How to Write an Engaging Review for All to Enjoy
Book Review vs. Book Report
When it comes to blogging and book reviews, I won’t pretend to be the best out there. I recognize that I have plenty of room for improvement in my writing style and reviewing skills. However, I welcome constructive criticism and I’m eager to learn more about creating engaging content that captivates readers and piques their interest. Ultimately, the goal of a book review is to boost an author’s visibility and sales, so a successful review achieves both objectives.
Writing an engaging book review vs a book report is not as difficult as it sounds. When I first started writing them, I thought I was the ish……until I was told I was writing what was the equivalent of a grade schoolers book report, not a book review for readers and authors. I admit, I was hurt and a little on the mad side that I was being compared to a school age child’s writing. After some time though, I decided to open myself up (I’m a redhead so we have to stew on stuff before accepting that criticism LOL) and see what exactly it was that I was missing.
So I am going to give you a brief comparison of a book review vs. a book report and then my personally used, almost every time, I write a book review guideline with examples listed. I hope this helps someone out – I feel it has helped me tremendously and always remember, there is room to learn and grow every single day!
Book Review vs Book Report
- A book review is meant to convey to the person reading it the genre, a brief synopsis of the book touching briefly on the story, your personal feelings on the book, the strengths/weaknesses of the book/author, would you recommend it, etc.
- A book report is meant to convey to the person reading it that you were able to comprehend the information you read. It is necessary to include information that would “spoil” a story when writing a review for a reader who is just wanting to know if that book might be fore them.
How To Write An Engaging Book Review
Prompts are given as suggested guidelines to improve your writing skills to produce an engaging book review. You make the final decision on which prompts you want to include, how much of each prompt you want to use and the order you place the information included in your review.
These prompts are merely offered as a suggestion to help you become stronger in your writing skills, stronger in book reviewing and because they have helped me when I was struggling so I know the feeling of not knowing where to start. Will they make your reviews perfect every time? They will make them as perfect as you feel they need to be. Will every book fit every prompt, or will you find it necessary to utilize each prompt for every book? Highly doubtful. Will they be a helpful guide in reminding you what information is enough and what is too much to include in your reviews? They have helped me tremendously. Do I get it right every time? Nope, but I am ok with that because I am learning something new with every review I write.
Prompt One: Title your review with the full book title and author’s name. If you choose, you can include in this section: the genre, book length, publication date, your rating, if there is any spice, triggers (if any), tropes, etc. Your goal here is to establish an introduction and basic context for your readers. This section can include as much or little detail as you like.
Example:
Killer Crush (not a full review)
-Brooke Montoya
***** (5 Star Read)
**(2 Star Spice)
Psychological Thriller
Triggers: Childhood Trauma, Murder, Against Their Will, Sex, Mental Health
**When I write my reviews, I don’t typically list them like this, but I have seen them listed out this way and it makes it easier for some to write them out like this to get their review started. I do put the book title and author’s name at the beginning of every review like listed here though.**
Prompt Two: Hook your audience. You want to capture your reader’s attention and to do that you need an opening that will be engaging and bold. You can start with a bold statement, a thought-provoking question or even a stand-out quote from the book.
Example:
For Fillies and Monsters: A Gothic Cowboy Romance (not a full review)
– Landyn Hill
For Fillies and Monsters: A Gothic Cowboy Romance, debut novel by Landyn Hill, is a definite Ace-in-the-Hole!! Hill has set the bar high for anyone who tries to follow up with a dark, twisty, gothic cowboy romance by wrangling you in from the dedication and keeping you corralled all the way to the epilogue! So hold on buckle bunnies and get ready for a hog killin’ time lickety’ split!!!
**Here I didn’t go out and do anything overly exciting, I simply brought the theme of the book to my opening. The narrative is cowboy related so I utilized kitschy phrases from country dialogue as my attempt at witty banter to engage my readers.**
Prompt Three: Give a brief synopsis of the book but make sure to not include any spoilers. Here is where it can get a tad tricky, it was for me when I started. How much is too much and how much is too little? Too much brings about that grade school book report feeling and too little leaves the reader grasping to figure out what you may be referring to further into the review.
Example:
Never Let You Go (not a full review)
-Caleb Crowe
The story centers around Ariana (aka Tracey – FMC) and Daniel (MMC), both with deep childhood traumas that create a strong bond built on Ariana’s intense protectiveness for Daniel. Tragedy strikes, separating them for ten years, but fate brings them back together in a slow-burning, dark, twisted, and mentally suspenseful reunion.
**The synopsis tells us who, what, why, where and when – the five basics we learned back in grade school. Funny how that comes full circle even though we are trying to avoid a grade school book report (this really makes me giggle).**
Prompt Four: Bring about your motives, characters and development throughout the narrative. You can include your triggers/traumas here as part of the development process as well as how the author brings about that development.
Example:
Keeping You Close (not a full review)
-Jessica Lynn Sorensen
Characters are thoroughly developed, each with their own vulnerabilities and struggles that make them relatable and authentic. Amy is particularly compelling with her journey of self-discovery amidst past traumas resonating deeply, illustrating that healing and personal growth are possible, even for those who have faced significant challenges. Sorensen’s portrayal of Amy’s emotional depth adds a layer of realism that enhances the overall impact of the story.
