Review Group discussion

This 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, and 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 when you sign up if you have been reviewed by or have reviewed another author in the group. Also, do check back as the group fills to report any clashes. Usually, places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

This is a General round.

Fiction and non-fiction, adult and children's books are acceptable. This means you may be required to read anything from a book about tax returns to horror/erotica and everything in between.

Please note that it is always possible that the books you are assigned may contain material you find upsetting or offensive. If you can't commit to reading these books and reviewing them, 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 on its fitness. 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 for any reason, 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 this will give a ‘Verified Purchase’ review on Amazon, so 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 obligations if you are currently in another review round in this group. You can be involved in the ‘one for one’ list while 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 the author.

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's and Goodreads' policies.

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 pressuring other members WILL NOT BE TOLERATED and will result in you being blacklisted.

12. You declare all Goodreads accounts when signing up for rounds, including all pen names and additional user accounts, so that these can be checked by moderators and other group members to ensure that there are not previous review conflicts.

13. Books that include AI-generated writing are not permitted. Reviews may not be written by AI.

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 who DNF (do not finish reading an allocated book) and/or who 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 in a database for management purposes. 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 who requests to participate, but occasionally, particularly in the case of our more prolific good-standing members, I may have to decline a member's request to fit the maximum number of people into a particular round. I will always endeavor 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 by that author is available.
If you need anything clarified, please ask--either through a Goodreads personal message to me or in the thread below, before signing up. It’s a pain to have to keep rearranging the list because people haven’t read/understood the above.

Your group moderator will be:
Jennifer

Member Links * Book Links
1. G.J. Griffiths * Seeking Angels
2. Chelsea O'Hara * Elias
3. Franca Ogbonnaya * The Wielder Conflict: Book 3 of the Wielder Series
4. Joseph Minart * The Memory of Lost Dreams
5. Francis_T_Crowley * The Crossover
6. Tenkara Smart * His Name is Junsaku
7. Daniela Quirke * The Whole Enchilada
8. David Alyn Gordon * The Adventures of Moly: The Time Traveling Dog: Journey to Pompeii
9. Tony Travis * Season of the Stranger
10. Jennifer Reinoehl * The Inconvenient Sister


To participate in this round, your setting for 'Who Can Send Me Private Messages' needs to be 'anyone'.
Please follow this link to check--and if necessary change--your privacy setting.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/edit?t...

Also, when submitting your book in the thread, please list any review conflicts you see in this first post. (Meaning, tell me if you've reviewed anyone listed in the member links of this first post, or if they have already reviewed you.)

A few things before we begin:

1. I can't add you until I check on your profile and confirm the setting 'Who Can Send Me Private Messages' is set to 'anyone'.

2. You have to list review conflicts before I can add you. Please don't rely on memory -- saying "I don't remember reviewing Author X" isn't helpful.
**To check if someone has reviewed you before, go to their profile, click the middle link, which lists the number of reviews the person has and is under their profile picture, and type your name into the box that says "Search and Add Books." After clicking the magnifying glass, it will list if s/he has reviewed you before and which books s/he has reviewed.
**To check if you've reviewed someone, do the same thing by clicking the same link on your profile and typing that author's name in the box.

3. We're not sure how the removal of Direct Messages will affect this group, or when Goodreads plans on going through with the change. This is something the mods are discussing, and we have a few options we're working through. So, we'll soldier on, and maybe even fill this up and distribute the books before the DM feature is nuked.

May I join with "The Tale of the Young Witch"?

Welcome, Joseph! You get the first slot.

Since it's early, can I slip into the group with 'His Name is Junsaku' by Tenkara Smart?

Hello, I'd like to submit my debut novel for consideration in this round:

The Whole Enchilada:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Daniela Quirke:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Since I'm new to the group, I have a clarifying question:
Will I be assigned my four books to read/review? Or do I pick from a list? Thank you!

I would like to join
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

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

https://www.amazon.com/Crossover-Fran...

Sorry - I thought my contact settings were "anyone" when I first posted. I just changed them.

Hi Jennifer

May I join with The Adventures of Moly: The Time Traveling Dog: Journey to Pompei?

https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Mol...


No one in Goodreads has read it yet.

Please advise and take care.

reply | edit | delete | flag

I would like to join with The Inconvenient Sister.

My profile link is: Jennifer Reinoehl

I currently have no obligations for any of the other groups.

I have reviewed Joseph's book, but I haven't read his other book. Tenkara and David have reviewed me. David has reviewed this book, but he is welcome to review any of the others I have.

