Conflict of Interest?

I have been reading several erotica stories from the Amazon bestseller list. It's always a good idea to check out the competition, right?

Erotica isn't an easy place to get reviews. Self-published authors also have trouble trying to get someone to write about their books. I've been writing down my thoughts on a file, trying to get a better idea of what is out there. It's almost like a review.

Except then a friend of mine explained why he thought it was a conflict of interest to post reviews of another author's books. Those words weigh in my mind as I try to figure out all the details.

I don't know how many other authors write reviews. I ought to head over to a writing forum like Goodreads to see who is out there reviewing. But writing isn't quite like a lot of industries out there. I don't expect a customer to buy books from one author only. I don't even expect customers to buy in only one genre. A lot of brands look for that kind of loyalty - buy only BMW or Dyson or Energizer. Use only Pandora or State Farm for your service needs.

When I look over the books I own, several authors have been my favorites. Each of them has a different strength (and weakness). All of those books have held my attention, though some do keep me up to read later than others. When does sharing my opinion about another author's books (in my genre) become a conflict of interest?

The other half of that would be that I can't simply put out five stars for something I read. It has to really move me to get that kind of glowing review. Many of them get three stars to mean I enjoyed it, but not enough to ever read again. If I don't finish a book because I get bored or annoyed - it's would probably earn one, but possibly two, stars.

Sometimes that kind of system really affects the author. They think their work is awesome and should always earn five stars. Yet there are a wide variety of people who read, and each of them looks for something different. It's impossible to earn five stars from everyone.

I think it feeds in from everyone wanting to be exceptional and also not wanting to make waves. Like the unfortunate children who all get the highest marks because no one wants to say they failed until they're older. You can't fail Kindergarten, so we'll pass you on to first grade, second grade, third grade... Then in sixth grade, or maybe seventh, we'll give you real grades. If you don't know you're failing until you're twelve, how can you possibly expect to learn to deal with it and change the pattern? If you're afraid to cause someone the slightest bit of discomfort, how can you be honest?

If I can't feel like I can be honest in a review, I would rather not do them. It isn't fair to me and it isn't fair to the other readers. It hurts the author, too, to make someone else think they might like a book when they would prefer to read something else.

What are you looking for in a review? Would you follow what an author says in that genre? I assume an author in the genre keeps reading a lot of things to know what's out there and what is allowed within the rules of that genre. Where would that conflict of interest lie between getting reviews of other works out there and promoting your own work?