What do you want in a book review?

By TDF Pamela On February 19, 2011 · View Comments

Hi, everyone. You might have noticed that I’ve been a bit quiet for the last week or two, and I’m very sorry about that. My grandmother passed away on February 8th, and I’ve been back in Texas, helping my parents out. WereGeek was wonderful enough to hold down the fort here while I was out of touch, so big thanks to her and the rest of the awesome discriminating fangirls.

But I’m home in Oregon now, and I’ve got a backlog of reviews to write and post. I’ve been thinking, though… I know what I like to see in a book review, but I want to know what you find the most useful. What do you think makes a review a good one? Do you prefer reviews that are short and sweet, or ones that are longer and more thorough?

What about the extra information that goes along with the review? Is it helpful to have stuff like the publisher, the retail price, the genre, or if it’s part of a series included?

Leave me a comment with what you think makes a good review, and the writers here at TDF will do our darndest to make our reviews the best we can. :)

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About The Author

TDF Pamela

The Discriminating Fangirl, who is more likely to answer to Pamela if you shout it at her, is the proud owner of an MA in English, focusing on children's/young adult literature and popular culture. She's now not using that degree to work as a project manager for a mobile app company. She reads voraciously, loves geeky movies and tv shows, reads comic books as often as she can buy them, and when she's procrastinating, she enjoys playing video games. She can be contacted at t.d.fangirl @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter @tdfangirl.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=698297196 Terry Martin

    What do I like in a book review? I don’t want spoilers and really don’t have specifics of what I want to know. I can check it out to see whether it is YA or not, but if it is adult I do like to know just how graphic/explicit it is. Some are barely too much for a teen (which I am not) and some are very graphic or smutty. I like to know. Otherwise I just want a general feel for the story, the writing, and how it made the reviewer feel. I don’t want or need a blow by blow of the story. Some of the reviewer’s opinions of the main characters is very helpful and if it starts slow but is a really good book, that warning is good too. I know that is pretty general but I do know reviews can definitely make me want to read a book or not interested. I usually read half a dozen of them if I am going to buy a book because I am well aware that we don’t all see things the same way.

  • Samantha

    I look to see a bit of a description of the book. More than what the back can provide me without giving away any spoilers. I like to know did the reader find the characters believable and did they like them. If the book is bad I would like to know why. Was the plot interesting, well thought out and flowing. Story well written. Was it consistent. Overall what makes this story something I should go out and buy.

  • Anja

    I agree with all that has been said before me. One thing I like is a true rating, if a book is a 2 let it be a 2 don’t make it a 3 or 4 to please the publisher/author that I hate!
    Also if you like the book tell me why, nothing big but like” the world building was so great I thought I could live there”. Not just “it was a great read” you know. I also like to know if a book has a slow start sometimes I will give up but if I know it will be slow in the beginning but get better I am more likely to stick with it.

  • http://littleredreviewer.wordpress.com/ redhead

    Sorry to hear about your Grandma, but happy to see you online again!

    Reviews wise, I want enough information to know if it’s a book I’d be interested in or not. is it YA or not? what’s the genre? traditional fantasy? space opera? steampunk? romance? all of the above? Was it easy for you to “get into” it, was the writing flowing and easy to understand, did you like the characters, did the plot seem reasonable, did you overall enjoy the book?

    no spoilers is also appreciated.

    If it’s part of a series, I’d like to know. I’m not so worried about publisher or price.

  • C.J. Archer

    So sorry to hear about your grandmother.

    As to reviews, I like the usual – what was good and bad, did it standout, what makes it unique/special or what made it so bad for you. I don’t care who published it, but if it’s at a good price, I want to know, as well as genre, sub-genre too.

  • Trishheinrich

    I am so sorry to hear about your grandmother. Thanks for coming back so soon to the site, though Weregirl was great, you were missed.

    What I like in a review is some specific “likes”, what you felt worked and what didn’t, were the characters believable, the plot creative, is this a first time author or established. Let me know if there’s spoilers and if it’s part of a series.

    I think you and the others on the site do a great job of reviewing the materials and I like the variety of tastes you have represented, it’s refreshing. Keep up the great work!

  • Anonymous

    Thanks, everyone, for your input! It’ll be super-helpful as we write new reviews. :)

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