Reviews of Review Sites

 

Review categories:  These are very general categories.  Many sites, particularly those listed under the Mainstream section cross over between multiple categories.  In such cases, we have only listed it in the primary focus.  Please read the site description for detailed information on what they review.

 

Mainstream fiction and non-fiction, Literary                                   Poetry                                                             Speculative Literature

Allbookreviews.com                                                                             Comstock Review                                            The Harrow

Bibliofemme                                                                                         Modern English Tanka                                      Horrorwatch

The Book Barn                                                                                     Poetry Reviews.ca                                            SFReader.com

Book Pleasures           

Book Review.com                                                                                                                                           

Celebrity Cafe

Club Reading.com

The Complete Review

Compulsive Reader

Curled Up with a Good Book                                                               Children’s Books, Young Adult                     Niche Markets

Front Street Reviews                                                                            Building Rainbows                                            Destroyers Online

Green Man Review                                                                               Flamingnet.com                                   

Heartland Reviews                                                                                Looking Glass Reviews

Lighthouse Literary Reviews                                                                 Young Adult Book Central

Midwest Book Review                                                                         Y-Press Online

Mostly Fiction

Northeast Book Review

Rambles

Reader Views

 

 

RPG Materials                                                                                  Romance/Erotica                                          

Paper Dragon Ink                                                                                 The Best Reviews

Gaming Report                                                                                     Gotta Write Network

                                                                                                            Romance Reader

                                                                                                            Four Star Rating

 

Mysteries                                                                                           E-book and POD specific sites

Besterseller World                                                                                Electronic Book Reviews

Mystery Reader                                                                                    Novel Critic

                                                                                                           

                       

 

About the commentary:

For the last few years, I have spent a great deal of time interacting with book reviewers.  I will be as transparent as possible when offering my comments, as I have personal experience with many of these sites.  I will site my involvement with various sites in the interest of transparency.  These are my general, educated opinions on the sites, and there are those who disagree with me.  I look at these sites not only with the eyes of a publisher looking for publicity, but also as a writer looking for genuine constructive feedback and as a reader looking for honest evaluations of books.  I encourage you not to let my word be the end all/be all, but rather research the sites for yourselves and see what others have to say.  The truth, it has been said, generally lies somewhere in between.  So get a variety of opinions before deciding where to send your books.

                       

                                                           

Allbookreviews.com

http://www.allbookreviews.com

 

I used this service when I published September and Other Stories.  I will tell you that they are one of the reasons I decided to put this list together.  In my opinion, their reviews are pretty worthless.  The whole point of this outfit is to get money out of writers.  That’s it.  I find them to be hypocritical.  Under their FAQs, they condemn reviewers that sell review copies on Amazon or to used bookstores.  Meanwhile, they charge for their reviews.  Once you send a book to a reviewer, it becomes the property of the reviewer, and the reviewer has every right to do with the book what they wish.  If I have to chose between an outfit that charges $50 and up for a review, or a person who gives me a free review and then recycles the book by selling it on Amazon, guess which one I want to deal with?  Because I didn’t know anything about the real world of publishing at the time, I coughed up over $300 for a review package with these people.  The review was embarrassing. 

 

Visually, the site is ugly.  Multiple different fonts and font sizes, some appear to be about 7 pt, make the site hard to read.  Poor use of white space and graphic elements just makes the site appear amateurish. 

 

Make no mistake, if all you want is something that sounds like marketing text, you’ll get it with this site.  I don’t believe I have ever seen a negative review come out of this outfit.  However, reviews do not sound like real reviews, but book summaries with sugary compliments thrown in.  If your ethical code can handle it, chances are your readers won’t really know the difference.  I personally am not comfortable using them anymore, and will never request a review from them even though I am sure I can guarantee good reviews out of it. 

 

 

The Best Reviews

http://thebestreviews.com/

 

A high focus of romances, but also reviews children’s books, non-fiction, speculative fiction, biographies, and young adult books.  They also review ebooks.  Since I first found this site, it has evolved nicely.  Good use of white space and simply colors makes it easy on the eyes.  Reviews tend to be positive, though I believe this is more due to the fact that they just won’t write reviews for books they don’t like and prefer to focus on the ones they do.  Site is reader-oriented, with monthly contests, custom pages, and other activities to keep readers coming back.  Has an online query form to use to request reviews. 

