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100 Best Blogs for Book Reviews


It seems that a large number of book fanatics love to write about what they've read almost as much as doing the actual reading. That's a good thing for the rest of the readers out there, because blogs about books are an excellent way to discover great books without wasting your valuable time on the bad ones. Along with reading top book review blogs, students are exposed to excellent classic and contemporary books through traditional and online master's degrees in English literature. Check out these blogs that are all dedicated to reviewing books.

General Fiction Reviews

These blogs feature book reviews across many different fiction categories such as classics, world literature, literary fiction, mystery, young adult, and more. The books read by these bloggers go beyond what you'd come across in typical English degree programs.

  1. Becky's Book Reviews. Becky reviews all sorts of fiction ranging from classics to science fiction to young adult fiction.
  2. books i done read. Get plenty of witty humor with the book reviews on this blog.
  3. bookshelves of doom. This prolific reader reviews books of all kinds and includes the source of her books as well.
  4. Absorbed in Words. The reviews here have an emphasis on books translated from Japanese, but include many other fiction books too.
  5. Bookdwarf. A frontlist buyer at the Harvard Book Store, this book lover writes reviews on literature, book covers, and much more on her blog.
  6. Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?. Check out the literary fiction reviews here that come with ratings from 1-100.
  7. Here There be Books. Anastasia blogs mostly about fiction in young adult, fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure.
  8. Books and Musings from Downunder. The reviews here include tons of helpful information such as genre, opening sentence, and rating (A+, A, B, C, D).
  9. It's all about me (time). These books cross genres ranging from chick lit to classics to world literature.
  10. Lynda's Book Blog. This Welsh blogger reviews all types of books including thrillers, world literature, mysteries, classics, and even some non-fiction.
  11. Peachybooks. Blogging from Britain, many of the books Jo writes about here are from or about the UK.
  12. Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic. Stephanie participates in many book challenges and posts about them all on her blog.
  13. The Book Nest. The books here tend to more young adult and fantasy, but a wide range of other genres are also covered due to the many challenges and book tours in which Corinne participates.
  14. The Boston Bibliophile. Literary fiction, Jewish fiction and non-fiction, and graphic novels are all reviewed here.
  15. Caribousmom. The books reviewed here are generally literary fiction, mystery, and historical novels.
  16. Rhapsodyinbooks's Weblog. Written by a husband and wife team, this blog covers all sorts of fiction.
  17. Whimpulsive. Mystery, young adult, memoirs, and historical fiction are just a few of the genres represented among these reviews.
  18. Rose City Reader. This prolific reviewer also includes links to other reviews–providing you with lots of information about books.
  19. Worducopia. Books and writing both get billing on this blog that features lots of fiction with some non-fiction also included.
  20. We Be Reading. K and Z are a mom and son team (with mom doing most of the actual writing) that cover both adult and children's literature.
  21. A Work in Progress. Biographies, historical fiction, mysteries, and more show up on this blog.
  22. things mean a lot. The books reviewed here include historical fiction, general fiction, YA, graphic novels, and more.
  23. Books on the Nightstand. This blog features not only a variety of genres from graphic novels to "bathroom reading" to classics, it also offers options for how to get the book reviews with both written reviews and podcasts.

Children and Young Adult Reviews

Children's literature and young adult literature are the focus of these blogs.

  1. Guys Lit Wire. This blog features books that are of interest to teenage boys.
  2. a wrung sponge. Get reviews of children and young adult literature and poetry as well as books for parents here.
  3. Book Nut. Melissa reviews adult fiction as well here, but the bulk of her posts are on children's and young adult literature. She includes age ranges on each, too.
  4. Bookworm 4 Life. Written by a librarian at a public library, the books here focus mostly on teen literature.
  5. Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. While not following the traditional book review format, this blog gives the low-down on authors, illustrators, and the books themselves from this genre.
  6. A Fuse #8 Production. Check out this blog for in-depth reviews of kid lit.
  7. Jen Robinson's Book Page. Jen writes reviews about kid lit and includes age ranges, publication information, and sources of her books.
  8. Maw Books Blog. YA fiction, kid lit, and even a bit of historical fiction and author interviews end up on this blog.
  9. Shelf Elf: read, write, rave. Children's and young adult's books are featured on this blog as well as news and updates about books and authors in this field.
  10. GreenBeanTeenQueen. If you are looking for reviews on teen and tween literature, then let this librarian guide you with her reviews.
  11. The Book Cellar. The reviews of YA literature here are done by the 16 year-old blogger who posts a short excerpt from the book along with her review and a rating based on a 5-star system.
  12. Pop Culture Junkie. While most of the books here are YA, there are also reviews on other types of fiction as well.
  13. The Story Siren. The YA reviews here include a star rating system for separate components of each book, including overall, plot, characters, ending, writing, and cover.
  14. Tempting Persephone…. Written by a young adult librarian, the books here have a decidedly fantasy/alternate reality bent to them.

