AMIABOOKLOVER REVIEW GUIDELINES: POLICY & CRITERIA IN REVIEWING BOOKS

Hey there! I came up with a new guidelines in giving out reviews.

I kept some of my old policies. I did this so I can show to my readers how I came up with my ratings. These new guidelines will be effective after posting this.

Amiabooklover is originally created and run by Kristelle (that's me!). My friend, Narlyn, joined me. Though, she told me that she cannot be actively involve in running this blog but will help from time to time. She is busy with her school and have to take care of her father. Worry not, I'm still here! (Though, I am thinking of having a new member, who's interested?) Anyway... Please read this guidelines before sending a review request.

What books do I accept? Amiabooklover usually accepts Middle Grade, Young Adult and New Adult. Please also be reminded that Amiabooklover focuses more on Fantasy, Science Fiction and Supernatural. (But! That is the 'more' part. If the author is confident that his work is a book I would likely read and love, then no need to worry! I have started to diversify my reading taste, anyway.)

What formats do I accept? Given the fact that I'm from Philippines, I do understand how expensive it is to ship books/galleys from there to here. I do accept ebooks in ePub and mobi/Kindle format. But, print ARC and finished copies are highly preferred.

How long do I need to publish a review? I am a part-time blogger and still a student, therefore it is kinda hard to put up a review when my schedule becomes tight. That is why, Amiabooklover does not want to be asked to put a review in a specific time of the day. Please do not give reading timeframe. (I always contact the author or the publisher in case I got some time off my busy schedule or if I am pretty open. If that is the case, review are usually done within 2-3 weeks.)

Listed below is what I usually include in my review:

BOOK COVER - Normally, I grab them from Goodreads.

BOOK INFO - Genre, Series, Publisher and Publication Date

PURCHASE LINKS - I always put Amazon, TBD and Barnes&Noble. But it is always depending on the book's availability there.

SOURCE - From who or where I got the book.

GOODREADS LINK

SYNOPSIS - From either Goodreads or Amazon or the Author

MY THOUGHTS

MY RATING - Consists of two ratings; one that came from the average rating or the Actual Rating and the other in which is the rounded-off average rating or the Estimated Rating.

Review Format:

My reviews are always honest and my opinions only. If I gave a bad rating to a book, I meant no offense. I simply didn't like it. I will still respect the author or the people who have opinions in favor of it. Same as it goes when I loved a book they hated. (For fellow bloggers or readers) All I need is to respect my opinions.

My reviews are also not compensated by anyone. I do not accept paid offers by authors or publishers in exchange of publishing reviews in favor of them.

What I liked and What I disliked. My reviews include all the points I liked in the story and what I didn't get, or dislike about it.

My reviews include my favorite dialogue/line/quote of the story. This is only sometimes when I could not stop myself from sharing it. I also do this when I have plenty of time to spare.

Rating System: Every book reviewer/blogger has their own standards of reviewing. It is important to set a value for how a book charmed and left an impression to the readers, not only will it help the authors but also will help potential fans in deciding whether they will agree or disagree with the reviewers' review and rating and whether they will like the book or not. Not all will have the same opinion in a particular book, but it is good to know the opinions of the others.

OH-MAZING!
A five-star rating!

BERRY GUD!
A four-star rating! Oh shoot--almost perfect.

JUICY GOOD!
A three-star rating! It's average. A decent and interesting read.

UNRIPE!
A two-star rating! It's okay but not enough. 

POISONOUS!
A one-star rating! It means the book did not interest me at all or unfinished. I dnf'ed it.

The above images will be used respectively according to the overall average score based on my own criteria below.

Criteria: Before arriving into an overall rating, I will grade the book based on each criterion in a 1-5 points basis. '1' being the lowest and '5' being the highest. These criteria are based on my take on how a good book should be. After grading each one of them, getting the average is next. The answer will be rounded-off, afterwards. Criteria will differ on each categories. There will be two ratings then: Actual Rating and Estimated Rating. Both will be shown in my review post, while Estimated Rating will be used on Goodreads, Amazon and other review sites.

NON-FICTION 

• Book Cover: Is the book cover interesting? Does it match the story? I know you should not judge a book by its cover. I know that but let's get real. Most people do look at the cover first. If it looks interesting, they will pick it up. There are times when the book cover does not even match the content or the genre of the book. That's usually where disappointment starts to form.