 

Bestseller World/Mysteries Galore

http://www.bestsellersworld.com/

 

An awkward looking site, if you came across it in a Google search you might accidentally leave the site thinking it was one of those pages that just provides links to other pages.  Actually a decent review site that covers both mainstream and small press books.  They have a separate section of the site, Mysteries Galore, that focuses specifically on mysteries.  Reviews tend to be summaries that briefly highlight good and bad points.  Most of the reviews on the site tend to be positive but balanced overall, so I suspect they just don’t post reviews for books the reviewers don’t like.  Poor layout of the site is probably its curse.  Though it has a reader forum and a large catalog of reviews, the site doesn’t seem to have a lot of activity.  The links to the useful sections are buried along with ebay auction links and other ads.  Offers an express service is you need a review in a hurry. 

 

 

Bibliofemme

http://www.bibliofemme.com/

Despite the tag-line of being an Irish Book Club, the site focuses on a variety of mainstream and literary fiction and non-fiction works.  The site is easy to navigate, with a drop down menu to search for reviews.  Type is a little small and may hurt the eyes after a while.  A point to note:  On the contact us form, you have to OPT-OUT to not end up on their mailing list.  This could be annoying if you don’t pay attention (and most folks wouldn’t think to).  A bit shady of a way to build a mailing list, considering they do not have a stated privacy policy.  Reviews are performed by existing members.  Mailing address is in Ireland, so we would suggest query first before mailing overseas for a review.  This is a book club site, and therefore reviews seem to be more detailed.  Added value content includes a growing list of author interviews, short story writing contest, and other activities.

 

 

The Book Barn

http://www.thebarners.co.uk/

 

Focus is mostly mainstream fiction, with a splattering of literary fiction and non-fiction.  An official website for a discussion group based in the UK, so keep that in mind before you query if you are outside the U.K.  A bit cumbersome at times to navigate and non-intuitive.  Reviewers are definitely writing for readers’ benefit, not authors’, as they have some pretty brutal (and often funny) bad reviews posted.  They have a What’s Hot and What’s Not section for reviews. 

 

 

Book Pleasures

http://www.bookpleasures.com/Lore2/

 

The site focuses on mainstream, genre, literary fiction, non-fiction, and travel books.   Looks sort of like one of those search engine pages that pops up when you accidentally enter the wrong address for a site.  It is a bit unwieldy at times and has non-intuitive navigation.  Graphics limited to book covers.  Authors must query first, as reviews are only performed by staff.   Though the site doesn’t look like much, the review credibility is above average.  Reviews are detailed and extensive, touching on good and bad qualities of the book.  A literary style of review, focusing more on criticism than summaries.  Reviews may also be posted at Amazon and other review sites, extending their reach. 

 

I have used this site to obtain reviews, and found the editor Norm Goldman to be one of the real pros in the business.  He genuinely cares about books in general, and does his homework.  If he doesn’t think he can find a reviewer interested in your book, he’ll be honest with you.  He’ll often ask to see an excerpt first before accepting a book for review, even if you use his express review service.  His is one of the few sites I would encourage authors to take advantage of the fee-based service.  While using the express service does not guarantee you a good review, it includes an author interview.  Goldman promotes his author interviews on a wide range of sites, thus extending the reach and potential publicity.

 

Book Review.com

http://www.bookreview.com

 

I’ve never been a fan of this site, even though many people swear by it.  It seems to be another one of those sites that has done a better job at marketing itself as a review site than actually writing reviews.  It’s not that they don’t offer nice reviews.  Their reviews are decent enough.  The general flavor of the site, however, is very busy towards getting authors to spend money on their services.  While they claim it is not necessary to pay for a review, the wording on the site makes it very clear that you shouldn’t really expect a review unless you do.  Even a query won’t help, because even if a reviewer agrees to review the book, they are not obligated to post the review UNLESS you pay for it.  This, in my opinion, makes their entire review catalog suspect.  They even have a “bulk” review program.  This just rubs me the wrong way, to be blunt. 

