Quick link: go to the reviews
Why this review site?
Aside from the fact that the two biggest review sites (Amazon and Goodreads) are really the same site? Discounting them, how many do you use?
Those and other large sites offering star-rated reviews of books which can guide you as to which book to buy. What’s the point of yet another book review site?
- Maybe that is the point. We’re not trying to sell you these books. We’re just telling you about books that we like. We’re authors; we like books (most books). Maybe if you like the way we think about books, you’ll see us as a good partner to help publish yours.
- Many of the reviews on Amazon are bogus, added in by “reviewers” paid to add 20 or 40 paid positive reviews. All the reviews on this site are written by us, the operators of Caltrop Press. That makes them a lot more consistent than those produced by the “rank #1 on Amazon” sweatshops.
- It might seem obvious from the prior bullet, but we’ve actually read every single one of these books.
- In most cases the reviews become somewhat self-selecting: we review a book, other authors in similar genres ask us to review more books. So most of the time we even know what we are talking about as far as the actual content of the book.
- Once in a while we get offered something out of the usual genres. If we like it anyway, then you deserve to know that it is good enough to hold the attention even of people who don’t usually like that genre.
What’s different about our ratings?
For the most part, there aren’t any. Or, if you prefer, they are implied simply by being on the list.
These are objective reviews of the many books by other authors that we’ve read and enjoyed. In many cases, we did receive a courtesy copy of the book so that we could review it. That has no bearing whatever on the reviews you see here, for one simple reason: if it isn’t very good, we simply don’t provide a review at all.
We can admit it, we’re not totally warm and cuddly. If a book is not up to par, we’re not going to write a favorable review; you, the reader, deserve to know that our review reflects the way we see it.
Instead, we recommend to the author that they get some more editing, rethink their story line, add some more useful content, or whatever constructive feedback is appropriate. Accordingly, new-author or self-published author books you see in our reviews would all rank in the 4-5 star range on a rated website like Goodreads or Amazon (well, that is the same site really!).
Over time, if we are offered too many books to review, we may well charge a read fee. If so, we’ll be transparent about that. That time has not arrived.
We’ve identified a category for shorter e-books and they’re given an assessment that is fair for their category. Many are by design only 40-50 pages long to appeal to busy professionals or to those afflicted with attention deficit that is so common nowadays (thanks, mass media!) Don’t expect a “short e-book” to have content comparable to a full-length book (although some do); the question is whether they are useful given their brevity and low price.
From an author with a big name, or a big book contract, or a number of books on the market, we expect a bit more. For those authors, an excess of typographic errors, sloppy layout or mangled grammar usually appear to us to represent an author who is no longer focused on providing the reader with the best possible experience, and that will be so noted. If the story is boring or the material inadequate, that too can lead to a “not recommended” notation.
OK, now you know how it works. Let’s find something fun to read! Go to the reviews