• Writing: Is the book well-written? Nonfiction books are not my cup of tea that is why it is very important for me if the writing style of the author is great enough. Great enough to keep me from reading it, without getting bored.

• Content: How thorough and deep did the author wrote the plot? How much involved is he in writing it? Thoroughness and depth of the story are both important to me because it helps me get more involved and connected to the story. How much involved the author in writing the book will reflect how overflowing the spirit of the book. (Talk about the spirit, huh!)

• Value: Does the book has lessons that have power to move people? Is it something that needs to be read by the whole populace of Earth and start to weigh things it tackles? Does it possess plenty of life lessons? If yes, then you got full marks.
  

• Impact: How does it affects me? Is it something I will never forget? Does it make me look out of the window and make me think things will be different if I did something? Is the value of the book powerful enough to make me cry by how ruined life has been? (That was just exaggeration, but pretty much how this is). Sometimes, a book is highly decorated by life lessons, but is not enough to leave a memory to me.

 Below is an example of a full marks nonfiction book scorecard.

REPORT CARD
NONFICTION
CRITERIA	GRADES
BOOK COVER	5/5
WRITING	5/5
CONTENT	5/5
VALUE	5/5
IMPACT	5/5
OVERALL RATING	5.0

FICTION

These will be the standard criteria for this kind of book.

• Book Cover: I have already explained this above. This criterion judges questions: Is the book cover interesting? Does it match the the story? 

• Concept: Is your story original? Is it unique? Is it cliched story? It is very important for me to know the kind of concept a book has. A book that follows a concept like Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight Series and/or pretty much mainstream books, do not expect anything in this area.

• Writing: Is the book well-written? Does it match the narration? The writing must be well-written and doesn't look amateurish do be able to impress me. The use of language and appropriateness of the writing style should also match the narration. There are circumstances where the author is a woman; the narrator of the story is a boy; the narration sounds like coming from a woman's. First-person, second-person and third-person narratives should justify everything.

• Character Development: I basically rate character developments based on how I perceived the book's characters. I want the characters to be like real people. Where their personality came from? Why they became like this? How they gave life on the story and how the story shape them all throughout? I want to see a proof of their character origin and a believable support that will show me that they remained consistent or they did grow because they have to and that's how their back-story shape them.

• Plot: How did the story runs? Is it believable? Is it interesting? Are there any factors that will show me the different sides of the characters? This is like the juice of a fruit. I need to taste it.

• Pacing: Is it fast-paced? slow-paced? Does it have uneven pacing? Like when the first chapters started really good and then it became boring at the middle and then came back racing on the track again then ended just like that, then surely, no good marks in this area. Things like the ending is like rushed or the whole book is a rush; not a good element for a book.

• Unpredictability: This means what it meant. Is the book predictable or not? Is it full of surprise? or I might as well stop reading for I already know how the story happens? Unpredictable storyline is important because it is one of the reasons I will still keep reading. Surprises are important!

• Impact: Same as above. Is it something that I will never forget? How did it affects me? Should I buy more tissues or have my heart checked by a doctor? How much affected I am after reading the book will all be shown in this criterion.

Below is an example of a full marks fiction book scorecard.

REPORT CARD
FICTION
CRITERIA	GRADES
BOOK COVER	5/5
CONCEPT	5/5
WRITING	5/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT	5/5*
Main characters	5/5
Secondary Characters	5/5
PLOT	5/5
PACING	5/5
UNPREDICTABILITY	5/5
IMPACT	5/5
OVERALL RATING	5.0

FANTASY, SCIENCE FICTION, SUPERNATURAL AND HORROR (FSSH)

Books that will fall under these categories will be graded by the standard criteria for Fiction plus...

• World-Building: Where is the story set? How does it look? A good book under this category must have good world building. World building plays an important factor in these books. Is it set in the real world? You must have clear separation and rules and explanation, how did it all happen? How would the story progress in this kind of setting? I need a good imagination infused in words. Is it in another planet? or in whole other realm? Creatures, trees, the color of the sky to the texture of the soil--they all need to be described well, explained well and imagined well to make up an amazing book!

Below is an example of a full marks fiction book scorecard for Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Supernatural and Horror (FSSH).

