online book review sites

The 13 Best Book Review Sites and Book Rating Sites

Knowing where to buy books can be challenging. So, here are the best book review sites to help you avoid buying books that you'll regret reading.

Nobody likes to spend money on a new book only to face that overwhelming feeling of disappointment when it doesn't live up to your expectations. The solution is to check out a few book review sites before you hit the shops. The greater the diversity of opinions you can gather, the more confidence you can have that you'll enjoy the title.

Which book review and book rating sites are worth considering? Here are the best ones.

1. Goodreads

Goodreads is arguably the leading online community for book lovers. If you want some inspiration for which novel or biography to read next, this is the book review site to visit.

There's an endless number of user-generated reading lists to explore, and Goodreads itself publishes dozens of "best of" lists across a number of categories. You can do a book search by plot or subject , or join book discussions and reading groups with thousands of members.

You can participate in the community by adding your own rankings to books you've read and leaving reviews for other people to check out. Occasionally, there are even bonus events like question and answer sessions with authors.

2. LibraryThing

LibraryThing is the self-proclaimed largest book club in the world. It has more than 2.3 million members and is one of the best social networking platforms for book lovers .

With a free account, you can add up to 200 books to your library and share them with other users. But it's in the other areas where LibraryThing can claim to be one of the best book review sites.

Naturally, there are ratings, user reviews, and tags. But be sure to click on the Zeitgeist tab at the top of the page. It contains masses of information, including the top books by rating, by the number of reviews, by authors, and loads more.

3. Book Riot

Book Riot is a blog. It publishes listicles on dozens of different topics, many of which review the best books in a certain genre. To give you an idea, some recent articles include Keeping Hoping Alive: 11 Thrilling YA Survival Stories and The Best Historical Fiction Books You’ve Never Heard Of .

Of course, there's also plenty of non-reading list content. If you have a general affinity for literature, Book Riot is definitely worth adding to the list of websites you browse every day.

Bookish is a site that all members of book clubs should know about. It helps you prep for your next meeting with discussion guides, book quizzes, and book games. There are even food and drink suggestions, as well as playlist recommendations.

But the site is more than just book club meetings. It also offers lots of editorial content. That comes in the form of author interviews, opinion essays, book reviews and recommendations, reading challenges, and giveaways.

Be sure to look at the Must-Reads section of the site regularly to get the latest book reviews. Also, it goes without saying that the people behind Bookish are book lovers, too. To get a glimpse of what they’re reading, check out their Staff Reads articles.

5. Booklist

Booklist is a print magazine that also offers an online portal. Trusted experts from the American Library Association write all the book reviews.

You can see snippets of reviews for different books. However, to read them in full, you will need to subscribe. An annual plan for this book review site costs $184.95 per year.

6. Fantasy Book Review

Fantasy Book Review should be high on the list for anyone who is a fan of fantasy works. The book review site publishes reviews for both children's books and adults' books.

It has a section on the top fantasy books of all time and a continually updated list of must-read books for each year. You can also search through the recommended books by sub-genres such as Sword and Sorcery, Parallel Worlds, and Epic Fantasy.

7. LoveReading

LoveReading is one of the most popular book review sites in the UK, but American audiences will find it to be equally useful.

The site is divided into fiction and non-fiction works. In each area, it publishes weekly staff picks, books of the month, debuts of the month, ebooks of the month, audiobooks of the month, and the nationwide bestsellers. Each book on every list has a full review that you can read for free.

Make sure you also check out their Highlights tab to get book reviews for selected titles of the month. In Collections , you'll also find themed reading lists such as World War One Literature and Green Reads .

Kirkus has been involved in producing book reviews since the 1930s. This book review site looks at the week's bestselling books, and provides lengthy critiques for each one.

As you'd expect, you'll also find dozens of "best of" lists and individual book reviews across many categories and genres.

And while you're on the site, make sure you click on the Kirkus Prize section. You can look at all the past winners and finalists, complete with the accompanying reviews of their books.

Although Reddit is a social media site, you can use it to get book reviews of famous books, or almost any other book for that matter! Reddit has a Subreddit, r/books, that is dedicated to book reviews and reading lists.

The subreddit has weekly scheduled threads about a particular topic or genre. Anyone can then chip in with their opinions about which books are recommendable. Several new threads are published every day, with people discussing their latest discovery with an accompanying book rating or review.

You'll also discover a weekly recommendation thread. Recent threads have included subjects such as Favorite Books About Climate Science , Literature of Indigenous Peoples , and Books Set in the Desert . There’s also a weekly What are you Reading? discussion and frequent AMAs.

For more social media-like platforms, check out these must-have apps for book lovers .

10. YouTube

YouTube is not the type of place that immediately springs to mind when you think of the best book review sites online.

Nonetheless, there are several engaging YouTube channels that frequently offer opinions on books they've read. You’ll easily find book reviews of famous books here.

Some of the most notable book review YouTube channels include Better Than Food: Book Reviews , Little Book Owl , PolandBananasBooks , and Rincey Reads .

Amazon is probably one of your go-to site when you want to buy something. If you don’t mind used copies, it’s also one of the best websites to buy second-hand books .

Now, to get book reviews, just search and click on a title, then scroll down to see the ratings and what others who have bought the book are saying. It’s a quick way to have an overview of the book’s rating. If you spot the words Look Inside above the book cover, it means you get to preview the first few pages of the book, too!

Regardless of the praises or criticisms you have heard from other book review sites, reading a sample is the most direct way to help you gauge the content’s potential and see whether the author’s writing style suits your tastes.

12. StoryGraph

StoryGraph is another good book review site that's worth checking out. The book rating is determined by the site's large community of readers. Key in the title of a book you're interested in and click on it in StoryGraph's search results to have an overall view of its rating.

Each book review provides information on the moods and pacing of the story. It also indicates whether the tale is plot or character-driven, what readers feel about the extent of character development, how lovable the characters generally are, and the diversity of the cast.

13. London Review of Books

The London Review of Books is a magazine that covers a range of subjects such as culture, literature, and philosophy. Part of its content includes amazingly detailed book reviews. If you feel that most modern book reviews are too brief for your liking, the London Review of Books should suit you best.

You'll gain insight into the flow and themes of the story, as well as a more thorough picture of the events taking place in the book.

Read Book Reviews Before You Buy

The book review sites we've discussed will appeal to different types of readers. Some people will be more comfortable with the easy-to-interpret book rating systems; others will prefer extensive reviews written by experienced professionals.

