Book Review Help

[Shubham]

Okay, I haven't written many book reviews and I think of the few reviews I have written, I very much sucked at them.
So I wanted to ask tips for new people who want to start writing book reviews.

[[deleted user]]

I think it helps to make notes of what you want to say about which parts of the book, whether that's writing down a quote/your reaction to it, or just putting down an unfiltered version of what you want to say. My reviews mostly follow the same structure, which helps me.

[Mali]

I’m actually having some trouble writing books reviews too, I just started my own blogging website dedicated to books but like AspiringAuthor said, it helps when you write notes as you’re reading the book

[Random Pineapple]

Well bad review are easy to write because you just rant about everything you didn’t like and explain why. I don’t know about good reviews. I’m not very good at them because I’m too destroyed after a good book. For good reviews, you should just write down what you think during the whole book (in status updates or whatever) and then put it into a review. It’s not like it has to be a perfect essay describing what you liked. Just say what you think. And like Adela said, you can section the review. Make a part about characters, the plot, writing style, etc.
Wouldn’t it be useful if I could take my own advice.

[Shubham]

Mali wrote: "I’m actually having some trouble writing books reviews too, I just started my own blogging website dedicated to books but like AspiringAuthor said, it helps when you write notes as you’re reading t..."

I just deleted my blog last week, it was not working out for me. I will be starting again from scratch.

[[deleted user]]

Well, I think this topic is pretty much in Sofia's "review advice" now.

[Luna]

What I do is that I usually split my reviews into sections like characters, world-building, writing style, etc. it helps me organize my thoughts on each aspect of the book.

[Bhavya]

Here how I write my reviews- (I kept everything spoiler free and try to avoid all spoilers as I like giving a good idea about the book without spoiling anything)

I first always start with a quote from the book, even if it’s a book I didn’t like so much. This quote is mostly something that stuck with me, or I just liked in general.

Then I give my star rating , as I often give half stars so it is to clear things up.

After that I start with a few introduction lines, like;
What did I like/dislike most about the book? What stood out to me most? Why did I read it? Did I have any specific purpose? Did it serve my purpose? etc

I also mention if there are any trigger warnings.

Then I start with the plot
Here I talk about what the book was about, was here anything unique? What did I like about it the most? Any plot twists? Were they predictable? Any plot holes/inconveniences in the plot? Was the plot too convenient? How was the ending? Was it a good conclusion? Was there any foreshadowing? etc

Then I talk about the writing
How was the writing style? We’re there any cliche lines? If there were, I give examples with dialogue. How was the pacing?
Was the pacing consistent? etc

If it is a fantasy book (as I read a lot of fantasy) then I talk about the world building next.
How was the world built? Did we explore everything? Was it well developed? Was there something inconsistent in it? etc

I then talk about the characters.
I go over each of them individually, unless there is a specific reason(like spoilers) for me not too.

I talk about what I liked/disliked about the characters. Were they just black and white/snowflake characters? Was anything about them unique? Were they morally grey? was it well done? etc

I sometimes use quotes from the book to describe the characters as well.

After this, I mention any other aspect of the book I’d to cover, like romance or character dynamics.

If I’m reading an audiobook (as I read a lot of audiobooks) I give my thoughts on the narration.

I then write a few lines on why I rated the book the amount of stars I gave it.

After that, I write my overall thoughts in the book/would I recommend it and to whom I’d recommend it.

Then if it’s a series, I link my reviews and ratings for other books in the series.

I also add some gifs in between to make it fun!

I then put this disclaimer-
All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

And I mention my rating system

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite

Here is a link to one of my reviews if you’d like to see how I execute this-https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It you read the whole thing, then thank you! I know that was long. :)

[Lillyyy, Bookish Immortal]

Thanks so much for this template! I'll definitely use some aspects of this, and it's inspired me to make a consistent template for my own reviews!

[Bhavya]

Lilly wrote: "Thanks so much for this template! I'll definitely use some aspects of this, and it's inspired me to make a consistent template for my own reviews!"

Glad I could help! :)

[G.S.]

Hi, anyone on this thread looking to practise their reviewing skills on a newly published book desperately in search for readers and reviews? My debut book To The Grave would love your review!

[Sarah]

Hi! I'm not sure if this discussion is still active but I just wrote my first review for King of Scars and I'd appreciate any feedback?

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...