**This one is easy to see how I followed the suggested prompt. I started more with how the overall character development was established then touched on a specific character in the story.**
Prompt Five: How Does the author engage the reader? This is where you evaluate how the author transitioned the book from scene to scene, paced the story, created the ambiance, conveyed feeling, etc.
Example:
Chapter Forty-Nine (not a full review)
-Michelle Powers
The vivid imagery used creates a strong sense of place, pulling readers directly into the storyline and reinforcing the emotional stakes. This investment in the outcome is enhanced by her smooth pacing and seamless transitions between chapters and scenes. Her writing is both engaging and haunting, compelling readers to keep turning the pages.
One standout aspect is Powers’ masterful ability to misdirect guilt. I found myself constantly suspicious of everyone, caught up in a whirlwind of doubt – at one point, I even questioned if I was the guilty party! Every time Emma made a decision I wasn’t on board with, I couldn’t help but holler, “FFS, what are you thinking?!”
**As with step 4, I feel this is self-explanatory with the prompt. I explained how I felt the author engaged the reader by pulling them into the storyline. I included pacing, transition between chapters and how the author’s writing style compelled readers to keep turning the pages. I also added an additional paragraph commenting on how the author misdirected emotion and I reflected it on myself while reading.**
Prompt Six: Bring up the key points the book conveys when it comes to things such as mental health and trauma and how they shape the overall story. You can include how it can affect you, society, the characters in the book, etc. This area is totally up to you on how much you include and/or how you form it.
Example:
DateLine Diaries (not a full review)
-A.V. Donaldson, Brody Butcher, Tina S. Transformation, John Clements, Revna Zil
While DateLine Diaries is not for the faint of heart, I highly recommend it for those who thrive on psychological thrillers. The subjects resonate profoundly with the ongoing experiences of dating and social connection, changing everyday encounters into psychological battlegrounds. This anthology is a must-read for fans of the genre but again, proceed with caution if you have a history that might resonate with the darker themes presented within these pages.
**Here I touched on how the subjects resonated with the experiences of dating, psychological experiences and gave caution for those who have had a past that has dealt with the triggers. In the full review, the previous paragraph touches on the subject on loss of a loved one due to the tragic acts of violence. **
Prompt Seven: Twists, turns, tension and tumultuous…….well, I was attempting to be clever here with a run of T’s for you but it died out on me. I think you get the picture. This is where you pull out all about how the author took you on the ride of your life, the plot twists gave you whiplash, you could cut the tension with a knife, turn after turn was a tumultuous journey that was both shocking yet satisfying leaving you wanting more.
Example:
Pride (not a full review)
-Nikki J Summers
Finally, I cannot leave out the plot twists. I cannot count how many times I was shaking my kindle with frustration because I was POSITIVE that I knew who or what was happening and then boom, twist and turns showed me who was boss – it wasn’t me just for the record. By the end of the story I was completely flabbergasted with the final plot twist only to get slapped upside the head again with the Epilogue saying “hey bish, I ain’t done here.”
**Prompt 7 is pretty clear with the description of what we are looking for along with the example provided. This is where we take the opportunity to praise the author on how well they kept us engaged, how we just knew who did it until a bomb dropped, etc.**
Prompt 8: Wrap it up. This is where you will give your final opinions on the book. Include your likes, dislikes, what you are looking forward to in the next book if it is a series, how you felt about the way the author ended the story if it is a standalone, would you recommend it to others, what warnings do you have for readers as far as triggers or sensitive subjects, etc. I also choose to include that the review is left of my own will and if it is an ARC or free book I will usually thank the author or publisher for allowing me to read the book. Some sites do not like the mention of books being ARC or free so you do have to look out for that, but overall most are pretty easy as long as you do not put links in your review when posting on Amazon, GoodReads, Fable, etc (I know GoodReads isn’t as strict on the links for personal pages but use your discretion and if you receive a warning make note not to post in that manner again on that site to avoid having your profile locked down).
Example:
One Last Shindig (not a full review)
-Mark Towse
Towse is an engaging writer who masterfully builds suspense. He gives the reader the chance to experience terror and humor with the characters. One Last Shindig will make you laugh, scream and celebrate life’s unexpected moments while capturing the essence and thrill of the unknown.
As always, all opinions and reviews are of my own volition. I have not been promised any compensation by the author, present or future, for my review.
Prompt Nine: You are finally finished with your basic review, now it’s time to put it together, proof it and get ready to post! The first thing I do is check my spelling and grammar, most word processing programs will do this for you and highlight areas you need to look into. Next, I read it out loud to make sure it flows together nicely. If I stumble at any point I stop and rework where I stumbled until the flow is there. I will read it out loud as many times as necessary until it has that free flow from start to finish. Last I will make sure everything I wanted to convey in my review has been included. If I find something missing I will see where I can add it in then repeat my steps from checking spelling and grammar, flow and all ideals have been conveyed.
Prompt Ten: Time to post! Upon completion of my final editing and proofreading of my review I will post it to my bookish sites, any Facebook groups I’m in that it is pertinent to and all my literary social media sites.
Congratulations! You have now completed a full review that should be acceptable to most any group or author that is spoiler free! Of course, authors appreciate all reviews, even one line reviews just saying you love their book but it is always nice to read a review that is inclusive and recognizes their talent and hard work!
