Good reviews are essential to the success of any book, but if you’re a new or self-published author, your chances of getting a review by the Times are about as good as winning the lottery.
Instead, you’ll need to rely on reviews from a handful of book bloggers with loyal followings of readers who will heed their advice.
List of Book Review Blogs
Below is a list of book review blogs with links to their policies and the genres they review.
| Website | Genres Accepted |
|---|---|
| The Kindle Book Review | Nonfiction, Thriller/Suspense, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Poetry, Humor |
| Jessica Map Reviews | Thrillers, Suspense, Crime Fiction, True Crime, Historical Fiction, Some YA genres, Horror, Contemporary Fiction |
| Reader Witch | Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller |
| The Literary Edit | Variety |
| Savidge Reads | Variety |
| Short Book and Scribes | Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Crime, Psychological Thrillers, some time travel fiction, Children's Books. |
| Chocolate Pages | Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Nonfiction, Romance |
| Chouett Blog | Children's Books, Contemporary Fiction, Science Fiction, YA |
| Sassenach Stories | YA, Historical Fiction, Contemporary Romance, books about social issues |
| My Reading Corner | Crime, Historical Fiction, Romance |
| Snazzy Books | Mystery/Thriller, Crime, Women's Fiction, Literary Fiction, Humor, Horror, Romance, Historical Fiction, YA, Cookbooks |
| Best Fantasy Book Series | Fantasy |
| The Moon Who Listens | Fantasy, YA, New Adult, Graphic Novels, Contemporary |
| The Reading Life | YA, Dystopia, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance |
| Regency Reader | Regency Romance, Historical Romance |
| Queen of Books | Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action/Adventure |
| Bookish Valhalla | Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Magical Realism, Horror, Thrillers, Suspense, Poetry |
| Books, Beans, and Botany | All (Fiction, Nonfiction) |
| B.B. Morgan | Fantasy, with a preference for YA fantasy |
| BigAl | All |
| Demon In Your Bookshelf | Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Dark Romance, Urban Fantasy, YA, Cozy Mystery |
| Book Binge | All |
| Book Angel | All |
| Rainy Day Reviews | All |
| Books In Brogan | Fantasy, SciFi |
| Chelsea Falin | All |
| Indie Fantasy Review | Fantasy |
| Christy's Houseful of Chaos | Children's, Middle Grade, Historical, Nonfiction |
| A Thin Slice of Anxiety | All |
| From the Book Reviewer's Desk | Romance, Fantasy, Action, Mystery |
| Diamante Lavendar | YA, Women's Fiction, Christian, Science Fiction, Children's Books, Self-Help, Poetry |
| Gut Reaction Reviews | All except Romance |
| Dr. Akua's Book Reviews | Nonfiction, Self Help |
| Elena Linville's Tower of Winds | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal |
| Riley Reads Things | Romance |
| Bite Into Books | All |
| Gene Roberts | Action/Adventure, Crime, Detective, Military, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Western |
| Gina Rae Mitchell | All, except Horror and Erotica. |
| The Haunted Grave Books | All, but especially YA |
How Do Book Reviewers Make Money?
There are a number of sites and companies that will pay readers for their honest reviews, including big names like Publishers Weekly. (And, of course, you can build a career as a professional literary critic, but you’ll need a lot of experience and a pretty great reputation to break into that arena.)
All of the reviewers mentioned in the list above review books for free and do not accept compensation in exchange for their reviews (except for perhaps a copy of the book).
Most of the individuals listed above review books as a hobby and do so for their love and passion for great books. Because they don’t accept compensation, you can be assured that their reviews are genuine and honest.
How Do You Start a Book Review on a Blog?
If you’re thinking about starting a book review blog yourself, there are a few things you should consider to make the blog a great resource for your readers.
For example:
- What will your blog’s theme be? Most book review blogs have a central theme, which can be broad (maybe you review the newest releases across all genres) or niche-specific (you stick to just one particular genre, or books about women, etc.).
- What will be your review policy? Decide how you will accept review requests, how soon you’ll publish reviews, whether you require free copies and in which format, etc. Some reviewers also choose not to publish a review if they feel the book ranks less than 3 stars (or whatever the ranking system is) out of courtesy for the author.
- How will you rate books? Choose a rating system for your books. Maybe you’ll rank on a scale of 1-10, or out of five stars.
What Is the Format of a Book Review?
If you’re looking to write your own reviews or just want to learn how it works, check out our guide to writing a book review.
And before pitching your book to these bloggers, check out our tips for getting professional book reviews (even as a self-published author).
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- How to Write a Book Review: 9 Hot Tips
- How To Find and Work with Book Review Bloggers
- How to Market a Book: 11 Steps for a Successful Strategy
- How Self-Published Authors Can Get Professional Book Reviews
As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.
