You should never buy a book without going through some book review sites. As they say, never judge a book by its cover, you should also do the same and better know a bit of story before you order it. But now, the question comes that what are the trusted websites to find the best book reviews on?
Well, this section unfolds the debacle of your desired books that you always wanted to read but were skeptical that how it will turn out to be. It will hardly take 10 minutes to go through the review of a book (new or old) but you can at least get assurance that whether you want to go for it or not.
Top 10 Book Review Sites
You can find numerous book review websites providing detailed summaries or short description too. But you should better go for such platforms which can quickly reveal the essence of the book without even disclosing the true suspense of it. Keeping away from the spoilers is really important and I am sure these 10 options I mentioned below are going to live up to it.
1. Goodreads
Website: http://www.goodreads.com/
Being a regular at book hunting, you should always know about book review sites like Goodreads. This one is by far the best platform you can go for while deciding to read a book. It is one of the largest site in the world to recommend books and give reviews over the released ones.
On Goodreads, you can get to know about more than 2 Billion books making it the largest and most diverse book review site ever.
You need to become a member of this site in order to get timely notifications and updates regarding new additions. There are multiple genres to find books from like music, mystery, classics, fantasy and many more. Goodreads never go out of suggestions when it comes to the books (new or old).
In fact, Goodreads also offers an eBook store to buy directly from their platform too. Whether it is about detailed analysis or just a quick synopsis of the book, I am sure Goodreads won’t disappoint you regarding any of such aspects.
2. AllReaders
Website: http://www.allreaders.com/
If you are looking for such book review sites which provides very much detailed information regarding a book and its plot then you need to check out Allreaders. And apart from books, this site also provides detailed movie reviews too.
The site basically features a search engine where you can look for the book either by its name or by its author’s name.
There is a detailed search option too where you can use options like plot, characters, settings etc. for the search process. I can assure you that you cannot find such a detailed and in-depth analysis of a book apart from this book rating website called Allreaders.
Some of the points that it highlights are tone of story, era, best scene, best part, opinion on main characters, various essence of the plot and genres used and many more. I will strongly recommend this website to the people who are a beginner at book reading and wants to make their head clearer about a book before investing their time into it.
3. Kirkus Reviews
Website: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/
The next one amongst the book review sites is Kirkus Reviews. It may not be as detailed as the earlier option of Allreaders but definitely good enough to feature a variety of books on its platform. And of course, there are plenty of genres highlighted here to serve as the wide options for the readers.
In fact, this website is an equal treat for the readers as well as for the authors. You can publish your success stories here and can also use this platform for advertising too.
Kirkus Reviews mainly focus on the plot and characters of the book. I think the description of a book given is enough to make it clear for you that whether you should go for it or not. While the site also provides you direct link of third party websites from which you can buy that book.
You can find the books on the basis of the genres like fiction, romance, biography and lot more. In fact, the site also publish the list of best books every year and various author interviews too.
4. BookPage
Website: http://www.bookpage.com/
BookPage is way more than being just one of the book review sites. It covers each and every aspect of book review so that the readers can get totally engrossed into the content of the site. In fact, if you are an avid reader then you can also subscribe to their newsletter to get all the details of new book additions.
Apart from the book reviews, you can also find various author interviews, feature writing pieces, cover stories, book contests, blogs, columns and a lot more on this website.
So, of course while being one of the best sites for book reviews, BookPage also turn out to be a gemstone for the book lovers. Talking about their content and style of book review then it is not that much of detailed. So, it will surely maintain that feeling of suspense about the books.
The database is updated on regular basis to keep up the new book releases. And of course, the site features a plenty of genres like history, fiction, children’s, biography etc. to choose the favorite books from.
5. The New York Times
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/
You cannot deny the fact that The New York Times used to be the only go to place in earlier times while looking for the book review sites. Of course, things have changed over the time but the essence of this media house remained the same and people still prefer it over other options.
Of course, this is a place for the ultimate book lovers and for those who know how admirable a subject like literature is.
