I've done so many book reviews yet I have not really explained the format that I used. This post is just for that, and it's here to explain what each component of the review is, and probably give a better insight as to how I do things. Every review will follow this format (unless otherwise specified). Remember, the whole point of these reviews is to give my opinion on whether it is a good book or not, and if it is worth reading. I will now present the review format, and a description on what each section means:
Review
A number which indicates this is the "nth" review. Does not really have a meaning other than indicating how many other book reviews preceded this one.
Title
Self-explanatory, this is the title of the book, as displayed on the cover.
Series
This section states if the book belongs to a series, and if it does, what the name of that series is, and where this book fits in that series. I try to find the official series title, however, sometimes it does not have one, so I will then just use the title of the first book in the series with "not official name" in brackets afterwards.
Author
The author, usually displayed on the cover. There are instances where the name on the cover isn't truly the real author, I will use the real one revealed in the publication details (a good example is this one). If the author uses a pseudonym, I will use that and not the 'true' name.
Read Before
This section will either have a 'yes' or 'no'. Obviously, I would have read it for the review, but it indicates whether I had read it before this instance. Why is it important? It is because I would have known any twists and plot elements beforehand. I would most likely anticipate what is going to happen (either eagerly or cringing), and before I've already opened the first page, have an opinion and probably some bias. I try to view the book as reading it for the first time, but sometimes, I might accidentally let my previous reading/s affect me.
My Comments
This is where I put in my view of the book. I try and do not put spoilers, however, at times I will use vague descriptions and character names. I will point out, in my view, the strengths and/or flaws of the book, and how much I enjoyed it. It should be noted, that anything in this section is my opinion and my opinion only. If you do not agree to it, that's fine, but don't condemn others just because our opinions are not the same. The whole point of these reviews is giving my opinions on how much I enjoyed these books. I am not forcing you to read it, nor am I forcing to change your views on the book. I just want to give a recommendation on whether the book, is, in my eyes, worth reading. Obviously, this is going to be the longest section in the review.
Rating
I will give a rating out of 10, with 0 being the worse, and 10 being perfection, going up in increments of 0.5 (although a few reviews have something in between, that was before I had sorted this all out). Again, this is a very subjective thing, and it's based entirely on how much I enjoyed the book. The book may well have many flaws, but if I enjoyed it a lot, and those flaws didn't stop me from enjoying it, I will give it a good rating. Likewise, if those flaws are too hard to overlook, and ruins the story, then it's going to be rated down. The element I consider most important is the coherency, consistency and the attractive of the plot, and good writing to back it up. I will now give qualitative characteristics on some of the actual scores themselves:
< 5: A bad piece of work. The terrible plot will bore you to death and it will become a chore to read and finish, just so you can say "there, I've finished it, and now I don't have to ever look at it again". Only read it if you are 100% sure that you are interested in the content, otherwise, avoid. If it gets a rating less than 3, then it is an absolute shocker, and not worth reading at all.
5.0: Point of indifference. There is no harm reading the book nor is there really any benefit/enjoyment. It's not bad, and it's not good, just... somewhere around the middle. Nothing to lose and nothing to gain.
6.0: It's an interesting book, and the story is enough to keep you motivated to the end, but there are a few flaws and boring sections.
6.5: Worth reading if it sounds interesting to you, but a few flaws hold is back.
7.0: An all round solid book, it will keep you interested until the end and highly recommended you have a read.
7.5: A very good and enjoyable book, cannot stop reading.
8.0: Excellent plot and writing makes this a decent and worthwhile read.
8.5: Amazing, you will be constantly turning the pages of this one, in anticipation for the big revelations.
9.0: Near perfection, this is rare book that provides you with a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction. It should be highly regarded.
10.0: Absolute perfection. Everyone should read this, and the story is so captivating that you can overlook any (minor) flaws, if it had any.
Rereadability Factor
In some of the older reviews, you will find something called the 'Rereadability Factor', which gives a rating out of 10. I have phased this out, as I felt that it did not add anything (still left it in the older ones). The aim of this section is to try and give a rating on how worthwhile it is, to reread the book. Some good books are worth reading only once, due to maybe over relying on a massive plot twist, while others are worth reading twice, thrice or even ten times. The rating rises in increments of 0.5, with 0 being not worth reading again, and 10 meaning it's worth rereading however many times you want, it's that good.
See Also
Very very rarely, in some of the older reviews, you will see this section in which it provides links to other books in the series. Obviously, I have become lazy and stopped doing this after the first few times. If you want to look at other books in the same series, just go to the Book Review Index and search for it using the Find function (ctrl + F).
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I hope you've gained a better understanding on how I structure my book reviews or clarified any misunderstandings you might have had. Above all, may you enjoy the reviews themselves!
