15 Responses

  1. Tanja
    Tanja at |

    Great question and thanks again for the answers. I like reading why the reviewer liked or didn’t like a book, being it writing style or characters or plot.

    Reply
  2. Ami
    Ami at |

    For me the most essential will be what works and don’t works for the reviewer. THAT will help me a lot. I don’t need review that just explaining the plot

    Reply
  3. susana
    susana at |

    thanks for the question and answers. When I read a review, I like to get an overall impression of the book, and also I like to find out if there is something that has surprised, annoyed, or exact any sort of reaction from the reviewer

    Reply
  4. Shirley Ann Speakman
    Shirley Ann Speakman at |

    Great question and answers. I think in a review I myself I like to know the feel of the book if it something I’d like to read or to avoid things like triggers and the flow of the story. Also what didn’t work or what was so good about the book.

    Reply
  5. Elizabeth Marshall
    Elizabeth Marshall at |

    Great question and answers again.
    For me – one of the most important things is did the book leave you feeling satisfied and would you read it again. No matter the genre or themes i always take a reviewers opinion on if they were satisfied after reading it – especially their opinion on certain topics. If they’re not satisfied but they explain what put them off – I can then make my opinion if I’d give it a go or not.
    🙂

    Reply
  6. Purple Reader
    Purple Reader at |

    Great question, asking for a fav review. In blog reviews, what I mainly look for is what it is specifically that made the book not a 5; or if a 5, what made it so great (not fluff, like it moved me). I generally skip over the what (it was about) and go to the why (the critique itself). But if you tell part of the story, tell me something of import that goes beyond just what the blurb says. I like it to cover plot and character development, locale, tone & style of writing, believability, emotional moments, romance (and how erotic) & non-romance parts, and in a series if it can still be read as a standalone.

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  7. heath0043
    heath0043 at |

    I like to read reviews to get what did or didn’t work in the reviewers eyes. I want to know if the characters were realistic, the plot flowed well, the plot and characters were realistic.

    Reply
  8. Angela
    Angela at |

    Thank you for your answers. I love it when a review can give me the feel of the book (without giving to much away) and i also love to read about the writing style of the author (especially if it is a new to me author).

    Reply
  9. Lisa
    Lisa at |

    I generally don’t read other people’s reviews if I haven’t read a book first because I don’t want my opinion of the book to be biased. When I’m writing a review, I usually don’t recap the book unless it really moved me in some way; either good or bad. I try to write why the book worked for me or didn’t. Usually it’s what tropes I dislike or if I don’t like the characters’ behaviors or if I don’t think the plot is believable. If I really like the book, I try to tell why I like it; what I like about the characters or the story. What emotions I’m feeling. That sort of thing.

    Reply
  10. Trix
    Trix at |

    I like seeing the blurb, major good or bad points, and warnings (triggers, non-HEA, etc).

    Reply
  11. H.B.
    H.B. at |

    Thanks for question and answers. Usually I stick away from reviews if I haven’t read it. I don’t want to become bias and i don’t want to develop expectations. I do like seeing a short recap, what did and didn’t work for the reviewer, pet peeves, if it inspired any emotions. etc..

    Reply
  12. Carolyn
    Carolyn at |

    Thank you for all the great answers! (Special shout-out to Donna and Chris for those reviews — SP entertaining! They were totally worth the read time, and you both sold me on a book.)

    My favorite reviews don’t really recap the story or spoil it. I definitely like to know if the author delivered what was promised by the blurb and cover. Or why we shouldn’t be judging it by those! Not strictly necessary but I do enjoy when there’s a quote or two showcasing what an author does well (or poorly) in the story or that gives a good sense of characterization.

    Reply
  13. Toni
    Toni at |

    Thanks for your answers! I like reading what worked and didn’t for the reviewer and why. I’m looking to see if I think anything won’t work for me.

    Reply
  14. nicki442
    nicki442 at |

    I like to know the why’s of a book’s rating as well. For example, don’t just say (as some other blogs tend to do), “the hero didn’t appeal to me”. Say WHY he didn’t appeal to you. One person’s dislike is another’s like, so the hero being an alpha-hole could be what someone is looking to read about. Also, don’t be shy about mentioning editing errors when there are several in a book. For me, that’s a likely DNF indicator, because the author couldn’t be bothered to proofread their own work. If you find more than three obviously-just-a-typo errors in a book, let others know in the review. Otherwise there’s no motivation for quality writing. Lastly, please include the steam level in a book. “Sweet” romances aren’t my choice to read, and that term signifies zero steam to me. I want to know if a book contains no smexy times, some smexy times, alot of smexy times, non-stop smexy times, because I’ve found that the classifications are open to interpretation as far as what constitutes “erotica” or “erotic romance” versus “sexy”. (I’ve found NA/YA books {Jaimie McGuire to be exact} shelved under “erotica” in bookstores, along with 50 Shades of Grey {which isn’t erotica either}, and I have to laugh.)

    Reply
  15. suze294
    suze294 at |

    Ooh, quite a hard question really as I think it is intuitive – I’ll either like a review or not.
    I tend to not like the deeply critical reviews – it is not a dissertation for marking. Though this is generally not an issue from blogs such as yourselves. I’m not keen when low reviews are given for content that is not to the reviewers liking (again, generally not an issue with blog reviewers) – yes, I may want to know x and y are included but if the story is well written and produced dont give it 2 starts just coz! I have read stories I wouldn’t normally choose, not liked them overly but can appreciate the craft of how they were written.
    Badly written, now fine I want to know that!!

    Reply

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