen-year-old Dulcee Elders' mother embarks on a road trip from their home in California, Dulcee knows something odd is about to happen. Her suspicions are confirmed when they arrive at Uncle Jack's house outside of Durango, Colorado. Without another word, Dulcee's mother is gone, and Dulcee faces life with her reclusive and wealthy uncle in a looming rural mansion.

Dulcee has suffered from insomnia ever since her father died more than ten years ago. But once at home at Uncle Jack's, inexplicably Dulcee now can sleep; sleep brings not only strange and intricate dreams, but a dream lover. For now, Vincent Sands is only the silhouette of a man, but when Uncle Jack leaves town for business, Dulcee's dream world and reality collide. Once she is alone, the silhouette is no longer content to remain only in her dreams.

When Dulcee is asleep, Vincent can give her anything she wants, even the ability to talk to her dead father. Inevitably, Vincent must leave when Uncle Jack returns. Dulcee experiences the high price of loving Vincent-an addiction rivaling that of any hard-core drug. Desperate to bridge the gap between them, Dulcee faces a crucial decision that carries irreversible consequences.

Review: Based on the synopsis of this book and other reviews, I actually am disappointed in myself for just not getting into this story. I want to give my honest thoughts on this book, though. So here goes. The plot lines on this tale are original.  It is always interesting to delve into the insane's POV. But, when you are dealing with a mentally challenged protagonist - their actions just don't make sense. Cause they are crazy.  So, the whole time I'm thinking "Um, chick, you really don't want to do that." It got so frustrating that I just couldn't relate to her.

To top it off the narrative tone of the book was very dry.  It was almost done in a sing-song alienesque kind of voice, that had me picturing Optimus Prime meets Julia Child.  Bizarre.

Then with the introduction of Vincent the story line gets even more bizarre. This guy just pops up, throws and evening gown on her and they are in love.  Then they sprout wings and make-out until she turns beautiful. Any other day I might have been all about this one.  But it just struck me wrong. Then there was supposed to be this whole suspense thing kickin' through the entirety of the book.  It was almost too much. Hints and clues and such until the final reveal in the last sentence. I won't give it away but it just left me with a "huh?" and not an "Oh!"

Good points of the book, the concept was good - and I really wish I hadn't been thrown off by the narration - because this book would have been great. It was a very well thought out plot and the characters had depth and you could feel the darkness surrounding them.  The editing was very well done, also. The author's style was also enjoyable.  Her words painted a picture and I hate creeping back to that tone, but if wasn't for that narrative style I would have really gotten into the book. Because of that I'm looking forward to reading this author again, hoping that the next book takes a different approach.

Obviously, though it does appeal to others based on good reviews the book is getting elsewhere.  So go enter the contest - and if you win let me know what you think.

Criticism

Reviewing books is a recent habit that I picked up after reading a wonderful new author that I just wanted to tell the world about. My reviews were short, a paragraph or two and all of them were posted on amazon.com. I started noticing that people would hit the not helpful button on them though, so I began expanding on my critiques and some people seemed to like them. Its not like a have a following, in fact if two people (sans my husband and mom) read this I'll be happy.

I do it because I like to read and I like to write...so lets write about reading. It is how I picked my career (I like computers, I like art - viola - graphic designer). I didn't do this to antagonize or show off my superiority. A critique is a person's opinion on the item being critiqued, whether it is a piece of artwork, a dance, a song, or a work of fiction.

When I read Vulnerable by Amy Lane I was severely disappointed in the book and actually felt cheated. Cheated that I spent money on something that I believed to be very badly written. I would compare it to my recent purchase of a "Slip & Slide" for my daughter. We were soooo excited, we unpacked it, laid it out, got the soap and were just jumping up and down in our excitement. I hooked the hose up to the built in sprinkler and turned the hose on....and the darn thing just exploded! Utter waste of 8.95, 1 hour set up time and a crying 2 year old - and I can't return it because its soaking wet and there was no way I was getting it back in that box.

I believe that the author thought that my review was a personal attack on her, or she just can't take criticism. She actually trolls the boards on amazon, commenting and critiquing herself. I've never actually seen anything like it, but maybe that is her way of self promoting the books. I thought her response to my review was uncalled for and actually was more an attack on me, and actually called in to question my morals and state-of-mind. I don't mind though, I've been called worse things...and her response was actually very well written. Obviously her writing style has grown since she has written Vulnerable. The only fact that I felt uncomfortable was the fact that she was railing on me at all. Amazon.com reviews are what they are, they are a way for the regular, everyday reader to let people know what they thought...if every author was stalking their books, getting nasty with everyone that left a bad review...going on their profiles...do you think amazon.com would get many bad reviews??? No it would be a site of 4-5 stars. Well enough of my ranting, here is Amy Lane's comment on my review - I think it gives you an idea of who she is.

"Mmmm... well yes, your tone does reveal that you don't like the book, but you're pretty sketchy on the details as to why. As for the editing? Well, you admit you were warned--and apologized to--in advance. Otherwise, you do a fine and very literate job of being snide as you outline the plot, but you never really tell us what's wrong with it. You mention the characters--and their designations--with rolled eyes, but you're never clear as to whether you think their roles are trite, over-the-top, unbelievable, or a combination of the three. You simply expect the reader of the review to agree with your tone without substantiating sarcasm and nastiness with anything other than (admittedly) some very nice prose. You state that it is 'your opinion'--and yet, besides the fact that you didn't like the book (and hello, hit me on the head with a hammer, my ears might bleed less) you give no solid, single flaw besides the editing on which to base your opinion. You mention the narrative device--that's not a flaw, or at least William Faulkner and James Joyce didn't think so. It's just that--a narrative device. Like it or leave it. You mention the schism between Cory's literate thoughts and her speech--that's actually addressed in book two. It was done intentionally--many intelligent people 'code-switch' in an environment that doesn't respect intelligence--my heroine is no different.

You claim to be a PNR reader. I never claimed this book is PNR--in fact, I've been pretty public in saying that it's Urban Contemporary Fantasy, which is very different. Did you have a problem with the vampires? The elves? The sex? The bloody deaths? The same sex or menage aspects? Or did you just find a (or 'yet another', if I've read your profile right) book that you didn't like and entertain yourself by trying to share your misery? I'm used to reviews--both good and bad, legit and fraudulent--and I recognize when someone is trying to get personal in the review.

This review was personal--not aimed at me, certainly, since we don't know each other--but it meant something to you to show how superior your writing is when compared to mine. I admit that you turn a very pretty phrase--I'm not so sure about the prettiness of your mind or if I'd want to read the story your heart would tell.

The 'gushing' reviews are also just other people's opinions. They are sincere--they deserved more respect than your review gave them. There is a difference between 'stating' an opinion and implying that yours is better and an opposing opinion (i.e. a 'gushing review') is inferior to yours. You've really done the latter. It wasn't particularly nice of you.

I'm going to sign off now--I don't usually pay so much attention to negative reviews. I get enough kind words and thanks to counterbalance them, and I'm pretty happy with that. (The nice lady who told me that she named her son after one of my characters, for instance. I think her name will live in my memory long after yours.) I just get very defensive for the people who are fans of the work. I felt as though your review was insulting to them, and I couldn't let it stand.

And don't worry--I won't reply or take dup anymore of your time. You're obviously a person with things to do.

Amy Lane"

Comment posted on Amazon.com under my review.