Okay we talking about how reviews aren't trustable when the reviewers are paid "bc pubs just want good reviews"

Let's talk about pubs giving out ARCs long before authors are actually done writing (1)

Entire passages that can make or break a book, entire new characters or even racist stuff can be added last minute and no reviewer will see it until release day. I think that is a big issue aswell that needs to be addressed. (2)

People are scared publishers will just buy 5 star (or generally positive) reviews, while they are currently able to create hundreds of reviews of a book that isn't even done yet. (3)

Take the Naomi Novik book, a clear example how a book can get a lot of pre-release hype when the finished product is problematic. This is not the fault of the reviewers not seeing the problematic stuff, as parts of it *weren't in the arcs* (4)

That power is waaaaaaay more questionable than whether or not reviews get biased when reviewers are paid. Bc the number of reviews coming out of that are significantly less and jfc just trust people? (5)

The fact that pubs can do this, can damage the reviewers aswell. At this moment it's known that parts of the problematic passages weren't in the ARCs of Noviks book, so we can't fault the reviewers. But when that information isn't shared, what then? (6)

It won't be the first time a reviewer gets a lot of shit for not pointing out every single problematic thing, but how should they if it isn't in the version they read? (7)

I am not here to say that publishers are intentionally doing any of this, it's just a concern of the power they hold, a power that can put a book in a different light than it might deserve, a power that can create dishonesty and a power that can damage reviewers (8)

Whether such stuff happens intentional or not, it's something to think about, especially if you are a reviewer and review early ARCs regularly. It's a risk. (9)

Putting it in more context, the fact that reviewers are honest with such risks attached, why would anyone think money is gonna change that? (10)