Although it’s easy to be tempted by a gorgeous book cover, it’s always best to have a quick look at the book reviews before actually buying a copy. This way, you can save your money and spend it on the books that you’ll be proud to display on your shelves for a long time. And check out recommendations, as well, to help you find what's worth reading.

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Top 5 Book Review Sites Every Author Should Submit To

Written By Write With Light Publications, LLC

0 comment(s), october 13, 2021, don’t rush your book.

We can’t say it enough and yet we see it happen all the time.

When on the verge of publishing a book, we see one big mistake happen, especially if the author is rushing the publication process of their book.

Many times, we see them write, edit and then publish, giving no time or space to properly market or get the word out about their book.

So how is a reader supposed to find your book if it’s not even out there yet? How will they see it without proper awareness?

Authors who self-publish for the first time (usually) are missing a crucial piece to the publishing process: Submitting their book to book review sites.

Why Do I Need to Submit My Books for Review?

Submitting your book to review to a good review source can help you leverage your book before it’s even launched.

Having people review your book from these five book review sites we are talking about later, even if the reviews are positive or negative, can be powerful.

There are a few reasons all authors should be submitting their book for review.

• You can gain quality reviews
• Create awareness for your book
• Book reviewers could possibly share your work with others (word of mouth marketing)
• Can influence readers to pre-order your book
• It’s free marketing!

Although sharing your work with others to get their opinion on your book is daunting, it’s still a necessary step to take before you even publish. Don’t forget this crucial step in the publishing and promotion process if you don’t want to sabotage your book .

How Long Does the Review Process Take?

The review copy process can take some time, which is probably why a lot of people skip the process. But if you want a good quality review from a quality source, you need to take the time to fit a book review process into your book publishing timeline.

The review copy process can take anywhere from 3-4 months. So why is that?

A majority of book reviewers and credible book review sites require at least 3-4 months after submission and before launch to review your book.

Reviewers get a lot of inquiries and a lot of books, some of which they give to two different readers for review. If they choose your book for review you need to give them 3-4 months to review it.

The downside is, you just have to be patient.

When Should I Submit My Books For Review?

If you’re finished writing your book, we highly recommend getting it edited by a professional before handing it off to reviewers.

Before you even submit your books for review, edit your book. Period.

Even if you have an amazing cover with a captivating synopsis, it will mean nothing if you send a book in with a wealth of mistakes roaming freely.

Reviewers will not read through your book if there are mistakes. Only send your book out for review when it is 100% ready.

Who Should I Be Submitting Books to For Review?

If you do decide to work this book review timeframe into your schedule, there are five sites you can get started with, some of which are free and some of which are paid.

So the top 5 book review sites you absolutely should at least consider,

• Publisher’s Weekly
• Write With Light Publications

We’ll explain all of them and their benefits below!

It’s also important to keep in mind that there are multiple other avenues for getting book reviews including having bookstagrammers on Instagram review your work, or sending it out to other smaller publications that would fit your niche.

For now, we’ll just cover some of the essential sites that will give you actual reviews without you having to ask freelance book reviewers.

Kirkus (Paid)

Kirkus has been around since 1933 and was founded by Virginia Kirkus. Back then, she realized there was a need for book reviews not backed by the publisher themselves. Seeing this need, she started a business that would give writers the book reviews they need while also allowing American booksellers to buy products backed by unbiased opinions.

As far as book review sites go, Kirkus is one of the most prestigious and trusted book reviewers in the business and offers an unbiased assessment of your book—which could be negative or positive. But their outstanding reviews come at a price. That being said, the review is worth it to many.

Here are some of the prices for Kirkus Reviews:

• Traditional Reviews: Costs $425 for a 250-word review.
• Expanded Reviews: Costs $525 for a 500-word review.
• Picture Book Reviews: Cost $350 for a 200-word review.

All of the reviews are turned around in 7-9 weeks but can be expedited for an additional fee. After receiving your review, you can add some of the best quotes to your product listings on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites to help promote the book.

You also have the option to publish your review on Kirkus if you like what they have to say. If you do choose to publish it, Kirkus may consider your review for publication in their magazine which reaches 50,000 users.

If you’re ready to get your book reviewed, visit Kirkus to get started .

Booklife (Paid)

To receive another guaranteed book review for a price, you can also choose Booklife .

Booklife is an extension of the popular site, Publisher’s Weekly, and provides publishing advice and assistance to find authors.

Booklife is usually great for indie authors who need a great review from a reputable source. It is also slightly less in cost than Kirkus.

A Booklife review costs $399 for 300 words.

Authors will get their review back in an estimated 4-6 weeks. The one downside of submitting for review with Booklife is there is a word count limit. Only books 100,000 words are less can be considered for a review.

The upside is the review with be featured on Booklife’s website and Publisher Weekly’s website. To learn more about the submission guidelines and get reviewed, visit Booklife’s Review FAQs page .

Reedsy (Paid)

Probably one of our favorite places to get books reviewed is Reedsy .

We love this site because it is so affordable and you get an honest book review from a professional book reviewer. See a Reedsy book review for one of our authors!

Like Booklife and Kirkus, you will get a quality book review but at a much lower price and it is guaranteed. Reedsy can also be synced with Goodreads, which allows your reviewer to publish their review before the book even launches.

Authors who choose to get their books reviewed with Reedsy will spend only $50 per book for a lengthy review from a frequent book reviewer.

The great thing is, your book is available to be reviewed by anyone who is interested. Additionally, you can contact the reviewers to ask them to review your book

On Reedsy, your book can only be reviewed once, although, we really wish they would allow more, especially if other reviewers want to take a peek.

Publisher’s Weekly (Free)

Like we mentioned earlier, Publisher’s Weekly is associated with Booklife, which is a paid review service.

Publisher’s Weekly, however, is a free review service , which will bring a smile to most indie authors who are on a tight budget with marketing.

The one downside of submitting a book review to Publisher’s Weekly is your review is not guaranteed. Publisher’s Weekly reviewers take a very slim amount of submissions for review, which means they take the elite when it comes to books.

If your book is chosen for review by Publisher’s Weekly, you’ve probably got yourself a great book. Although there is no guarantee for a book review, it’s worth submitting anyways.

To get your book reviewed with Publisher’s Weekly, check out their submission guidelines .

Write With Light Publications (Free)

We know we have a long ways to go to be as great and revered as websites like Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus. But hey! We all have to start somewhere!

At Write With Light Publications, we have a deep desire to help indie authors get their books out there in the world. One of the best ways to do that is to read your book and give you a quality review.