 

 

Building Rainbows

http://www.buildingrainbows.com/

 

This is a very…busy site.  Ads dominate the top portion on the page, and you need to scroll to actually get to the important resources on the site.  Some links do not work.  Site is dedicated to children’s books and young adult titles.  The site has no credibility whatsoever.  Most reviews are poorly written, and seem to be written either by children or illiterates engaging in self-promotion.  There is no obvious set of standards to weed out badly written reviews.  Anyone can post a review, and it seems like just about anyone does.

 

 

Celebrity Café

http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/books/

 

Focus is on genre and mainstream fiction, non-fiction, self-help, children’s literature, biography, etc.  Pretty blah appearance.  Large banner ads and Google ad displays dominate the left and right sides of the page.  Book reviews are a portion of a larger site dedicated to celebrity spotting and general interests.  Pop-up ads. 

Products submitted for review are donated to charities (hint, hint, send signed copies).  Be warned, the last time I queried them regarding a potential book review I never received a response, though I have seen books for independent publishers listed in the past. 

 

Reviews actually do a good job of providing a nice summary of the plot and touching on a few pros and cons, but subtract points for employing IntellTXT technology to embed Google ads into the reviews.  For those of you who don’t know, this technology embeds a Google link into web text by targeting specific words.  When you mouse over the word while reading, and ad pops up.  I find these highly annoying and rarely of real value to the reader.

 

 

Club Reading

http://www.clubreading.com

 

A personal favorite of mine, and a site to which I post reviews of other books.  The site is very reader-oriented and relatively easy to navigate.  There is an active forum with a set of regular members happy to discuss site issues and books in general.  Reviews are generally conducted by members, but must be approved by the site administrator first.  Reviews tend to be long, with good summaries and pointing out the good and bad about a book.  The best way to get a review here is to contact a member that regularly reviews for the site and query them directly, though you can also contact the site administrator directly with queries.

 

Comstock Review

http://www.comstockreview.org/poetryreviews.html

 

This is a bi-annual publication, which means if you are in a hurry for a review, you aren’t going to get one.  This is a somewhat highbrow publication.  The best way to get them to review a chapbook is if you are a previous poet they have published.  Which means you should consider submitting a few poems to them first, and if those are accepted you are pretty much a lock to get a review later on.  However they encourage you to query if you would like to submit a chapbook anyway.  Keep your audience in mind when sending your query.  Leave your chatspeak at the virtual door. 

 

 

The Complete Review

http://www.complete-review.com/main/main.html

 

Focused on mainstream and literary works.  This is a well organized and easy to navigate site, with a imple but effective content layout with minimal graphics.  Though they are not actively soliciting books for review, they will but will consider with query.  Reviews are written by staff only.  Reviews are detailed and balanced, providing both literary criticism and general commentary of the book.  Interesting note:  they link other reviews available online to their own reviews, providing a one-stop shop for reviews on a book.  Also includes author/publisher links and links to other related information.

 

 

Compulsive Reader

http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/

 

 

Focused on mainstream and genre fiction, as well as mainstream non-fiction.  This is another site I have a lot of interaction with.  Owner Maggie Ball is a real doll, and one of the easiest people to work with.  A clean looking site, but sometimes difficult to navigate.  Reviews are only searchable by genre, and even then only the most recent reviews appear on top.  You need to go to a separate link to get all reviews under the genre.  There is, however, a search box to help locate specific titles.  Moderate graphics, including genre specific icons next to book covers on the lead pages.  This sometimes creates a cluttered look.  Advertising is integrated into the site through book giveaways and book overviews along the side of the page.  There is an online form that is used to request interviews.  She also accepts reviews by non-staff.  Reviews sometimes read like book reports, and are rather lengthy and detailed.  POD friendly, so long as the book possesses an ISBN and is widely available (Amazon, etc).  Hosts monthly book giveaways and conducts author interviews as well.  Also plenty of low-cost advertising opportunities. 

