Two years and two days ago, my debut novel 22 Scars was made available digitally, with the print copy following two weeks later. Since then, I’ve garnered almost 100 reviews on Goodreads, and a respectable 25 on Amazon. Can you believe it? The overall rating is standing at 3.58/5 on Goodreads, and 4/5 on Amazon, which I’m more than pleased with, given the serious nature of the subject and the somewhat complex structure of the story itself (I’ve certainly learned a lot since then).

I would love to see 100 reviews on Goodreads – to consider that 100 people have read my story and felt strongly enough about it to leave a comment for others is, for me, a milestone achievement. Who knows how many others read and enjoyed it, but didn’t feel like going through the process of reviewing it? (I’m aware that leaving reviews is a time-consuming and tedious process, and it says a lot that people were impacted enough – positively or negatively – to leave a thought.)

That being said, I saw a quote recently that mentioned that reviews are for readers, not writers – and I agree. The positive reviews certainly make me feel good, and the negative ones help me to become a better writer, but ultimately a review is, to me, simply a mark of a significant impact on another person in the world, and that alone is an amazing consideration.

With all this in mind, when I do reach 100 reviews on Goodreads I might just feel like celebrating – and we’ll have to see what form that celebration takes! For now, if you haven’t already got your copy, head over to Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Apple Books and check it out!