| Title | : | One-Star Review |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 104 |
| Publication | : | First published November 21, 2018 |
One-Star Review Reviews
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Shout out to this absolutely fabulous book in my
latest booktube video - all about the best books I read each month and 2019's bookish stats (and yes, I really did read 365 books in 365 days!).
Now that you know this one made the cut - check out the video to see what other ones made my top 12 list!
The written review:
Lana Brooks - brilliant writer and best selling author - is a fairly average person all in all.
...her mystery books were wildly popular and sold millions of copies...
She has published 18 books already, writing several per year, so her schedule is pretty tight but the money is just rolling in.
She uses a pseudonym and a Photoshoped photo to maintain her anonymity but other than that, she truly is a run-of-the-mill-Jane.
...except for her quirky little hobby of murdering her reviewers...She could not wait until the next day. He would never know what hit him.
It's a character flaw...but hey, everyone has those.She had been on pins and needles since she had first seen it. The review of her last book was brutal.
It's just...when she gets those one-star reviews (the really terrible ones)...all she can think of is...well...murder-y thoughts.She had worked too hard to be treated that way.
And besides....if no one knows her name or what she looks like...there's no way she'd get caught, right?The truth was, those dead fingers would never type another shitty review.
Okay. Okay okay okay.
So....let's just make this clear - I am giving this book 3.75 stars because I enjoyed it...NOT because I'm worried about being killed. Really. Truly.
Ha.
Anyway, this book was actually pretty good.
I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much...but here I am wishing it was longer!
(Perhaps a series? though...after that ending...I truly don't know how it could be picked up again!).
Lana made for a deliciously evil character and the murders were surprisingly fun to read about.
I liked watching her set up the dominoes and then...one flick of her finger...and the people's lives came tumbling down.
However...there was one thing that kind of threw me out of the book.
Provided we take Lana at her word, her books sold thousands of copies...and she really only received 7 bad one-stars?
Across nearly twenty books? Even if 0.1% of people hated her book...surely there'd be more than seven one-star book reviews.
And the reviews that set her off were so...mundane...
I don't know, maybe I'm jaded from being on the reviewing side but surely...she'd have more brutal reviews.
Take this one for example:Save Your Money for Something That Doesn’t Suck
It is a bad review....but it's also a bad review.
I used to read this author all of the time, but I quickly grew tired of the same plotlines, simply regurgitated with new character names and a slightly different scenario. She simply plagiarizes herself. I decided to give her books one more chance and, if nothing else, reading this was confirmation that her work is just dreadful. Stay far, far away.
If you'd allow me *cracks knuckles* (NOTE: The following is an entirely fake review for a fake book I never read (including the quotes) within a real book...you following? good.)What. The. Absolute. F*ck. (by Miranda Reads)
Now...if that review had sparked a movement (aka, lots of people changing their reviews to mirror it and then the word starts spreading across the interet that the book was bad)...I can honestly see someone possibly acting as Lana.
I really, truly don't understand how anyone can write a more abysmal book.
I'm honestly rating it one-star solely so my vote can count (yes, I really am that petty)."With love," she said, "comes sacrifice."
I have made that sacrifice. I am that sacrifice.
She averages three books per year...so that should give you an idea of the quality we are talking about.
Essentially, this violated the big three - Plot, Characters and Relationships - so many times that my head is spinning and I need to sit down. Pass me the bucket.
Plot - There is so much filler injected in here that I'm starting to admire the author.
We get the most drawn out, loquacious, verbose, long-winded possible explanation of romance, Scottish politic loopholes, love and kilts (which really, how hard can that possibly be??)...all so we can bump our way out of novella and into novel.
Characters - The characters were so poorly written this round that I couldn't believe that her editor let her get away with this.
I thought the main character was bad before, but she really took the cake this round (especially with that scene with the cake and the kilt!)
I couldn't STAND her - especially with her simpering and whining after the kilt-guy. Come on people. It's a kilt. I think we all know what's underneath. (Anyone else just die of cringe?)
It was horrendous (and honestly - pathetic).
The Relationships - Okay. I already mentioned it but - the cringe. The CRINGE. THE CRINGE.
Kilts, cakes and kittens. Why. JUST WHY would anyone in their right mind make that the over-arching plot?
Just. Kill. Me. Now. (seriously, I will hand you the gun myself.)
