Hey book loving friends – I have some exciting news to share this week about a special addition to coming to Relz Reviewz, but today I wanted to share something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. In my lifetime of reading (and at my age that’s many, many decades!) and almost 20 years of writing book reviews – I was reviewing books for one of our Christian retailers and a couple of Christian magazines before I began my own blog – I’ve read a lot of reviews and written many hundreds of my own. In addition, since starting my Author Support Services, I’ve read a gazillion more reviews as wonderful influencers and early readers share them with my authors. As a result, I’ve learned a thing or two about the type of book reviews I enjoy reading and ones that help me decide to buy/read a book.
I’ve also seen my fair share of spoilers (gah, the pain!!), reviews that are simply reworks of the synopsis which offer no opinion of the story itself, and insensitive, sometimes unkind, and entirely inappropriate rants about an author’s purported beliefs or the direction in which they have taken their writing. As I shared with my dear friend Katie of Fiction Aficionado (who was my special consultant on this project!), I got a bee in my bonnet about it all today and decided to share my thoughts on how to write a good book review.
These are simply my thoughts, gleaned from my experience. They are not the last word on book reviewing, by any means. I prefer to read – and write – reviews that are short and concise, many others prefer lengthy, more detailed reviews. Neither are right or wrong, simply the preference of the reader of the review, in the same way I might prefer a book written in a particular style and not another.
If this infographic helps you as a reader/reviewer, I’m delighted. If not, then you can move along happily to something else – I understand!
What are your thoughts on book reviews? Do you write them? Do you read them?
October 14, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Great advice. I hate it when I see reviews on Amazon where people gave 1 star reviews because the book was damaged, arrived late, etc……and the one that really ticks me off is when the person didn’t realize the book was Christian fiction, and gives it a 1 star negative review. Hello? Maybe research the book and author a bit before buying the book
October 14, 2019 at 5:29 pm
Such a great graphic! And, of course, I both write and read reviews. Especially those that follow your excellent advice. 🙂
October 14, 2019 at 5:49 pm
I love this I started in January of this year writing reviews and being on street teams sometimes I find it hard to articulate my thoughts about a book this is great advice thanks so much for sharing it.
October 14, 2019 at 8:23 pm
I am “newish” to writing reviews. I do it to support the author even though I struggle writing them. I don’t want to give anything away (NO SPOILERS) but don’t want it to be a “who cares” review that no one reads. Thanks for the tips Rel!
October 14, 2019 at 11:18 pm
I try to review every book I read. Sometimes I start a book and it just isn’t my cup of tea and I don’t keep reading so I don’t review that book. These are great tips and I will incorporate them as I write reviews. Thanks!
October 15, 2019 at 12:24 am
Wonderful tips, Rel!! Thanks so much for compiling this. As you are well aware, I’ve had my fair share of bad and even cruel reviews, so I really appreciate this guide sheet you’ve created. Personally, I review books and try to always rate up because I know there are six months of an author’s life and their editor’s hard work invested in those pages.
October 15, 2019 at 12:45 am
This graphic is perfection. I think people think reviews have to be this long drawn out, meme inserted paper that would rival a food critic, but these are wonderful guidelines and can show that reviews can be thoughtful and not as lengthy as we think.
October 15, 2019 at 3:31 am
Great infographic! I try to write reviews for every book I read since it helps the author. I also depend on reviews from trusted sources when purchasing books.
October 15, 2019 at 4:11 am
This is a great topic, and wonderful advice! Thank you for taking time to give this a voice (and I love the informational graphics!).
October 15, 2019 at 4:39 am
I love this!!! I try very hard to avoid spoilers in my reviews, which can be tricky. But it is a huge pet peeve of mine. I don’t want to read someone’s review and then out what the huge plot twist is, or how the ending turns out!! Such a great graphic to have in hand when writing your review 😊
October 15, 2019 at 5:24 am
I’ll admit that if I’m not fond of a book, I just don’t write a review because it could be that it’s just not my cup of tea – but hey, there might be plenty of people out there that it’s their perfect cup of tea – God didn’t make us all alike, so to each his own. In my opinion, it’s a good thing to read different authors because according to your mood, you may need a light romance, or a suspense thriller, or a historical drama – – so if you’re feeling flirty & fiesty read Jen Turano – if you’re in the mood for biblical and drama read Connilyn Cossette – if you’re in the mood for medieval drama & romance read Tamara Leigh – – but don’t give a bad review for a suspense drama book just because it was suspense & drama and you wanted fiesty & flirty – – you just picked the wrong genre for your mood – – don’t take that out on the author. Know your mood and then pick your author and then you’ll have a more enjoyable read and will critique it based on true expectations and not that it didn’t fulfill your flight of fancy – – after all, if you book a plane ride to Florida and you get off the plane and see iceburgs . . . don’t take it out on the pilot – – you booked the wrong flight.
October 15, 2019 at 5:42 am
This is an awesome post, Rel!
October 15, 2019 at 9:33 am
Love this, Rel!!! I try to never put the synopsis as part of my review. The only time I might do it a little is if it helps clarify something in my review, or if I just thought a book was okay, and don’t really have a lot to say about it! 😬
October 15, 2019 at 1:18 pm
Thank you so much for the advice. I am a reader, not a writer, but I’ve been trying to write more reviews because of the help it gives to the authors. I’m not usually very wordy, but I’m going to try to give some of your suggestions a try!
October 15, 2019 at 3:01 pm
Thanks, Rel! A great resource for us! You’re awesome!
October 16, 2019 at 6:30 am
Writing a good review is a very specific and wonderful skill. Thanks for a succinct reminders of what to do and what not to do. While Authors have an ‘author’ voice, I also like to see something of the reviewer’s personality. I feel it’s that nuance that makes me trust a review.
October 19, 2019 at 6:53 am
Thank you so much. I love to write reviews on books, but I am terrible at it. By the time I work up the nerve to write it, I have forgotten a lot of details from the story. Thanks again for your help.
October 22, 2019 at 7:29 am
Wonderful advice. My thought process is the less the better, but still convey the message. I do not care for reviews that retell the entire story.
November 29, 2019 at 2:11 am
Rel, Thank you for sharing this extremely helpful visual aid! I’ve always felt that I didn’t do the book/author justice with my “brief” reviews. Thank you for your encouragement in this area. I’ve bookmarked this page! It’s a valuable resource!
March 9, 2021 at 11:38 am
I love reading and doing reviews. I also like reading other people’s reviews, when I have time. It really does give me a feel of whether I want to read the book or not. I detest spoilers! I have never understood why people would give away a critical part of the book!