You just finished reading a book. Hopefully you enjoyed it! But before you pick up your next read, let others know what you thought about it. How? By writing a review!
Many readers assume reviews have to be three to five paragraphs long -for a professional reviewer maybe, or if you have a lot to say- but in reality a review can be just a few simple sentences!
The length of the review isn’t so important, it’s what you thought of the book, and in the number of reviews, so books can gain more visibility to be considered by more readers. That’s the gist of it.
I hope you’ll give this guide on How To Write a Quick and Easy Book Review a try! I know you can do it!
First thing’s first!
Decide the star rating. How many stars would you give the book?
Star Ratings:
⭐️ Not my cup of tea
⭐️⭐️ It was so-so
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked it
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed it
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved it!
**Please do not give a book a one-star review for something that has to do with a mistake the vendor has made in delivering/ returning/ billing for it.
The author has no control over the book’s distribution, and the one-star review will drag down the average review rating significantly. That hurts the book’s visibility on Amazon for example, which hurts the author through no fault of her/his own.
Now…
Always give your honest and genuine feedback on how a book made you feel.
Add your own voice and personality to your reviews.
Let’s Begin!
1. Start your review with a hook or sentence that includes the book title, name of the author and how much you enjoyed the story based on your star rating choice. (liked, enjoyed, loved)
Example: A page turner from start to finish! I absolutely loved ABC by XYZ.
2. Include at least two of the following in a sentence (or more).
Genre: Mention the genre or sub-genre (mystery, romance, women’s fiction, paranormal, historical romance, small town romance, etc.) and if the book is a stand alone or part of a series (number of the book and the name of the series). This appears in the book description, but sometimes readers skip it and go directly to check ratings and reviews. Book covers can be deceiving. (See why your review is important?!)
Characteristics: Use two or three words that best describes the story. (E.g., hilarious, a page turner, romantic, witty dialogue, chemistry, passionate, family drama, gory, suspenseful, dramatic, second chance story, etc.)
Apeal: what appealed most to you about the story? (Ex. the main characters, secondary characters, plot, topic or subject, location, pets, etc.) Explain why.
Writing: How would you describe the author’s writing style? What do you like about her/his voice?
Heat Levet: Let others know the heat level of the book if it has romantic elements. (E.g., sweet, sexy, steamy, erotic)
Trigger Warning: Mention if the story touches on sensitive topics that may cause triggers. (E.g., Domestic violence, abuse, cancer, infertility, PTSD, adultery, sexual assault, etc.)
Narrator: If you listened to an audiobook let readers know if you enjoyed the narrator’s voice and/or any particular traits about her/his storytelling style. Also, mention if you’d like to listen to more audiobooks by this narrator.
**Please DO NOT include spoilers.
3. Finally, end your review letting readers know if you would recommend the book, or if you look forward to reading more books by the author or the series.
See? QUICK and EASY!
If you didn’t like a book, explain why. Some may not like a book because the hero curses a lot, or it’s too gory or the heat level is too steamy. Others may be okay with that, and even be encouraged to read the book!
Book bloggers- you can use this as a guide to help get started with your reviews. I’d say this is an appetizer version. You can turn it into a full course meal!
Here are some examples with extra writing prompts…