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 a 'Children and YA' round
Fiction and non-fiction books listed as being for children or young adults.

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. S. Lynn Helton
2. Victor Hess
3. Tim Hague
4. Sarah Mensinga
5. Ann Birdgenaw
6. E.M. Swift-Hook
7. Dorothy Mbori
8. Janet Olson
9. Gita V. Reddy
10. Scott Peters

Book Links
1. Bye-Bye Magpie
2. The Clock Tower Treasure
3. A Royal Tiger Tale
4. Shimmerdark
5. Black Hole Radio
6. A Christmas Tail
7. The Quest Search for a Lost Brother
8. New Beginnings
9. Nine Short Chapter Books
10. Ancient Egypt Activity Book

I'd like to join with my children's picture book Bye-Bye Magpie.
-Lynn

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

Goodreads book link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Welcome S. - please remember to keep checking back and alert me if you see any clashes.

E.M. wrote: "Welcome S. - please remember to keep checking back and alert me if you see any clashes."
Thank you! I will.
-Lynn

I would like to join with The Clock Tower Treasure.

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

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Welcome Victor - please keep checking back for any clashes ongoing

Thank you. I will.

No clash so far. :)
I've not read anything by Victor, and he hasn't read anything of mine.
-Lynn

Hello! I would like to join with my children's book, A Royal Tiger Tale!

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

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

Welcome Tim - please make sure you check in frequently so you can spot any possible clashes as the group fills.

E.M. wrote: "Welcome Tim - please make sure you check in frequently so you can spot any possible clashes as the group fills."

No clashes so far :)

Hello, I'd love to join with my YA fantasy novel, Shimmerdark. No clashes for me so far. :)

Goodreads Author Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Goodreads Book Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Welcome Sarah - please keep checking in for any clashes as we fill the group.

Thank you. Will do!

Hi! I'd like to join with my Ancient Egypt Activity Book

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

I have reviewed Sarah Mensinga.

Thanks!

Hi,

I would like to join with my book "The Quest: Search for a lost brother. I have reviewed Victor Hess, the clock tower treasure.

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

My Goodreads link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Thank you,
Dorothy

I have reviewed The Quest by Mbori.

Still no clashes for me, as of this post.
-Lynn

Welcome Dorothy and Scott - do keep checking back for further clashes as the group fills.

Victor and Dorothy - you have somehow managed to mutually review. This is against our policy so please make a note that if ever you are signing up for the same group you must ask to be placed in each others' blind spot in the round. Thanks.

I'm not sure how that happened that we reviewed each other.

Victor wrote: "I'm not sure how that happened that we reviewed each other."

Me neither, but as it has we'll just be safe from now on and keep the two of you separated :)

If it helps, Scott reviewed a different book of mine, so this one should be fine. I just can't review his book, I guess. :)

E.M. wrote: "Victor wrote: "I'm not sure how that happened that we reviewed each other."

Me neither, but as it has, we'll just be safe from now on and keep the two of you separated :)"

Hi E.M. and Victor,

I don't think I reviewed it on any Goodreads rounds. I believe it was a recommendation from Amazon. I bought it and wrote a short review. It wasn't through any reading rounds. I hope it's not a problem.

Thank you,
Dorothy

Dorothy wrote: "Hi E.M. and Victor,

I don't think I reviewed it on any Goodreads rounds. I believe it was a recommendation from Amazon. I bought it and wrote a short review. It wasn't through any reading rounds. I hope it's not a problem.

Thank you,
Dorothy"

That explains it! Thanks for sharing that. It just means the two of you need to avoid reviewing each other ongoing.

Sarah wrote: "If it helps, Scott reviewed a different book of mine, so this one should be fine. I just can't review his book, I guess. :)"

I loved that book! Hoping I get to review another of yours :)

Scott wrote: "Sarah wrote: "If it helps, Scott reviewed a different book of mine, so this one should be fine. I just can't review his book, I guess. :)"

I loved that book! Hoping I get to review another of your..."

Thank you so much, Scott! :)

Yes I would like to join the group.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

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

Welcome Ann - please keep an eye on the thread as the group fills :)

I would like to join with my book "Lydia: The Ugly Duckling":

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

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097G34LVS/

The book became available live on Amazon a couple of hours ago, so I think the Goodreads link should be available in a day or so.

No one has reviewed me, and I have not reviewed anyone in the group so far.

No conflicts for me to this point.
-Lynn

Mary - I'm happy to add you as soon as that GR link is available :)

Thanks, E.M. Now I have added my book to Goodreads:

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

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

Welcome Mary - do please keep checking back as the last spots fill.

I would like to submit my YA book New Beginnings by Janet Olson. It is Free with KU. I'm new to this so please let me know the next steps or if I did something wrong. Thank you!

My Goodreads homepage link is https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...

My book link is
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Hi Janet! Could you please claim your GR author profile? Right now you are posting from a regular member account rather than from an author account.

To claim your author profile, scroll to the bottom of the page and click where it says "is this you?" then follow the instructions. Goodreads will merge your user profile with your author profile.

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

ok, I think I did this right. Thank you!

Welcome Janet - do keep an eye on this thread so you can keep informed of what you need to do when we move to the next phase :)

I would like to join with my children's book, Nine Short Chapter Books. Thanks.

Gita wrote: "I would like to join with my children's book, Nine Short Chapter Books. Thanks."

Happy to add you, but do you have any clashes?

No clashes from me.

E.M. wrote: "Gita wrote: "I would like to join with my children's book, Nine Short Chapter Books. Thanks."

Happy to add you, but do you have any clashes?"

Thanks. I've reviewed a different book by Scott Peters.

Welcome Gita

And I am going to sign up so we can get this show on the road with my rather unseasonable A Christmas Tail.

Everyone - Now we need to do a final check.

So please post to tell me if you have reviewed any of the four people above you on the list (the list wraps around so (10) is 'above' (1) ). Please also check that if you have already reviewed any of the four people 'below' you on the list they have more books available that you have not yet reviewed and post to tell me if they have not.

You can check if you have reviewed anyone before by going to your reviews through your profile (the link is under your portrait), and searching their name. You can check if someone has reviewed you in the same way through their profile and searching for your name. Please check all those who are the 4 above and below you.

If you have no review clashes - or if you are scheduled to review someone who you have reviewed before but can see they have another book available just post 'Good to go :)' or words to that effect.

When everyone has posted 'Good to go' we will be :)

If you are new to these rounds do not worry, full instructions will be provided at every stage.

As far as I can tell I have zero clashes with anyone so I am good to go!

No clashes here.

Good to go.
-Lynn

Good to go! :)

I will purchase all the books assigned to me. Once we're a go let me know who needs a PDF of mine.

I'm good to go!

I'm good to go.