TNYT keeps up best sellers and also provides book review podcasts too. You have a number of genre to choose from like fiction, children’s books, mystery and a lot more. Of course, the site is a bit clumsy because book review is not its first priority.
But you can always rely on The New York Times for its direct approach towards the literary pieces and its fearlessness for calling out poor writing. You can also discover some editorial marvels about the latest releases of books here.
6. Booklikes
Website: http://booklikes.com/
Booklikes is more sort of a community of all the book lovers around the world rather than an option of typical book review websites. So, you can definitely find various books reviewed here but you can also discover the views of other readers on it too.
In this way, you get to know about the complete reality behind a book from different point of views. And of course you too can become a part of this community by a sign up process which is absolutely free.
Apart from reviews, you can also write blog posts and this platform also works for the authors too. It gives them a chance to get connected with the audience in the most impartial way possible. You can also shelve all your books on this platform for selling too.
What I liked the most about their platform is that you can actually discover personal views of people on different books rather than typical critics’ views.
7. NPR
Website: https://www.npr.org/books/
National Public Radio is the most celebrated and diverse kind of option amongst the book review sites. This site does not provide the sign up option but you can surely subscribe to their newsletter in order to receive all the grapevine related to their website.
And let me tell you already that the site is not only about books but every other thing which is interactive and interesting enough to draw your attention towards them like music, news, art and life etc.
Talking about the book reviews in specific, then you can discover various books through the genres. Apart from the genres you can just directly check out the section of book reviews which is literally updated on daily basis.
There are various other sections too like three books, risky reads, best books of the year, this week’s must read and a lot more. I found that the reviews are quite detailed and can also work as the spoilers for you sometimes. But the flow is approachable and I am sure you would love to keep up with them.
8. Love Reading
Website: https://www.lovereading.co.uk/
Love Reading is basically a UK based website which makes the next addition to this list of book review sites. But what I liked the most about this website is their complete dedication towards books and books only. This site is home to more than 5 million books and of course you can also discover about the authors too.
I would strongly recommend you people to become a member of their community right away through the simple sign up process.
In fact, this one is amongst those book rating website whose interface impresses you right away. You have numerous approach towards the reviews like written pieces, podcasts and the site arranges timely competitions too. This site is simply for the people who are truly in love with books.
The reviews are not done as a critic but as a normal reader which makes other people relate to it. However, they are quite detailed and make you feel bored at a times.
9. Bookreporter
Website: https://www.bookreporter.com/
The next one amongst the book review sites is Bookreporter. The site is not restricted within the four walls of being just a book review website but it keeps its gate of literature and knowledge open for the rest of the things too.
Whether it is about good features or about revealing the life of an author, BookReporter always remains regular at updating all such things.
Talking about the reviews, you can find them on the basis of title, author, genre or even date wise too. So, while you are praising the navigations and the options provided, you should also praise the style of review writing too. The priority is given to characters more than plot and the review is not so long and not so short.
They have also mentioned links to several stores from where you can buy the book. Over all, they have maintained the database very well and you cannot deny the fact that you would love to go through the reviews here again and again.
10. Omnivoracious
Website: https://www.amazonbookreview.com/
Omnivoracious is actually an Amazon service called Amazon Book Review which is obviously all about books and their authors. So, while you are still discovering for the sites for book reviews I am sure this last option would surely impress you.
I really loved how they have managed their site with utmost perfection. It is simply a mix between various editorials and articles, news, features and of course book reviews.
I will recommend you people to become a part of their daily digest which can be subscribed to via your email. They keenly work on various genres of writing like kids, fantasy, romance, comics and a lot more. From their sections, you can also discover the best books from their platform.
You have Amazon link handy with you of all the books but according to my personal opinion, I think the reviews are quite lengthy and can reveal what is more than required.
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Conclusion
Books are something which provide a beautiful opportunity to the readers to discover a totally different world of imagination. Amidst millions of options available in the market, you definitely need to rely on the book review sites to find out about the basic plot of a book you are interested into.
Not only these sites are capable of providing basic information about a book but can also suggest you some other literary gems too. From detailed summary to short notes, they are a mix of everything that a user would always want to know about a book before buying it.
