Isn’t that title the absolute truth?  I needed a mental health break so, so, so badly.  Instead of feeling bad about that need, I did something, well, revolutionary for me… I took that break.  And I don’t regret a moment of that time concentrating on me, on what I want in my life, or on this website.

In case you didn’t know this, I am retired, which should mean that life is a bit easier, right?  Ha!  Nope, not finding that at all.  Oh, sure, I can sleep late, and stay up way too late, but beyond that… well, stuff still needs to get done; life moves on no matter what our age happens to be.  Between reading whenever I feel like it, I also am a plant mom to a pretty impressive collection of plants; some rare, some common, and all needy in their own blooming way.  I am also an addicted gamer, and when a new expansion comes along, everything else is put on the back burner for a bit. Along with a few other responsibilities that I don’t dwell too much on in my online life.  So, I may be retired, but I’m certainly not just as busy in different ways. 🙂

I also run three distinct websites in the romance reading field.  I once broke them down into specific genres for a reason that really doesn’t hold as true in today’s reading world as it once did (one is over 10 years old now).  In order to streamline a few things in my life, I’m going to merge two of those websites into Happily Ever After Romance.  One I’ll keep on its own, but… I will be adding that genre to HEARomance to a smaller degree, again, to make life easier for me (but also because that website has a large following, and I don’t really want to lose that by merging it totally here).

I also have started a plan for Social Media, since a certain little blue bird isn’t as stable or friendly as it once was.  I’ll be adding those new places to also find HEARomance to the sidebar but would also mention that the best way to know what I’m thinking about books would be to subscribe to receive emails when I post something new.  Again, in all fairness, I’m scheduling posts so that eventually there will be 3 to 4 spaced-out posts from me daily.  If that’s too much of what you might consider “spam,” then I totally get that our inboxes are full enough as it is.  But the choice is there should you wish.

When I started blogging about my love of books, my thoughts about the stories I read, or just to connect with other folks who love romance novels, I had certain dreams about this that didn’t turn out quite as I’d hoped.  I’m going back to what I love about romance novels in all the amazingly different genres.  If there is an audience for that, then wonderful… if not, then at least I’m enjoying myself.  And when it comes to a healthy mindset, that is what’s most important of all.  To be frank, this will probably always be a mostly Harlequin based romance review website — I’ll simply be adding in more other styles that I enjoy just as much… and hope that you will, too.

I need a week to set this plan in motion, get posts written and scheduled, do a bit of overhaul on the website, and get that Social Media puzzle sorted out.  So, aside from an occasional comment, look for the new plan for Happily Ever After Romance to begin on August 1st.  I hope you’ll continue this journey about talking about amazing romance novels with me.

I’ll probably regret this post at some point.  But right now, I need to get this out of my head.  Maybe if I see it spelled out, this will make more sense to me.

For the first time in almost 12 years of writing book reviews and posting them on Amazon (among other places), I’ve received that “first warning” email about content guidelines from an auto-created faceless, no-name entity.  Not even a real person or department to contact.  You just violated our guidelines…

It’s a Book Review!  It’s an opinion about a story!

I don’t understand Amazon’s algorithms.  I will go back and strip down a review to the very bare basics and repost it… comes back with a “thank you” email.  But I’ve no idea what “guidelines” I’ve crossed, for they are very vague, very broad.  Some are no-brainers, and I’d never cross those lines.  Yet, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong on these posted reviews to ensure that I don’t do so again.  It’s a catch-22, an endless loop that I’ve no clue how to navigate through.

If I’m banned from Amazon if I cannot give reviews for books there, then… I might as well close down my three websites and keep my opinions to myself.  Why?  Because so many places that I receive ARCs from have an Amazon review as a requirement.  Authors expect to see Amazon reviews when gifting ARCs to me.  And they have that right, for Amazon is the golden grail in its reach to potential buyers.  I get it.

No, that would be giving up and letting a company destroy something that I love doing, and I won’t do that.  But it would restrict where I can post reviews like Goodreads, BookBub, or maybe B & N beyond my own site.  I’ll cross that bridge when and if I come to it.

The only thing that I can think of to do is to have a separate review to post on Amazon.  Basic, informational, bland but honest.  Beyond that, I’ve no clue what else I can do.  Simply rating a book there doesn’t give that impact that authors and publishing houses want.

I’m very depressed and worried right now because hours after receiving that “first warning” email, I got another rejected post email about, you guessed it, guidelines again.  Plus, some of these emails are days, if not weeks, after I posted the review.  What you see on my websites is what I’m posting on Amazon… I see not one damned thing wrong with any of them.

