Review Elements

When submitting a book review, please include the following details at the top of your submission:

  • Book title
  • Author
  • Genre
  • Content warnings and trigger warnings (explained below)
  • Complete the sentence: Perfect for when you’re in the mood for ____
  • Your favourite quote from the book

Structuring Your Review

We do not have a rigid review structure – simply be sure to order your thoughts coherently and logically.

You can be creative and pepper the main body of your review with quotes and cute images like this.

You are also free to use your own subheadings if you prefer a more organised approach.

Star Ratings

Include a star rating out of 5 in the conclusion of your review. Ratings increase in half-star increments (e.g. you can rate a book 4.5 stars, but you cannot rate it 4.2 stars).

Content and Trigger Warnings

Content and trigger warnings can be used interchangeably. Both are used to warn audiences about anything that can be unpleasant, upsetting, uncomfortable, or in more severe cases, triggering. 

Content Warnings

This is something in either the book or your review that may upset the reader. A content warning is more generalised, i.e. it might not be anything specific or graphic, but it’s good to mention when there are themes or subjects that can be uncomfortable. 

Examples can include (but are not limited to):

  • Blood
  • Nudity 
  • Violence
  • Racism
  • Misogyny/sexism
  • Animal cruelty 
  • Mental illness 
  • Bullying 

Trigger Warnings

This is something in either the book or your review that may trigger the reader. A trigger warning is used for more specific or graphic events or actions that can trigger severer reactions to written or visual content. Triggers may worsen a person’s symptoms of trauma (regardless of what they are recovering from or going through).

Examples can include (but are not limited to): 

  • Details of a murder
  • Sexual assault/violence 
  • Rape 
  • Sexist slurs 
  • Eating disorders (e.g. bulimia or anorexia)
  • Self-harm 
  • Racist slurs 
  • Racial violence 

More information can be found here.