Saturday 28 September 2013

Confessions: Reviewing Middle books


Confession~ I'm awful at reviewing 'middle books'!
This is a problem I've only really noticed this year as I read a lot of new series last year which means I've had a lot of sequels to read this year!
For example I read and loved The Elite by Kiera Cass and Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi months ago but I haven't been able to review them yer!
I've tried to figure out why I find it so hard and hopefully you can help me get better!

What type of books are 'middle books'
These 'middle books' tend to be the second book released in any series but particular in trilogies. The second book regardless of the length of the series is usually full of twists, surprises and revelations to keep people interested in the series
I find 'middle books' are more prevalent in Dystopia or Fantasy books as contemporary books tend to either have companion books or much less complex plots.

Why do I find it hard to review these books?
  • I always try to keep my reviews spoiler free but this is much harder with middle books. I don't want to spoil the first book just incase and middle books tend to be drama heavy so it's hard to talk about the book without spoiling anything!
  • I also find it hard to review if big plot points like a character death or a revelation has impacted my perception of the book. For example I love Harry Potter but the death in Half-Blood Prince and the ending made me dislike the book until I read Deathly Hallows and saw the death in a wider context. If I'd reviewed Half-Blood Prince prior to reading Deathly Hallows it would have got a much more negative frustrated review than it deserved.
  • Some middle books exist solely to build the tension and plot for the conclusion of the story. This usually results in less dramatic climaxes and produces more questions than answers. Obviously this is frustrating and normally leaves you slightly annoyed at having to wait for a conclusion.
What do you think?
Are middle books hard to review or am I alone in my struggle?

Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

3 comments:

  1. I find them much darker to review than first or last books. The dreaded "2nd book syndrome" is the worse. I like my stories to be complete by themselves, whether they are the 1st, 2nd, or 7th.

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    1. They do tend to be darker don't they! I think it's because they don't have to tie up any loose ends :/
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Oh, I can so relate with you, Lettie! I mean, I generally find it a little hard to type up reviews - especially when I'm just not in the mood to do so - but reviews for books in the middle of a series?! I procrastinate and procrastinate and procrastinate until the last moment. The result, as you would expect, is a half-assed review that probably makes no sense at all. :(

    "I always try to keep my reviews spoiler free but this is much harder with middle books." - I know, right? There was once when I was forced to write a pretty spoilery part for the book, and that review got lower views than usual. It's a total pain to screen through and make sure you don't give anything away, especially since people might see certain things as spoilers, while others don't. There's no pleasing everyone, I guess.

    Another thing I suffer from is book amnesia. Sometimes, I find that the book doesn't recap enough, but I still manage to enjoy it fairly well. Then comes the part where I'm supposed to write the review and I try to compare the characters with how they were like in the previous book(s), to see if there was any development/changes. As you can probably guess, it's incredibly difficult, because I can't remember much from the first book. Meh.

    But yeah. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one either! Don't let those middle books get you down too much, though. :)

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