# How many of you have been duped?



## Stan R Mitchell (Feb 26, 2012)

This is kind of a sensitive topic, and I'm going to have to be vague because I don't want to "out" the offending party.

Anyway, recently, I was looking for a good book to read. Used a lead off a forum from an author's signature that led to that person's website which had several books listed. Even said the author was a New York Times Bestseller that had sold "X" million books -- not putting the number there for obvious reasons.

So, I think, wow, this person's got to be good. I find an interesting book from this author's list based on the cover, scan the description on Amazon, and then look at the reviews. Plenty of reviews. All 4 or 5 stars. So, I immediately buy it. 

Now, it was a more expensive book, we'll say between $4 and $7, but I never hesitated. Didn't even bother reading the sample on screen because how could this purchase possibly go wrong, right?

Well, it did. The book sucked so bad that I only made it through two chapters. 

I was so angry I started researching this web I'd fallen in to... Turns out, most of the reviews were from other authors, and upon closer scrutiny they had BS written all over them. 

That instantly made me wonder if this author had ever even made the New York Times list -- my gut and intuition says "NO WAY" with three exclamation points. 

But, I've not gone down the road of researching it primarily because I figure if I blast this person on my blog in an effort to warn others -- the ranking is high because I'm sure dozens and dozens are being duped -- it will only lead to an ugly fight that will likely hurt me in the end.

So, any of you had something similar happen? And if so, what have you done about it?


----------



## 31842 (Jan 11, 2011)

Aw!  That sucks.  Yah, I've had that happen to me.  I try to chalk it up to a case of different strokes.  There are a number of bestsellers that have left me cold and a number of books I LOVED that seem to leave everyone else scratching their head.  In a related field, if I love a television show, it will usually be cancelled, and five years later turn into a cult classic with a RABID fan base.  I like to think I'm just ahead of my time, informed by an erudite and refined taste the world has yet to recognize...    

The nice thing is that Amazon has a "No Questions Asked" return policy.  If you've bought it in the last two weeks, just send it back.  They won't give you a tough time.  I promise.


----------



## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

KateDanley said:


> Aw! That sucks. Yah, I've had that happen to me. I try to chalk it up to a case of different strokes. There are a number of bestsellers that have left me cold and a number of books I LOVED that seem to leave everyone else scratching their head. In a related field, if I love a television show, it will usually be cancelled, and five years later turn into a cult classic with a RABID fan base. I like to think I'm just ahead of my time, informed by an erudite and refined taste the world has yet to recognize...
> 
> The nice thing is that Amazon has a "No Questions Asked" return policy. If you've bought it in the last two weeks, just send it back. They won't give you a tough time. I promise.


Agree. Many a "best Seller" leaves me cold and I've found some gems (to me, at least) that no one else seems to like. Different strokes for different folks, etc


----------



## Stan R Mitchell (Feb 26, 2012)

KateDanley said:


> Aw! That sucks. Yah, I've had that happen to me. I try to chalk it up to a case of different strokes. There are a number of bestsellers that have left me cold and a number of books I LOVED that seem to leave everyone else scratching their head. In a related field, if I love a television show, it will usually be cancelled, and five years later turn into a cult classic with a RABID fan base. I like to think I'm just ahead of my time, informed by an erudite and refined taste the world has yet to recognize...
> 
> The nice thing is that Amazon has a "No Questions Asked" return policy. If you've bought it in the last two weeks, just send it back. They won't give you a tough time. I promise.


Great point, Kate. Maybe it's not a scam and I'm just persnickety. And I can't believe I'd forgotten I could have gotten a refund... Crap, I'm an idiot...

And we're on the same page on TV shows. My wife and I loved Chicago Code, and of course, they yanked it...


----------



## Neil Ostroff (Mar 25, 2011)

I agree. I get suspicious when I see dozens of 4 and 5 star reviews. I don't have many reviews for my own books but they are from real people who I never met. I even got a few bad reviews on other sites. Honesty is the best policy.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

KateDanley said:


> The nice thing is that Amazon has a "No Questions Asked" return policy. If you've bought it in the last two weeks, just send it back. They won't give you a tough time. I promise.


The return period is only 7 days.