Our reviews are completely free to you as long as you follow our strict guidelines.

To learn more about our book reviews, check out our submission guidelines !

New More Publishing Help?

Write With Light Publications offers a variety of publishing services that are intended to support indie authors with their self-publishing endeavors.

If you’re feeling lost with marketing, publishing, or even creating your book, consider getting some assistance from us!

You can see more about our services here .

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Showers, etc., an (ongoing) taxonomy of the sad rich girls of literature, sanibel lazar proposes a system of classification for unhappy endings born of blessed circumstances, from austen to larkin: why writers could be more prone to hypochondria, caroline crampton considers the intersection of creative pursuits and health anxiety, the problem with giant book preview lists, maris kreizman on one of the necessary evils of book coverage, crash again, crash better: a brief history of failed attempts at human flight, joe fassler ponders our innate desire to rise above it all, survival of the wealthiest: joseph e. stiglitz on the dangerous failures of neoliberalism, in which “the intellectual handmaidens of the capitalists” are taken to task, yan lianke wants you to stop describing him as china’s most censored author, on state censorship, artistic integrity, and the market forces behind local and global publishing, “pale fire” (tavi’s version): notes on taylor swift and the literature of obsessive fandom, leigh stein considers tavi gevinson’s new zine, “fan fiction”, how much is enough on the writerly balance between money and time, for novelist ryan chapman, “there are wants, and there are needs.”, writing as labor: doing more with less, together, david hill on the myth of the middle class writer, the money diaries: real writers, real budgets, what writers spend in a week of their lives, in service: writers on making ends meet in the service industry, “it’s easy to remain clueless about how the world works for most people.”, what christiane amanpour—and the rest of us—can learn from palestinian journalists in gaza, steven w. thrasher on the myth of the “independent journalist”, contemporary literary novels are haunted by the absence of money, naomi kanakia wonders why nobody talks about the thing we all need, premonition in the west bank: ben ehrenreich on life in the village of burin, “sometimes you hear an echo of a sound that has not yet been voiced, of a shot that has not yet been fired.”, 50 ways to end a poem, emily skaja has some recommendations for making a strong exit, a woman out of time: rebecca solnit on mary shelley’s dystopian sci-fi novel the last man, in praise of a truly innovative writer, 10 great new children’s books out in april, caroline carlsonrecommends maple lam, felicita sala, laurie morrison and more, vampires, selkies, familiars, and more april’s best sci-fi and fantasy books, career retrospectives and historical fantasies from cixin liu, ann leckie, leigh bardugo, and others, the literary film & tv you need to stream in april, april showers bring opportunities to binge watch, here’s your 2024 literary film & tv preview, 53 shows and movies to stream and see this year, lit hub’s most anticipated books of 2024, 230 books we’re looking forward to reading this year, 24 sci-fi and fantasy books to look forward to in 2024, exciting new series’ and standalones from kelly link, lev grossman, sofia samatar, james s.a. corey, and more, we need your help: support lit hub, become a member, you get editors’ personalized book recs, an ad-free reading experience, and the joan didion tote bag, 40 books to understand palestine, from ghassan kanafani's "men in the sun" to adania shibli's "minor detail", the new york times ">a call from the journalism academy for an external review at the new york times.

Read an Open Letter From Scholars and Professors Across the Country

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Karen Valby: “It is not my job to be a white woman beyond reproach—some mythical anti-Karen that doesn’t even exist.”

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"No one, I learned, appreciates the care and effort of an editor more than Lish."

April 30, 2024

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Independent Book Review

A Celebration of Indie Press and Self-Published Books

30+ Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers

Here are 30+ top-notch book review sites for booksellers, librarians, readers, & writers. Learn more about 30 bookish companies helping spread the word about the best & latest books.

Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers

Book reviews are for all of us.

Readers need to know whether books with the best covers are worth the time they’re about to put into it. They find it helpful (and fun!) to check out reviews after reading the books, too, so they can see what other real-life humans had to say about it.

Authors & publishers need to get book reviews to build buzz and credibility for their product. Librarians & booksellers need to hear from trusted sources that the book they are about to buy for their collection has the capability to get picked up & to satisfy. 

Book review sites have transformed the book-recommending landscape.

We can write reviews on product pages, on social media apps, and some of us, for publications that have been around since before the internet. Book reviewing has changed. But maybe it also hasn’t.

What kind of book review sites are you looking for? Chances are, this list has you covered.

Here are 30+ book review sites to read, write, and bookmark. 

1. Independent Book Review

Does this logo look familiar? (Hint: You’re sitting on it).

IBR, the website you’re on RIGHT NOW, is all about indie books . There are so many books in the world right now, but if you feel like you keep seeing the same ones recommended over and over, start reading indie!

Independent presses & self-published authors are doing some incredible work right now. IBR reviews books, curates lists, does indie bookstore round-ups, and uses starred reviews & best-of-the-year lists to show which books are going to blow your mind.

2. Book Marks

Lit Hub rules. You already knew this.

But do you know about Book Marks? They’re a branch of the Lit Hub network, and they are an excellent way for booksellers and librarians to get shorter recaps from multiple sources and voices.

Their staff peruses book review sites and shares pull-quotes from them in book lists & more. By reading all of these sites, they can give the book a rating based on the average: “Rave, Positive, Mixed, or Pan.”

My favorite book-buying platform, Bookshop , uses Book Marks’ scale for their books’ ratings, and I love getting access to that.

3. Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly has been around since 1872. By now, they’re a review churning machine. They cover so much of the book industry in so many different ways, reviewing nearly 9,000 books per year and providing publication announcements, agency announcements, industry job listings , bestseller lists, industry stats, a self-publishing partner, and more. 

4. Kirkus Reviews

Another one that’s been around since before the internet! 1933 to be exact. Kirkus is a widely recognized publication that book buyers & librarians follow carefully. I dare you to find a bookstore or library that doesn’t have multiple books with Kirkus Reviews plastered on their front and back covers.

5. Booklist

The American Library Association runs Booklist , a platform dedicated to helping libraries, educators, and booksellers choose books. They’ve got a magazine (since 1905!), book reviews, lists, awards, and one of my favorite bookish podcasts out there: Shelf Care .

6. Library Journal & School Library Journal

As you might be able to guess, Library Journal & School Library Journal focus on librarians too! They review a ton of books, and they write often about library-related news, collection management, technology, programs, and more. If you’re an author hoping to land your book in libraries, these are essential targets.