Collaborative Blogs

These blogs share the reviewing work with some blogs having many reviewers and others only a few. The differing perspectives from them offer a wider range of opinion.

  1. 26 books. What started as one reader reviewing 26 books in one year has grown to multiple reviewers and hundreds of books.
  2. BookFetish. This collaborative blog features reviews on mysteries and thrillers, young adult, fantasy, and more.
  3. Omnivoracious' Amazon Blog. A collaborative effort from Amazon.com, this blog covers everything from cook books to fiction.
  4. The New Book Review. Readers, reviewers, and authors can submit their reviews here which cover a wide variety of genres.
  5. Book Nook Club. These 13 book reviewers cover many different genres and encourage their readers to leave comments to for further discussion.
  6. Five Borough Book Review. A group of 20-something New Yorkers, they review books as varied as they are.
  7. Shelf Love. Jenny and Teresa review everything from classics to contemporary fiction to children's literature.

Industry and Professional Reviewers

From national newspapers to web magazines, these blogs provide reviews from professionals.

  1. ArtsBeat. This blog from the New York Times looks at books, their authors, and news surrounding both.
  2. Book Soup Blog. Book Soup is a book store in Los Angeles and they include reviews of new literature on this blog.
  3. New York Review of Books. The reviews here focus on non-fiction books covering topics such as health care, politics, and more.
  4. A Different Stripe. These reviews are from The New York Review of Books Classics.
  5. Blog of a Bookslut. The blog from this popular web magazine covers book reviews and book news.
  6. Critical Mass. From National Book Critics Circle Board of Directors, this blog not only features a wide variety of book reviews, but also news from the publishing industry.
  7. Jacket Copy. This blog from the LA Times features book reviews and other publishing and book news.

History and Historical Fiction

Fans of history and historical fiction will love these blogs, which provide a great diversion for those pursuing graduate degrees in history.

  1. Carla Nayland Historical Fiction. Carla writes about her favorite genre, historical fiction, on her blog.
  2. Age 30+…A Lifetime of Books. Memoirs and historical fiction both feature on this mom's blog, with the occasional kid lit, too.
  3. A Reader's Respite. Don't expect any kind of dry account of historical fiction on this blog where high camp is king.
  4. Steven Till. Historical fiction, medieval history terms of the week, and a good dose of fantasy are all included on this blog.
  5. TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog. This blog is all about the Civil War and reviews mostly non-fiction works.
  6. News and Random Musings about Historical Novels. This blog from HistoricalNovels.info includes plenty of book reviews.
  7. Historical Tapestry. This collaborative blog features historical novels from several different eras.
  8. Julie K. Rose. Written by a historical novelist, this blog shares book reviews, definitions of obscure words, and sneak peeks at books-in-progress.
  9. Writing the Renaissance. While writing her own historical fiction novel, this blogger also reviews books and talks about renaissance history.
  10. The Biblio Blogazine. Historical fiction is this blogger's book of choice, but you may see other types of books reviewed here too.
  11. Bookfoolery and Babble. Lots of different types of books are reviewed here, but historical fiction and history books tend to surface the most.

Mystery and Thriller

Whether mystery, crime, or thrillers are your thing, these blogs will offer plenty of great suggestions for you.

  1. Kittling: Book. Mysteries and thrillers feature highly here, but you can also find a smattering of historical fiction and biographies too.
  2. Bookgasm. Crime, mystery, thrillers, and even a bit of non-fiction turn up on this blog.
  3. Jen's Book Thoughts. Jen reviews mystery novels and also includes author interviews.
  4. The Drowning Machine. Mystery and crime novels are the focus of this blog. Recent posts have featured a short story contest they've been running, but the book reviews should be back soon.