----------



## IowaGuy (Jan 31, 2012)

I always re the sample if I don't know the author....I know right from the start if it is going to be worth buying.


----------



## Stan R Mitchell (Feb 26, 2012)

Agreed, Neil. Here's what's interesting.

The book has a couple 1 star and a couple 2 star negative reviews, but there are so many "5's" that they're way out-weighed. 

I'll never be tricked like that again, I guarantee you, because I'll never trust anyone's "pedigree" that they've listed on their website. 

And it isn't just bad writing, it's grammar mistakes, miss-spellings, and a plot that makes no sense. I would say it comes together later, but not according to the reviewers who are angry...


----------



## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I'm a pretty cautious buyer of books. I pretty much always look at a sample first. I distrust random people's tastes, and prefer recommendations from people I know personally. A book might be perfectly good, but just not for me.


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

I haven't had your experience ...yet, but it could happen. I usually check a book very well before buying. I have bough well known bestsellers and found problems and sometimes many problems, but I just figured the book wasn't for me.


----------



## Stan R Mitchell (Feb 26, 2012)

Seems you guys are a bit more experienced than me. I'll be sharp from here on out.


----------



## kimberlyjones (Mar 9, 2012)

Stan R Mitchell said:


> Agreed, Neil. Here's what's interesting.
> 
> The book has a couple 1 star and a couple 2 star negative reviews, but there are so many "5's" that they're way out-weighed.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a Noir author that people kept telling me was incredible. Tons of glowing reviews and I hated the main character I deleted it off my Kindle.


----------



## Hope Welsh (Mar 9, 2012)

I always read the reviews. If I'm at all dubious, I also check the reviewers other reviews.  If they've only made one or two, I tend to take them with a grain of salt. Or, if they all use similar phrasing.

But, I've also found that some people just detest books that I've found to be quite good reads.

It's hard to know.  Always download the sample chapter--and if you're seriously in doubt--talk to others you know that might have read it.

It's a little hard to get a ton of people to do reviews that are 'great' when a book is bad.  Most authors don't want to give themselves a bad name. I'm really curious as to which book it is, though.


----------



## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> I try to chalk it up to a case of different strokes


Hooya to that! I have different strats for buying books of different genres. With fiction/suspense I don't think I have ever "browsed" for a book. Every fiction that I have read has been because of a recommendation from a friend. Funny how that works eh, that word of mouth thing? Some times I like them and then I usually just buy the entire series without ever reading a review. For fantasy books what generally happens is this. I will go to a bookstore or browse Amazon and look for a cover that catches my stare. (I usually enjoy doing this in a bookstore over the internet for some reason) After that I read the summary and if I like what I see then I may check the reviews. Obviously in a bookstore there are no reviews but now we are talking ebooks.

I really only pay attention to the reviews that are long winded. I figure those guys took the time to break the book down and talk about what they really liked about the book in all its aspects. I never really go by a star rating or ratio on good or bad reviews.

I honestly never even look at the bad reviews because you can never please everyone, and as stated below, I have read books that I absolutely loved, and talked about it with someone else who hates it...which baffles me.

To each his own right?

Another way to think about it is this. I have yet to read a long series where the author didn't have at least one book that I didn't enjoy nearly as much as the others. So even with someone that I like, there is still the chance that something about that particular book didn't catch my attention in the same way. So it stands to reason that no book is going to be loved by everyone that reads it, so I guess your only mistake would be that you did not read the summary. Who knows what one likes better than one's self?


----------



## mscottwriter (Nov 5, 2010)

I read a very popular book over the summer (and I do know it was on the NYT best seller list), and I *hated* it, lol.  It certainly happens.

Luckily, I'd borrowed it from the library (using an e-library loan), so I didn't feel too badly.  When I talked to a friend at my book club about it, she admitted that she hadn't liked it, either.

Otoh...there are a number of books that I've loved and everyone else hasn't.


----------



## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Stan R Mitchell said:


> The book has a couple 1 star and a couple 2 star negative reviews, but there are so many "5's" that they're way out-weighed.


That's why I always look at the one-star reviews. I try to look at some three-stars, too, if there are any. I figure if I know what people don't like about a book, I can decide for myself whether that's going to deter me or not.


