Review: Not Terrible, But Needs Improvement
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 27, 2014
I can be brutal if an e-book is bad; I'll just disclose that right up front. This is not terrible, but not stellar either.First off, the author swears in the book. This is a DIY book; there is just no reason to throw OMG into the mix. Seriously- that is so unprofessional. There are also typos and other minor errors that might only bug an editor like myself.As far as the content, the instructions are written moderately well. There are some missing details and some of the soapmaking process isn't covered as clearly as I would prefer. However, the process is correct, there are no glaring errors there, and safety considerations are explained correctly.There is a small collection of recipes that are, amazingly, mostly correct. (Almost all small, self-published soap books have recipes that are not tested, have incorrect proportions and are dangerous, so this fact earned this book the 4th star, despite its other weaknesses.) The recipes are super-fatted quite high, however, so you'll probably want to double check and adjust to your preferences in a reliable lye calculator. Also, the last two recipes in the book include no ingredient amounts at all, making them unusable. Sloppy and unfortunate.I would really like to give this book 2.5 stars, but that's not an option, so I erred on the side of generosity. It's not bad, there is usable information, and the recipes aren't dangerous. However, slogging through errors, typos, swearing and general sloppiness really kills the flow when you're trying to learn something new. If it's free, it's worth picking up. If you are going to pay anyway, go with Smart Soapmaking. It's accurate, well written and only .99.