How to Review A Novel: A Reader's Guide to Writing A Book Review

August 20, 2026

Review Template Included

You’ve just finished a book. You’ve got Thoughts™️and want to share them. But the Goodreads page blinks a cursor at you and all thoughts of the book flee your mind. Where to start? What to say? Maybe it’s just easier to leave a star rating.

But it can be way more fun to leave a review.

Reviews can seem daunting if you’re not used to writing them. Some people say they feel a pressure to write an essay-length assessment of the entire novel. Others just don’t really know how to start. Let’s go over some easy questions you can ask yourself to spark the creative juices. We’ve included a handy review template for you to fill out and keep!

Let’s talk structure - and please know you aren’t bound to writing every single review to this layout. But we’ve found that having defined sections can prompt creativity more than a blank document. The same goes for email composition, but that’s another blog post (email literacy is still super important, we will die on this hill).

The Beginning

We’re a fan of a bold opening statement, with the review backing that up. You can get crafty with the statement; play with it and have fun. E.g. “My friend told me this book would change my life, but they were wrong; my life didn’t begin until I finished this book/(Book Title).” (we love the drama, go big and bold). Or you can start simple, like how you came across the novel in the first place.

For example, Renee recently picked up Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. It was a stunning special edition with fancy spredges and a gold foil cover, but most importantly, she’d seen a plethora of reviews espousing how good it is. Those reviews are what made the title recognisable to her, and her fate was sealed when she saw the gorgeous book design. Some example opening statements for your review:

I picked this one up after seeing (username)/one of my mutuals rate it highly
Picked this up in my local bookstore because the cover caught my eye
One of my friends lent me this novel saying it would change my life and…
A bookstagram page I love brought this one to my attention and I knew I had to read it because…
I grabbed this one from the April Narratess sale because the cover and pitch hooked me by…

The third opening technique is by giving a little pitch/overview of the book itself:

Pitch/Overview:

“Beasts of London by Jonathan Maloney explores a hidden underworld of a secret society of monster hunters beneath the streets of 1890s London.”

“Stars Apart is the story of a crew of mercenaries accused of exploding a space station and subsequently going on the run.”

This brief overview is also a really nice way to lead other readers who may not know the book you’re reviewing into a deeper analysis.

You can also add a little twist to this technique with your own take on your overview tacked on the end:

“Beasts of London by Jonathan Maloney is a story that explores the hidden underworld of a secret society of monster hunters beneath 1890s London. It’s also the story of how I now want to become friends with a gentle giant of a walking corpse.”

The Middle

You’ve crafted your opening statement. Now, let’s back it up.

A lot of review writers like to give a spoiler-free synopsis of the book’s events. This will break the middle of the review into roughly two sections; the Facts and the Feelings.

Where does the book begin?
Who is our main character?
What setting are we in?
What is the plot?

“Beasts of London by Jonathan Maloney is an intricately crafted reconstruction of a time that existed and a man who - hopefully - did not. Jean Reynard is the grizzled, bad ass monster fighting warrior with a dark heavy secret that cloaks him in shame, and the perfect protagonist for me to roll my eyes at (lovingly) and wonder what was going to dull his 'edge'.

The dulling of his edge comes from his apprentice, foil, and friend(?) Barty, after Barty accidentally discovers his existence, accidentally survives the test Jean puts him to, and accidentally becomes quite endeared to the cast of characters he begins to meet in this new, secret world. We view the harsh, gritty setting of Beasts through the eyes of Barty, a rather meek, downtrodden journalist who, over the course of the book, begins to find his place in a misshapen world.

After this, we come to the feelings. How do we feel the writer did? What was our emotional response to the story portrayed, the characters we were introduced to?

“The decision to frame this story through the eyes of Barty and not the gun-slinging, cigarette-smoking, haunted Jean is what sets it apart for me. We get a gentle, empathetic, and curious look at the horrors Jean regularly faces. And through Barty's careful probing, they both begin to discover new elements of their personalities that carry into book two (but no spoilers).”

But say you don’t want to stick to a linear structure, and instead just want to get the thoughts in your head out. Remember to mark your review as containing spoilers, or mention it at the top if you deep into the weeds of the plot. “This review contains spoilers!” gives you a lot of freedom to write whatever you like.

When did you ‘lock in’? What was the moment you knew you were hooked?
On the flip side, what character decision or plot moment lost you? Why?
Who was your favourite character? Do you see yourself in them?
Which piece of world-building were you most interested in?
What question would you have liked an answer to but didn’t get?
What did the author do well?

The Conclusion

Let’s wrap the review up. You can give a recommendation one way or the other. You can give tailored recommendations, e.g. “If you love gritty mystery or historical fantasy, you might like Beasts of London.” You can make predictions or express your wishes to see more or less of a character in the next - it’s completely up to you! Your conclusion should have a tone of finality and indicate to your reader that the review is winding up:

“The actual murder mystery is set up quite well, I might add, but I am a sucker for delicious character work and we got that in this book and sequel.

Highly recommend picking this AND its sequel, Lady of Brass, up immediately if you love historical fantasy!”

Are you interested in the sequel, or other works by the same author?
Did you enjoy your time reading the novel?
Do you have any predictions for what might happen in the next book?
Which character would you like to see more of?
Which character can the author ABSOLUTELY NOT KILL?
Do you have any romantic pairings you’d like to see? Why them?

Why Book Reviews Are Important

Word of mouth/reviews are still the biggest factor in book marketing. How many books have you discovered on the recommendation of a friend, a family member, a co-worker, a favourite content creator? Their reviews give you context, so when you spy the title across a crowded bookstore, you recognise it. It seems familiar. This leads to you potentially picking up, reading the blurb, assessing the first page.

Or you went full send and bought the book before they finished making the recommendation. Respect.

But book reviews don’t only benefit the author, the publisher, or other readers - they benefit you. Reading and writing critically can improve your literacy level, your critical thinking, your vocabulary. The benefits of sitting down, wondering why a story resonated (or didn’t) with you, and then putting those thoughts and feelings into words for discussion with others is the heart of discourse, of learning and growing, of developing skills that have extended reach beyond recreational reading.

And we’ve created a little review template with prompts to get you started! You can download it for free here (no, you don’t need to enter your email address to gain access to it).

Remember, you can review any SkyNation Publishing title just by clicking the book cover below!