 

 

Curled Up With a Good Book

http://www.curledup.com/index.htm

 

Focuses on fiction, speculative lit, non-fiction, audiobooks, children’s literature, and graphic novels.  This is a professional looking site with minimal graphics limited to mostly book covers and photos of authors in the interviews area.  Font size is a bit small (for those like me with bad eyes), but good color contrast.  Simple navigation.  Limited advertising nicely integrated into the site so it is unobtrusive.  Most reviews are conducted by staff, but they sometimes accept reviews from visitors.    Reviews are roughly 4-6 paragraphs, and provide a good summary with commentary.  Conducts author interviews and does book giveaways.  Also has a monthly newsletter that accepts advertising.  I have used them in the past and been happy with their professionalism.

 

Destroyers Online

http://www.destroyersonline.com/usndd/bookreviews/

 

A niche site focused solely to the discussion of these ships.  They review both fiction titles that feature destroyers, as well as historical books and non-fiction.  Not all of the reviews are “reviews.”  Most are summaries that include quotes from other review sources.  The site has a simple but well thought out design that makes it quick to navigate.  If you have a book that involves destroyers in some way, you can reach a very specific target market with this site.  Query for submission guidelines.

 

Electronic Book Reviews

http://www.electronicbookreviews.com

 

This is basically a spam site disguised as a review site.  Anyone can post a review, and most of the so-called reviews sound as if they were written by the authors themselves.  Many links are broken or lead to blank pages. 

 

Flamingnet.com

http://flamingnet.com/bookreviews/authorservices.cfm

 

This site is designed by and run by teens.  However the organization that operates it is a recognized non-profit.  They raise money to buy books for libraries.  Teens have to apply to be reviewers, and the reviews have to be approved before being posted.  Some reviews are better than others, but it is clear the reviewers actually like books.  A nice looking site with good use of color and white space, and definitely designed with young adult readers in mind.  Query about getting a review.  Keep your audience in mind when engaging in correspondence. 

 

Four Star Rating

http://fourstarrating.zxq.net/index.html

 

Reviews a variety of genre fiction, but specializes in romance and erotica.  This is a new site, but the owner is not new to reviewing and has worked as a professional reviewer for years.  Despite the name, you aren’t guaranteed a 4 (or 5) star review.  Site accepts PDFs, as well as advance galley proofs in both print or electronic form.  Ebook/independent publisher friendly.  Is also interested in author interviews. 

Front Street Reviews

www.frontstreetreviews.com

 

Appears to focus on small press and POD.  Subject list runs the gamut from literary fiction to science fiction to poetry.  No (obvious) erotica.  Fairly readable, although uses frames, which make navigation clumsy.  This appears to be a fairly new site, so the amount of reviews are limited.  There is no search function, so finding things can get a bit difficult.  Reviews are written by staff or volunteers, and they welcome POD and self-published titles.  Fairly in-depth reviews, with useful criticism of the actual book.  

 

 

Gaming Report

http://gamingreport.com

 

One of the “go to” sites for the gaming community, this is primarily an RPG news site.  Has an extensive RPG review list, however, with reviews conducted by staff and readers.  Reader reviews must be approved first before they are posted.  Reviews tend to be very detailed, and often get deep into the nuts and bolts of the game.  They actively encourage indie presses to submit material for review.  Be warned, if they don’t like a product, you will definitely get a bad review. 

 

 

 

Gotta Write Network

http://www.gottawritenetwork.com/

 

Focus is on romance and erotica, mystery, speculative fiction, children’s literature, contemporary fiction.  This is an annoying and amateurish looking site.  Many of the reviews are posted on dark backgrounds with dark text, making them almost impossible to read.  Links run down a black border in dark blue.  Cheesy animated graphics like one would expect to find on a teenager’s homepage abound.  Poor layout makes the site difficult to navigate (if you can even read the links).  You must query first, but they are ebook and POD friendly.  Some reviewers are better than others, but there is no obvious consistency or standard reviewers are supposed to use.  Some reviewers use a scoring system.  Others do not.  Most reviews are simply summaries, and many read like high school book reports (I even found one with a “list of characters”).  You may or may not get a quality review out of the site.  Site does seem to be interested in attracting readers as well as writers, however, so it could be particularly useful if you have a romance or erotica book to plug (as they seem to be moving more toward those genres than any other).