7. BookPage

You may have seen BookPage in your local library or bookstore. Some shops provide it for free so that patrons can look through it to find which books to buy in-store. Their website is clean and intriguing and always full of the most up-to-date releases and bestsellers.

Speaking of libraries! Have you seen our gifts for librarians ?

8. Foreword

Foreword is such an enthusiastic and dedicated champion of indie books, and they’ve been doing it since the 90s! I love how much attention university presses get here too. Their reviews are well-written & thorough, in both print & digital, and I always find something to speed-purchase once the Foreword Indie winners come out.

9. LoveReading

LoveReading is a top book-recommendation website in the UK. They’ve got starred reviews, lists, staff picks, a LitFest , eBooks, and they even donate 25% of the cover price of their books to schools of your choice. It’s reader-friendly and apparent how much they appreciate the wonder of books. 

10. Washington Independent Review of Books

What’s not to love about The Independent?

Back in 2011, a group of writers & editors were frustrated by newspapers dropping book review sections and decided to do something about it. The Washington Independent Review of Books is quite a lovely something! This nonprofit posts every day: from reviews to interviews to essays and podcasts. They host events too!

11. Book Riot

Try being a reader and not finding something you love on Book Riot. Book lists, podcasts, personalized recommendations, newsletters, book deals—this site is a haven.

It doesn’t post solo book reviews like other sites, but they do share mini-reviews in book lists and talk about reading in unique & passionate ways. The Book Riot Podcast is such a winner too! I love listening to Jeff & Rebecca laugh about the latest in books & reading.

12. Electric Lit

From novel excerpts to original short fiction & poetry, they might not only be a book review site,  but they do offer a lot in the world of book recommendations. Their Recommended Reading lit mag features unique staff picks and short, insightful book reviews.

13. The Millions

The writing in The Millions is something to behold. They are an artful source for all things book reviews & recommendations. They write stunning essays about books & reading and long reviews of new and old books. They’ve got some of my favorite Most Anticip ated lists too.

What are the biggest benefits of reading ? 🧐

14. Bookforum

Did you hear? Bookforum is back ! This book review magazine announced in December 2022 that they were closing, and my heart sank a little bit. This company means so much to the publishing industry and has for 20+ years, so when I saw (last week!) that they are returning, I did more than a few jumps for joy.

Welcome back, Bookforum! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got coming for us in book world coverage.

BOMB is in it for the art. Art, literature, film, music, theater, architecture, and dance. There are reviews and interviews, and the literature section is a real delight. The reviews are like poignant essays, and the author interviews are in-depth and feature some fascinating minds.

16. The Asian Review of Books

The only dedicated pan-Asian book review publication! It’s widely cited and features some of the best in Asian books and art, so booksellers and librarians have a source to trust to stock their collections with high-quality pan-Asian lit.

Have you seen our gifts for book lovers yet?

17. Chicago Review of Books

I love so much of what Chicago Review of Books does. They have a clean & sleek design that features some of the buzziest books as well as plenty of hidden gems from our favorite indie presses. I’m a particularly big fan of the spotlight they put on books in translation .

18. Rain Taxi

I love Rain Taxi ’s style! They champion unique books, publish their own fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and put a real emphasis on art for their magazine covers . It’s a beautiful print magazine to subscribe to, but they also share free online editions & digital archives. They even run the Rain Taxi Reading Series & Twin Cities Book Festival if you’re a real-lifer in Minnesota!

19. The Rumpus

Oh, The Rumpus ! This mostly volunteer-run online magazine publishes reviews, interviews, essays, fiction, and poetry. The reviews are in-depth and personal and heart-melting, and in addition to the site, they’ve got cool perks like the Poetry Book Club  and Letters in the Mail . The book club is where you get a pre-release book and meet the poet via Slack with other club members at the end of the month, and Letters in the Mail are actual postcards sent in the mail to you twice a month from your favorite authors.

20. Book Reporter

The selection in Book Reporter is carefully curated & enticing: hot new releases, forthcoming books, major presses, & indies. And there are plenty of unique ways to learn about them, like video interviews and monthly lists & picks. It launched in 1996 and is in The Book Report Network, which includes Reading Group Guides , a super useful resource for book clubs.

21. BookTrib .

BookTrib does such a great job of making their site browsable. The different ways you can enjoy what they offer—from book lists to giveaways to ebook deals —are difficult to keep your purchase finger off of.

23. Lit Reactor

Writers & readers—where bookish people meet! LitReactor’s book reviews are in the magazine portion of their website, and they’ve got plenty of them! Reviews, interviews, lists, introspectives, writing tips, and reading discussions. I’ve found some really unique content on Lit Reactor, like this ranking of literary parents . The website is a haven for writers especially, as there are workshops, writing blog posts, and even a forum to participate in.

24. Crime Fiction Lover

Dark alleys. Stray bullets. Hard-boiled detectives. Runaway thrills. If you’re a mystery-thriller reader, you’ve got to know about Crime Fiction Lover. They’ve got a passionate group of readers and writers talking about the best books in the genre and the ones that are soon to come out too.

25. SF Book Reviews

Speculative fiction fans unite! SF Book Reviews has been reviewing sci-fi and fantasy books since 1999, and while they’re a relatively small staff, they publish regularly, feature books of the month, and work wonders for their fantastical community.

26. Historical Novel Society

For all you historical fiction fans out there, the Historical Novel Society has reviewed more than 20,000 books in its twenty years. This one works like a membership for “writers and readers who love exploring the past.” You get a quarterly print magazine as a member, and if you’re a writer, you can join critique groups and ask for book reviews.

27. The Poetry Question

The Poetry Question writes about poetry published by indie presses and indie authors. They are a small passionate team dedicated to showing the world why indie presses continue to be a leading source for award-winning poetry.

28. Goodreads

Did you know that there are over 125 million members on Goodreads? When users review books, they can have conversations with fellow readers and follow reviewers too. If you’re looking for the biggest community, there’s no doubt Goodreads is the one. I like using sites like this because it helps you catalog books, one of my favorite ways to build a strong reading habit . 

29. The Storygraph

A big community of active users that’s Amazon free! Come review books, use half & quarter stars (!), and complete reading challenges. You got this.

29. Bookwyrm

Bookwyrm is small (around 5,000 members at the time of this writing), but doesn’t that sound kind of nice? There are active members and a genuine collective goal in talking books. Grow with it. I think you’ll be comfy here. There are other communities within the Bookwyrm umbrella too, like Bookrastinating .