Romance

Romance novels seem to beckon a variety of different review styles and these blogs highlight some of the best.

  1. The Book Smugglers. Romance and fantasy books are both featured on this blog–and bonus points for romance fantasy books.
  2. Book Binge. These three women blog about their passion for romance novels.
  3. RipMyBodice.com. The three women here write reviews of romance novels and don't take themselves too seriously.
  4. Babbling About Books, and More. Not only does KB babble about romance novels, she also has fun with words and silly photos.
  5. Gossamer Obsessions. This blogger offers an enjoyable breakdown of the cast of characters and the traditional romance novel devices used in the reviews here.
  6. Racy Romance Reviews. Here you'll find a philosophy professor who reads romance novels and blog about the books themselves and the genre.
  7. ReadingAdventures. Romance and historical fiction are found on this blog.
  8. Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. These two smart women review romance novels and give them a grade from A+ to F.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Adventure

If you like your books a little out of this world, then check out these blogs that feature science fiction, fantasy, and adventure.

  1. BestScienceFictionStories.com. Science fiction short stories and novelettes are reviewed on this blog.
  2. Exclusively Books. Written by a group of Latter-day Saint women, these books are mostly fantasy and adventure. The ladies warn of bad language and adult content, too.
  3. Stuff as Dreams are Made On…. Chris enjoys reading and reviewing fantasy, sci-fi, YA, and even a bit of general fiction.
  4. Bold. Blue. Adventure.. Sci-fi and fantasy are the favorites here, along with a good dose of YA and graphic novels.
  5. The Book Pirate. While not all the books reviewed here are about pirates, it doesn't hurt if they feature zombies, fantasy, or sea monsters.
  6. The Book Zombie. Eerie seems to be the tone of most of these books, which may include young adult and adult literature.
  7. bombastic bagman. These book reviews tend to fantasy and alternate realities. Comics and mysteries that overlap with fantasy are also represented.
  8. Bibliophile Stalker. This blog looks at books from the speculative fiction and fantasy genre.
  9. SciFiGuy.ca. SciFiGuy reviews focus on urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and speculative fiction and fantasy.
  10. The Galaxy Express. Science fiction romance is the genre de jour at this blog.

Graphic Novels and Comic Books

It's time to take this genre seriously, and these blogs are a great way to learn about it.

  1. Jog – The Blog. Manga, old-fashioned comics, and graphic novels are just a few of the genres reviewed here.
  2. The Weekly Crisis. Get comic book reviews here from four reviewers that include Moments of the Week, Cover of the Week, manga, and more.
  3. Warren Peace Sings the Blues. Comics of all varieties, including manga, are reviewed here.

Unique Genres

From book covers to regional authors to terrible books, these blogs offer a perspective that's a bit different from the rest.

  1. The Book Design Review. This blog proves you can judge a book by its cover. This blog is all about the design of books.
  2. Reading Local: Portland. Focusing on the literary world in Portland, Oregon, this blog features reviews of books by Portland authors as well as other news and events in the area.
  3. In Spring it is the Dawn. This Canadian blogger has been living in Japan for about 8 years and reviews a steady stream of books from Japanese writers or set in Japan.
  4. YA Fabulous. This blog reviews and discusses young adult books with GLBT themes.
  5. Awful Library Books. Two librarians have made it their mission to weed out terrible books that are actually on library shelves. See which ones they select on this blog.
  6. Judge a Book by its Cover. In the vein of awful books, this blog features books with really bad covers. Beware of some adult content.

Mixed Bag of Genres

These blogs cover a wide variety of genres and even stretch out into reviews of other mediums such as movies.

  1. Blog | Book Dads. This blog highlights books about dads and their relationships with their children. Adult, young adult, and children's literature are all reviewed.
  2. Books, Movies and Chinese Food. Most of the books reviewed by this grad student are Christian fiction.
  3. it's dark in the dark. This blog features scary books and rates them on creepy factor, suspense factor, weird erotic tension factor, and funny and/or strange factor.
  4. S. Krishna's Books. World literature book reviews are featured along with music and photography on this blog.
  5. The Bottom of Heaven. While book reviews are a large part of this blog, it also shares plenty of information and insight about black culture in America.