Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

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 General round
All fiction/ non-fiction accepted. This means you may be required to read anything from a book about tax returns to horror/erotica and everything in between.

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 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ author and Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ 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 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ 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 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ 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.

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 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ 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:
/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:
Trish Butler



Member Links
1. Megan W. Roma
2. J.E. Rowney
3. Wayne McKinstry
4. D.G. Speirs
5. Matt Gianni
6. G.J. Griffiths
7. Balroop Singh
8. Laura Clementz
9. Zita Harrison
10. Anne Holster

Book Links
1. Fire & Ice
2. Ghosted
3. The Two Hands of The King
4. The Agency
5. Lever Templar
6. The Mule Spinners' Daughters
7. Moments We Love
8. Unnatural Separations: A Brief Memoir About Spiritual Transformation in An Academic World
9. Owl Manor: The Dawning
10. Finding Jackson

I would like to join with my book, "Fire & Ice".

/book/show/5...

Thank you!

Welcome Megan!

Can I sign up with Ghosted again please? I’ve finished and posted my reviews for my previous rounds.


/book/show/4...

I would like to sign up with The Two Hands Of The King. Thanks.

Welcome J.E. and Wayne.

Wayne - please remember to post the GR not the Zon link to your book in future, I managed to find it but it takes more time for me to hunt around.

Hi I would like to join with my book Moments We Love:

/book/show/4...
/author/show...

Hi E.M. I see you're the mod for both group #246 (18+), which I'm already signed up for but already have two clashes, and this group #248 (General). LEVER TEMPLAR has been in General groups before and I have no conflicts with the three already in group #248. So if it would help alleviate clashes, please feel free to switch me from group #246 to group #248.

I’ve read Balroop’s lovely Moments We Love and reviewed in a previous round, as a heads up.

Welcome Balroop and Matt.

Hi E. M. I would like to join this group with my new historical novel, The Mule Spinners' Daughters. The paperback is published and the eBook is available on pre-order. I have PDF and mobi format copies for reviews. I think Matt Gianni has reviewed another book of mine. Thank you.

/author/show...

/book/show/5...

Hi G.J., True - I've read your "Mules; Masters & Mud," so I can also review your "The Mule Spinners' Daughters," but you should not review mine. - Thanks, Matt

I would like to sign up with "The Agency"


/book/show/5...

Hello, I would like to join the group with my published short memoir "Unnatural Separations."

Laura Clementz
Unnatural Separations: A Brief Memoir About Spiritual Transformation in An Academic World

I'm happy to provide a pdf, mobi, or ePub file.

Hi, I would like to sign up with "Owl Manor - the Dawning', a gothic horror.
/book/show/4...
I can provide .mobi, .epub or .pdf.

Thanks!

Hi, I would like to sign up with 'Finding Jackson', a new adult college romance. It is on KU or I can provide a mobi. Thanks!

/book/show/4...

Would like to join with The Cerulean Monarch. All my reviews from the previous round are now complete. Wayne has reviewed my book.

Welcome G.J., D.G., Laura, Zita and Anne!

Prashanti - I am really sorry but looks like the round is full. However you are welcome to sign up on the 18+ round (same as a General round but with more chance of encountering extreme adult material), Out of this World round or, if it is a short book under 45k words, on the Novella round.

Alright, we now move into the checking phase!

I need everyone to check they have not reviewed the four people above them on the list ( the list wraps around so 10 is 'above 1).

Please also check (by looking at their author page) 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.

Any issues with these, please post to say so. If both these things check out please post to say you are good to go.

When enough have said they are good, we can start the reading phase.

Looks good to me!

Looks fine. Thank you.

Looks good, thanks!

Looks good, thank you!

I can't see any conflicts, apart from the one with Matt Gianni who has read a different book of mine.

Looks good - thanks E.M.

I haven't reviewed any of the books in this list.