----------



## kimberlyjones (Mar 9, 2012)

marianneg said:


> That's why I always look at the one-star reviews. I try to look at some three-stars, too, if there are any. I figure if I know what people don't like about a book, I can decide for myself whether that's going to deter me or not.


This works, but I have noticed just like the 5 star fake reviews, there are 1 star fake reviews too


----------



## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

Grammar mistakes and misspellings indicate "duped" to me, as opposed to just a difference in taste.  I also check to see how many other reviews the reviewer has posted.  If there are 10 5-star reviews from people who have never reviewed anything before, I know the reviewers are probably friends and relatives of the author.  The main reason I've never been duped, however, is that I get all my recommendations from this forum!


----------



## Jorja Tabu (Feb 6, 2012)

KateDanley said:


> In a related field, if I love a television show, it will usually be cancelled, and five years later turn into a cult classic with a RABID fan base. I like to think I'm just ahead of my time, informed by an erudite and refined taste the world has yet to recognize...


This is me, all the way--I should start a betting pool for cancellations as soon as I like a show. AND I am often as not a member of the late-arrived rabid fan-base, as well. So sad...


----------



## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I really did not enjoy Game of Thrones or Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Both those most people love!


----------



## Stan R Mitchell (Feb 26, 2012)

Thank goodness I found you, KindleChickie! Until you said that, I thought I was the only person who wasn't down with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

I read about half of it, as I recall, and it wasn't bad, just moving way too slow for my tastes. So, I've literally never even finished the book, and yet so many book conversations end up on this book/series, and I usually just bite my tongue so even more folks don't think I'm weird.


----------



## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

I've read a number of books I didn't care for that came highly rated, which is why I buy now based on recommendation followed by blurb, rather than the reviews. I don't trust many of them.


----------



## L. T. Fawkes (Mar 10, 2012)

Unless it's free, I almost always ignore the reviews and download the sample first. And I generally stay away from bestsellers. IMHO they're often over-priced and over-hyped. I like to go trolling down below the top 100 bestsellers looking for good and deserving (and unusual) indie books.

L. T.


----------



## JBool56 (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm sure it's just me, but I don't understand why anyone would buy a book without reading the sample. I wouldn't do it in a 'real' book store, so why online? And even my closest friends have wildy differing opinions about the same books. 

Re Dragon Tattoo - I found it really heavy going to start with too, but I stuck with it because I was on holiday and had nothing else to read. Glad I did, it really *does* get going in the second half of the book, and it's one of my favorite books now!


----------



## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

You can actually check to see if someone made the NY Times list.  I believe they have a database.  I know Publishers Weekly does.  

In 2006 there were 900,000 books published.  560 made the PW bestseller list.

I wouldn't let the experience bother you.  That stuff catches up with people.


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Stan R Mitchell said:


> Agreed, Neil. Here's what's interesting.
> 
> The book has a couple 1 star and a couple 2 star negative reviews, but there are so many "5's" that they're way out-weighed.
> 
> ...


Yup, yup, yup. I can think of a book that I got. There's over 50 reviews, most of them 4 and 5 star. The bad reviews are all downvoted and a couple have snarky comments on them. More one and two stars had appeared by the time I read the book. I read the whole book, skimming/skipping on a few really God AWFUL, unbelievably bad chapters. I went back and read the reviews. I was completely astounded. Completely. I even asked a friend to skim/read it to see if maybe I was just off my rocker...but nope. The book is really pretty bad, yet it has an awful lot of positive reviews. There weren't a ton of grammar/typos. But plot?? Hello plot Hello logic And none of the 4 and 5 star reviews mentioned the plot coming off the wheels, going to Vegas and ending up drowned in an ocean of gratuitous, unbelievably bad sex scenes. Even if I loved a book and wanted to give it 4 or 5 stars, if the plot resembled spaghetti dropped on the floor and stepped on, I'd probably feel compelled to mention it.

Now that said, I did recently read a trad published book with many reviews and many five stars. Two friends loved it (4 and 5 stars). Plot? Hello plot Okay, it had one. But the mystery was resolved by a phone call from a guy we never met who just solved it and called the main to tell her the result. Hello investigation Hello footwork, setup, clues Heeellooooo clues? You probably should drop a few in.

There is some room for taste, suspension of disbelief and preferences. But I am ever more suspicious of reviews these days.


