Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It's perhaps unfortunate that this book's turn came up at the same time my tolerance for sloppy publishing came to an end. Yes, I've read worse books, but have only now become fed-up enough to rant. I read a short synopsis of this book and too quickly clicked the buy button- eager to lose myself in a good romantic-suspense series. I remembered my enthusiasm when I finished my first books by Cindy Gerard and Suzanne Brockmann. I ran-didn't walk (or maybe I skipped)- to get to the rest of their books. I hoped to have another 'find' with Gennita Low. The premise of 'The Protector' was promising enough- hell, just say Navy SEAL and anything seems promising enough. But when I found myself again and again tripping through inconsistencies, typos and poor grammar, the promise became a simple, frustrated determination to just finish the damn thing so I could justify buying it. There were some other problems, too. Though they had a hot first love scene (believe me, you wait long enough for it) I otherwise didn't care about the lead characters. She is ridiculously reticent and nearly humorless and he is inexplicably whipped from the beginning. Also, there's a pretty depressing subject matter that darkens the story a wee too much for me. At any rate, these last two complaints are subjective and wouldn't have warranted this entry. Here's my real beef. It's not with Ms. Low (whose work is still above some others in the genre) but with the publisher. Was there even an editor assigned to this manuscript? Or a proofreader? For example, the author repeatedly uses incorrect verb tense which, more annoyingly than a simpler grammar error, can change the explanation/direction, etc. of the story line if you're not reading carefully enough. One reason I like to read romance and/or suspense is I'm not usually compelled to read paragraphs over to make sure I 'got it'. Here, I was often re-reading sentences just to verify that what I thought didn't make sense, in fact, did not. I admire that the author speaks several languages, so maybe she's confused about verb usage because English is not her first language? If so, where were the copy editors to pick up the slack? Look, this is my main point- and, granted, one that several romance writers and publishers do seem to get. Don't insult the reader's intelligence. We know we're not reading Pulitzer material, but we still thrill to a well-written plot and character. AND we think our combined $7plus per book should ensure at least one trip through a capable editor's hands. See, we, the romance reader, know you, the romance publisher, are making kajillions simply because we are a voraciously reading and loyal lot. Just know that the next time I feel moved to throw a book against the wall after one too many frustrated groans, I'll not only cross the author off my list, but the publisher as well.