Since I haven't been around for years, I should be good ;-)

I guess that means we're ready to roll then!
START DATE: 09-March-20

END DATE: 01-June-20

Round 1 � post your review by 30-March-20
Round 2 � post your review by 20 -April-20
Round 3� post your review by 11-May-20
Round 4 � post your review by 01-June-20

As AUTHORS you SEND your book file to:

248-01__Megan W. Roma
Anne Holster for round 1
Zita Harrison for round 2
Laura Clementz for round 3
Balroop Singh for round 4

248-02__J.E. Rowney
Megan W. Roma for round 1
Anne Holster for round 2
Zita Harrison for round 3
Laura Clementz for round 4

248-03__Wayne McKinstry
J.E. Rowney for round 1
Megan W. Roma for round 2
Anne Holster for round 3
Zita Harrison for round 4

248-04__ D.G. Speirs
Wayne McKinstry for round 1
J.E. Rowney for round 2
Megan W. Roma for round 3
Anne Holster for round 4

248-05__ Matt Gianni
D.G. Speirs for round 1
Wayne McKinstry for round 2
J.E. Rowney for round 3
Megan W. Roma for round 4

248-06__ G.J. Griffiths
Matt Gianni for round 1
D.G. Speirs for round 2
Wayne McKinstry for round 3
J.E. Rowney for round 4

248-07__ Balroop Singh
G.J. Griffiths for round 1
Matt Gianni for round 2
D.G. Speirs for round 3
Wayne McKinstry for round 4

248-08__ Laura Clementz
Balroop Singh for round 1
G.J. Griffiths for round 2
Matt Gianni for round 3
D.G. Speirs for round 4

248-09__ Zita Harrison
Laura Clementz for round 1
Balroop Singh for round 2
G.J. Griffiths for round 3
Matt Gianni for round 4

248-10__ Anne Holster
Zita Harrison for round 1
Laura Clementz for round 2
Balroop Singh for round 3
G.J. Griffiths for round 4

As REVIEWERS you will receive books for review from:

248-01__Megan W. Roma
J.E. Rowney for round 1
Wayne McKinstry for round 2
D.G. Speirs for round 3
Matt Gianni for round 4

248-02__J.E. Rowney
Wayne McKinstry for round 1
D.G. Speirs for round 2
Matt Gianni for round 3
G.J. Griffiths for round 4

248-03__Wayne McKinstry
D.G. Speirs for round 1
Matt Gianni for round 2
G.J. Griffiths for round 3
Balroop Singh for round 4

248-04__ D.G. Speirs
Matt Gianni for round 1
G.J. Griffiths for round 2
Balroop Singh for round 3
Laura Clementz for round 4

248-05__ Matt Gianni
G.J. Griffiths for round 1
Balroop Singh for round 2
Laura Clementz for round 3
Zita Harrison for round 4

248-06__ G.J. Griffiths
Balroop Singh for round 1
Laura Clementz for round 2
Zita Harrison for round 3
Anne Holster for round 4

248-07__ Balroop Singh
Laura Clementz for round 1
Zita Harrison for round 2
Anne Holster for round 3
Megan W. Roma for round 4

248-08__ Laura Clementz
Zita Harrison for round 1
Anne Holster for round 2
Megan W. Roma for round 3
J.E. Rowney for round 4

248-09__ Zita Harrison
Anne Holster for round 1
Megan W. Roma for round 2
J.E. Rowney for round 3
Wayne McKinstry for round 4

248-10__ Anne Holster
Megan W. Roma for round 1
J.E. Rowney for round 2
Wayne McKinstry for round 3
D.G. Speirs for round 4


Please remember the commitment you are making to your fellow group members. If you pull out after the start date for any reason it is the other members who will be faced with the problem of finding a replacement, or missing out on reads/reviews, through no fault of their own. Please don’t ask the moderators to chase after replacements as we just don’t have the time.

It is the responsibility of the author to get their book to their readers in a format the reviewer can manage. Everyone must be able to provide and accept PDF. You may buy or borrow the books you are due to read if you wish, and I’m sure the author will appreciate the verified review, but IT IS NOT COMPULSORY. There are no set dates for the start of each round. You can each work at your own pace, within the limits of the round deadlines.

All reviews must be posted to GR. We also encourage members to post on Amazon. When you have posted your reviews, please post the links to each of your reviews, not the book page in this thread.
The mod of each round will record whether members have posted reviews on Amazon and for the good of all, members who persistently fail to post reviews or DNF reviews to Amazon, will find mods less than willing to add them to subsequent groups.

Postings to other sites are by agreement by both author and reviewer.

If I’ve missed something that results in you being asked to review someone who has already reviewed you, please let me know asap.

To exchange book files, my advice is to use PM to give email addresses to each other (save the chance of spammers getting your addies from this open forum).