If you have any thoughts, suggestions, or things that you’ve done in similar circumstances to appease the great Amazon… please share.  I’m about at the end of my rope.

I have a very bad habit, perhaps one we share.  I buy books, lots and lots of books — and like any reasonable adult at a dessert buffet, grab far more than I can handle quickly.  (I know I’m not alone in this)  I have good intentions; really, I do.  But time is an enemy that overtakes me far too often.

So.  It’s time to dive into the TBR for at least a weekly feature (that I stick to) or, hopefully, a daily trip down memory lane.  I’ll often do the mechanical parts of a post, the Cover Description, the Cover Picture, who wrote it, etc., as I finish it when I’m on one of those “must read the entire series (world) right now with no break” moods.  I’ll even put down notes, so I don’t forget any important details.  Yet I don’t take the time to write the review because I want to get back to that “world” and see what happens next.  But then a new shiny romance is released, or an ARC is due soon, so I set aside my good intentions and, well, forget those good intentions.  *sigh*

Guilt.  It’s a real thing when it comes to reading an amazing story and not reviewing it, talking about it, or sharing it.  It’s perhaps a personal quirk, but I do feel guilty about missed reviews – which is why you’ll often see reviews of older releases.  It’s time to do something about that guilt, as in getting rid of it!  🙂

Along with those already read but not reviewed yet books, I’m also going to dive into the plethora of books on my Kindle that deserve to be devoured… and not someday but today.  This post is simply to give me a reminder of accountability – if I say I’ll do something, then I need to show proof of it to myself if no one else.  Yet, I’ve read some amazing romances, and I do want to share those reading experiences, so now is as good a time as any.

Please, please tell me I’m not alone in this TBR madness – I’d love some company! 🙂

I discovered that as I was just about to start a review for my current finished book that although I’d read the two earlier stories… *sigh* …I hadn’t reviewed them (or at least I cannot find those reviews anywhere, and believe me, I’ve searched).

I get so annoyed with myself when this happens.  But, life also happens.  *shrugs*  So, all I can do is go back, remind myself of the story (and they usually come back pretty quickly to mind after rereading the Cover Descriptions), and simply do the review now – the authors deserve that at least, even if it is a bit late to the game.  I could beat myself up about it but what good does that do?  Just a reminder to do better. 🙂

Yet… I’m betting that I’m not the only person who has had this happen to them.  We’re human after all.  I love the escape of books, but sometimes we show those human qualities of the characters we love so much… like, forgetfulness. 🙂

There are times when I just want to read.  I don’t want to leave a fictional world, I don’t want to stop to write up my thoughts… I Just Want To Read.

*sigh*

This means, eventually, there are a lot of reviews to get written up.  Over the last 5 or 6 days, I got caught up on a couple of series, but didn’t leave those worlds so you’ll see a lot of back-to-back same-series reviews… it just means I was being lazy and staying content within a world that I was enjoying. 🙂

Recently I’ve been getting comments in Twitter DMs, or Goodreads emails or just emails to the blog basically saying that I’m not an objective reviewer because I rarely rate below 3 stars.  I know I don’t have to – but I’d like to address that impression briefly.

Most importantly of all – I do not ever purchase or request ARCs of books that I don’t think I’m going to enjoy.  I mean, really, why would I do that?  I only have so much real-life money to spend on books and so much free time to read… why in the world would I pick up something that I know going in isn’t a book that I’m going to love?

Second in importance… I’m not a professional reviewer.  I’m a reader first and foremost of all.  I happen to love Romance novels in all (or most) of the sub-genres available today.  I started the blog because I like to share my thoughts with other readers, maybe find a new to me author, or introduce someone to an author that I enjoy.  Book talk, simple.

Thirdly, someone famous once said that no two readers ever read the same book.  And this is very true.  We all bring something different to each story we read – our history, our beliefs, our emotions, ourselves so how is it possible for everyone to react to one story the exact same way?  It’s not.  My reviews are my opinions – they are not Aunt Sally’s or the cat lady down the street’s but mine and if I happen to be entertained enough to say I loved a story enough to give it 4.5 stars… then that’s my opinion and my right.  No one has to agree with me, and no one should take me to task for not sharing their opinion of the written word either.

Fourthly… well, I think Rhett Butler said it best when he uttered, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”  I want to spread my love of reading, it really is that simple.  I love to escape my reality and head off into my imagination fueled by someone else’s imagination through the pages of a book.  And if I think that book that you’d only give 2 stars to is worth 5 stars to me… well, that’s okay, because we each read a book and reacted differently.  Not one thing wrong with that reality.  /end rant