Review Group discussion

The review group is the most successful group for peer reviews on goodreads. It hosts non-reciprocal reading/review rounds of ten authors with a variety of themes and genres, as well as ‘general’ rounds where any book is permitted, from non-fiction, to horror. When a round has ‘now forming’ in the title, there are places available, you can sign up. If it doesn’t, it’s full – look for another round or check back another time.

The Amazon rules state that authors/publishers are not allowed to specifically supply published books in return for reviews on Amazon. To comply with this rule, we don’t insist members review on Amazon, but we do insist that every participant in the round has the capacity to leave a review on their local Amazon store, so we all start with the same options.

The founding principle of the group is honest, non-reciprocal reviews, so please help maintain the integrity of the group by letting me know as you sign up if you have been reviewed by, or have reviewed another author in the group and do check back as the group fills to report any clashes. Usually places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

This is an '18+' round
Books that may contain explicit material. Including but by no means limited to horror and erotica. Books in other genres may be submitted. All authors must be comfortable with reading extreme and explicit material.

Please note it is always possible that the books you are assigned may contain material you find upsetting or offensive. If you can't commit to this, please do not sign up.

Now for the boring stuff, but please read it, it saves a lot of time if everyone is on the same wavelength.
Before signing up below with your Goodreads author and Goodreads book link in the thread below, please ensure that:

1. You have enough time to read and review 4 books within the 12 weeks of time allowed.

2. Your book is currently available for sale on Amazon (not pre-order) and it complies with the individual round theme, if there is one.

3. Your book is fit to be reviewed.
If it is not, due to editing or other issues, you risk poor reviews. This is your problem, not that of the reviewers or the groups. For a small fee, the group admin will look at the first few pages of your book to advise. The number one error new authors make is not having their book beta read and edited, by non-family members.

4. You can submit reviews to Goodreads and Amazon.
Amazon allows only those people who have spent $50 in the last year to leave reviews in each of their stores. If you are unsure about your Amazon reviewer status, try posting a ‘test’ review before signing up. If you are unable to post reviews on Amazon, please do not sign up.

5. You can provide (and accept) at least PDF files.
You are not expected or required to buy the books you are allocated to review, but as this will give a ‘Verified Purchase’ review on Amazon, it is welcomed when you choose to do so. Many authors have books available via KU and others might provide smashwords coupons. Most authors can provide mobi and/or epub files directly by email. Please note: International Copyright laws apply. You cannot sell, or give away material you have received without the author’s express permission.

6. You have completed your reading if you are currently in another review round in this group. You can be involved in the ‘one for one’ list whilst you are in a round.

7. You have an author profile set up before you join.

8. Your Goodreads profile allows people to message you, i.e. your profile is not set to private.

9. You declare any relationship you have with another member in the round.
Amazon will not allow reviews from the same household on the same book or if you are an editor, relative or close friend of another member.

10. You agree that your reviews will be unbiased and honest, whatever the star rating, and you will try to avoid ‘spoilers’. i.e. giving away the finale of a book. Please note the Review Group will back any reviewer's right to express their opinion about a book, but personal comments about a fellow author are against both Review Group and Goodreads policy.

11. You will not ask a fellow author to change a review of your book because you don’t agree with it.
If you think you have a legitimate concern, talk to the mod of your round, NOT the other author. Personal attacks, or pressurising other members WILL NOT BE TOLERATED and will result in you being blacklisted.

Please note:
We all want reviews, it’s why we joined the group. It is bad taste to expect other people to review your book and then not do the same for other people in the group. People that DNF and/or don’t post reviews will find it difficult to get into a subsequent group.

It is not necessary to leave any kind of disclaimer in your review, but ultimately, it is up to individuals. Reviews that state you received a copy ‘in return’ for a review will probably be removed/not allowed by amazon.com. ‘I received a free copy from the author without an obligation to review’ would be more acceptable if you feel the need to add a disclaimer.

Your Goodreads details and the rounds you participate in may be recorded by the admin mod on a database. We do not retain details of email addresses etc.

