I’ve been reviewing novels for many years now. I have submitted literally hundreds of reviews to Amazon.
HOWEVER… the last review I submitted to Amazon was rejected. I got the following message:
I am posting links to my review and ask my faithful and knowledgeable blogger friends if they could advise me as to what part of the review would be considered inappropriate content by Amazon.
My review of “A Likely Story” by Leigh McMullan Abramson
Thanks in advance for your time and support.
Fictionophile 
I’ve recently had reviews rejected because I’ve acknowledged publishers and authors at the end of my reviews. So now leave them out.
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My guess would be white privilege too. The bot will have flagged the phrase in case it is extremist
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Thanks. I guess I should have spotted that. We’ll see if they post my resubmission…
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I had one review rejected on B&N because of the word “sex” in the review! Go figure. In my latest submission to Amazon, I had the word “bastard” and decided to write it as “b*stard” to avoid them saying I was using inappropriate language. Fingers crossed!
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Haha. Recently I wrote one where I said the book was a real corker. After I changed the wording to saying it was very good they published my review. I hate that they can reject on such feeble grounds. Thanks Davida.
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Goodness know. Some bot picking out a word it didn’t like! It wasn’t Amazon but my husband had an email which didn’t get through someone’s filter once and was returned. After much puzzlement and re-reading, he concluded the filter didn’t like the word ‘spanking’ as in brand spanking new! 😄
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I wish we lived in a world where humans did the screening instead of ‘bots’! 🤪 Thanks Joanne.
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I have a feeling the words “white privilege” are what got you flagged. I wrote a recent review on a book set in England before the outbreak of World War II. I could not use the word “blackshirts” which was in the book or “Nazi”. I am still trying to get the review to be accepted. Sometimes it is an easy fix and other times, I need to do a rewrite. It is trial and error. Good Luck!
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Thanks for sharing your experiences Kris. 📚
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I get these every once in a while too. Mostly I just let it be though I see people have resubmitted. I never understand the “nos” though.
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Thanks Joyce. It would be SO helpful if they voiced what their objections are…
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“Entitled,” “damaged,” “white privilege,” “plagiarism.”
The bot could think you are: accusing someone of being a snowflake, speaking disrespectfully about people with different lifestyles, going on a political rant of the kind that is not allowed on Amazon (because, of course, many are), or accusing the author of plagiarism.
Just my guess. Yes, I know it doesn’t make sense. But I’ve had reviews and comments get caught in the bot for content that was directly quoting the article or book.
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Thanks so much Jennifer. 😘
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Oh how annoying Lynne! I wrote a review recently for a book that was a rip off of To Kill A Mocking Bird. It was basically the cover and then a link to something which I didn’t click on. I wrote that the book was a scam and I had the same reply that you did. I wonder if it could be something to do with the word plagiarism as someone else has already mentioned?
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I’ve removed the word plagiarism and resubmitted the review. I’ll let you know if that works Nicki.
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I’ve had this happen lately for me too for a book review. I write a lot of reviews for books and products that I buy from Amazon. Like someone mentioned earlier, you might just go through your review and reword a sentence or two. I found that doing that, allowed my review to go through a second time. I’ve also found that when I link to an outside source sometimes, they will allow it and sometimes they won’t (I think it depends on the source).
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Thanks Sandy! 👍
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There is a formula Amazon makes available to potential reviewers. I usually follow the std book review formula in abbreviated form. I haven’t had a review rejected yet, though a few were obvious criticisms…I cited examples and listed a few positives and followed the format.
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I’ve always just copied and pasted from my original review from my blog. I hate the thoughts of rewriting/reformatting my reviews.
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I also thought it might be the word plagiarism that was flagged. I agree, highlighting the word would be helpful. I’ve has some rejected because I wrote “opposite sex” and it was flagged. Very frustrating, but they don’t read the reviews, just target words.
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Frustrating really sums it up Carla. 😕
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Assuming that you’ve made a purchase from Amazon in the last couple of months (if it’s been a while, they block your reviews), they something get hung up on harmless words. In this case, the only word I think might be flagged is “plagiarism”. They really should just tell you what it is they find offensive 🤷🏼♀️
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Yes Kelly. I wish they would highlight the part of the review that they find offensive. It would make the life of a book blogger much easier. I will remove the word you suggested and resubmit my review. Silly though if the subject of the book is plagiarism…
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Very silly indeed, but I’ve had it happen with similar words. Good luck and do let me know what happens!
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I’ve been rejected before and couldn’t figure out the exact reason. I rewrite my review and resubmit and it’s accepted.
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Maybe….. you could rewrite that first paragraph to spin the negative a bit. Maybe “the characters could have been more likable” instead of they were unlikable. Maybe substitute the word odious for something less strong.
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Thanks for the suggestions Carol. ♥
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For the record…I think it’s a fabulous review as is!
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You are too kind Carol 💕
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