Overall - The plot, characters and relationships were just plain awful.
There was so much overlap (in dialogue and content) between this one and her first series that I honestly thought I was midway through Lysander and Arabella's love story...or was it Karen and Kieren's (possibly Carl and Carla's).
Oh who the hell cares.
Same shtick, different cover.
By now, you may be thinking...Miranda...was that really necessary? Did you really rewrite the review of a character who was killed for writing a bad review?
Yes. And yes.
It was honestly kind of fun to come up for a review for something I haven't read (reviewer's note: there was no kilts, kittens or anything Scottish in the book...this was just something that I came up with).
If anything, I really did enjoy this book (the real one, not the fake one I wrote the fake-review for).
It was a fun and fresh concept and kept me on the edge of my toes.
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"Satisfied, she climbed into the back seat of the van and slid down onto the floorboard. It would now become a waiting game".
One-Star Review by R.E. Sargent
Oh wow people. What a crazy little book THIS was! I loved it!
So One star review is about exactly what the description says. Lana is a writer. And a damn good one. She has had so many books published, the public adores her and her life would be perfect except..
Except for those pesky one star reviews that keep finding their way onto Amazon. Lana doesn't like one star reviews. She has worked to hard and to long to let those cruel people who DARE to one star her books, get away with it.
So Lana does what Lana must do. She kills them. Her one star reviewers.
Not ALL of them..just the creeps who attack her personally.
What a friggin GREAT IDEA for a book. This is a short one. Can be read in an hour. But so much fun!
I'd like to see a book where Lana meets Amy from Gone Girl. Can't you just see Amy happily writing bunches of one star reviews? These two meeting in a fight..I wonder who would win.
It is not all darkness. Meet Charlie, one of the sweetest homeless people I think I have ever met in the literary world.
And the ending was a trip!
Got an hour to spare? Read one star review. It's just fun! -
Excerpt: “ She couldn’t simply go around killing everyone that didn’t like her books, could she?”
WELL, could she??
A FUN 54 page novella about an author who REALLY doesn’t like getting one star reviews..
It may make you think twice about writing one...or about leaving a used, soiled tissue in an airplane’s seat back pocket...🤧
This is part one of the Karen Carter series.
I did NOT give this 4.5 stars out of fear of being tracked down by Karen Carter!!
😬 -
Oh, this is a fun one and I have Dita to thank because reading her review made me smile, laugh and charge my tablet.
R.E. Sargent has written a clever novella about a very successful author who really, really can't handle one-star reviews.
The story is very, very loosely based on an actual situation with which you may be familiar but I won't discuss for the same reason I don't say "Bloody Mary" into the mirror three times. I don't hesitate to give one star to things I think deserve no more, and also when I'm forced to round up because there's no option for zero stars.
R.E. Sargent bends reality delightfully and this reads as if he had a great time writing it. The one star reviews so enrage Lana she feels compelled to kill those who write them. Sargent has arranged for her to easily track them down. In this story it's the novelist who inflicts Misery.
She enjoys it. She drives away from one murder listening to "Wrecking Ball." It's great use of irony. So is the fact that Lana writes under an alias just like, you know, many of us reviewers. So meta! And there's even more meta. I won't spoil it. Enjoy! I did.
And now, again thanks to Dita, I've learned there's a prequel: "Becoming Karen Carter."
I wonder if we'll see Lana in creative writing class being handed a short story that the professor has so marked up with criticisms that from a distance the pages look blood-red. Was that professor her first kill? Sorry, Mr. Sargent, sometimes I digress and here I am writing my own Lana/Karen story.
I'm inspired by your inspiration. Wherever you go with her, I'm in. -
A deliciously dark tale, which will make you think twice about leaving a one star review...
Lana Brooks aka Karen Carter really doesn't like 1* reviews! Lana is a best selling author, living the dream with money, fame, and a great apartment, but she will do anything to keep it like that!
Ha ha this was one crazy little book! Short, and quick to read, it was entertaining and shocking! After reading and loving
If I Die Before I Wake: Tales of Karma and Fear and
If I Die Before I Wake: Tales of Supernatural Horror, I knew that I had to read these little novelettes by
R.E. Sargent! Luckily I had great fun reading this first one, phew! 😅
One-Star Review was a great idea with a fantastic twist! I will definitely be thinking more about how I word my reviews from now on! 🔪😂
If you have a bit of time to spare, and want to read about a murderous author, then this is only 53 pages long, give it a go! -
A novella done quite right.