Allocation is entirely random and there will NOT be any rearranging of the listing to accommodate personal preference. The ONLY circumstance in which you may duck out of giving a review is if YOU provide a stand-in reviewer.

The only way this group can function is if we trust each other to behave honourably. And it IS perfectly possible to give a fair-minded review of a text that does not coincide with our normal choice of reading matter. If you need a few hints/tips, please see this thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I will do my best to fit everyone into the group they request, but occasionally, particularly in the case of our more prolific good standing members, I may have to decline a member request to fit the maximum number of people into a particular round. I will always endeavour to start another round as soon as possible with that member in mind.

It is permissible to review an author more than once if a different book is available.
If you need anything clarified please ask, either by goodreads personal message to me or on the thread below, before signing up. It’s a pain to have to keep rearranging the list because people haven’t read the above.

Your group moderator will be:
Kat Kinney

Member Links
1. Florian Armas
2. Donnally Miller
3. Nico J. Genes
4. David Alyn Gordon
5. Colin Rink
6. Bella Nox
7. Azriel Hope
8. Sanam Asif
9. David Øybo
10. Ann Birdgenaw

Book Links
1. Errant
2. The Devil's Workshop
3. Magnetic Reverie
4. Jigsaw Beginnings
5. Chase of the Rising Sun
6. Delusional in Darkness: A Kyle Campbell Novel
7. Celestine: 1900's Parisian Fairytale Romance
8. Just Like Fire
9. JULEBORD (The Holiday Party) - Book II : A Story about Recent Events - CORRELATIONS TRILOGY
10. Black Hole Radio

I want to join this one.
With https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/sho...

Welcome Sanam - please keep checking back as the group fills to report on any review clashes that might occur. Thanks :)

Dear E.M.,
Sorry, this might be an unusual question.... would this round (or the 'Review Group' in general...) be open to reviewing Amazon Kindle Vella stories? Not sure if you have heard about Kindle Vella already, as of now it is only available for readers (and authors) who are based in the US...
Thanks for considering!
Best greetings,

David

PS
Here is the link to my Kindle Vella story:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

And my author profile:

https://www.goodreads.com/correlation...

Can I join with Celestine :) for this round. I have read Sanam before, but not this book :)

Celestine: 1900's Parisian Fairytale Romance

David wrote: "Dear E.M.,
Sorry, this might be an unusual question.... would this round (or the 'Review Group' in general...) be open to reviewing Amazon Kindle Vella stories? Not sure if you have heard about Kin..."

I have indeed heard about Vella and the problem is we have reviewers from all over the world and only Americans can post reviews to the Zon for you for any stories there. Until it is more widely available globally I can't see that we can really work it - unless you are fine with collecting only Goodreads reviews for the content from any outside the US?

Hello, I would like to join this reading group for my book Chase of the Rising Sun

My book is Chase of the Rising Sun
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

and my author bio is here
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Thanks!

Colin

E.M. wrote: "David wrote: "Dear E.M.,
Sorry, this might be an unusual question.... would this round (or the 'Review Group' in general...) be open to reviewing Amazon Kindle Vella stories? Not sure if you have h..."

Dear E.M.,
Thank you so much for getting back to me. From my side would be very happy to do the Goodreads only review.... Of course it is not clear how Kindle Vella will develop in the future - and you have such fantastic group here... not sure if at one point perhaps you would consider a separate 'Kindle Vella' category? Apart form the Kindle Vella Story I am actually also quite active in an Instagram group with a lot of Kindle Vella authors as members (Kindle Vella Storytellers) and also exploring the use of the "new" social audio app Clubhouse to bring together authors and readers there... not sure if you (or any other of the moderators of this group) would perhaps be willing to do a 'Clubhouse' room at some point to share your thoughts about what you think Kindle Vella Reviews could look like in the future?

Thanks for considering!

Best greetings,

David

David wrote: "E.M. wrote: "David wrote: "Dear E.M.,
Sorry, this might be an unusual question.... would this round (or the 'Review Group' in general...) be open to reviewing Amazon Kindle Vella stories? Not sure ..."

