Hi, hello! If you can believe it, it’s already been four months since I published The Vindicated Queen and completed the Ushallav’s Queen duology. Thank you to everyone who came to the book tour events, preordered copies, and participated in the revisions/publishing process!
Now that the dust has settled and I’m about to enter maternity leave, I wanted to remind everyone where to find the Ushallav’s Queen duology. I’ll also dive into why reviews are helpful—mostly for readers but indirectly for me as the author. Shall we dive in?
Why Leave a Review?
With so many books already on the shelves and more to come, reviews are so helpful for marketing books. How did you hear about your favorite reads? I’m willing to bet you likely gave a book a chance because of published reviews, product reviews, book club conversations, or recommendations from librarians and booksellers.
Sometimes, readers and book buyers don’t know what they’re walking into until they see legitimate book reviews. I’ll mostly speak for myself, but authors (and publishers) are understandably biased about their books, whether they are traditionally or indie published. For example, they might not be fully forthcoming about trigger warnings, spice levels, etc. We’ve been stuck inside the book for so long, and maybe what we’re hoping to convey doesn’t quite come out as clearly as we’d hope. Reviewers can add some clarity on whether the author stuck the landing, so to speak.
Reviews ultimately add legitimacy to authors and their platforms. The more reviews, the more likely platforms like Amazon will recommend their titles to consumers looking for similar titles. Books get more accolades, awards, and recognition. Readers on a tight budget can prioritize what they buy/borrow. And with today’s publishing playing field adding AI to the mix, if you care about AI usage, reviews can ensure that you’re supporting authors who support your views.
And probably more on the fun side, if you become well-known for thoughtful and interesting reviews, that could help you stand out if you want to get more ARCs or PR boxes for upcoming releases.
What Makes an Honest Review?
The whole point of an honest review is to communicate with your fellow readers about the book. Reviews should never or rarely review the author as a human being. You’re not giving me the stars; you’re awarding them to the books I wrote. So the bulk of the book should be about the characters, setting, plot, tropes, etc.
I recommend that each review has a section that addresses what you liked or didn’t like about the book. Of course, that might not apply to a 5-star book. But if you’re critiquing a book in any way, I recommend giving context about why those elements didn’t appeal to you. What you might dislike might be what someone else is eagerly looking for. And that’s really what a review should communicate: if you like XYZ tropes or storytelling choices, then you ought to add to TBR. If you’re not a fan of those things, then you can pass on the book and keep looking.
This approach of being honest and thoughtful will ensure the author is reaching more of their ideal audience, since it’s damn-near impossible to appeal to every reader ever. And that’s not an author’s job, either, but we’d like to hope that we’re giving what our ideal readers love.
Hopefully, the reviews are a place for healthy discourse rather than a dog-piling session on the author. The author has already (hopefully) soaked up all the feedback from early readers and editors; this isn’t really the best time to offer feedback, since the author is likely not going to reopen the project to apply any changes.
Where Can You Review the Ushallav’s Queen Duology?
There are many ways you can review the Ushallav’s Queen duology. Here are some specific links so you can go right to the source. Note that there’s no real preference for where you leave reviews. Since keeping up with reviews takes a lot of effort, I recommend sticking with the platforms or systems you regularly use. These links or suggestions are just to make it that much easier to find my books and leave your honest ratings and reviews.
The Throwaway Queen
The Vindicated Queen
Leaving book reviews on blogs, Substack, social media, etc., are also great places for book reviews. One of my goals this year is to catch up on all the reviews I’m sitting on, so you’ll be seeing those on social media, book review apps, and the W&T blog.
Did I forget anything? Hopefully, this is a great book reviewing refresher. Now, let’s review all these books!