30. Reedsy Discovery

I hold a special place in my heart for book review sites dedicated to helping writers! I got into this business as a book marketer, and I experienced first-hand, through hundreds of books, how hard it was to get exposure & validation for small press and self-published authors. 

Reedsy Discovery is a branch of Reedsy (the author resource company) that connects authors & reviewers so that people can read free books, sometimes receive tips for it, and authors can get more reviews in the process. Readers can choose from the latest books as well as the ones that are getting the best reviews.

31. Netgalley

Netgalley is a book review site for pre-released books. Reviewers sign up for a free account, request galleys from publishers and indie authors, and get to read them before they’re published so that they can leave reviews for the book, preferably on Amazon, Goodreads, or their blog. They also run Bookish , the editorial arm of Netgalley, which has book recommendations, interviews, and more.

32. Online Book Club

This review site combines a bunch of cool things! The 4-million member community gives me a lot of Goodreads vibes, especially with the Bookshelves app . But Online Book Club is a place for you to get eBook deals and talk about books in reviews and forums.

What are your favorite book review sites to follow? Let us know in the comments!

Thank you for reading “ Top-Notch Book Review Sites for Readers & Writers !” If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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Book review sites serve as invaluable resources for both readers and writers, offering insightful critiques, recommendations, and discussions on a wide range of literary works. Whether you’re seeking your next captivating read or looking to promote your own book, these platforms provide a wealth of information and opportunities for engagement. https://ghostwritersplanet.com/

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4 out of 5 stars Read official review by Alida Spies  - Review posted Apr 24th in C/T/M/H  - 2 replies to review

The Meridian by J. L. Bliss

4 out of 5 stars Read official review by Sbitan Mohammad  - Review posted Apr 24th in Sci-Fi/Fantasy  - 3 replies to review

Overcoming Anxiety and Depression by Lillyin Love

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Chinazo Anozie  - Review posted Apr 23rd in Non-Fiction  - 2 replies to review

Penticore Prime by M.D. Chevalier

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Salome Ogani  - Review posted Apr 23rd in Sci-Fi/Fantasy  - 2 replies to review

Saschaisms by Sascha Bridges Angela Ziska

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Hager Salem  - Review posted Apr 23rd in Non-Fiction  - 2 replies to review

I ate a conservative. He gave me gas. by Jason Earley

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Chad Anthony  - Review posted Apr 22nd in Other Fiction  - 3 replies to review

A Woman's Guide to a Virtuous Man and a Man's Guide to Virtue by Spirit Ricks

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Leia Temple  - Review posted Apr 22nd in Non-Fiction  - 2 replies to review

Know Your Buyer! by D.L. Andrews

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Alice Heritage  - Review posted Apr 22nd in Non-Fiction  - 5 replies to review

Life at the Precipice by R.F. Vincent

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Bertha Jackson  - Review posted Apr 21st in Other Fiction  - 1 reply to review

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Doctor Lucifer by Anthony Lee

4 out of 5 stars Read official review by EBERE WRITES COCEPT  - Review posted Apr 21st in C/T/M/H  - 1 reply to review

The Tainted Jade by Richard Blaine

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Veronica Hunter  - Review posted Apr 20th in Historical Fiction  - 1 reply to review

Almost Fourteen by Richard Read

4 out of 5 stars Read official review by Nenye Charles  - Review posted Apr 19th in Young Adult  - 1 reply to review

Last Dance by Stephen Manning

4 out of 5 stars Read official review by Bron Bakers  - Review posted Apr 19th in Non-Fiction  - 2 replies to review

The Olive Branch by Patrick J Roelle

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Florence Daniel  - Review posted Apr 19th in C/T/M/H  - 3 replies to review

2044 Surviving the Aftermath by Timothy Ruplin

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Lisa P Cowling  - Review posted Apr 19th in Other Fiction  - 1 reply to review

Doing it All by Whitney Casares

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Onyinyechi Obi  - Review posted Apr 19th in Non-Fiction  - 2 replies to review

From Doubt to Do by Kat O'Sullivan

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Joule Mwendwa  - Review posted Apr 19th in Non-Fiction  - 7 replies to review

Helen Bonaparte by Sarah D'Stair

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Jaituni Sanghavi  - Review posted Apr 19th in Other Fiction  - 2 replies to review

The Secret of Black Lake by J.J. Burke

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Gladis Ratish Kumar  - Review posted Apr 19th in C/T/M/H  - 3 replies to review

Call Me Adam by Jo McCarty

4 out of 5 stars Read official review by Veronica Hunter  - Review posted Apr 18th in C/T/M/H  - 3 replies to review

One Last Summer by Craig Christophel

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by EBERE WRITES COCEPT  - Review posted Apr 18th in Sci-Fi/Fantasy  - 2 replies to review

When Your Partner Dies by Millard Hiner

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Slayton Natasha Tillett  - Review posted Apr 18th in Non-Fiction  - 3 replies to review

Ambrosia by Zambi

3 out of 5 stars Read official review by Bron Bakers  - Review posted Apr 18th in Sci-Fi/Fantasy  - 2 replies to review

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How to Save Your Pet, Yourself, and Your Wallet From Pain and Suffering by Aaron Vine, DVM

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Rashad Deniro Price  - Review posted Apr 17th in Non-Fiction  - 2 replies to review

The Promise by Jean Hackensmith

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by EBERE WRITES COCEPT  - Review posted Apr 17th in Historical Fiction  - 1 reply to review

Field Guide to Sinisters and Benevolents by Nancy L Vallette

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Christell Lindeque  - Review posted Apr 17th in Children's Books  - 1 reply to review

Human Beings First by Paul E. Wolfe

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Seetha E  - Review posted Apr 17th in Non-Fiction  - 2 replies to review

The Hermit Gryphon by Paula Grover

5 out of 5 stars Read official review by Stephanie Runyon  - Review posted Mar 15th in Sci-Fi/Fantasy  - 9 replies to review

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Here are the Books We Love: 380+ great 2023 reads recommended by NPR

November 20, 2023 • Books We Love returns with 380+ new titles handpicked by NPR staff and trusted critics. Find 11 years of recommendations all in one place – that's more than 3,600 great reads.

11 books to look forward to in 2024

December 30, 2023 • The first few months of the year are stacked with exciting and interesting reads. Get ready for big swings from old pros and exciting new debuts.

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'Real Americans' asks: What could we change about our lives?

April 30, 2024 • Many philosophical ideas get an airing in Rachel Khong's latest novel, including the existence of free will and the ethics of altering genomes to select for "favorable" inheritable traits.

