I receive a lot of review books, but I have never once told lies about the book just because I got a free copy of it. However, some authors seem to feel that if they send you a copy of their book for free, you should give it a positive review.Do you think reviewers are obligated to put up a good review of a book, even if they don’t like it? Have we come to a point where reviewers *need* to put up disclaimers to (hopefully) save themselves from being harassed by unhappy authors who get negative reviews?
I don't receive any free advance copies from either authors or publishers (though, hey, if anyone wants to send me some, I wouldn't be saying no!) so I don't feel that I have that pressure to provide a good review.
Having said that, in the reviews that I do write, I don't feel that I MUST write glowing reviews - if I don't like something, I'll say so - but I do feel that constructive criticism is the way to go. Flaming and all-out meanness, no matter where or how I got the book, isn't the way to go. Regardless of how I feel about the book, it's still someone's work. I wouldn't want someone overtly trashing something I'd spent a lot of time on.