Long story short...I published reviews online and they all pertained to the quality of work on our home build. I received a letter today form the contractor's lawyer stating I published inaccurate and defaming statements and that I should retract them. Are reviews really defaming? How can anyone post a review if that's the case? I'd be willing to share in PM if anyone would like to review it.
Review writing is an art. To write a negative review that is safe from a losing lawsuit, the writer needs to be able to distinguish between fact, pure opinion (which does not state or imply fact), and falsehood.
Negative reviews are lawsuit magnets. For one reason, no one likes to be criticized. For another reason, negative reviews can cost the one reviewed money. And another reason is that negative reviews are often false, which can affect reputations.
Reviews can be defamatory if they state or imply false facts and these false facts cause demonstrable harm to the subject's reputation.
A failure of many review-writers is that they often generalize based on a single personal experience (e.g., this company ALWAYS ... or, this company NEVER ...). They often exaggerate their complaint (e.g., this company is so bad, millions of people can DIE!!). And they often tell lies ... because the bare facts are just plain boring.
It is impossible to tell without reading what you wrote whether you crossed the line from fact to defamatory fiction. Apparently the contractor whose work you reviewed believes lines were crossed, and his attorney did not discourage that belief.
You have options. You can leave the review in place and risk a lawsuit - and, if what you wrote was defamatory, the lawsuit could cost you many many thousands of dollars. The harm from defamatory text increases the longer it remains online for readers to read.
You can remove the review, which will not prevent a lawsuit but can mitigate the damages that could be awarded in a lawsuit.
You can remove the review and in its place write a retraction, which will not prevent a lawsuit but can mitigate even more the damages that can be awarded in a lawsuit.
You can consult with a lawyer in your area to discuss these options, after the attorney has had the opportunity to personally review your review.
Good luck.