I’ve been seeing a lot of discourse across social media (if you’re not on Threads, you need to fix that—stat) about book reviews: the good, the bad, and the “should I/shouldn’t I” questions coming from genuinely caring readers who want to support their favorite authors while also maintaining truth and transparency in the book world.
Book reviews are vital.
Book reviews are life.
In fact, I’d dare to say that anyone who reads a book better be planning on writing a review for it because the amount of people who DON’T LEAVE REVIEWS??
Take a deep breath, Nikki.
Okay. I’m cool. I’m calm.
That’s why we’re here, why I’m here, sharing with you my thoughts and pro tips on writing reviews so you can Do The Things that readers love and authors need with the confidence of “hey, I know what I’m doing!” (Such a rare confidence for all of us, amiright? 😅)
I’ve often (okay, more than often) wondered what stops readers from leaving reviews when there’s only a need for a few sentences, maybe a paragraph. Statistically, only 1%-10% of readers will ever leave a review for a publication. And that’s infuriating for authors like me who have distributed, sold, and freely given out over 500 copies only to receive 50 reviews on Goodreads and 18 on Amazon.
Especially when the book is a critically-acclaimed award winner. *AHEM*
After talking to some avid readers, however, one of the biggest issues became clear: no one really knows how to leave a review. Not the tech side of it (platforms make that easy, phew!) but rather the questions of “will this even help”, “will I piss off the author”, etc. tend to freeze the fingers and block readers from leaving their honest opinions.
To help, I’ve created this quick guide to writing a great book review whether you’re a blogger, bookfluencer, or just popping a quick note on the Kindle app to cross-post on Amazon and Goodreads. Yes, it does that now! I’m loving it!
Book Blog:
Make sure to write your own non-spoiler blurb for the book as if you’re about to tell a friend over coffee what it’s about. 2-3 sentences is all you need; focus on what made you fall in love with the concept, not the characters.
For example: “A young woman faces off with something darkly inhuman to free her father from imprisonment. Nevermind the fact that her father’s a thief.”
In a pinch, you can write a disclaimer that you’re taking from the official book blurb on Amazon/Goodreads/author’s website/bookstore and frame it in quotes. This is best reserved for when you didn’t really click with the story, so you’re still being fair in the general “what it’s about” and avoiding any opinionated leanings that might misconstrue the concept of the work.
Amazon/Goodreads:
Do.
Not.
Write.
A.
Summary.
No one needs to know what the book is about. It’s already right there, on that same page, long before the viewer can even scroll down to read your thoughts.
If you’re one who writes drafts in Notes, Docs, Word, etc. and copy/pastes for simplicity, I totally get it! That’s smart! Just omit the part with the summary and save it for your bigger posts or platforms that don’t have a readily-available blurb, like Tome.
Do, however, identify tropes! Please, help the author out as much as you’re helping other readers and identify the tropes you found! As much as we want to be experts on our own work, we’re always going to miss something.
Always.
I actually formulate my post-published social media content with info gleaned from book reviews that—yes, I do read because all feedback is good feedback—identify things I wasn’t even aware I had.
Shadow Daddy? That’s a new one for me.
Only One Bed? Totally unintentional so it never registered as something to mention.
Plus, tropes have become as valuable as (if not more than) tags, identifying aspects in quick common vernacular for consumers to utilize in their decision-making process. I’ve even started using tropes as tags in product and blog posts! Which I know some of ya’ll have been quick to do already, but listen: like Sansa Stark, I may be a slow learner, but I learn.
This isn’t a requirement, by the way. If you have no idea what tropes are, don’t sweat it—let the other bibliophiles go ham with it while you leave your two cents and general gushing over the new addition to your library.
Book Blog:
You will need to write up a disclaimer on how/why you read and are now reviewing the book. Was it an ARC? Were you paid to write an editorial review? Was this on your own free time just because?
Disclaimers are important for blogs the same way identifying a paid actor or influencer is important: people want to know if the hype is genuine, or if you’re taking money just to say something nice.
Or, maybe, you were paid for your honesty and it’s still gonna be brutal.
Amazon/Goodreads:
Some are going to insist you write a similar (but shorter) disclaimer so everyone will see if you actually bought the book, or if it was given to you freely by the author as an ARC, giveaway, etc.
Personally? I’d rather you didn’t—unless it’s absolutely required by Amazon’s Terms of Service/review policies. In some cases, it is, so please ignore me here and carry on carrying on.
Here’s my thing: unlike blog review posts, disclaimers in product reviews can actually cheapen the value of the review.
You read the ARC? Of course you’re leaving a review. It’s expected.
Got it from an online book club? Then why are you writing about it here?
Another aspect to consider is just how valuable that info is for the people reading the reviews. If I’m sussing out a good vacuum cleaner, I don’t actually care if Bissell gave it to Jane Doe in exchange for an honest review. I just want the review, which—by default—should already be honest.
