Review: Total Ripoff
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 08 16, 2012
Note: I was well aware of the "serial approach" as explained by the author when I bought this. That being said...What a rip! Okay, so these two chapters of a book (not a segment in a series) were nearly painful until about 40%. Up until then, is was all about convincing us how perfect and beautiful and stunning and gorgeous and...did I say perfect?...the Hero is. Great - he's a looker. Got it. Then it's showcasing the heroine's insight into the interpretation of various forms of artwork, and the appreciation of architecture. Yup, she's an architect/artist. Got that part, too.Then we get to Chapter 2, which is in the Hero's POV - a much nicer place to be. (Mainly, because he doesn't drone on about how stunning he is.) He's arrogant and a bit cocky, all interesting aspects to his personality. Plus, we get a hint of his aggression and dominant side. Okay, things are looking up. But you know what happens at 71% into the book? It ends. Yup, it just ends...and we're "treated" with an excerpt from her 4-year-old full-length novel available for sale in its entirety.I actually thought this approach to releasing the book was pretty clever...until I read it, and now I see this has got to be the worst approach to publishing I've seen yet. You don't take a full-length novel and cut it up into itty bitty pieces to leech as much money out of your readers as you can. Especially, when over 25% of the product is advertising! A book should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This does not - it barely got out of the starting gate before her other book gets thrust into our face with a "Here, buy this!". I thought there'd be a little tease and a wind down, a tease and a wind down. Not have her cut it off at a very obvious chapter break (and right smack dab in the middle of a scene, nonetheless). If an author is going to go this route, at least give your readers a sense of completion when they get to the 99% mark (or 71%, in this case).Part I of this "series" didn't whet my appetite enough to want to rush out and read Part II. And the awful approach to this overall publication makes me lose respect all together. Heaven help us if this is the new trend in publishing.