This is so great by @ruhawksley on people apparently forgetting what the role of a critic is. Reminder: you're not a PR. Authors etc have those already. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/dolly-alderton-ghosts-review-irish-times-barry-pierce-literary-criticism-b1180463.html

I'm not a huge fan of critics deliberately seeking out things they know they'll hate, but it works both ways. You shouldn't actively be looking for art you already know you'll love so you can keep writing only* good reviews, as if out of fear of being viewed as 'mean'.

Part of the problem, and I see a lot of this in book reviewing world, is that the critic tends to be an author themselves. You see the notes at the end of the review, 'journalist's book XX is out now'. It's a small community, you don't want to rock the boat.

But if you're worrying about fallout bc the writer happens to be a friend of a friend or whatever, you probably shouldn't be reviewing. That's not being nice, it's bias, and it does no one any favours.