How to Write a Book Review

Knowing how to write a good book review can help not only the author of the book but also future readers

One of the best ways to help a book is by leaving a book review.

Yes, we could leave a starred review. However, when you take a few minutes to write a more detailed book review it goes a long way. You not only provide information from a reader's perspective but provide social proof for other readers.

It’s unfortunate that many readers don’t take the time to leave a written review for books when we rely on reviews ourselves to help us make an informed decision before purchasing.

Think of it this way. When you are reading the reviews of a product, or in our case a book, what are you looking for? Are you looking for particular tropes you enjoy or don’t enjoy reading? Are you looking for specific themes that you haven’t seen in this genre yet?

Putting yourself in the shoes of a reader pursuing the bookshelves is a great way to start when writing a review.

A breakdown of a good book review

Ideally, a book review can be broken down into sections, allowing you to give different parts of the story to the reader without giving away too much.

Tagline:

If you are truly ambitious, you can open your book review with a tagline. Places such as BookBub, Amazon, and StoryGraph ask for a one-sentence headline before the detailed book review.

So you can think of it this way, a tagline is a hook to pull the reader in.

Example: “Anywhere Else by Kayla Hicks is perfect for readers who enjoy happily ever after’s.”

Example: “The Backup Superhero kept me on the edge of my seat and gave me the occasional chuckle with the infused humor.”

Introductions:

Next is the portion where you want to introduce the characters when the reader meets them.

This can be as simple as telling the reader a short sentence about where we find these characters and the main struggle they each are facing. Just enough information to give the readers a sense of perspective beyond what they will find out from reading the description.

Maybe as the reviewer, you can show off more of the personality of the character in this introduction.

Summary Time:

Remember that we don’t want to write any spoilers for readers. But if you find that you accidentally do this, include the word SPOLIERS in your headline.

The point of this portion is to provide a grabbing summary of the first half of the book. Allowing the reader to really take in the stakes the characters face, while also allowing them to want their questions answered by reading the rest of the book. And if done well, you may be able to snag the book a few new readers.

How the author/ book did well:

Next is the time when we tell the readers what worked for the book.

This is where you explain what the author did well with the plot. Or you can explain what you liked about the character dynamic. Or even if the plot differed from other books in the genre.

Remember to be specific when explaining why something succeeded without giving any spoilers.

What didn’t work for the book:

If this is something that needs to be said, this is where you describe what didn’t do well and why.

As with before with how the author did well, be sure to be specific when explaining why something didn’t work in your opinion without providing any spoilers.

Your closing:

When it’s time to wrap up your review, now is the time to leave your closing comments, your recommendation, and your overall opinion of the book.

Example: “I loved this book so much that I finished it in 3 days. I would recommend this book to others. I give this book a 5-star review.”

This portion doesn’t have to be lengthy simply because you have written most of your opinions earlier in the review.

Here are a few examples of book reviews I have written:

for the book Cherry Hollow by Melissa Roos

for the book Prophecy by Amanda Lynn Petrin

Know that leaving book reviews helps the book get seen as well as provides social proof to readers who are considering reading the book.

I’m aware that as a reader, we feel that we have already done a good deed by buying the book and reading it. But we need to take it one step further and leave a review.

Without reviews, it’s unlikely that the book will be seen or read by readers. So the next time you finish a book, I hope that you take the time to leave an honest, detailed review for the author and potential future readers.