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April 30, 2024 • Many authors are concerned about the use of their copyrighted material in generative AI models. At the same time, some are actively experimenting with the technology.

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April 26, 2024 • Trees communicate. They migrate. They protect. They heal. We climbed into the NPR archives to find some of our favorite arboreal fiction, nonfiction, and kids' lit — get ready to branch out.

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15 Of The Best Book Recommendation Sites To Find Your Next Book

Abigail Clarkin

Abigail can often be found holding a book in one hand and an ice cream cone in the other. When she is not devouring stories (or dessert), Abigail trains for marathons and writes poetry about growing up with eight brothers and sisters. She enjoys working in marketing for a real estate developer and creating Instagram content for fun (@marathonandmunch) about all the tasty eats found in Providence, RI.

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At some point, you’ve likely encountered a long, bleak patch when your reserve of recommended books ran dry. A few years ago, there was a stretch when I didn’t have people in my life who understood my taste in books. I’d finish a fantastic series and then be disappointed when I realized that there was no rebound read to help me recover from the last series. Thankfully for the readers like us who are still nursing book hangovers, there are personalized book recommendation websites across the internet to save us.

If you have run out of books you’re interested in reading, look through these fifteen book recommendation sites.

Subscriptions

Book Riot has its very own subscription service called Tailored Book Recommendations . TBR is made up of staff who dedicate their time to carefully tailoring book recommendations for readers based on what they like to read personally. Sign up for either a recommendations-only level subscription or a hardcover level subscription (which includes having three books mailed to you).

If you’d like free and discounted reading deals sent straight to your email, sign up for BookBub. Based on the genres you choose when signing up, BookBub will send personalized recommendations of ebooks that can be purchased for a reasonable rate. Themed lists are also available on their site.

22 Books Coming in 2018 Recommended by Librarians https://t.co/Sil3Wvs6Lh @tarawestover @thuglibrarian @CommerceLibrary @randyribay @alicewriterland @anglophilelibr pic.twitter.com/Uu6cIJuuxx — BookBub (@BookBub) March 2, 2018

3. Library-Specific Sites

If you’re a patron at a large library, there’s a chance that your library offers personalized book recommendation services delivered via email. A few libraries currently offering this service include New York Public Library , Denver Public Library , and Sacramento Public Library . Ask your librarians to see if this is a resource for you as well.

Themed Lists

4. epic reads.

Epic Reads is one of the largest young adult fiction communities online. Along with their endless energy and passion for YA, one reason for their popularity is their interactive quizzes, lengthy lists, and colorful book charts that point readers towards their next favorite read. A few years ago when I met a reading slump, I worked my way through much of their amazing Young Adult Retelling Chart . Many of my favorites were found through this resource.

5. Penguin Teen

The Penguin Teen website features book lists, news about young adult authors, and a helpful book suggestions tool that focuses on genre specific book recommendations.

6. Reading Rockets

If you’re looking for children’s books for the kids in your life (or for the child in you), check out Reading Rockets. Reading Rockets provides specific, lengthy themed lists for young readers. With list topics ranging from “Books About Kids Who Find Reading Hard” to “That’s So Gross,” you are sure to find a book for any occasion. This site can be a wonderful resource for teachers, librarians, and educators.

Tor is the online hub for fantasy and science fiction. Check out their many lists to find stories that will transport you to fictional lands.

A project from Netgalley, Bookish offers a wide range of book lists, including fiction, audiobook, and young adult. What makes this site stand out is these are all brand new releases or forthcoming titles, so you can get your library holds or preorders in early.

All of the recommendations on Olmenta are submitted by passionate readers. The site allows you to peruse titles by genre or category, and it’s a fun way to let someone else pick a book for you (without needing to do any real work on your end). You can submit your own suggestions, too.

10. Shepherd

Who could offer better recommendation lists than authors, experts, and passionate readers of books on aa topic? Shepherd offers a wide range of book lists, including everything from best YA books about immigration to novels where something queer’s afoot. In the near future, Shepherd will make it possible to sort lists by genre, as well, so you could find books set in China that are romance, nonfiction, YA, or otherwise.

Made-For-You on the Spot

11. whichbook.

On Whichbook, book recommendations are calculated by one out of two categories: 1. Mood, or 2. Character, setting, and plot. The reader has the choice to use sliders on the “Mood” section to rate what they’re looking for in a book. Do you want a book that is completely happy? Or on the border between safe and disturbing? There is also the option to select your desired character characteristics, the story setting, and/or plot points that you’d like included in the recommendation.

Maybe AI knows the perfect book for you. Readow starts by asking you some simple questions about recent reads and uses technology to pair you with your next great book.

13. What Should I Read Next

14. readgeek.

Registering is optional when using Readgeek to receive book recommendations. In order to get ahold of book suggestions, simply rate a few books that you’ve read on a 1–10 scale. After you finish rating as many as you’d like, Readgeek calculates which books you’d most likely enjoy based on your previous ratings.

15. Literature Map

At Literature Map, you can type in an author’s name and then view similar authors that other readers are enjoying. The site generates a map that displays author names in relative states of closeness. The closer the authors, the more likely other readers enjoyed both.

Another simple but fun AI-driven recommendation site is Gnooks. Pop in your three favorite writers and you’ll get a recommended author to try. It doesn’t end there, though: you can rate whether or not you like the author suggested for even more recommendations.

17. Goodreads

Goodreads provides a space for people to track their reading, write reviews, and view books, lists, and authors that align with their interests. When creating an account on Goodreads, the reader has the opportunity to create original book lists. One of my favorites is the “Want to Read” option: every time you view a book description that sounds interesting, you can save the book to a list that is dedicated to books you plan to tackle later. For those of you who are looking to build a never ending To-Be-Read list, Goodreads is a perfect place to start.

18. Narrative Muse

Are you interested in reading books specifically written by underrepresented voices? Narrative Muse serves as a recommendation site for those who are looking for both films and books created by women and nonbinary writers. Create an account to be matched with books that fall under these categories.

19. The Storygraph

Billed as an alternative to Goodreads, The StoryGraph is a book tracking site, a community making site, and offers book recommendations. You can import your Goodreads information to The StoryGraph, and both the website and app have clean but visually appealing interfaces. Here’s our full StoryGraph review .

20. r/books

Numbering at almost 21 million subscribers, Reddit’s main book subreddit is a haven for book discussion and recommendations. Want to know what Reddit users across the massive site are reading? There’s Reddit Reads for that.