Setting up and modding these rounds is a labour of love, with a lot of emphasis on the ‘labour�. If you want to show appreciation for all the hard work we admins put in for the group, you could download one of our books as a ‘thank you�.

Happy reviewing, everyone :)

Please read this especially if you are new to these review rounds.

Quick 'start-up' summary for anyone new who might be scratching their heads. You are reviewing the four books 'below' you on the list.

You can, of course, choose to buy any or all of the books or read the books on KU, if you are a subscriber and the books are available there. If you can buy it adds weight to your review as it gives the 'Verified Purchase' stamp on Amazon.

However, as not everyone can buy, you should PM the four people who will be reviewing you (the four above you on the original list of names) through their Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ author pages. Click on the down arrow beside the 'Follow Author' button under their picture and it opens a menu which will allow you to message them.

Ask what kind of file they would like or say you can only offer PDF, though unless a publisher uploaded it for you, you can always download a .mobi of your own book from Amazon.

Don't forget to ask where to send it so they can give you their email.

The four people who you are reviewing should be in touch with you in a similar way.

Please make sure you have exchanged ALL FOUR books - or have been assured by your reviewers they will buy your book or read it through KU - as soon as possible. Some people read fast and it can be very frustrating to have to wait a long time to get hold of a book you are committed to review.
Don't forget to post the links to your reviews here so you can be signed off for them.

Please post your review to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, your own Amazon store and any other Amazon stores you might have access to as well.

And as Trish Butler is your mod for the round, please direct any ongoing queries or issues to her as I leave you in her very capable hands!

Good morning, good afternoon, goodnight! Depending on where you are in the world.

As E.M. mentioned, I'm taking over from here (lucky lucky you!) I have a few more pointers for you if you can stand to read on just a little more before getting stuck in.

First and most importantly, thank you to E.M. for setting up this round and handing it off to me.

I'm here for questions/problems if you have any. Post here or send me a message via my profile page. Bear in mind that though I am a Brit I'm on the east coast of the US, so if I don't answer straight away, I might still be in bed! LOL
Trish Butler

Here are a few things/reminders.

Participation in these groups means being willing to write a proper review for the books you read. Whilst we don't have any set rules on such things, it is expected at the very least a review should say what was good about the book in your opinion and (unless you have given 5 stars) what you struggled with as a reader. If you feel any of your reviews might not meet this minimum, it is very easy to edit in another paragraph to be sure you are doing so.

When writing a review for others consider if you would feel satisfied by it had someone written it for you. An overly brief review can seem dismissive and disrespectful to another group member. If you are not familiar with how to write reviews please check out this post on the topic.
/topic/show/...

General note: please be aware when posting links to Amazon in this thread, that you need to delete everything after and including the letters 'ref' in the URL. If you don't, Amazon knows anyone clicking on that link is in some way connected with you as that information is your personal account link information.

Feel free to post the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ link to your review while you are still waiting for the Amazon review, but when you get the Amazon review link please post it separately rather than updating your original post. I only get a notification for new posts, so am not aware of edits made and then have to hunt them up if it's been a while.

If you are a newbie, don't be afraid to ask questions. My experiences in this group are that everyone is really friendly and happy to help.

Thanks for spending a moment to read this. I hope you enjoy the experience and have fun!

Enjoy your day.

Trish

Hi everyone. For the four authors I'm set to review, relax, you don't need to send me your books, as I've already purchased them on Amazon. (cha-ching).

For the authors set to review my tome, I'll be sending you a PM via GoodReads asking your prefered version. I have .doc, .docx, .pub, .pbi, .pdf, .,piapt (that's Partridge In A Pear Tree format).

Hey, this is for the Mod.

I tried to get into a previous group when my book was on preorder in Amazon and was told the book had to actually be published for me to join a group.

Fast forward to today. I attempted to purchase GJ Griffiths' entry, "The Mule Skinners' Daughter," only to find it won't be released until May 31.

What gives??? Why does one set of rules apply in one circumstance and not another? Inquiring minds REALLY want to know.

DGS

D.G. wrote: "Hi everyone. For the four authors I'm set to review, relax, you don't need to send me your books, as I've already purchased them on Amazon. (cha-ching).

For the authors set to review my tome, I'll..."

That is very generous of you D.G. I'm sure everyone will appreciate the purchase and verified review.

Thanks for the .piapt giggle.

Trish

D.G. wrote: "Hey, this is for the Mod.