Daniela wrote: "Will I be assigned my four books to read/review? Or do I pick from a list?"

In answer to your question, you will be assigned the four books of the authors under you on the list. We structure the lists so that no one reviews an author who has already reviewed him/her.

That said, you need to claim your author account to participate. You can do that by going to your author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
At the bottom, you will see: "Is this you? Let us know..." Click on the "Let us know" and follow the instructions from there. Once you have successfully done that, the look of your profile layout changes a bit and the books you have written are displayed. Let me know here when you have done that, and I will add you to the list. :)

Wow! Okay, Joseph was the first one to join this group, so he is good.

For the rest, I need all of you to confirm that you don't have any outstanding obligations for any of the other reading rounds in Review Group.

I also need to know who you have reviewed who has asked to join so far? Who has reviewed you?

If no one, simply state "I have no conflicts with anyone so far" or something along those lines. Thanks!

I have read 'The Viscount of La Soutain' by Jennifer but the book you are submitting is not the same. Otherwise, I have no conflicts with anyone so far.

Joseph and Tenkara have read other works of mine but not this one. I just read Jennifers listed work but I can read the other one she has written. Please advise and take care.

Thanks for letting me know, David and Tenkara! I've added you to the list.

Jennifer wrote: "Daniela wrote: "Will I be assigned my four books to read/review? Or do I pick from a list?"

In answer to your question, you will be assigned the four books of the authors under you on the list. W..."

Hi Jennifer - My author page is set up now:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

And as a new member of this group with a new author page, I can confirm, no review conflicts.

Thanks!

Would like to get in with this one.

-Tony

Thanks, Daniela! You have been added.
Welcome, Tony! Do you have any conflicts?

Jennifer wrote: "Thanks, Daniela! You have been added.
Welcome, Tony! Do you have any conflicts?"

Only book I have reviewed is Tale of the young witch

Thank you, Tony! I have added you to the list.

I changed my mind. Could you swap out “The Tale of the Young Witch” with “The Memory of Lost Dreams” for me? Thanks.

Joseph wrote: "I changed my mind. Could you swap out “The Tale of the Young Witch” with “The Memory of Lost Dreams” for me? Thanks."

Done.

I'd like to join with my book Elias, please.

Chelsea O'Hara

Elias

You have reviewed me before, but not this book.
No other conflicts.

Francis, if you are still interested in joining this round, would you post who on the list so far has reviewed you, and whom you have reviewed? If you have no conflicts with anyone, would you comment and mention that, so that Jennifer can add you to the list?

Chelsea wrote: "I'd like to join with my book Elias, please.

Welcome, Chelsea! I've added you!

Seeking Angels: Inspector Button Investigates

G J Griffiths

Hi Jennifer, I'd like to join this group with my historical fiction crime novel.
Thanks Graham

I have no conflicts, that I know of.

G.J. wrote: "Seeking Angels: Inspector Button Investigates

G J Griffiths

Hi Jennifer, I'd like to join this group with my historical fiction crime novel.
Thanks Graham"

Do you have any conflicts with other members, Graham?

Francis wrote: "I have no conflicts, that I know of."

You have been added, Francis!

Tony read both “The Memory of Lost Dreams” and “The Tale of the Young Witch” by the way.

Joseph wrote: "Tony read both “The Memory of Lost Dreams” and “The Tale of the Young Witch” by the way."

Thank you for letting me know! I adjusted the order.

Hi- I would llike to join this round with https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I have reviewed David Gordon, but not the book he has included for this round. Tenkara and Joseph have reviewed me. Soooo I'm not sure I can fit into the group, but I'd like to join if possible.

Jennifer wrote: "G.J. wrote: "Seeking Angels: Inspector Button Investigates

G J Griffiths

Hi Jennifer, I'd like to join this group with my historical fiction crime novel.
Thanks ..."

Hi Jennifer, No conflicts with anyone in this group list apart from David Gordon who has reviewed one of my books.
Hope that helps :-)

J.A. wrote: "Hi- I would like to join this round with https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I have reviewed David Gordon, but not the book he has included for this round..."

Okay, I have added you to the group, and it seems we are now full.

Time for the check in, now that our list is full.
Please do not rely on memory because this has caused trouble in the past!

First: Please check your conflicts. You will need to check if the 4 people below you have ever reviewed you, and if you have ever reviewed the 4 people above you. (The list wraps so #10 is above #1.)

