So, just wondering what you readers prefer as far as review styles... Feel free to just vote or of course, I LOVE comments, so do that too.
I normally just kind of write what comes to mind, but I am thinking about trying out a bullet point type review such as:
What I liked:
What I didn't like:
The characters:
The romance:
The cover:
The ending:
The pacing:
The world/setting:
Bottom Line:
How do you like to read, and write your reviews?
I normally just kind of write what comes to mind, but I am thinking about trying out a bullet point type review such as:
What I liked:
What I didn't like:
The characters:
The romance:
The cover:
The ending:
The pacing:
The world/setting:
Bottom Line:
How do you like to read, and write your reviews?
Brandi, I have always enjoyed reading your reviews, so from a reader's experience they are great. Now when it comes to writing them, I find that having a template like what you have described is pretty important to make sure that you have included everything that you wanted to talk about without missing any important points. I like the items/points that you laid out. I have often thought about discussing the cover as well. I think I cover the characters and pacing in either what I liked or what I didn't. There are my two cents! Old follower :D Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI like a structered review. I organize mine like this:
ReplyDeleteAt A Glance
The Good
The Bad
The Snuggly
Final Thoughts
Quotes
I like your idea for organizing as well, however if you seperate the romance, characters, pacing, ending, and so on, it might be hard to also seperate the "What I liked" and "What I didn't like" For example: If you didn't like the ending, you would be mentioning it twice in the "Ending" part and the "What I didn't like" part.
Great points!
DeleteI like your reviews, and one reason I thought about maybe changing
Great topic, Brandi! I'm usually fine with any kind of review style, as long as it's not overly wordy, overly confusing, or has too many errors (that one annoys me the most. Grr). I don't really comment on the cover itself, since I don't think it's THAT important, haha. Unless the cover is drop-dead gorgeous, of course!
ReplyDeleteBasically, I just try to keep my reviews short and to the point. I know how scary long reviews can be!
I try to stay pretty short too
DeleteMy reviews are all over the place. Lately I've been trying out What I Liked, What I was Neutral on, and What I Didn't like because sometimes my feelings align with that. Other times my reviews take a different format-it really depends on how I feel about the book.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed and like the change
DeleteI experimented for a long time with what worked for me and I found that it got TOO long if I had so many in a list. Now I mentally make sure to include characters, world, romance, pacing and over all feel. Some of those can sometimes just go together.
ReplyDeleteI'm fine with reading a review with a bulleted list, but you just want to be sure it doesn't get TOO wordy (I often have that problem).
I think maybe a checklist with those things to make sure I talk about is good.
DeleteI don't stick to a specific format, I only do that when I have writer's block. For my regular reviews I stick to what I liked and didn't like and other notable style or device the writer did and a conclusion. I like to keep mine as short as possible tho, I don't really like long posts so I try to return the favor by keeping mine succinct.
ReplyDeleteGreat point. I skim if too long
DeleteA bullet point style would make it easier and faster to read reviews. But honestly, I think you should write however is easiest for you. I don't have a formal "style" - some reviews are bullet point-ish and others are rants going in every direction.
ReplyDeleteMy style may not be the best idea, but it's what works for me to get my ideas out.
I always try to think of things to do with my reviews, and these bullet points are nice. But I do like them as they are too
ReplyDeleteI use Making The Grades format which is bullet points. It's Plot, Characters, Pacing, Setting, and Style and you grade each then add it up in the end. I like it bc sometimes I don't know how I feel about a book and then I just do each section individually and add it up to see what star rating it turns out to be.
ReplyDeleteI think the structured reviews have pros and cons. For one thing, I'm sure it would be a lot quicker to write a review with such a structure. But I would feel like there would be some times when I wouldn't have anything to say about some of those bullet points. With my reviews now, I normally add a few of my favorite quotes, and sometimes I just don't find any while I'm reading to include. But my reviews aren't completely structured, so I can just leave the quotes out.
ReplyDeleteI do like your reviews the way they are now, and I also have friends that do those kinds of structured reviews, and I like them, as well. I think you should just pick which one seems to work better for you! ;)
Great point, and thanks!
Delete