 

Green Man Review

http://www.greenmanreview.com/

 

Primarily interested in literary fiction, non-fiction, with a focus of works with a mythical bent.  Does not review poetry collections or science fiction.  My personal opinion, this is a great looking site.  Clean, well-designed, with minimal graphics that add nice accents to the pages.  Nice contrast and good font size easy on the eyes.  Reviews are performed by staff only.  Traditionally frowns upon reviewing POD titles, however, query first and state your case and exceptions can be made.  Particularly valuable for indie publishers who just use POD to publish, as opposed to self-publishing authors.  Be sure to present a professional face in your query.  Professionally written, honest, lengthy, critical reviews.  Often include links to related articles and books, and author pages.

 

 

The Harrow

http://www.theharrow.com/journal

 

This is a monthly ezine focused on speculative fiction, which a primary interest in horror.  The ezine is archived with a host of libraries, and therefore a good place to get a review if you hope to attract their interest.  The site can be cumbersome at times, but once you visit it a few times you get the hang of it.  Reviews are rather detailed and neutral.  Dead Men (and Women) Walking was reviewed by The Harrow, and I found the editor to be extremely professional.  When you query, put your best foot forward if you expect to get a review.

 

Heartland Reviews

http://www.heartlandreviews.com/Index.html

 

Focused on mainstream, genre, and literary fiction, children’s books, non-fiction.  Does not review poetry, new age books, and religion books.  The site has an attractive design with a simple but effective color scheme.  It’s easy to navigate.  Amazon ad and Google searchbar in the middle of the page is slightly annoying, however.  Claims to notify authors, publishers if book will not be reviewed and why.  As I do not have personal experience with them, I do not know if this is true, but if it is it is a useful benefit to publishers who don’t want to wonder if a book will be reviewed and when.   Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of faith in the reviews themselves.  While the site claims to use a scientific formula or something to determine scoring, it is not obvious from the reviews that are posted.  The typical review is one or two paragraphs, offering only a very basic overview of the book.  Little in the reviews to justify the scores they set to books.

 

 

Horrorwatch

http://www.horrorwatch.com

 

I am a long-time member of Horrorwatch.   Reviews are written by forum members, however member needs a certain number of posts before they can post reviews.  The reviewers are all hardcore horror fans, and enjoy discussing horror.  Reviews are honest, but often blunt, and normally don’t hesitate to make fun of poorly done work.  Once a review is posted, other members are free to ad comments as well, often leading to multi-page threads focusing on a specific book or movie.  The best way to get a review is to go into the forums, locate a reviewer, and request one.  They don’t actively solicit books for review.  This is one of the most active horror forums on the web.  Sponsors a bi-weekly Horrornight, an open chat where members agree to watch a movie together and chat online.

 

 

 

Lighthouse Literary Reviews

http://www.lighthouseliteraryreviews.com/

 

High focus on romance and erotica.  Spattering of genre and mainstream reviews indicates they are open to other types of works as well.   Another annoying and ugly site at first glance.  High speed scrolling banner tells you to click to enter the site.  Front page is absolutely cluttered with poor quality graphics of book covers.  Once you get pass the front page it gets better, but the casual reader may never get pass the front page.  Selection buttons down the side of the page make it easy to navigate the site.  Major gripe:  no search functions.  If you are looking for a specific author or book, or even a specific genre, you have to slush through each month’s collection to find it.  Fill out the online form and when a reviewer is available you will be instructed on how to proceed.  Most reviews are two to three paragraph summaries with little or no criticism.  The site does profess to employ a detailed rating system.  This system is used to determine the score.  They did write a review of Dead Men (and Women) Walking that was relatively detailed. 

 

Looking Glass Review

http://www.lookingglassreview.com/

 

Well-designed site dedicated to children’s literature and young adult titles.  Organized by genre and age group.  Reviews are rather straightforward summaries with a few opinions thrown in.  The site will only post reviews for books that they enjoy in order to highlight titles for parents.  So even if they agree to review the book, if it is ho-hum or bad, they will not post a review.  Also provides space to post author/illustrator profiles that can increase visibility.  Site is mainly geared toward parents to help them select books, so keep this in mind.  Advertising opportunities as well could be ideal for independent publishers.

