How to Review Books

Your review makes a HUGE difference to authors’ careers!

This page offers some tips on what to say (and what not to say) below!

Along with giving you direct links to review the books for your convenience. 🥳

Where should I review books & can you give me the links?

Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing my books!

I love to see reviews on Amazon most of all, but Goodreads and Bookbub are tied for second place. 😁 Find out more about why below…

Why do reviews matter?

Have you ever seen a book with only 2 or 3 reviews? Did you feel confident that buying it would be a good use of your time or money?

Reviews give other readers confidence that the author knows what they’re doing.

They tell other readers that this book is worth the time. ⏳

They get readers hyped about a book that contains all their favorite tropes. 👍

They help readers know which books to avoid with trigger warnings.

They help connect authors with the right readers, by saying “If you like XYZ, you’ll love this book!”

So reviews are super important to help authors find more readers, AND they help authors gain the confidence they need to keep writing more books. Sometimes they can even help authors improve their work by mentioning weak spots.

Additionally, reviews help authors qualify for certain promotional opportunities, which put the book in front of larger audiences, helping the author gain more readers, which in turn helps the author keep writing more books!

Your review matters way more than you think!

Yes, it all comes down to getting an author you like to keep cranking out books!

Plus, reviews on Amazon tell the magical recommendation robots who to show the book to, leading to more sales, which again helps keep authors you love in business!

Reviews can also keep someone from buying a book they won’t enjoy, saving her time and money.

Not everyone likes the same things, and that’s okay!

That’s why what you say in your review matters. Which leads us to…

What to say (or NOT say) in your review and why

Need some ideas?

Think about what a friend would want to know about the book:

• 👫 Is this book M/F or reverse harem?
• 🔥 Slow-burn or fast-burn?
• 💋 What do you think of the guys so far?

Your review should let other readers know what to expect when they read this book.

When it comes to reviewing books, here are some Dos and Don’ts:

Have fun!

Definitely feel free to have fun with your review!

Include emojis or gifs, and say what you loved about the book.

Your enthusiasm will come across to other readers.

Be honest!

What’s the point of leaving a review if you aren’t giving your honest opinion?

As an author, I will never harass a reviewer for saying something I didn’t like. I might go cry about it, but I’ll get over it.

Readers are allowed to say what they liked and didn’t. End of story.

However, the savvy reviewer knows that even one or two low ratings can drag a book’s overall score down, which can impact the author in various ways, such as making it more difficult to join promotional opportunities.

Don’t say “exchange”

Amazon (and possibly Goodreads) remove reviews that say stuff like “I received this book in exchange for an honest review” because it’s against their Terms of Service.

If I give you my book for free, I will never require you to leave a review. I encourage it, but I certainly can’t force you to!

Want to know something interesting? In May 2021, an Amazon rep told me this:

“Reviewers do not need to mention that they received their copy at no charge.”

– Amazon customer service rep (emphasis mine)

That’s right, no need to mention how or where you got the book if you don’t want to.

And if you do, please don’t use the word “exchange” because the robots will delete your review when they find it.

Don’t bash the author!

Try not to be a mean girl, mmk? Authors pour their hearts and souls into these books.

Even if you didn’t like the book, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. Someone else might love it.

Mark your spoilers!

On Goodreads, you can hide spoilers. Not all sites have that capability, so be sure to mention VERY CLEARLY when you’re about to say something that’s a spoiler.

Type SPOILERS in all caps or use emojis 🤫, then leave a gap so they don’t see it right away.

Put spoilers at the end so virgin readers can skip the spoilers if they want to.

Give content warnings, if needed

Other readers will REALLY appreciate it. When I was going through a particularly difficult part of my life, I wish someone would have warned me about certain books. 😥

Triggers can be temporary, depending on someone’s circumstances.

Be kind. Help your fellow readers out.

Here’s a list of all the tropes and triggers from my books.

Don’t summarize the blurb.

If someone wants to read a description of the book, they can find it. That’s not what they care about in your review. They want to know how the book made you FEEL. 😭

Now, if some important piece of info is missing from the book description, it makes total sense to tell other readers about it. Like if there’s M/M action in the book, for example.

But as for a full recap? Not needed.

I hope this overview makes you feel more confident about writing a review of your favorite books!

Where to review books and why

The top places most indie authors want reviews are Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub. Those are certainly my top three.

It’s totally acceptable to copy/paste your review from one site to another. You may need to reformat it (if you have lots of gifs on Goodreads, for example).

Amazon reviews matter because they can boost the algorithms, or the magical recommendation robots, as I like to think of them. More reviews can get their attention, and they’ll start showing the book to more readers, which helps the author.

Goodreads reviews matter because SO MANY readers hang out there. It’s a great place to hang out with other readers and review books.