Still looking for more ways to find your next favorite book? Take this quiz on what you should read next to receive an immediate recommendation. If you’re willing to look for suggestions in places off of the internet, check out 31 Ways to Find the Best Book Recommendations .

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Where Writers Win

Marketing, websites, training and tools for emerging authors, the ultimate list of book review websites.

Nearly all book review sites experience lots of web traffic. They’re great places to find a read, no matter your genre preference, and better places to place yourself as an author. Many offer links to your website, author interviews (print, podcast, even video), guest author blogs and more.

So let’s create the ULTIMATE list! Here are TWENTY — a mere starter dough of potential review sites to get you rolling. And, to be politically correct (since traffic comes and traffic goes), we’ve listed them in alphabetical order.

NOTE: Each entry links to that review site’s URL. Please do add more sites — or your comments about the sites we’ve listed — in our comments section below. Or, comment at any of the various LinkedIn or Facebook groups where we’ve posted this challenge. Within a couple of weeks we’ll cobble together what WILL be the ultimate list and put it all in a Google doc for anyone to access and add to…

• Allreaders.com (it’s not sexy, but it’s functional, and you can submit a review and be a “scholar”)
• Alltop.com (specifically books.alltop.com – a list of blogs related to books and an easy place to begin your search).
• Bookfetish.org (specializing in genre fiction reviews from horror to true crime to romance).
• Bookpage.com (with hundreds of reviews a month, it’s a great place to discover new talent).
• Bookslut.com (gotta’ love the name – Bookslut is a monthly web magazine and daily blog dedicated to those who love to read)
• ForewordReviews.com (ForeWord has exclusively reviews books from small presses)
• Goodreads.com (The “Razzles” of book review sites – it’s reader candy and social networking gum to chew on all in one neat package)
• Galleycat.com (with great traffic, great lists, great reviews and great e-blast updates, this one is a great favorite of the WWW team!)
• IndieAuthorNews.com (book reviews, interviews, ebooks, even self-publishing advice)
• LibraryJournal.com (news and reviews from Library Journal staffers)
• LibraryThing.com (like GR, a hybrid community of readers, writers and reviewers, boasting 1,500,000 readers)
• MidwestBookReview.com (lots of resources and easy links to get a book reviewed or become a reviewer)
• WriteMyFirstEssay.com (like other essay services, but with good customer support to help with reviews and books in coursework)
• NPR.org (with an ongoing commitment to serious books and authors, lots of lists, author interviews and reviews)
• NewYorker.com (Page Turner is the name of the blog here, with “criticism, contention, and conversation about books that matter.”)
• NYBooks.com (The New York Review of Books – great traffic, lots to read)
• NewYorkTimes.com (okay, not everyone can crack the NYT best-seller lists, but the lists will surely lend insights… 50 Shades of What?!)
• PublishersWeekly.com (a world unto itself)
• Riffle.com (brand new – click on the link to get invited to its anticipated launch)
• Shelfari.com (owned by Amazon, you can click thru to buy in an instant – and like Goodreads has the benefit of “groups” where you can find your reading tribe)
• ← Writing Rules!
• POD Publishers: Scams and Frauds →

12 thoughts on “ The Ultimate List of Book Review Websites! ”

The Ultimate List of Book Review Websites! | Where Writers Win, was a fantastic name to give this valuable blog post. Exactly where can I actually browse more related to this?

Here are 7 more for you. Make sure that you *always* check their review policy page as sites open and close for reviews depending on their reading backlog. Enjoy!

http://shewolfreads.com http://wefancybooks.blogspot.com http://www.sithereandread.com http://www.roofbeamreader.net http://manoflabook.com http://fadeintofantasy.com http://novelreaction.com

GREAT! Will add to list and publish soon!

Thanks for the mention Adonna!

Also look at these: http://greenmanreview.com/ http://www.rambles.net/

And, with all modesty: http://johnadcox.wordpress.com

Great — will add ’em to list — thanks so much (think these will get us over 50 so far…)

Excellent info in this post. I’ve updated my book review database to include some of your suggestions.

Jane Lassar Publicist Blog: “Dear Author; A publicist’s guide to the ever-changing world of book PR” http://www.janelassar.wordpress.com @clevelandbookpr

Bookgasm: http://www.bookgasm.com/ Also, http://popcultureguy-don.blogspot.com/ reviews books if they are pop culture related, but that might be too specific for your list.

No, these are both great – thanks! (We’ve got one for just paranormal, so there ya go!)

I will run a reference to it in the August 1 issue of Publishing Poynters. BTW, you might like to divide the list in the those that review free and those that charge.

Bitten by Books http://www.bittenbybooks.com

Great – thank you!

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Karlene Cameron Books

5 best online book review sites for indie authors.

One of the best ways to gain exposure for your new book is through a book review site. But there are so many different online resources available that it can be overwhelming to select which site is the best option for your masterpiece. I know. I think I’ve combed through them all.

But don’t despair! Today, I’ll show you the top five book review sites for authors. We’ll explore how much each of these sites will cost you to use and what sets them apart from the competition. Hopefully, you’ll come away with a better understanding of where you can start.

Reader’s Favorite

Reader’s Favorite is the ideal option for new and experienced authors. They have over ten years of experience serving traditional authors, indie authors, including romance novel writers and bestsellers. They offer a wide variety of packages for authors, including a free option. However, this free review does take up to three months, so you are far better off opting for their $59 express package or the $129 package for three express reviews.

Readers’ Favorite will post reviews to both Goodreads and Barnes & Noble , but unfortunately not Amazon . Your reviews will also be placed on their site, and all of their reviews are created by real-life readers. As an author, you’ll also get the opportunity to rate your reader, just as they have rated your novel. The site prides itself on only posting four and five-star reviews. If you do happen to receive a poor review from the reader, they’ll provide you with private and constructive criticism instead, as their priority is to help authors. While the company’s primary goal is to review new and self-published authors, they’ve also worked on reviews for well-known authors in the past.

Reader Views

Established in 2005, Reader Views is a great option for independent authors. They offer a variety of services to help capture the attention of potential readers. One of their best services for independent authors includes a review consultation service for free, where you can submit your book or e-book for review consideration. The basic package starts at $119 for one review, and there are also many add-ons available to suit different budgets and marketing needs . By choosing one of their publicity campaigns, you’ll be able to spread the word about your book on blogs and social media.

The company also offers in-house editing, book translations, eBook conversion, and manuscript critiques, so they are a good one-stop-shop for authors. For reviews for Amazon, Goodreads, or Barnes & Noble, ask about their book giveaway service on top of your book review. A unique feature of this service is the fact that you are given your reviewer’s email address to contact them after to thank them for their review .