To check if the 4 people below you have reviewed you:
1. Go to the profile of one of the people below you. (links in the first message.)
2. On the profile, click on the link "reviews" below the person's picture.
3. In the box that says "Search and add books," type in your name.

If the person has never reviewed you (which is good) the next screen will say "[Author's name] has no books matching [Your Name]" right under the search bar.

Repeat this with the other three people below you. If each one shows that they've never reviewed you, you are good to go in that direction, but you also need to check your reviews.

To check if you have reviewed any of the 4 people above you:
1. Click the link to "My Books" in the menu bar at the top of this page.
2. In the box that says "Search and add books" type in the name of one of the 4 authors above you.
3. If you have not reviewed that person, the next page should say "You have no books matching [Author's name]".

Repeat that with the other 3 names above you.

If you have not reviewed the 4 people above you, you are good to go in that direction.

Second: Please review all 13 rules below. Please see the first message to read the rules in their entirety. Here they are in brief:

1. You can read all four of your assigned books in the next 12 weeks.
2. Your book is currently available for sale on Amazon.
3. Your book is edited and fit to be reviewed.
4. You can submit reviews to Goodreads and Amazon.
5. You can provide (and accept) at least PDF files.
6. You have completed all obligations for any other rounds you have joined in this group.
7. You have an author profile set up before you join.
8. Your Goodreads profile allows everyone to message you.
9. You are not related to/close friends with other members of the round.
10. Your reviews will be honest and based on the book's quality, not on whether you like the genre.
11. You will not contact a fellow author or post complaints here if you don't like his/her review.
12. You will let us know if you have pen names.
13. You promise that the text of the book you are submitting for review is written by you and not AI generated.

Once you have confirmed that you are adhering to all 13 of the rules, and that you have not reviewed the 4 people above you, and that the 4 people below you have not reviewed you, please come here and type that you are "Good to go" or something along those lines.

Once all 10 of us have confirmed that we are good to go, we will start!

I have just checked above and below me, and I am good to go!

Hi Jenn. No one has reviewed this book before so I am good on that end. I will have to review alternative titles of yours and G.J's because I have already reviewed the works included in this round. Look forward to it and take care.

good to go!

Good to go! :-)

David wrote: "Hi Jenn. No one has reviewed this book before so I am good on that end. I will have to review alternative titles of yours and G.J's because I have already reviewed the works included in this round...."

Feel free to pick anything from my profile that sounds interesting. I only request that if you choose the Spanish translation of a book, you write your review in Spanish. The Inconvenient Widow was the first book in the series you already read, so some of the characters will be familiar.

PROBLEM alert! I have reviewed GJ so he can't review me. I didn't mention this when I first applied, so I apolgize for the omission. It wasn't intentional.

Also, I have not reviewed Tenkara but she has reviewed me. Same for Joseph. I don't think I'm allowed to review them under the reciprocal reviews rule.

I think you might have to boot me from the group. I'll eventually recover from the disgrace and find another group another day.

I read J.A., but I have not read the three others below me.

And J.A. has just the one book, so people who have reviewed him before, can't review him again.

good to go

Yes, that's why we do the final check. I'm sorry, but you can't participate in this group, then, J.A.

So, we are back to waiting for one more, and then we will do the final check again.

J.A. wrote: "PROBLEM alert! I have reviewed GJ so he can't review me. I didn't mention this when I first applied, so I apolgize for the omission. It wasn't intentional.

Also, I have not reviewed Tenkara but s..."

I don't recall J.A. reading/reviewing one of my books? And I do not think it was Seeking Angels anyway.
Graham

G.J. wrote: "I don't recall J.A. reading/reviewing one of my books? And I do not think it was Seeking Angels anyway.
Graham"

The problem is more that J.A. only has one book to review and two people in this group who have already reviewed it. That means he can neither be reviewed by those two people nor review those two people. Each ten-person group only has one blind spot where you can put someone opposite a member, and that member will neither review nor be reviewed by that person.

Hi, can I join with my book.
The 3rd book in the wielder series.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

https://www.amazon.com/Wielder-Confli...

Franca wrote: "Hi, can I join with my book.
The 3rd book in the wielder series.

Please, could you tell me your conflicts so I can place you in an appropriate spot? Have you reviewed or been reviewed by other members?

Hi, if there is still a gap, could I join with a short children's tale? Its my first ever self published title.

The Whispering Map

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

https://amzn.eu/d/4H7oduh