Last Updated on October 10, 2023 by Sarah McCubbin
Customer book reviews on Amazon are a valuable resource for both authors and other customers. Many of us use these reviews on a regular basis to help us sift through the titles there for the perfect one for our situation. This book review template and sample book review will make it easy for you to write a great review!
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In 2021, I was helping my brother and friend launch their new real estate book on Amazon. They needed reviews for their book. We had a launch team of family, friends and supporters. But I realized that as people bought the book, it didn’t necessarily translate into reviews. Why? I think it is because there is SO MUCH in a book and people don’t know know how to narrow that down into something helpful…so they don’t write a review.
So, I put out an explanation of how to write reviews…and this book review template…and the reviews began to trickle in. Funny enough though, this became the most popular post on my blog even though it had nothing to do with my main content. I hope YOU find it helpful and if you think there are other things I should add, send me an email to [email protected]. Happy Reading!
Table of Contents
Why Are Book Reviews Important?
Book reviews help potential buyers know if a book will meet their specific needs.
Here is an example of how a book review would save a customer from purchasing a book that isn’t right for them:
You are on a diet and need some new recipes. Great! You go looking for a low-sugar cookbook and find one with a lot of 5-star reviews which seems promising. It also has some 1 and 2-star reviews. Out of curiosity, you start reading the low reviews and realize that the comments all mention that this cookbook uses a lot of sugar substitutes in place of regular sugar.
Perhaps your actual diet goal is whole foods eating plan (no sugar substitutes) that is low-sugar but your search did not have all those details because you weren’t thinking about it that way. However, when you read the reviews, you realized…Nope..this cookbook is not the one for me.
These reviews saved you a lot of frustration and prevented you from ordering a book that did not meet your needs.
What Should I Include in My Book Review?
Your review is likely only going to be about 5 or 6 sentences. That is a short amount of space to include all or some of the following:
- Amazon will require that you Title your review. So pick a short title that gives readers an idea of how your review might help their situation (i.e. “From No Cooking Skills to Almost-Gourmet Chef Nearly Overnight” as a title for a book on cooking for beginners.
- Why you bought the book
- What you hoped to learn from the book
- How the book helped you (or didn’t help you)
- Who would you recommend this book to?
- Did the book live up to it’s claims
- Comments about specific formats of the book (i.e. the Kindle book is poorly formatted or the print size in the paperback version is printed too light to read easily)
- If you have expertise in the area of the book, you can agree or disagree with the author’s premises. A positive review from an “expert” will add to their credibility, but a negative review from an expert will detract from the author’s credibility…so use this carefully.
What Should I NOT include in My Book Review?
- Details about poor shipping times. These have nothing to do with the book and can be left on the seller’s review page.
- Any mention of your relationship to the author (i.e. “I’m Bill’s mom…sister…friend…neighbor…etc”) It is fine for these people to review the book…just don’t put it in the review itself.
Amazon Rules For Customer Reviews
How Long Should My Review Be?
Reviews can be long or short. They can be 1 sentence or 5 paragraphs. The important thing is that if you take the time to review it you are giving value to someone who reads your review…that your intention is to help the next person.
A Sample “Fill In the Blank” Non-Fiction Book Review
I got this book because (problem you needed to solve). I thought (BOOK TITLE) might give me more information about (fill in the blank). I was not disappointed. This book helped me so much. I learned a lot about (what are some things you learned in the book). Moving forward, I know I’ll be able to (what you plan to do). I highly recommend this book to anyone who (fill in the blank with the type of person who would benefit from this book).
Obviously, your review does not have to follow that format or use every sentence. If you have more thoughts to add, definitely do that. The most important thing is that your review is honest and adds value to other potential readers.
If you need more information about writing Amazon book reviews including the rules and how to use stars, please read: How to Write a Good Book Review on Amazon.
I hope this template is helpful. If you think other things should be added, please send me an email at [email protected].
Have a great day!