His short story was my favorite in the
If I Die Before I Wake: Tales of Karma and Fear anthology, and
R.E. Sargent has done it again with this brilliant little piece of literature,
One-Star Review.
What an ingenious concept.
Authors put their heart and soul into their writing. I imagine it would be soul crushing to receive less than stellar reviews. Sprinkle in a touch of psychopathy, along with the heartbreak, and you're left with one Karen Carter, writer extraordinaire. What a devilishly delightful character she is!
Hellz, Karen and I are even simpatico regarding our feelings about sick people on planes...and the disgusting things they do (like leave used tissues lying around). Rude wankers definitely need to die. 😊
I confess, I've written more than a few 1-star reviews in my day. I even have a f*cking awful shelf on Goodreads. Maybe I should re-think my brutal honesty? 😬Nah. I'll risk it. 😁
Side note: I was not coerced by any author during the writing of this review.
Recommended to any reader who enjoys gory, snarky fun! -
Hell hath no fury like author Lana Brooks getting a one-star review! She’s a famous and rich author with numerous bestsellers. What could be better? Unfortunately, she’s not able to focus on her work when she occasionally sees these one-star reviews. So she does what comes naturally...tracking down the reviewer and eliminating them via a 13-inch King Arthur medieval dagger or a katana sword. She also enjoys getting back at people who are rude to her by falsely incriminating them in her crimes. Since she’s a good person whose only downfall is getting wronged by these reviewers, she also helps out others when she can (getting a homeless man to purchase a weapon for her, but giving him what he needs to reclaim his life).
I’m not a fan of novellas, but this was cute and charmingly violent. I will definitely read the rest of the series. Also, if anyone sees me give a one-star review, please remind me of this. If you don’t hear from me after the review, please make a note of the author and call the police. 🔪🔪🗡 -
I loved this quick little novella! As a book blogger and reviewer, I always feel awful when a book didn't work for me, and I try my best to be objective in my reviews, and share why a particular book didn't work for me, but also share who it might appeal to...after reading this, I'm glad I do! One-Star Review is a short story about an author who wants revenge after reading a negative review of her book. I wont say more than that, but definitely pick this one up! It's well thought out, and if you're also a reviewer, it might make you think twice about what you say in your reviews! Lol!
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This was a free novella that I discovered accidentally after reading and reviewing another short story with the same title last year - both have a superficially similar premise - a scorned writer exacting brutal revenge - they differ markedly in their (ahem) execution. This was a fun forty minute read and I’ll read the subsequent Karen Carter stories at some point.
Lana is a successful author who has sacrificed everything for her career - and will not tolerate anyone jeapordising this by giving her bad reviews - so she goes to great lengths to teach them a lesson - incidentally punishing lesser crimes like rudeness along the way. One night, however, she will learn that she’s not the only writer who prefers the sword to the pen...
I don’t give many one star reviews - I counted 29 out of nearly 2000 - but it’s not because I’m afraid that a knife-wielding psychopath will come after me, it’s partly that I don’t like to be mean, and am also getting much better at DNFing - in those situations I’ll leave a review explaining why but not give a star rating.
This was a tongue-in-cheek look at what might happen. I haven’t read many books featuring writers as killers - hopefully most just wreak revenge on the page. Reviewers shouldn’t therefore be too afraid to be honest!
This could’ve done with an editor - or a better editor - as there were multiple typos and some unnecessary repetition, and the writing was pretty simplistic, but it was a good tight story and I’m curious to find out what happens next.
Overall, definitely worth a read. -
I really enjoyed this little novelette and plan to read the others in this series. I wonder if it's a coincidence the author in the book is named Karen or was she named before Karen became a term for entitled white (usually) women. A little while ago I would've thought the events in the book to be unbelievable but I recently saw some posts about a reviewer's awful experience with an author whose book the reviewer had given 1 (or maybe even 2) stars to. In any event, I'd recommend this as a quick and entertaining read and I'll be very hesitant about giving only one star in future reviews!