Bookbub reviews matter because it’s quickly becoming another reader hangout, and it’s much more user-friendly than most other websites. When other readers see you reviewed a book, that gets their attention and makes them more likely to check it out.

Below, I’ll show you how to leave a review at each of those places. It’s really easy!

How to get the Verified Purchase tag on Amazon

You may have noticed this nifty tag that some reviews get under their title:

You will only get this orange tag on Amazon if you bought the book BEFORE leaving your review. It will NOT be retroactively added.

Borrowing the book in KU might not always get you the Verified Purchase tag.

Why Verified Purchase reviews are awesome

Amazon shows Verified Purchase reviews across ALL international Amazon stores.

Your Verified Purchase review is also much more likely to show at the top.

So if you want to be seen, that’s how you do it! For authors, this is GOLD!

I will always let you know when my books are available free or at 99c so you can buy them if you want to, even if you already read them in KU or as part of my reader team.

Get price drop notifications here>

If I can’t get the Verified Purchase tag, should I still review the book?

🙏 YES, please go ahead and review the book anyway!

Any review, verified or not, makes a HUGE difference to an author.

Just like our leading ladies, we’re greedy, and we love all the reviews we can get. 😏

How to review books on Amazon from mobile

If you’re on your mobile phone, you can review books on Amazon without downloading any app at all. I’ll show you screenshots below.

Alternatively, on the Kindle app (mobile), here’s what you do:

• Long-press a book in your library (press and hold), then hit View in Store.
• Scroll WAY WAY down past the other reviews (and past the reviews from other countries).
• Then you’ll see the WRITE A REVIEW > button.

From your phone, go directly to leave an Amazon review by following these links:

Review OFQ Volume 1, OFQ Volume 2

OFQ1, OFQ2, OFQ3, OFQ4, OFQ5, OFQ6, DHA, VAMP1, VAMP2, VAMP3,

RWP1, RWP2 or RWP3

If you’re logged into Amazon, that link should open your mobile browser and take you here:

Then you can choose your stars, type in a review, and you’re done! As I mentioned before, please DON’T use the word “exchange,” as your review will probably be deleted.

Since I’m obviously not going to review my own book on Amazon, I reviewed some tasty chocolate covered almonds instead. This is what the page will look like AFTER you write a review:

It’s that easy!

Take a screenshot of that “Review submitted – Thank you!” and email it to me at author@tracilovelot.com if you’d like to join my review team.

Reviews of my books are not required to join, but like I said before, reviews matter so much!

How to review books on Amazon from a computer

From your computer, go directly to leave an Amazon review by following these links:

Review OFQ Volume 1, OFQ Volume 2

OFQ1, OFQ2, OFQ3, OFQ4, OFQ5, OFQ6, DHA, VAMP1, VAMP2, VAMP3,

RWP1, RWP2 or RWP3

If you’re logged into Amazon, that link should open a new tab/window and take you straight to the review page.

Those links are your best friend if reviewing books from your computer, because Amazon doesn’t make it easy to find the review link!

Here’s the book page for Eva Chase’s awesome Bound to the Fae series Book 1. Do you see a review link anywhere on there? No?

No, instead you have to scroll and scroll and scroll until you find the other reviews, and then hit the button to the left side. It’s easy to miss!

Now you can choose the stars to rate the book and write a review. The headline should be about 7 words or fewer.

As I mentioned above, try not to use the word “exchange,” because the Amazon bots sometimes remove reviews that say that.

Then Amazon thanks you for the review and tells you it’ll be processed at some point in the future.

When a book gets more reviews, it gets Amazon’s attention, and they’ll start showing the book to more readers, which helps the author. So, thank you, sincerely!

How to review books on Goodreads from mobile

You don’t need the Goodreads app to review books on your mobile device.

Review OFQ Volume 1, OFQ Volume 2

OFQ1, OFQ2, OFQ3, OFQ4, OFQ5, OFQ6, DHA, VAMP1, VAMP2, VAMP3,

RWP1, RWP2 or RWP3

Following those links, you’ll land right on the review page. (If you’re logged in.)

Otherwise, here’s how to review without the app:

• Log in to goodreads.com
• Search for the book you want to review (typing Our Fae Queen finds my series)
• On the book’s page, scroll down til you see the Write a Review button

(Here I’ll review one of my favorite RH books by Cate Corvin as an example!)

Now type in your thoughts, using the ideas I mentioned above!

Don’t forget to hide spoilers, for example.

Once you scroll down and hit the button at the bottom, you’ll see your review immediately appears, no approval required!

To join my review team, you can screenshot your review, or send me the link.

If you want to get the link to your review, here’s what you do:

First, tap the book cover image to go back to the book page.

Then scroll down to the bottom of your review.

Now hit the Read full review link on your own review.

That takes you to this page, which shows ONLY your review.

Scroll up/down to show the address bar. (Firefox’s is at the bottom.)