----------



## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Tastes are subjective. I disliked Swamplandia and Robopocalypse, both extremely well reviewed, and gave up on the Millenium series half way through the first book, though I did manage to finish it eventually and get hooked. I now sample _everything_, and if a few pages show numerous errors forget it. Also, if the author has a mediocre writing style I'll just give up. Even at that, some books just don't pan out. You cannot please everyone, even with all your ducks in a row. Reviews are strange too, since the poor ones are often as fake as many of the raves. Word of mouth has always been the best way to discover new talent.


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

I have to agree with the others who have pointed out that there are often bad reviews that are "faked" too.  A friend recently rec'd a book she had just finished.  It has more 1 and 2 star reviews than any other stars--and strangely they all say little more than, "what a terrible book, bad grammar and lots of typos."  Hmm. I asked friend.  She didn't recall any typos (and this is a trad published book.)  It's not old enough to be scanning errors either.  I read through a few more of the 1 stars and checked--many of them had never reviewed any other products or books.  It even looked like some had "borrowed" lines from other reviewers.  

No idea who hates the author (I have the book, but haven't read it yet) but those reviews smelled.

Reviews are a bit of a crap shoot.  So is the New York Times list.  

I read reviews and asked a few people about the Dragon Tattoo book--egads.  It didn't sound like anything I would remotely like, no matter how many people liked it.


----------



## Rick Gualtieri (Oct 31, 2011)

Harry Shannon said:


> Tastes are subjective. I disliked Swamplandia and Robopocalypse, both extremely well reviewed,


Quite true, but typically the reviews will vet that out (unless its new). I have no problem with a polarizing book, but one that's been out for a while will usually show that. The reviews will be like a roller coaster.


----------



## Anjasa (Feb 4, 2012)

Unfortunately, no matter how educated you are going into buying a book, no one can tell you if you'll like it. Good reviews detail the good and the bad and what made them good and bad so you can decide if they'd be good or bad for you.

For instance, I love characterization. I could read a book that's all about a character where nothing really happens and love it. Others will hate it because it focuses too much on that aspect.

Fake reviews are... uncool, but hopefully they'd still touch on some truths of what they liked in the book - and you can decide if there things you like. In the end, though, you win some and you lose some, there's not much else you can do. You could leave a review if you felt inclined to try to let others know, but sometimes we have to bite the bullet.


----------



## Rick Gualtieri (Oct 31, 2011)

MariaESchneider said:


> No idea who hates the author (I have the book, but haven't read it yet) but those reviews smelled.
> 
> Reviews are a bit of a crap shoot. So is the New York Times list.


There's bad apples on both sides of the equation, sadly. Petty/vengeful authors, rabid fans, people with vendettas, etc. I just got off of a week long discussion over on the Amazon boards about this and it has some people really jaded about the whole thing. The scummy authors make all the rest look bad, and some of the reviewers can come across like petty third graders.

What I'm hoping is that everything that's happening with Kindle and ebooks right now is kind of like the whole dotcom boom of the late 90's. A lot of craziness, followed by reality coming crashing in (washing away a lot of the crap...on both sides), and then things clearing up a bit and sanity taking hold again. But who knows? For now, all we can do is police ourselves and try to stay honest...regardless of what side we fall on.


----------



## Jorja Tabu (Feb 6, 2012)

KindleChickie said:


> I really did not enjoy Game of Thrones or Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Both those most people love!


We should start a club for GWTDT defectors 

I did really enjoy GoT but we recently broke up anyway... That's just how it goes, ese!


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

You can confirm NYT Bestsellers here:

http://www.hawes.com/pastlist.htm


----------



## thwaters (Dec 12, 2011)

Yup.  Same, same.  I've also been duped.  I recently purchased a book that had been on the NYT Best Seller list, lots of great reviews.  I was so excited to read it.  Well, it started out s-l-o-w, slogged along, but I just knew it had to get better.  By the time I was two-thirds of the way into it, I bagged it.  I'd had enough.  The descriptions were wonderful, but the characters never did anything.  Ever.  They simply moved from one environment to another.  For God's Sake, make something happen already!  But, no.  So then I did a little research on the author and found out that he was an editor for the NYT.  Hmmmmm.  Yes, that explains it.  I left that experience with a yucky feeling and am now super cautious about a book whenever I find out that the author is part of the big-time publishing industry.  I get the feeling that everyone who is in that elite group writes great reviews for one another so that they can create buzz to get sales pumped up.  Quid pro quo, yes?  I love Terry Gross of Fresh Air fame but now cringe whenever she says she'll be interviewing an author who... "also writes for The New York Times."  Bleck.  It's just all part of the crazy machine, baby.  Just part of it...


