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crown of starlight cover / cait corrain
crown of starlight cover / cait corrain
Del Rey Books / @caitcorrain via Instagram
Culture > Digital

What’s Going On With Cait Corrain & The Goodreads Review-Bombing Drama?

Jordyn Stapleton

Ever since Goodreads launched in 2007, it has been one of the most popular online spaces for all things books. On the website, users can track how many books they read in a year, organize books on customized “bookshelves,” and add others as “friends” to compare book preferences. Users on Goodreads are also able to rate each book they read on a scale of one to five stars and write a review. Unfortunately, this feature can be misused — and in December 2023, drama erupted after a review-bombing scandal by Cait Corrain. 

First-time author Corrain, who uses she/they pronouns, was set to release her debut novel Crown of Starlight in March 2024. However, she was recently accused of review-bombing on Goodreads, which led to her being dropped by her publisher and her agent. Buckle up, because this story involves faked Discord messages, 31 pages of receipts, and the Reylo fanfiction community.

What is “review-bombing” on Goodreads?

“Review-bombing” is when individuals or members of a fan group try to tank the ranking of a piece of media. Fans will leave one-star reviews on websites, dislike videos, or leave negative comments to make it seem like audience response is generally negative. In many cases, the review-bombers haven’t even seen the movie or read the book they’re leaving a negative review on. 

Review-bombing might seem like a harmless prank, but it can become very serious. According to writer and director Glenn Sanders, it’s common for review bombers to post hateful, racist, or anti-LGBTQ+ comments in their reviews. Some review bombers will even go as far as to threaten actors, crew members, or authors. Review-bombing can also affect sales, because potential new readers might be turned off by the lower ratings. Review-bombing has the potential to create serious consequences.

So, what exactly did Cait Corrain do?

Corrain was accused of creating fake accounts to leave low ratings and poor reviews on upcoming books similar to her own. Many people have pointed out that the reviews were mostly left on books by authors of color, including Bethany Baptiste, Molly X. Chang, and Kamilah Cole. Goodreads users began to notice several of the same accounts leaving negative reviews on books and liking each other’s reviews. It was then discovered that all of these accounts had left five-star reviews on Crown of Starlight.

@xiranjayzhao

A full explanation of reviewbombgate. #booktok #caitcorrain #crownofstarlight

♬ original sound – Xiran Jay Zhao

In early December, Canadian author Xiran Jay Zhao shared a 31-page Google doc on X with evidence of the fake reviews. Zhao posted a Tik Tok explaining the situation as well, and Bethany Baptiste, one of the affected authors, posted a long thread on Dec. 8 breaking down her point of view on the situation.

Corrain originally denied the allegations of review-bombing, claiming that one of her friends had been behind the reviews. Corrain shared screenshots of a Discord conversation between them and their friend “Lilly,” where Corrain expressed anger for the reviews. Corrain claimed to know this person because they were both in the Reylo fanfiction community (aka fanfiction about Rey and Kylo Ren from the Star Wars franchise).

However, people online quickly realized that the conversations had suspicious timestamps (some said “Today,” others below “Today” messages said “Yesterday”) and odd language. According to Zhao, other Reylo fanfiction readers and writers also came forward, claiming to have never heard of a “Lilly.” It turned out, not only had Corrain faked the screenshots, she had made up “Lilly” altogether.

Corrain apologized, but the damage was already done.

On Dec. 12, Corrain admitted to creating eight accounts. They said the reviews “boosted the rating of my book, bombed the ratings of several fellow debut authors, and left reviews that ranged from kind of mean to downright abusive.”

Corrain released a long apology on X, where she claimed to have been struggling with depression, alcoholism, and substance abuse at the time she made the fake accounts. They said that in November and December 2023, they suffered a “complete psychological breakdown” and left harmful reviews for fellow debut authors on Goodreads. “I’m sorrier than you’ll ever know. There’s nothing I can say to erase what I did to you,” she wrote in her apology statement.

The response to Corrain’s statement was largely negative. User @Cosmicmilktea commented, “Honestly this is an insult to people who are struggling with depression and substance/alcohol abuse and do not use it as a free pass for atrocious behavior.” Another comment from @browniex16 read, “I love how you left out how you specifically targeted POC authors…mental health issues aside deliberately going after POC authors means you’re also a bigot but okay.”

Corrain’s ex-agent Rebecca Podos made a public statement on Dec. 11 that she would no longer be working with Corrain. Bethany Baptiste, one of the authors that Corrain targeted, responded, “Though it’s good to see Cait face the consequences of her own actions. There was plenty of time for a private apology to be issued before a public announcement. I’ve spent days defending my name & reputation while Cait had the privilege to hide. Dropping her doesn’t absolve you.”

Although her website has been made private, Corrain’s own author page on Goodreads is still up, and they have been receiving negative reviews for Crown of Starlight. One user, Elias H., updated a previous review, saying, “Yeah, no. I definitely can’t support an author who review-bombs their fellow (mostly BIPOC) 2024 debuts. This is just embarrassing.” At the time of this publication, Crown of Starlight has an average rating of 3.93, with 10% of the reviews being one-star. The reviews don’t seem to matter anymore, though, because it looks like Crown of Starlight won’t be pubilshed at all anymore — at least, not by the original publisher, Del Rey Books. In a statement on X on Dec. 12, they confirmed they were dropping the book.

Now all there’s left to do is support the known authors and books that were impacted by this situation of review-bombing. Check them out below, and even consider leaving a (fair) Goodreads review if you read them.

Jordyn Stapleton has been a National Lifestyle Writer for Her Campus since February 2023. She covers a variety of topics in her articles, but is most passionate about writing about mental health and social justice issues. Jordyn graduated from CU Boulder in December 2022 with Bachelor’s degrees in music and psychology with a minor in gender studies and a certificate in public health. Jordyn was involved in Her Campus during college, serving as an Editorial Assistant and later Editor-in-Chief for the CU Boulder chapter. She has also worked as a freelance stringer for the Associated Press. Jordyn is currently taking a gap year and working at a local business in Boulder, with hopes of attending graduate school in fall 2024. Jordyn enjoys reading, bullet journalling, and listening to (preferably Taylor Swift) music in her free time. If she isn’t brainstorming her next article, you can usually find her exploring coffee shops or hiking trails around Boulder with her friends.