Do you always leave a review for a book? Do you read reviews?
Do you always leave a review for a book?
Do you read reviews?
86 Answers
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loading Please wait
Do you always leave a review for a book?
Do you read reviews?
Please leave reviews – they make a difference to us. If we don’t have enough reviews, many promotion channels are closed to us.
@Glen I have just seen a post by an author who is one review short of 50. I believe 50 opens so many more promotion channels.
Can you explain how this works because I didn’t notice any difference when one of my books went past 50 reviews?
@Susan It’s a myth that ‘zon does magical things when you pass 50 reviews. But some paid advertising channels require you to have a certain number, which varies between them. But reviews are a huge help to authors, so please leave them! I review on Goodreads because, although it is owned by ‘zon, they don’t (yet) have this bizarre ruling of deciding anyone who follows anyone on social media must be a big buddy.
@Lesley Thanks for that. I was sure I had read somewhere that having over 50 reviews opened new promotions.
@Karla It was something I had read a while ago
@Susan Yes, it does, but not necessarily with ‘zon. Everything there is undergoing a bit of a sea change anyway at the moment so what did apply no longer does in many cases.
@Lesley Ah now I understand
I will always leave a rating (rarely an actual review)
Albert, ratings from your Kindle only go to Goodreads and as such the author doesn’t reap the benefit from their sales page on Amazon or Kobo etc.
Therefore, if you get a minute to return to the place where you bought the book ( amazon etc) and leave a short review then it helps the writer enormously ?
I do most of the time.
Yes, unless I have nothing positive to say. Therefore, almost invariably YES. Authors have spent a year plus creating those words – it is only courtesy to thank them.
If I have enjoyed mostly yes.
I have my own ratings system.
Good is 3
Very good is 4
Fantastic is 5
If I thought it was OK I would not leave a review
I only leave a review if I like a book.
If you can, please do leave a review. They are like oxygenated blood to authors, especially indies who have limited ways of spreading the word.
Always leave a review, if I loved it, then every where, if it was not quite to my taste then I won’t be as enthusiastic with sharing.
@Andi I tend to do the same.
I only leave a review if it is from Netgalley. Always used to just got a bit slack.
@Carol I am way behind.
Always review, good or bad.. I read the bad reviews first tho!
Always leave reviews! I only tend to read them if I am two minds about getting a book but please everyone leave reviews as they are really important to authors. Just a few words is enough xx
Tru dat 😉
I very rarely with ‘the big guys’ but other than that, I always do.
Always with Netgalley books. Not usually with library ?
If I finish them.
@Kath yes because if I don’t like them I don’t finish them.So don’t feel it would be fair .
Exactly!
@Kath ^^ This. Absolutely don’t agree with writing a review if you don’t finish the book. You can’t possibly give a balanced view if you do, IMHO.
@Lesley, exactly. I’ve seen 1 star reviews from people who either downloaded by mistake, didn’t finish or haven’t read a book.
It’s petulant at best and can do writers a lot of harm.
@Christine Yes indeed, because it pulls down the overall star rating 🙁
My personal favourite was on one of my travel memoirs which is listed under Travel> Europe> France. It gave 1-star and said ‘I wanted a book about Portugal but I got this one instead’ ???????
@Lesley, some people ??
I honestly didn’t mind, it’s been a fabulous marketing too 😉 In fact, it’s time I shamelessly exploited it again 😉
Actually, on a crime-related theme, this is my favourite 1-star of one of my crime fiction series: ‘ I thought it was rubbish. I hope not too many hard copies have been printed. It would be a great shame if any squirrels lost their homes in order to produce the paper to print this.’ ?????????
@Lesley, go for it ???
I usually leave a review on either Amazon or Goodreads. I’m easy to 5 stars from but I’m honest about my thought on the book’s shortcomings.
Always x
I always write a review for every book that I read, whether a Netgalley book, library loan or one of my own.
I always leave a review on a few different sites unless the book is so bad I cannot finish it, which has very rarely happened.
Always unless I abandoned. Most likely time for me to forget would be if I’d reviewed on NetGalley and Goodreads before it was out on Amazon. I might forget the latter. But I normally do all three.
I must get into the habit of leaving reviews, if only a couple of lines. I know it means a lot to the author who slaved over the work!
I always give a review after reading a book it goes to Netgalley then to Goodreads and Facebook book club and of course Amazon . I must be doing something right as Amazon have told me I have had 5000,000 views of my reviews not bad for just over 500 books read ????
I always leave a rating but never thought about leaving a review but I will after reading the posts on here.
@Vicki, ratings from your Kindle only go to Goodreads and as such the author doesn’t reap the benefit from their sales page on Amazon or Applebooks etc.
Therefore, if you get a minute to return to the place where you bought the book ( amazon etc) and leave a short review then it helps the writer enormously ?
@Christine ok will do, thank you for telling me this.
Usually just a rating unless I was very impressed. I look at the aggregate rating and sometimes a mix of good and bad reviews. Reviews are so personal— it can be difficult to base a decision on them.
That’s a very valid point. A review can only ever be the opinion of the person reviewing it and that’s fine, that’s what it’s meant to be. But you only have to look at a thread on something controversial – I Am Pilgrim – for instance – to see the wide divergence of opinion. That’s what makes for interesting and lively debate 🙂
Yes. If I enjoyed a book. If I’m not enjoying a book, I move on so no review as I didn’t finish it. I also read reviews on various platforms: Netgalley, Amazon, Goodreads, blogs and instagram/facebook/twitter.
When I last left a less than favourable review (which I did feel was justified) the author was really snotty about it on her page, so no, won’t leave another one.
@Silvie do you mean you won’t leave a review for any authors?
@Silvie, most writers know that getting into “spats” with readers is commercial suicide.
