I recently spent $450 for a review by Kirkus Reviews. I thought that if the review was good, I could use it to help market my novel. If the review was bad, I could use it to learn something.
What I received was essentially a summary of my novel with a couple of comments. I could not tell if the reviewer thought highly of my novel or writing, or if the reviewer thought my novel was not good and needed work.
I was very disappointed, as I had expected a full review, not just a summary of my novel. The reviewer said a few good things about dialogue and the ending, some critical things about my narrative techniques (which I and my developmental editor think the reviewer misunderstood in her rush to finish the novel and the review).
I wrote to Kirkus and told them of my disappointment in the review. I got back a reply that if there was something factually incorrect in the review, they might consider reviewing the situation, however, the review itself was subjective. Please read their terms and conditions.
I wrote back and repeated that the review was a summary, not a review that argued a point and gave an opinion, pro or con, about my work. I even passed along a link to a handout on how to write a book review. However, Kirkus wrote back and again asked for factual inaccuracies, of which there were none, which leaves me out of luck.
So, I've spent $450 for a so-called review that was a summary I could have written. There were about four lines of solid critique, some positive, some not, and that was it. I could not for the life of me tell whether this reviewer even liked or disliked the novel. So I cannot publish this on the Kirkus site, which means I won't be able to use the review. I feel that I have wasted my $450 completely.
Bottom line: in my opinion, beware about spending money on a Kirkus Review. You may get a reviewer like I did who just summarized the story. Spend the money on a well-known developmental editor instead.