I tried to get into a previous group when my book was on preorder in Amazon and was told the book had to actually be published for me to join a group.

Fast forward to to..."

D.G.

Thanks for the question.

First, feel free to call me Trish or T - I sign off as either on a whim. 'The Mod' not so much. Though I was a bit of a Mod as a teen - though I still loved rock too.

Second, I don't recall your exact situation from before, but G.J.'s book is published as a paperback and only on preorder for the ebook version. I'm sure he will make a suitable format available for you - you certainly do not need to buy the paperback.


So, unless there was a misunderstanding with your situation before, I believe I'm safe in saying the rules apply across the board.

I hope that has satisfied your inquiring mind. If your situation was the same as G.J.'s is now, I'm happy to apologise.

Feel free to ask any further questions.

Trish

Trish wrote: "D.G. wrote: "Hey, this is for the Mod.

I tried to get into a previous group when my book was on preorder in Amazon and was told the book had to actually be published for me to join a group.

Fast ..."

Thanks for the clarification, Trish. I've sent a DM to D.G. and yourself regarding this. There was nothing 'underhand' about my book's availability here since I stated the details in my submission above, as you probably noted. As a moderator I do not recall D.G.'s rejected submission either. My last communication with him was in 2015 when he wrote to me about a children's book review group.
Regards, Graham

Trish - Are the reviews to be posted on the deadline date or can they be posted any time before that date?

Anne wrote: "Trish - Are the reviews to be posted on the deadline date or can they be posted any time before that date?"

Great question, thanks, Anne.

Reviews can be posted at any time before they are due or on the due date. Some people get them all done in the first few weeks so they can move onto another group (you can't join another until you've finished your reviews on this one). Others take the full 12 weeks to get them in. Either way is fine. I'll be here.

Hope that helps.

Trish

Trish wrote: "Anne wrote: "Trish - Are the reviews to be posted on the deadline date or can they be posted any time before that date?"

Great question, thanks, Anne.

Reviews can be posted at any time before the..."

Great, thanks Trish!

D.G. and G.J.

Thanks for your posts - if you have anything further on this please send me a PM.

Thanks and enjoy your day.

Trish

So far I have been unable to receive the book files from my rounds 1 and 2: J.E. Rowney for round 1, and Wayne McKinstry for round 2. I have contacted each of them twice but have gotten no response. So I will start with the book for round 3.

Ok, so I now have J.E. Rowney's book. Just waiting on Wayne's.

Megan wrote: "So far I have been unable to receive the book files from my rounds 1 and 2: J.E. Rowney for round 1, and Wayne McKinstry for round 2."

Megan,

Thanks for putting that out there! Hopefully, J.E. and Wayne will get in touch soon. Have you PM'd them?

In the meantime, feel free to start reading one of the other books. Though it's all nice and neat if you do them in order, you don't have to. I don't want you to waste your reading time waiting.

To everyone - remember to get copies of your book to your reviewers asap. Everyone reads at a different pace.

Thanks.

Trish

My review for 'Fire and Ice' is below:

Amazon:

Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ: /review/show...

Anne wrote: "My review for 'Fire and Ice' is below:

Amazon:

Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ: /review/show..."

Thanks, Anne.

First out of the gate.

Don't forget to post your review page for Amazon not the book's review page - didn't matter too much in this instance as your review is the only one! So far of course. :D

This is what I need in future. TY


Trish

Anne wrote: "My review for 'Fire and Ice' is below:

Amazon:

Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ: /review/show..."

Thank you Anne!

Here is my review of Moments We Love:

/review/show...

Amazon to follow when they feedback to me.

G.J. wrote: "Here is my review of Moments We Love:

/review/show...

Amazon to follow when they feedback to me."

Thanks, G.J.

have a good one.

Trish

Hi Trish,
My Round 1 review for G.J. Griffiths:
/review/show...

Hi Trish,

Here is my review of Round 1: Unnatural Separations by Laura Clementz
/review/show...

Matt wrote: "Hi Trish,
My Round 1 review for G.J. Griffiths:
/review/show...
"

Thanks for your review, Matt :-)
G J
Here is the Amazon link to my review:

Hi everyone, my Amazon posts are as Lita Harrison, my real name. Zita Harrison is my pen name.
Amazon review for Finding Jackson, round 1: ?

Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ review: /review/show...

Zita