Until my two books were published, I had no inkling of the importance of the reviews readers post on websites such as amazon.com and bn.com. Last year a friend asked me to write one for her father’s book, which I’d told her I was finding very useful. That was my first review ever, and it was done more out of friendship than out of any concept of how helpful the review could be in promoting the book. The review I wrote yesterday of a novella about a young woman whose life is touched by Jesus’ healing works was quite a different matter. The book’s subject was so close to that of my “Daughter of Jerusalem” that I wanted to give it a rave review. But while I loved the spirit of it and appreciated its historical detail, it had some literary shortcomings I couldn’t entirely overlook. I really battled with myself over it, wanting to support the author but wanting to be honest to prospective readers as well. I hope that my final draft was fair to both sides. A book review is truly a gift to all concerned, and if anyone who reads this has read either of my books and is inclined to write a review, believe me when I say that I will be more than grateful!