I am not sure we have enough Vella authors here for that, but if we did I would be happy to set such a group up. You could start a thread in our discussion folder asking if there are other Vella authors here perhaps?
That said, before I sign you up, there is one more thing I need to be sure you are ok with. Although it is unlikely, it is possible that you could wind up with four reviewers none of whom could post to the Vella site for you - only to GR. If that is a risk you are prepared to run then I will sign you up here.

Welcome Azriel and Colin - please remember to keep checking back as the group fills to spot any clashes that may arise. Thank you.

E.M. wrote: "David wrote: "E.M. wrote: "David wrote: "Dear E.M.,
Sorry, this might be an unusual question.... would this round (or the 'Review Group' in general...) be open to reviewing Amazon Kindle Vella stor..."

Dear E.M.,

Thanks for the message. Totally OK with that 'risk' ;-)... Of course for Kindle Vella it is 'serialized' fiction [my story is finished] but I only plan to release the episodes gradually until the end of this year. But I do have a pdf version and can generate ebook versions [I use vellum.pub ] of the finished story for the reviews [I plan to release it as a 'regular' book once it's 'finished' on Kindel Vella] ... although sending the complete story takes away the 'storytelling' event aspect ... but guess that is the limitations of Kindle Vella .... - hope the reviewers will be OK with this... - if you feel like you can still sign me up would be great!! Thanks a lot!

Best greetings,

David

Welcome David - I'm certainly willing to try this but if there turns out to be some unforeseen issue it might be a one-off. Hopefully not :) Please keep checking back in case you notice a review clash.

Dear E.M., thanks so much for adding me! Best greetings, David

Hi E.M. I would like to join this round with Magnetic Reverie. I've read Sanam and Azriel but I can see they have other books. Thank you!

Hi, I just finished round 286 and would like to join this one with Owl Manor - Abigail.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Thanks.

Nico has read Owl Manor Abigail, but not the first one, Owl Manor - the Dawning.

Nico has read Celestine, but I have several other books she can choose to read.

Welcome Nico and Zita - As ever please keep checking back for clashes! Thanks.

Hi E.M I have not read the three authors below me. I am good for now :)

I would like to join, please. This is my first time joining a group as I'm new here, but looking forward to the experience.
I have a crime/thriller book I'd like to share:

https://www.amazon.com/Delusional-Dar...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Welcome Bella - please check back frequently both so you can see when the group moves to the next phase (full instructions will be provided) and inc ase you see someone who has reviewed you or you have reviewed before joining the group. If so please post to say. Thanks.

E.M. wrote: "Welcome Bella - please check back frequently both so you can see when the group moves to the next phase (full instructions will be provided) and inc ase you see someone who has reviewed you or you ..."

Thank you EM
I assume we wait until the group is full to begin reading and reviewing?

Bella wrote: "Thank you EM
I assume we wait until the group is full to begin reading and reviewing?"

The group has to be both full and checked, and then I will post a list of who is reviewing who based on the list and hand over to the mod - and then the reading and reviewing happens :)

E.M. wrote: "Bella wrote: "Thank you EM
I assume we wait until the group is full to begin reading and reviewing?"

The group has to be both full and checked, and then I will post a list of who is reviewing who ..."

Perfect explanation. Thanks again.

I have a book coming out soon, launch date on September 25. Can I join? Or is it too early? I'm waiting for a cover reveal promo before I put the books up on Amazon and Goodreads. Not sure how soon this group will fill up, but thought I would ask.

I could give people free ebooks even if they are not ready to download from amazon.

Nat, I would guess the group fills pretty soon as there are only three places left. I notice you have some other books that have already been released you could enter. You do at a minimum need to have the book posted to Goodreads to enter it in a round.

As for Amazon, if you have, say, the paperback posted to Amazon, but the ebook is still in preorder, then yes, it's possible for people to leave you reviews on Amazon. If neither paperback nor ebook is yet available to be reviewed, then people could certainly review you on Goodreads, but if you don't have the book up on Amz where people can review it, the moderator isn't going to chase people down to remind them to post their reviews months later.

