6 Blogs Whose Reviews I Could Learn From [A Book Blogger’s Reflections]

Part 1 – What Am I Doing Here? | Part 2 – Learning from Other Review Styles | Part 3 – Favourite Reviews I Wrote in 2019 | Part 4 – Developing a New Review Style | Part 5 – Reading Challenges & Community

In last week’s post (see above link), I discussed how I want to reconsider how I write reviews. I found it easy to be stuck in a rut of writing the same thing over and over. Although I don’t post anything I’m not mostly happy with, I have room for improvement (especially with books that I don’t review because I’m not sure how to do them justice.) Today, I’m sharing a few blogs whose reviews inspire me to want to write better. I don’t want to lose my voice by mimicking; I want to consider what I like about their reviews and how I can learn from them. Half of these bloggers have also made significant changes to how they blog this year, so that inspires me as well.

(Disclaimer: Of course, these are not the only six blogs whose reviews I admire. These are just a few whose review style has features different from mine, and that’s what I’m reflecting on today.)

• Jo @ Once Upon a Bookcase – Jo is a children’s bookseller who has been blogging for about ten years. She recently changed what she blogs about. She continues to share book reviews as well as posts on other topics such as musical theatre, witchcraft, and health.
  • What I like: Jo often writes in-depth and reflective reviews that include personal elements. She helps me understand what a book is about by sharing her feelings/reaction to it or by relating it to her own knowledge and experience.
  • What I’ve learned: A review doesn’t need to be completely ‘objective’ for it to be useful to other readers. (I use quotes because no review can ever really be objective.)
  • Recently reviewed: All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
• Briana and Krysta @ Pages Unbound – Briana and Krysta have been co-bloggers since 2011. Both are English majors who love classics and fantasy. They primarily review and discuss middle grade and young adult literature.
  • What I like: Their reviews include both personal reactions and ‘objective’ criticism. They often acknowledge aspects of a book that they didn’t like while differentiating between whether a book seems poorly written or just not to preference.
  • What I’ve learned: How to strike a balance between critiquing a book and sharing your personal opinion of it
  • Recently reviewed: Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab
• Charlotte @ Charlotte’s Library – Charlotte has been blogging about children’s books for nearly 13 years. She focuses on fantasy and science fiction, particularly time travel and multicultural books. She coordinates the middle grade speculative fiction category for the Cybils.
  • What I Like: Charlotte has a lot of experience evaluating middle grade and it shows in her reviews, which often include her own summary of a book’s plot. She shares her opinions while also considering how a book might appeal to the intended audience (children).
  • What I’ve learned: How to review middle grade as an adult reader
  • Recently reviewed: Rose Coffin by M.P. Kozlowsky
• Dani @ Perspective of a Writer – Dani blogs mostly about young adult books, with the occassional middle grade or adult book thrown in. She is also a fantasy writer. Like Jo, Dani has recently reinvented how she approaches blogging.
  • What I Like: Dani breaks her reviews into segments and includes a kind of keyword summary at the end (“like these? love this!”).
  • What I’ve learnt: How I might break up my reviews from being a wall of continuous paragraphs
  • Recently reviewed: War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Nandini @ Novels and Nebulas – You might know Nandini as the blogger behind Unputdownable Books. She’s currently on hiatus, with a new blog launching in 2020 (hence why I’ve linked to her Twitter).
  • What I like: Nandini’s reviews often seem to me to be good examples of a well-balanced blogger review. Not too long, not too short, not too academic, not too personal. Informative and easy to read.
  • What I’ve learnt: How to balance commenting on the various book characteristics that one can discuss in a review
  • Recently reviewed: Crier’s War by Nina Varela
• Jen @ Windy City Reader – Jen works as a part-time book reviewer. She lives in Chicago and home schools her children. She reviews a range of middle grade and young adult fiction and non-fiction.
  • What I like: Jen’s reviews are the most similar to the annotations I wrote for my courses. Often just a paragraph or two long, she gives you the right amount of information in a clear and precise manner.
  • What I’ve learnt: Reviews don’t all need to be 500+ words. Sometimes less is just right.
  • Recently reviewed: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

What aspects of a review are most important to you, either as a reviewer or a reader?
Who are some reviewers whose style you admire?