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The author of this story beautifully made the struggles of an unknown and known writer very real. Both stories ask the question What would you do to make your dreams come true? For both women, they find they have no limits to be the best authors they can be. As an author myself, the struggle can be real. Especially when it comes to one-star reviews.
Relatable, intriguing, and funny, this short listen is a must read.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review. -
3.5 stars
Short and fun - a break from the norm for the holidays - I'm going to binge read this trio of novellas and thoroughly enjoy them! -
3.5 stars
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So fun!
Absolutely loved this story! The twist was something I did not see coming at all! I need Karen Carter! Hopefully there's more. -
Interesting and well written psychopathic weirdness - an author hunts down and kills reviewers who give her books 1 star reviews.
The ending was surprising.
This is first in a series, but reads more like a short story, it is only about 50 pages long - why not put the 3 stories together and make one book? I want to read more! -
Wow! This story was way more vengeful than I was expecting it to be!
An author with murderous intent visits her readers who leave brutal 1 star reviews. They won’t make that mistake, or any other mistake, ever again.
“She couldn’t wait to give the one-star reviewer a response she wasn’t expecting.”
This is the first book in the series and the twist at the end was awesome and shocking!
I will say that at first I noticed a lot of repetitive sentences/details, but then the story definitely found its flow! -
https://leiturasdelaura.blogspot.com/...
SPOILER FREE
Eis um livro que resolvi comprar e ler porque a sinopse era interessante demais.
Ainda sem tradução em português, One-Star Review traz a história de uma autora que escreve sob um pseudônimo e ganha rios de dinheiro com seus livros best-sellers. O problema é que nem sempre foi assim, e ela guarda um grande rancor de quem escreve resenhas ruins de forma gratuita.
O autor americano R. E. Sargent criou uma interessante atmosfera de suspense com sua escritora assassina, e o livro é muito gostoso de ler, apesar de um tanto quanto curto. Mas eu preciso dizer que gostei particularmente do final.
Lana Brooks é tão instigante que confesso que fiquei torcendo para ela se safar de todos os assassinatos, e eu poderia ter lido muito mais sobre ela do que o autor escreveu nesse volume. É um ótimo sinal quando o livro acaba e ficamos com gostinho de quero mais.
Não tenho a menor ideia se o autor é tão bom nos seus outros livros quanto ele conseguiu ser feliz nesse aqui, mas depois dessa amostra eu certamente pretendo testar outros dos seus trabalhos. -
This story was sold to me as a horror, and I definitely think it has been mislabeled, it is more of a thriller than a horror!
Overall, a fairly quick read that amused me; I was incredibly skeptical about due to the title and content matter of this book. Does it feel like a dig to reviewers that honestly reflect their opinions of books? Kind of, but more so if you're getting personal, which I guess is fair. I did LOL at the One Star review that was written in here though.
My advise to Lana would have been, "reviews are for readers, not for authors".
I was given this free copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review -
1 Star Review. What a book! I love the premise of the book. It really gets the reader thinking about what may be happening behind the scenes (somebody plotting your murder, for instance). It is one of the few books I've read this year that I truly thought about for more than five minutes after completion. This novella is thought provoking and unique as far as I've read.
I'm glad this book doesn't warrant a 1 star rating because I don't have a death wish tonight lol. No katanas in my future!
I received this audiobook from the author/publisher/narrator in exchange for an honest review via Audiobook Boom. -
One-Star Review was another good quick read by R.E. Sargent. Lana is a bestselling author who has seemed to have it all. She has money, the fame around being a bestselling author, and her dream apartment. She is very confident in her writing ability until she comes across a reader who destroyed her latest release with a bad review. Lana decides to take matters in her own hands and crosses a line that will change her forever.
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Great concept!
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Well it was a decent enough story. A very short story at that a bit unrealistic and a bit eye -rolling humorous.
I was also given the audio for review and I have to say it was a terrible choice for a narrator She was a bit to peppy for this kinda story and I almost DNF because of that reason but I was curious enough about the story to keep going. besides is just a little over 5 hours so not a terrible amount of time to listen to her.
My advice to Author would to know that us that are seriously into our audio books are just as picky about who read them to us !! A Narrator is everything, They can make or break a book for most !! -
What the fudge??!
This story was so messed up it's so good! Like, seriously, what if this happen in real life???!!!
Oh, right,
it did!!!