Long-press (press & hold) the address to copy the URL.

Then you can paste it to me or whoever you want to send it to!

Take the link or the screenshot of your review and email it to me at author@tracilovelot.com if you’d like to join my review team.

My review team will receive my books for FREE in advance of publication in the hopes of getting a review. But reviews are never required. Email me at author@tracilovelot.com for more info!

Thanks for reviewing books! Every review is another chance for authors to find new readers.

How to review books on Goodreads from a computer

Here are the links to go directly to review each book on Goodreads:

Review OFQ Volume 1, OFQ Volume 2

OFQ1, OFQ2, OFQ3, OFQ4, OFQ5, OFQ6, DHA, VAMP1, VAMP2, VAMP3,

RWP1, RWP2 or RWP3

Following those links, you’ll land right on the review page. (If you’re logged in.)

Or you can find it the hard way, by going to Goodreads.com, searching for Our Fae Queen or Demon Hunter Academy in the top bar, choosing which of my books you want to go to, and landing on my book’s page.

(Tap to see bigger image and hit back to come back to this page.)

Here I searched for The Blooming Courts so I can review the first book by Kendra Moreno.
I really loved her Fae world and all its wondrous magic!

A book page looks something like this:

On the book page, scroll down and hit the Write a Review button as shown under My Activity:

Here’s what it looks like AFTER you hit Write a review. You can choose the star rating AND write a text review, along with tagging the book as reverse harem. 📚

If you want to mention spoilers, you can put spoiler tags around it (just remember to CLOSE your spoiler tag with a / at the end) as shown here. I know this isn’t much of a spoiler, but I wanted to show you an example of what this will look like.

This is one of the reasons I love Goodreads so much! I can write spoilers in my reviews and not worry about anyone accidentally stumbling across it… unless they want to see it. See how it says “view spoiler”? It’s hidden away until you click that.

And if you hit the link, it looks like this:

Now you can take a screenshot of your review or copy/paste the link in a message to me if you’d like to join my review team. Reviews aren’t required, but they are super helpful to me as an author, and each one means the world to me!

Thanks for helping authors find new readers by reviewing their books!

How to review books on Bookbub

Visit my book’s page on Bookbub and hit the Review button at the top right to leave a review.

Or go directly to review each book:

Review OFQ Volume 1, OFQ Volume 2

OFQ1, OFQ2, OFQ3, OFQ4, OFQ5, OFQ6, DHA, VAMP1, VAMP2, VAMP3,

RWP1, RWP2 or RWP3

I’ll show you an example of a book I enjoyed by Kathryn Moon in her AMAZING Inheritance of Hunger series. (Seriously… read it. I couldn’t put it down.)

First, search for it in the bar at the top, which will bring you to the book page.

Hit Review underneath the Save to Wishlist and Buy From… buttons.

Now you’ll see a popup asking for your review of the book. If it doesn’t come up, you may need to disable your ad blocker.

Choose how many stars to rate the book. If you loved it, recommend the book to your friends on Bookbub and choose things you liked about it. Then you can write a brief review below.

When you write your review, if you want to mention similar books, hit the Mention book icon and search for the book you want to add. I’ll show you what that looks like below.

Bookbub kindly thanks you for reviewing the book. They do love when readers leave recommendations!

Once you hit the X on the Thank You popup, you can scroll down on the book page to see your review. When I did that, I realized all three similar books’ titles kind of ran together at the bottom there.

So, because the three titles ran together weirdly there at the bottom of my review, I decided to fix it. Hit the three dots at the top right of your review, then hit Edit to fix anything you like.

There you have it! Leaving a review at Bookbub can be just as helpful to authors as reviewing it on Amazon or Goodreads.

If you’d like to join my review team, screenshot your review and message me. Reviews aren’t required, but they are truly, deeply appreciated.

Thank you for helping indie authors survive by recommending our books to other readers!

Which book should I review RIGHT NOW?

Since Rejected Wolf Pack Book 3 is currently the latest in the series, it could use some review love!

Or if you haven’t read Marked for the Pack yet but HAVE read Protected by Outcasts, book 1, or Marked for the Pack, book 2 of the series, then they could use some help!

Our Fae Queen, Volume 2 could also use your help!

But it’s really easy to review!

All you have to do is copy over your PREVIOUS reviews from Books 4-6 onto the box set!

Thank you SO MUCH!!! 🙏

The review links below will make it EVEN easier!

Amazon Box Set

Review the Box Set on Amazon here>

Find your reviews on Book 4, Book 5, or Book 6 here

Goodreads Box Set

Review the Box Set on Goodreads here>

Find your reviews from Book 4, Book 5, or Book 6 here

Bookbub Box Set

Review the Box Set on Bookbub here>

Find your reviews from Book 4, Book 5, or Book 6 here