----------



## DGFall (Jul 7, 2011)

It seems the opposite has happened to me. In reading this thread I noticed Stan Mitchels book "Little Man". Out of curiosity I looked it up on Amazon.  Without a sample, on a whim, I bought it, (99 cents) not expecting much. I read it straight through and really enjoyed it. Good book.


----------



## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Jorja Tabu said:


> We should start a club for GWTDT defectors
> 
> I did really enjoy GoT but we recently broke up anyway... That's just how it goes, ese!


I haven't seen anyone called "ese" in a looooong time. (Assuming it is the same Spanish expression from when I was growing up!) Funny. And completely off-topic but it made me smile so I had to comment.


----------



## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Stan R Mitchell said:


> That instantly made me wonder if this author had ever even made the New York Times list -- my gut and intuition says "NO WAY" with three exclamation points.
> 
> But, I've not gone down the road of researching it primarily because I figure if I blast this person on my blog in an effort to warn others -- the ranking is high because I'm sure dozens and dozens are being duped -- it will only lead to an ugly fight that will likely hurt me in the end.


If the author is making false claims, that's blatant false advertising and it's illegal. You would be well within your rights to point it out and warn people. Actually, it would be best to report it to Amazon (scroll down to the bottom of the book page to where it says "Feedback"), they might be able to take some kind of action.

But this is why I ALWAYS sample (unless it's free - the sample isn't even available anymore) and I look closely at reviews if there's less than about 10. Especially if it's self published. I also check over at Goodreads - there tends to be less shilling and fake reviews there.


----------



## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

With the NYT Bestseller's list the author only need make it once on a given week and then they always use that "NYT Bestselling Author" on all their books. Even some previous books will get new dust jackets with the phrase emboldened.

The NYT list has definitely been gamed by some publishers.


----------



## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

I don't pay too much attention to Amazon reviews, I always check out the goodreads reviews. I have lots of goodread friends with similar reading tastes, so I check if any of them have read the book & their ratings. That way I know the ratings are pretty dependable & not fake ratings by a sock puppet account.


----------



## Jorja Tabu (Feb 6, 2012)

q


MariaESchneider said:


> I haven't seen anyone called "ese" in a looooong time. (Assuming it is the same Spanish expression from when I was growing up!) Funny. And completely off-topic but it made me smile so I had to comment.


That's the one!  I'm good for an off-topic joke or five...ese (had to).

I am getting so cynical about reviews reading this thread--for some reason it didn't occur to me that the low ones could be frauds as well. Bummers.


----------



## Stan R Mitchell (Feb 26, 2012)

Well, I've certainly learned a lot from this thread about reviews and shenanigans going on out there. Thanks, everyone, for weighing in. And thanks, DGFall, for the purchase and kind words about my book. I'm glad you enjoyed it.


----------



## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

"Yeah, I've had that happen to me.  I try to chalk it up to a case of different strokes.  There are a number of bestsellers that have left me cold and a number of books I LOVED that seem to leave everyone else scratching their head.  In a related field, if I love a television show, it will usually be cancelled, and five years later turn into a cult classic with a RABID fan base."  

The above pretty much sums it up for me.


----------



## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

_The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ has an astounding middle. It has a ponderous beginning and the ending is more of an epilogue, and it's drawn out too long, but that middle part is dynamite.

I thought the original movie did a great job of compressing the dull bits (especially the epilogue) and I actually prefer it to the book. I haven't seen the American version yet.


----------



## thwaters (Dec 12, 2011)

Bob Mayer said:


> In 2006 there were 900,000 books published. 560 made the PW bestseller list.


Wow - pretty amazing statistics


----------



## donnamshields (Mar 6, 2012)

I've been there, too. I agree with everyone else. It's different tastes. However, if the author never was on the Bestseller's list, that's much worse. That's like false advertising.