Although what happened in this book was more gruesome than what happened with
this person, there was another one where the author stalked the reviewer, flew to where she was, bought a bottle of wine and smashed it on her head. Seriously!!!! (let me research for that again, I know I book marked that news before).
Wait, is this based on those authors???!
Lana Brooks was a best selling author, and despite the fact that she's on the best sellers' list couple of times and her books are selling generously, she would still check those one star ratings on amazon and will get her head messed up because of that. She doesn't let go of very few bad reviews.
But what's more messed up was that, someone was also stalking her, another author who doesn't like that she's getting it all. One day, right after she came home from her last killing session, she came out of the bathroom to find a stranger, Jessica Nichols, in her bedroom and tried to kill her.
Overall, a fantastic read. Highly recommended!
ETA:
Okay, I found my review of this book I was tellin' ya about on my fourth paragraph
about an author who stalked a goodreads reviewer. Cringie. So cringy. -
This book was really great, I just thought it was a bit short. Though, I know the premise kind of begs to be written as a short story, I still enjoy these kinds of plots so much that I just want more of it.
What was lacking, for me, was that the main character, whose POV the story is told through, was not nearly as creepy and unreliable as I wanted her to be. But it was a super fun read, especially for October! -
5 stars for this one!
I think R.E. Sargent nailed it. For anyone that has subjected themselves to public scrutiny the author has fulfilled their fantasy that has been on the receiving end of the dreaded one star review. I had a blast reading this and highly recommend it. -
A great short story!
This story had a very engaging plot, fast pace, and constantly left me wondering what would happen next. Another great read from Sargent! -
It's one thing for an author to slice & dice their characters ... but their readers too? Loved it!!!
Lana Brooks seemingly has it all: attractive, a best-selling author writing under the pen name Karen Carter, the fancy Manhattan apartment, and all the wealth and literary acclaim that goes with her success - really, there isn’t a thing in the world that should bother her? Still, no matter how good a writer she might be, there’s an old saying ‘you can’t please everyone all the of the time’, hence the occasion dreaded ‘one-star’ reviews. Now, while most writers tend to shrug off such reviews and forget about them or perhaps even engage in online arguments, not so with Lana. This is a woman who definitely doesn’t take kindly to criticism! Combine this with the fact that Lana aka Karen Carter, is a homicidal sociopath and, quite by chance, possesses some dubious means by which to confront her one-star reviewers in the real world, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for some very unpleasant but deliciously diabolical consequences. Even so, no matter what murderous extremes she might go to in order to protect her literary reputation, it’s wise to remember there always that envious someone every bit as calculating, evil, and willing to go just that little bit further.
As an aspiring writer myself, I must say I absolutely loved Lana, so much so I almost want to marry her (only kidding – I also have ambitions to live to a ripe old age, and somehow, I doubt being married to Lana would be conducive to that lol). Even so, despite being a seemingly somewhat unlikeable character, to say the least, you get a sense she’s not as truly evil as first seems, and we even see glimpses of a kinder and more compassionate side to her at times – nonetheless, this is not a woman you ever want to cross, or even slightly annoy!
All in all, a fantastic start to this three-part series. The writing is fast-paced and crisp, ie, no unnecessary padding or flowery description just to up the page count. Though murderous and tad gory in parts, there is a dark and diabolical humorous side to it too that makes this a fun and thrilling read from start to finish … and by god, what a cracking ‘would never have seen that coming’ twist at the end! -
Diabolical
I am sitting here seriously freaked out. I feel like that was the author’s intention and to that I say "Well played."
Lana Brooks is a published author. She takes great pleasure in reading the reviews that praise her work, but we soon learn that she takes great offense at 1 star reviews. As Lana works to protect her brand, aka her written work, it's soon apparent that she will go to great lengths to do so. Nothing could be more shocking than the wildly different personalities she shows between basking in praise and raging over people trashing her writing. Nothing, that is, except what comes next.
I was already surprised at Lana's actions from the outset, and then the author throws a wicked curveball. I'm still sitting here in disbelief, trying to process what I just read. I am thankful to the author for his end notes, which were reassuring, but that story still shook me to my core. -
If you can't say something nice 🤔
👍👍 Lana Brooks , the main character, proves that you should be careful if when offering constructive criticism (or one star reviews). A quick read, but entertaining if you like your murder motives and murderers to get straight to the point.