Like I said, Amazon does get a bit stickler about this so please review their ToS and policies in order to make sure you’re phrasing things correctly and adding what needs to be added. A great blog article from better experts than I can be found here. When it comes to Goodreads and other apps, you really don’t need to be broadcasting how you obtained the book unless it’s really cool, like my proof copy of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi that I found in the Take One Leave One book exchange in my apartment building’s laundry room.
I’m open to dissenting opinions, too! I’m well aware of how touchy some people can get about these things, and this “how to” isn’t meant to ruffle feathers. If you don’t feel right hitting that button without the disclaimer, then please: let your conscious be your guide.
I’m not divvying up this section between blogs and platforms because what I’m about to tell you to do is true and accurate both ways.
Be thorough.
Be specific.
Be objective.
Be HONEST.
I’m going to bold, italicize, maybe even highlight that word if WordPress will let me.
HONEST.
Why am I hammering this in through the wood and down to the subflooring until we hit concrete?
Because I’ve seen far too many book reviews from wonderful, caring, sensitive book reviewers who are so terrified, they write reviews to appease “the gods” (*cough*the authors*cough*). Which then, in turn, makes the book sound way better than it is.
If we’re going to be effective in our readership, we have to be real, honest, and yeah—at times, a bit brutal.
Not every book is a winner.
Not every book was ready for publishing.
And this is a harsh truth authors need to live with while readers and consumers do need to know. If you’re afraid of what the author is going to say about your review, so much that you make it sound better than it is, well…isn’t that the same as leading people to buy something you know for a fact doesn’t work?
Here’s where objectivity becomes vital.
Don’t give low stars because you disagreed with the characters’ choices.
The author probably disagreed with them, too! I know my own fave power couple have been absolute idiots and another character in my debut novel completely biffed it out of nowhere while I was writing it.
Don’t give low stars because you found 10 or fewer typos.
You are not their editor. Even if you are *an* editor, you’re not the author’s.
I say it this way because there is such a thing as artistic liberty when it comes to punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc. (Did you know there’s no such thing as “proper grammar”?) And without the author’s Style Guide right in front of you, there’s no way of knowing whether they wanted that word spelled dwarfs or dwarves.
I also bring this up because the standard margin of error for professional editing—even from Big 5 publishers like Penguin Random House—is 90%-95%, meaning that there will always be, without exception, something misspelled or misprinted inside any given book.
There’s a typo in ACOTAR.
Go ahead, look it up! It’s there. I giggled.
Don’t give low stars because there are too many unanswered questions in a book that is clearly the beginning of a series.
That’s like hating on Supernatural for not finding Dad in the first episode.
Now, if you have a bajillion unanswered questions and it makes you excited to read the next book, definitely mention that! I love it, authors love it, new readers will be excited to find out what you’re referring to; it’s great!
But the amount of “I’m giving 3 stars because there’s too much unanswered” when the novel was clearly marked BOOK ONE (and especially in the Fantasy genre) is turning my hair silver.
I’m too young to be going silver.
Stahp.
SIDE NOTE: Yes, I am partially referring to reviews I’ve received for Ithandryll. Transparency is a value I hold dear even if to my own detriment. But I’m also referring to dozens of reviews I read on other books when I’m browsing for new titles to add to my TBR and it doesn’t take more than a quick glance to notice the correlation between low stars, frustrated readers, and…well, the word “series”.
Let’s be better about that. Okay? Okay.
Do back up your personal—meaning, more subjective—opinions with context and/or examples from the book.
I’m not trying to say, “Oh yeah? Prove it.” But I also *am* trying to say that so when you do come across something worth mentioning, you can establish yourself and your review as honorable and credible.
For example: I personally find toxic, misogynistic male main characters paired up with weak, fragile female main characters to be a very tired trope based on this marketing concept of pandering to damaged female psyches.
I’m just not going to write that specifically in a book review. Even if the book is exactly that.
And believe me, I’ve been paid to write books exactly like that.
What I *would* mention is that the toxic male/fragile female trope is not my personal cup of tea, and I’m unable to sing the praises of {insert book here} because it leaned so heavily into this, the rest of my enjoyment suffered. I might even add a direct quote that isn’t a spoiler, but a good example of what I’m talking about.
On the flip side, pulling quotes and excerpts that made you LOVE the book (or even just made you think) not only gives other readers a fun snapshot of what they can anticipate—it gives the author insights into what you found valuable and quote-worthy that, like tropes, they may not have ever considered before. And this helps in their PR campaigns, media kits, press kits, et cetera on exponential levels I cannot even begin to sufficiently describe!
All reviews are good reviews.
Except for the ones that only leave stars without explanation. (Kidding!)
Okay—not kidding when it’s a one-star review with zero explanation whatsoever. If you have the time to be mad about the book, you have the time to explain why.
In all seriousness, though, it’s better to leave a review than to not—especially when it’s something that captivated you, kept you awake at night, and made you feel all sorts of things.