----------



## mscottwriter (Nov 5, 2010)

If a book has a high number of five-star reviews, and couple of one or two-star reviews, then I read the lower-rated reviews.  If those reviews are followed by snarky comments, then I suspect sock puppets are at work.  I've seen some pretty nasty rejoinders to readers who have given low reviews.


----------



## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Run into that many times.  I think if you are a voracious reader you always do.  Lots of so-called "classics" I find to be complete rubbish.  I just stop reading the book and move on.


----------



## Brad Murgen (Oct 17, 2011)

I generally check samples to make sure it's at least properly written before buying.  I had a similar situation where I came across a "bestseller" with lots of good press and reviews.  I could barely get through the sample, though... the author used "hanger" through the entire sample instead of "hangar" (it was obvious that he was talking about a building for aircraft, not something to hang clothes on).  No one thought to mention something that obvious in their reviews?  Did they really read the entire book?


----------



## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

This is a hard question to answer because you may hate a book I love - it's all so subjective. I was duped by The Night Circus - so many good (and I believe legitimate reviews) and I thought the book was terrible. Couldn't finish it.


----------



## jwest (Nov 14, 2011)

I pretty much always read a sample, because I have found that what works for others does not always work for me. More than with books, I have this problem with movies. I swear, some of my favorite movies tend to get horrid reviews, and for the life of me I don't know why. All that aside, it sucks to get suckered in


----------



## Matthew Lee Adams (Feb 19, 2012)

Stan R Mitchell said:


> Thank goodness I found you, KindleChickie! Until you said that, I thought I was the only person who wasn't down with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
> 
> I read about half of it, as I recall, and it wasn't bad, just moving way too slow for my tastes. So, I've literally never even finished the book, and yet so many book conversations end up on this book/series, and I usually just bite my tongue so even more folks don't think I'm weird.


Same with me. I really liked the three films with Noomi Rapace, though.

Similar story with "Let The Right One In." Loved the Swedish film directed by Tomas Alfredson. But the book, by Swedish author John Lindqvist, just didn't do it for me. It wandered on tangents quite a bit, and I can see how the director condensed it down to maintain pacing. This is mostly a taste issue which is why it's all subjective.

You might also check for reviews on a site like GoodReads. If the book is well-known enough, there is usually quite a range of reviews. And sometimes reading the reviews you'll wonder whether people are even reviewing the same book!  It's funny also how some people love aspects of a book that other people don't. All taste is subjective. Even friends who might have an idea for your tastes can steer you toward something that just doesn't do it.


----------



## Beatriz (Feb 22, 2011)

Stan R Mitchell said:


> This is kind of a sensitive topic, and I'm going to have to be vague because I don't want to "out" the offending party.
> 
> Anyway, recently, I was looking for a good book to read. Used a lead off a forum from an author's signature that led to that person's website which had several books listed. Even said the author was a New York Times Bestseller that had sold "X" million books -- not putting the number there for obvious reasons.
> 
> ...


You should always sample a book, no matter how many reviews it has. It's the only way to tell if it's your cup of tea or not.


----------



## manhattanminx (Mar 10, 2012)

I can tell within a sentence or two if the writing is high quality. If it is, I'll read the entire sample, then make up my mind to buy or not. Sometimes the plot fizzles later in the book and sometimes characters are underdeveloped, things that can ruin what starts out as a good read, but I just take it as it comes. Some books are good and some books aren't. 

Blatantly misrepresenting a book as written by a New York Times bestselling author sucks, if indeed that is what's going on. You're wise not to pursue the issue, I think. Chalk it up to lesson learned.

Manhattan Minx


----------



## Du2012 (Mar 22, 2012)

Can't judge a book by the cover - Let Bo tell ya 'bout it.


----------



## kdrollinger (Oct 17, 2011)

I have yet to buy I book that I didn't like, but maybe that's because I snake borrow them from my friends or they are dumped on me by my mom because of her book club. I have definitely read a part of books and thought "this was on the best seller list?" I guess because it wasn't my own money I didn't feel as much of a sting.

We can chalk it up to personal tastes, but that kind of faked self promotion happens a lot. Educating ourselves and others about these borderline scams is the best option I think.


----------

