A Synopsis Is Not a Review (And Other Bookish PSAs)

I was recently hopping around the blogosphere looking for reviews on a few titles I’ve been eyeing, when I noticed something… off. A trend, really. An epidemic of bookish proportions.

People are out here calling themselves “reviewers” and then proceed to do nothing more than type up a glorified synopsis, sprinkle in a couple of generic comments like “I enjoyed this” or “The characters were nice,” slap on a star rating, and hit publish.

That’s not a review. That’s a reworded jacket copy with feelings.

Now, I’m not saying I’m the NYT Book Review (calm down, Margaret from Goodreads), but when I review a book, I actually tell you how it read. What worked. What didn’t. Did the pacing drag like a limp noodle in the middle? Did the characters have any emotional depth, or were they cardboard cutouts in period costume? Did the dialogue sing, or did it sound like two IKEA manuals arguing? These are the things I want to know when I seek out a review.

And let’s talk about interiority. You know—what’s going on inside the character’s heads. If the story has none of that, I want to know. And if it does, I want to know if it was insightful, clunky, poetic, or downright melodramatic. That’s the juice. That’s what makes me want to pick up a book—or steer clear for the sake of my sanity.

You don’t need to retell the whole plot. That’s what the synopsis is for. It’s literally on the back of the book, or the first thing I see on Amazon. I don’t need another recap—I need context. I want to hear your experience with the story, not a rehash of the publisher’s blurb.

If you loved it, tell me why. If it made you rage-quit at chapter twelve, tell me that too. I can handle the truth.

So here’s a humble request to all my fellow book lovers out there: if you’re going to review a book, review it. Go beyond the plot. Give me the guts of your reading experience.

I promise, your readers will thank you. (And if they don’t, at least I will.)

What do you think makes a good book review? Tell me in the comments—especially if you’ve also yelled “that’s not a review!” at your screen. And if you are a reviewer, I’d love to read your work—real reviews welcome!