 

 
Midwest Book Review

http://www.midwestbookreview.com

 

Focused on mainstream, genre, and literary fiction, and non-fiction, with a declared preference for small press and self-published works  Bland, simple layout.  Grey background with black text makes extensive reading difficult.  Almost non-existent graphics.  No advertising on the site.  Site menu is not intuitive, and navigating the reviews sections can be unwieldy.  POD and self-publisher friendly, openly encourages submissions of such books.  Reviews are conducted by staff only.

 

Though the site offers a host of useful articles for writers and small presses, I’m not real happy with their reviews.  A bone of contention with those who swear by it, to be sure, but the site is an example of a book review site that has done a better job of marketing itself than actually reviewing.  Reviews tend to be a paragraph or less, and offer very little real criticism of the book.  Some staff reviewers are better than others, and do actually provide detailed reviews.  But a vast majority of the reviews are more capsule comments.

 

 

Modern English Tanka

http://ModernEnglishTanka.com

 

This is a professional quality, academic ezine dedicated to English Tanka and similar poetic forms.  Really a beautiful ezine that is a worthwhile read for poetry fans in general.  Receptive to books without ISBNs or distribution (as this is common for most poetry chapbooks).  Reviews are thoughtful and detailed, and often highlight key verses. They will consider reviews of PDFs as well.  I strongly suggest potential publishers become familiar with the ezine before requesting a review to get a feel for the general likes and dislikes of the staff.

 

Mostly Fiction

http://mostlyfiction.com/

 

As the name suggests, this site is dedicated to fiction, both mainstream and literary.  It’s an average looking site.  Most graphics are book covers and amazon links.  Navigation bars along the top and sides make finding reviews by genre easy (and the genre definitions are unique, with categories such as Book Awards and Political Thinking).  Can also search by title and author.  Query first following the instructions on the site.  Upon approval, you will be instructed as to where to send the book.  Reviews conducted by staff.  Reviews are lengthy and detailed, pointed out pros and cons of the book.  Instead of using their own rating scale, each review includes the Amazon rating of the book (I’m not sure why this is).  Another plus with reviews:  At the end of the reviews are often links to additional books and information on the author and/or topic. 

 

Mystery Reader

http://www.themysteryreader.com/

 

This is an easy to navigate site dedicated to mystery books.  Reviews provide solid plot summaries and touch on both good and bad aspects of the work.  Typical review is 4-6 paragraphs.  Besides giving books a star rating for overall quality, they also divide books into Non-violent, Standard violence, and Graphic violence.  This can be somewhat useful if you are targeting a specific type of reader.  Query first before sending books for review. 

 

 

Northeast Book Reviews

http://www.northeastbookreviews.com/

 

Focuses on children’s fiction, mysteries, other genre fiction literary fiction, current events non fiction, biographies.  Says that they give priority consideration to small presses.  Professional looking e-magazine style format with good use of white space and nice contrast.  Simple table of contents and clear navigation bars make navigation easy.  Limited graphics limited to mostly book covers.  Only advertising is the Amazon link to books reviewed.  Query first using their online contact form.   Majority of reviews are written by staff, though rarely accepts reviews from readers.  Like Compulsive Reader, reviews tend to be more like book reports, digging deep into the meat of the book.  Reviews take a very academic approach, and while not always “quoteable”, do offer detailed information and criticism.

 

 

Novel Critic

http://www.novelcritic.com/

 

A blog dedicated to reviewing POD and self-published titles.  I didn’t like this site when I first come across it, but it has gotten a lot better.  Reviews are written for readers, and have a conversational quality.  There is an online form to use to query for a review, and they will consider PDF files in lieu of print books.  As is often the case with blogs, it can be a bit hard to navigate or find specific reviews at times.  Also, I’m not a fan of the intellitext style ads that have pop-up boxes for Amazon appear when you mouse over them.  I personally find such things annoying to readers.  Fortunately, they are few and far between, so it doesn’t distract too much from the appearance.