REPORT CARD
FICTION (FSSH)
CRITERIA	GRADES
BOOK COVER	5/5
CONCEPT	5/5
WRITING	5/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT	5/5*
Main characters	5/5
Secondary Characters	5/5
PLOT	5/5
PACING	5/5
WORLD BUILDING	5/5
UNPREDICTABILITY	5/5
IMPACT	5/5
OVERALL RATING	5.0

 

ROMANCE

Romance books will also be graded using the standard criteria for fictions but Character Development has added aspect--Chemistry. There is also Bonus Elements**.

• Chemistry: How did their romance blossomed? Do they have chemistry that will make me grin from ear to ear? Is their tandem swoon-worthy? I want to see how the main characters build their relationship. Is it realistic and relatable? I'm not into insta-love because I do not believe that you can fall in love at first sight. But at least, I want to see that there really is a valid reason for such relationship to blossom and move forward. I need to see that connection CLEARLY.

• Bonus Elements**: This area is for the new adult and adult category. This grades how sexy, steamy and hot the *coughs* scenes are. There are books who just throw all kinds of scenes and it feels more like reading porn instead of literature. I'm quite sensitive in this area. Books that fall in this category will be given grades and will be included in weighing the average rating. While, those not belonging in NA and Adult category will not receive any grades for this area and will not affect their overall rating.

Below is an example of a full marks fiction book scorecard for Romance.

REPORT CARD
FICTION (ROMANCE)
CRITERIA	GRADES
BOOK COVER	5/5
CONCEPT	5/5
WRITING	5/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT	5/5*
Main characters	5/5
Secondary Characters	5/5
Chemistry	5/5
PLOT	5/5
PACING	5/5
UNPREDICTABILITY	5/5
IMPACT	5/5
BONUS ELEMENTS**	-
OVERALL RATING	5.0

GRAPHIC NOVELS, MANGA, AND COMICS & CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND MIDDLE GRADE (GMC & CMG)

• BOOK COVER: Is the book cover interesting? Does it match the story?

• PLOT/STORY: Is it something targeted audience would enjoy and have connection with? Is it interesting?

• ILLUSTRATIONS*: Is it good art? Are they appealing to the targeted audience? If there's illustrations.

• CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Can the targeted audience relate with the characters? How did the characters became like how they are?

• WRITING: Is the word density okay for kids? Is the language used too complex or too simple? Is the book well-written? Does the writing style match the voice of the narrator?

• IMPACT: How does it affect its readers? Is it worth re-reading? Will kids learn moral lessons in this story?

• CONTENT: Is the content appropriate for the targeted audience? How about its illustrations, is it age-appropriate?

• CONCEPT: How was the concept--is it original? interesting? Far from the usual?

• DIALOGUE: How were the characters exchange lines? Do their lines fit their character? 

• PACING: How were the scenes put together? Abruptly? Is it too rush? Is it lacking? 

• UNPREDICTABILITY: Same as above. A book full of surprises is a great book!

With added aspects like Chemistry and World Building depending on the other attributes of the book.

 Below is an example of a full marks fiction scorecards under this category.

REPORT CARD
CHILDREN’S
CRITERIA	GRADES
BOOK COVER	5/5
PLOT	5/5
ILLUSTRATIONS	5/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT	5/5
WRITING	5/5
CONTENT	5/5
IMPACT	5/5
OVERALL RATING	5.0

REPORT CARD
LIGHT NOVEL, GRAPHICS NOVEL, MANGA AND COMICS
CRITERIA	GRADES
BOOK COVER	5/5
CONCEPT	5/5
ILLUSTRATIONS*	5/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT	5/5
Main Characters	5/5
Secondary Characters	5/5
Chemistry*	5/5
WRITING	5/5
PLOT	5/5
DIALOGUE	5/5
PACING	5/5
WORLD BUILDING*	5/5
UNPREDICTABILITY	5/5
IMPACT	5/5
OVERALL RATING	5.0

Where else do I put my reviews? I cross-post my reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. If you want me to post my review on other sites, just shoot me a message.

Federal Trade Commission Disclaimer: Majority of the books featured on this blog are provided by the author, publisher or other third-party sites (I mention them in the source part of my review) in exchange for my honest review.

Affiliations: Amiabooklover is affiliated with Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and The Book Depository. 

You want to ask me to review your book? Sure. Have you read it all? If your perfectly fine with all that, then go ahead and send a review request!

Review Guidelines are majorly inspired by InfiniteReads.