So... my recommendation would be either post the paperback now and go ahead and get some early ARC reviews *OR* enter one of your other books in this round, and wait to enter the book coming out on September 25th in a future round. We open new ones approximately once a month so entering next months rounds when you're only a week or two away from launch would probably be much easier logistically. Hope this helps.

I'd like to join with my newest Natalie McMasters novel, Killers! It's currently on preorder on Amazon, to be released on Monday, August 9. It will be on KU when released, or reviewers can get a copy direct from me. I have reviewed Chase of the Rising Sun, Owl Manor-Abigail, and Magnetic Reverie. No one currently enrolled in the group has reviewed me.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Kat wrote: "Nat, I would guess the group fills pretty soon as there are only three places left. I notice you have some other books that have already been released you could enter. You do at a minimum need to h..."

Thanks for the info! I'll wait until the next round. :)

I have reviewed Thomas.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thomas reviewed Abigail. :)

My bad. Azriel has reviewed me as Silas K. Henderson. I only checked under my actual name.

Thomas - I've been really trying but struggling to fit you in. I have tried quite a number of rejigs and can't get a fit. Sorry about that.

I'll try a different group. I really wanted 18+ on this one because it's totally intense. I only found 1 person who has reviewed me.

Thomas wrote: "I'll try a different group. I really wanted 18+ on this one because it's totally intense. I only found 1 person who has reviewed me."

Thanks Thomas. The issue is that I can't move the other people because of their clashes so I can't arrange the group in a way that would work to include you. :(

E.M. wrote: "Thomas wrote: "I'll try a different group. I really wanted 18+ on this one because it's totally intense. I only found 1 person who has reviewed me."

Thanks Thomas. The issue is that I can't move t..."

EM - I PM'd you.

Trish

Thomas - Trish might just have seen a bit further than I could and jiggled a bit more and come up with an order that works... Let's try it and see.

All - Please sing out if anyone spots an issue with it.

I'm good regarding Thomas. He's read both of my books from The Reverie series, but if okay with him, I can offer ADHD: Life is beautiful. Just a note: the book is non fiction and far away from 18+.

Thanks, y'all. Killers! just came out on Monday and I need as many reviews as I can get. I'll read anything y'all have for me.

Oops! I've reviewed Colin's Chase of the Rising Sun.

Thomas wrote: "Oops! I've reviewed Colin's Chase of the Rising Sun."

Thomas!! - (update - Actually, my bad, you did mention that earlier but I missed it. Sorry, Thomas)

Ok, twice I started to write it wouldn't work BUT I might have found a way.

E.M - I'm PM'ing you again - see what you think.

I don't want to confuse everyone by listing it here.

Hold on to your hats.

Trish

Take 2. If this works Trish deserves an official superhero award. ;)

E.M. wrote: "Take 2. If this works Trish deserves an official superhero award. ;)"

Ha!

Perhaps Emma Watson could play me in the Marvel movie for my superhero? She loves books after all! LOL

Hope it works for everyone and we can fit in two more soon.

Cheers!

Trish

Wow, impressive. :)

I have already reviewed Just Like Fire, but I can review a different book of Sanam's.

Thomas wrote: "I have already reviewed Just Like Fire, but I can review a different book of Sanam's."
Sure. Thomas can review Crown of Fire, the next part of Just Like Fire.
That would work.

Sorry I would like to join the children/YA group. ;-)

If you are still looking for entries, I can join with my novel The Devil's Workshop. I have reviewed Nico, Zita and Azriel in the past.

Donnally wrote: "If you are still looking for entries, I can join with my novel The Devil's Workshop. I have reviewed Nico, Zita and Azriel in the past."

Happy to add you, Donnally, but before I do can you make sure all three of those have a book you have not read - and that no one else on the list has reviewed you before. Thanks :)

Donnally can read the sequel, Reverie Girl.

Donnally has not reviewed the second installment of Owl Manor.