 

 

Paper Dragon Ink

http://www.paperdragonink.com/

 

This is a free monthly PDF publication that focuses on the roleplaying game industry.  Relatively simple format with lots of industry news, making it a welcome read for gamers and publishers alike.  Reviews are rather detailed, sometimes spanning multiple pages in the publication.  I was very surprised when the review they conducted for the Koboldnomicon read more like a full-length feature article than a typical review.  Very friendly toward indie presses, and they will consider PDF products for review.

 

 

Poetry Reviews.ca

http://www.poetryreviews.ca/

 

Dedicated to poetry by Canadian Poets.  Simple Blog format with a list of review categories down the right side of the page.  Graphics limited to book covers mostly.  Authors should submit a query e-mail.  Only Canadian authors should submit queries.  Detail oriented reviews focus on the poetic style with an academic slant.  These reviewers are serious about poetry and do not write their reviews in sound bites.

 

 

 

Rambles

http://www.rambles.net/

 

These folks recently reviewed Foot Ways for us.  This is a very folksy site that is relatively easy to navigate.  The site is primarily interested in folklore, speculative fiction, and folk art.  Reviews sometimes wax philosophically, with the reviewer providing insight into how a particular book impacted his life.  Reviews are well written, focusing on both the positive and negative aspects of the work.  Very easy going people to communicate with, and just a nice site all around if you enjoy the subject matter.

 

 

Reader Views

http://www.readerviews.com

 

This is a general interest site that has grown dramatically over the past couple of years.  Equally dedicated to both readers and writers, they do a good job balancing the two audiences.  Red is a big color on the site, which is something to note if you are photosensitive like me.  Otherwise, the site is easy to navigate.  They have reviewed a couple of books for Bards and Sages.  Reviews tend to be long, summarizing key points and offering brief commentary on the book.  An item of note: besides their book reviews, they recently started a fee-based service to create book trailers.   Also sponsors a book awards. 

 

 

Romance Reader

http://www.theromancereader.com/

 

A sister site to Mysteryreader.com, it focuses strictly on romances and erotica.  This is an easy to navigate site as well.  Reviews provide solid plot summaries and touch on both good and bad aspects of the work.  Typical review is 4-6 paragraphs.  Query first.

 

 

Speculative Fiction Reader

http://www.sfreader.com

 

This site focuses on horror, fantasy, and science fiction, and covers movies as well as books.  Easy navigation and search functions make it simple to find reviews and other sections of the site.  Moderate graphics, mostly book covers.  Good color contrast for easy of reading.  Moderate amount of advertising, but mostly out of the way and related to the focus of the site.  POD friendly, however it is important to make note of the issues addressed in the review guidelines.  They also post reviewers submitted by members, however reviews must meet various guidelines for content and length.  Reviews tend to be lengthy and do a good job summarizing the book and touching on positive and negative points.  Review readers can also add their own rating to a book or add additional comments, providing even more information on a book.  There is also an active, friendly forum where members discuss reviews and speculative fiction in general.  Also has a live chat available for members.

 

Young Adults Books Central

http://www.yabookscentral.com/

 

Focused on  young adult and children’s books.  The haphazard organization of the site can be frustrating to navigate.  While the color scheme works well with the subject matter, the various different methods of navigation (drop down menus at the top, various stacked links on the side) make it awkward to find what you are looking for.  The site allows readers to submit reviews.  To have a staffer review a book, contact the web administrator at kim@yabookscentral.com  Reviews I saw seemed to do a good job of getting to the heart of the book, and offered constructive criticism where needed.  Because the site accepts reviews from non-members via an anonymous form, the review system is susceptible to abuse, leading me to give this a lower rating than I otherwise would.  Site is very writer friendly, offering to post bios and has a “build your own interview” program that lets you submit an interview using a template provided.  Also adding study guides and teacher’s guides.

 

Y-Press Online

http://www.ypress.org/reviews/books/index.html

 

This is part of a news bureau service that is operated by teens in cooperation with The Indianapolis Star.  The teens write the reviews, but unlike the typical “review” written by a teenager, these tend to be well thought out and detailed.  While they also review mainstream books, the focus is on young adult titles.  Use the online contact form to query in regard to supply review copies.