My partners is a crime writer and although is deeply hurt by the odd cruel review has learned to take it as feedback and “ do better next time”. ?
When I wrote an honest but, I believe fair review on Amazon for a crime author I had always hitherto enjoyed, I was jeered at and castigated on this author’s own Facebook page. Never again will I risk this sort of humiliation.
Silvie, I think you happened on a “rouge” writer.
Your best course of action would be to return the book to amazon ( take money out of his/her pocket) and never read that author again. Very rude!
Please don’t let it put you off reviewing again, your opinion is just as important to writers as the next person.
As I said, especially in the world of Indie authors or those with smaller publishers, they will almost never enter into negative dialogue with readers … positive interaction, yes, that’s beneficial to both parties ?
How appalling, @Silvie. You are as entitled to your opinion as the next person and as a reader I would be v wary of a author who behaved like this. Am fine about authors who joke after getting 1 star reviews due a book that was never ordered by a reader but anything else and I give the author a wide berth. I saw an author who harangued a reader on GoodReads and on principal I would never read any of their work. If an author had behaved like that towards me as someone of low self esteem if would have knocked the stuffing out of me. xx
I try to. Confess to hating them though.
If you could only see ancient arthritic old authors like me skipping stiffly but happily round my house at every one I get, it might motivate you to write more 🙂
I do like to read nice ones about my own novels too though, but I am not keen on initial read or writing of them. Totally agree we need them Lesley (especially the ones which make us skip happily).
Yes, always. Unless I really didn’t enjoy it & would rate it below three stars.
I’m a bit of a 3-star minimum, too. Any lower than that and I would tend not to leave one, unless I felt other readers might benefit from a cautionary tale. Did it once for something purporting to be a book which was barely the length of a school essay 🙁
Not unless it is very bad or very good. I read so much forgettable stuff. I don’t savage anybody.
I always leave review on Amazon, but only if I enjoy the book. I only leave 4&5 star reviews.
I know how important reviews are to helping writers get traction on Amazon etc.
Books are subjective and what I enjoy others might not.
Besides, who am I to destroy a writers chance of selling books just because I didn’t like it?
I guess I go by the old adage, “ if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” ?
Even a lower-star review, provided it is well written, is very helpful to other potential readers. It might be that the very thing the reviewer dislikes is exactly what they are looking for. And, as someone else said, I’m one who always starts with the 1-stars when I’m reading reviews. Some of them are absolutely literary works in their own right 😉
@Lesley I have bought a book based on 1 star review. I loved the book. What the reviewer did not like about it was something that appealed to me.
And bear in mind that marketing-savvy authors will often share reviews, including the lower ones, because they can create a nice buzz around a book 🙂
Nothing at all wrong with 1-star reviews, as long as they don’t just say ‘Rubbish’, or something. That’s not helpful.
Yes, If I enjoy reading a book, I will leave a review. I rarely read reviews when buying a book. Sometimes the title will grab me but I look at the synopsis.
Yes I do
1.No – only if the book is exceptionally good – or abmysmally bad!
2. Yes, I read reviews, mostly after I’ve read the book.
I review most of the books I read, sometimes it takes me awhile (I’m always woefully behind on my reviews). The exception is when it is an older book that already has a lot of reviews and I don’t see how my review will add to the existing stuff. If it’s a newer author or a book that doesn’t have many reviews I try to be sure and leave something.
I do read, or at least skim reviews, especially if it is a new-to-me author or I recognize the reviewer as someone who has given good recommendations before.
Yes and yes xxx
No, I don’t leave reviews. I often read other people’s reviews before buying a book, but if it’s a writer I already know and like, I’m not influenced by what other people write.
Never read them, rarely leave them.
Yes I leave reviews and read them too.
I am obsessed with reviews
I always read them
sometimes leave them when a review book. sometimes i I just put one sentence for other books. rarely read them
Yes I leave one if I enjoyed/liked the book .
If I don’t like a book I leave nothing.
I feel leaving a bad review may put readers off .
Just my take.
I do leave ratings on all books on good reads and will make a point to review them especially if it’s a smaller author or they don’t have many/any reviews yet.
I almost always read reviews before downloading onto my Kindle. Try to leave honest reviews for others.
No. And no. I don’t leave reviews for a mediocre book if it’s already rated 3 stars on Amazon; or if it’s my favorite author but I wasn’t really excited about the book, or if I don’t care about this book and couldn’t even finish and it’s not really the author’s fault and not just what I expected.
I don’t read reviews if I already know this author or if it’s recommended by my favorite author. I also don’t trust 5 star or 1-2 star reviews. If it’s a new author for me or I am not sure if I want to read a series I will read 3 star reviews and see what made those readers less than happy. If I start a new series and there are already many books in it I’ll read reviews for the last one. Especially to check if this author tends to kill main or important secondary characters. I really don’t like it and I stopped reading a few good authors because of that (one or both main characters died).
I used to but now don’t have time, I read too many books but do leave a star rating as easy to do at the end of my books on my kindle
As an author, I feel a compulsion to write a review, and as a reader I feel compelled to write a review that will help future buyers/readers know what they are getting. I understand all the reasons why not to take the time to write a review, which is fine, but personally I can’t help myself in most cases. The exception is a book I didn’t finish. If I quit reading because I can’t make it through, I feel that I can’t write an honest review because I didn’t get to the end.
yes.
Always write, sometimes read.
Only if I like the book. I know this sounds unfair, but If I don’t like it then that’s only my opinion, and who am I to criticise another author’s work.
If I love it or hate it, I will review it. If it leaves me feeling “meh”, then I won’t review it.
With me not being too technically minded I don’t leave reviews as such, but I either message or leave a post on authors wall, but don’t think I could leave a bad review for anyone.