The US Review of Books

By using The US Review of Books , you’ll be able to connect with a professional book reviewer and have your review placed in front of the company’s over 18,000 newsletter subscribers. They cater to both fiction and nonfiction books, so it’s ideal for your romance novel, biography, or fantasy book. The site ranks in the top 25 for book reviews on Google, so you are in safe hands getting your novel out into the world with this site. They use a consistent team of staff to ensure the reviews are focused and adhere to a particular style.

Thanks to their subscription base and social media following, your book will receive good online exposure with this site. At the same time, the site also doesn’t use advertising, so there will be no distractions from your book coverage. The site is fully focused on reviews, with their basic review package starting at $75, although you can upgrade to express delivery for $129. They don’t sell editing or manuscript review services on the site, as they believe this would be a conflict of interest with the review services they offer.

From Publishers Weekly comes BookLife , which is one of the few sites to offer free reviews for indie authors. If you work with a larger publisher, you will need to submit your book through their main portal, but this is ideal for anyone writing a new romance novel or their first piece of work. However, to receive a free review on the site, your book will have to meet their standards and criteria. Your basic review will be about 300 words long and can be used on your book’s cover or on your Amazon or Goodreads page. While the review service is free, the site offers plenty of other paid services to run their site. If you do need social media posts or publicity on top of a review, you’ll also be able to find this on here. For no additional charge, you can also opt to have your review published in the BookLife section of Publishers Weekly each month, which will give you even greater exposure to attract publishers and readers.

Pacific Book Review

While this is the most expensive option on our list today, with their basic package starting at $300, you’ll find that Pacific Book Review can offer you wide reach online. Your review will be posted to Barnes & Noble, Google Books , and a couple of other online sites. Their professional reviewers offer top quality reviews, and know what they are looking for in an action-adventure book, biography, or romance novel.

Your review will be distributed to news sites, search engines and posted on all the major book retail websites. The company is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, so you know you are in good hands with your purchase here. Once your review is complete, you’ll receive a PDF with the review and link to the site, which you can then use however you wish for marketing purposes.

By choosing any of these five online book review sites, you’ll help get your book out into the world and attract further potential readers. All of these sites offer professional reviews that are of a high quality, and by opting for some of the add-on services they offer, you can also benefit from social media and online marketing to further spread the word about your writing.

What online book review sites have you used? Drop me a line below…I’d love to check them out.

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kcameron9767

5 responses to “5 Best Online Book Review Sites for Indie Authors”

Thanks for the information, Karlene. But you didn’t mention Kirkus Reviews. This is more expensive (if you do the paid one for Indie writers) but it’s a widely recognized review and I’ve had two Kirkus Reviews, using their quotes on my book covers. I would love to see an updated blog on this topic.

That’s a great idea, Maggie! Thanks for the suggestion. I haven’t used Kirkus…yet! But it’s on my radar.

One of my 3 Kirkus reviews contained reference to something that was not in my book (The Kovalenko Secret). I felt compelled to write to them to explain the problem. Although they adjusted the review appropriately, I was left with a feeling of not having gotten a competent reviewer. For what they charge, that should not have happened.

Reedsy (Discovery). I received a review from them for my first memoir, The Gosling Bride and I was quite happy with it and their review dashboard in general. It was only $50 and the reviewer posted their review to Amazon. Like an reviewer authors need to be aware that you can get anything from a 2 star to a 5 star rating, so make sure your book is ready!

That’s fabulous, Eileen. I haven’t heard of them — I’ll definitely check them out. Thanks for sharing!

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9 Best Photo Book Websites

Don't let your favorite photos go to waste — use these top-tested online services and turn them into keepsake albums.

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

Best Overall

Shutterfly photo books.

Walmart Photo Custom Photo Books

Most Aesthetic

Artifact uprising photo books.

Best for Themes

Mixbook photo books.

Best for Beginners

Printique photo books.

Best for Amazon Prime Members

Amazon prints.

Best for Young Kids

Pinhole press photo books.

Best for Google Photo Users

Google photo books.

Best for Families

Chatbooks custom photo books & albums.

Photo albums create a tangible and lasting archive of memories — ultimately proving to be more durable and accessible than the mess of digital files on your phone and computer. Plus, a custom photo book can be a thoughtful and unique gift for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, or other special events.

Online photo book services make it easy and quick to choose a theme or layout, upload photos and ship the book straight to the recipient. Best of all, some photo book makers even have apps so you can upload photos directly from your smartphone.

Shutterfly offers basic photo books at an affordable price. You can choose from a wide selection of themes, like birthday, travel or wedding, or neutral styles , such as modern or rustic. You can also create your own book and choose the book size, cover style and page style, then embellish it with Shutterfly's extensive library of stickers and ribbons to make your book extra special. We appreciate how easily users can edit within their chosen template and the brand's high-quality photo book paper, making Shutterfly a top pick.

You can also opt for one of its 6" x 6" Instant Books , which let you add photos from your phone, tablet or computer in minutes. These mini photo books have only 20 pages, but they're a great place to store goofy candids or Instagram posts you never want to forget. The possibilities are essentially limitless, though the vast array of options could be overwhelming for those getting started.

If you don't want the pressure of deciding on a layout, the brand offers a convenient Make My Book option, in which Shutterfly's professional designers curate your photos and design the book for free. Plus, you'll still have the opportunity to put finishing touches on it before it gets printed. Whether you opt for 50 or 800 photos (the maximum), you'll receive an email notification within 24 hours that your book is complete.

Crunched for time? Design your photo book online and pick up select styles at a Walmart store near you in as little as one hour. Photo books picked up in one hour can have 15 single-sided pages and a linen cover, while same-day pickups (ready in a few hours) can have up to 20 double-sided pages and the option of a hardcover.

On top of the speedy turnaround, Walmart has a great selection of styles : You can choose everything from the photo size and layout to the type of cover, including hardcover glossy or matte, linen, leather and lay-flat glossy or matte. If you need help narrowing down the choices, there's also the option to shop by occasion, whether you're looking for a one-year anniversary or 15th-year anniversary gift .

Despite the fast shipping and variety, our tester noted that the quality was not as high as the options offered by other photo book makers on this list — but that may be expected considering the bargain price tag. Regardless, these photo books still make a superb present that can cost under $10 without compromising on sentimentality.

No matter the occasion, you can't go wrong with one of Artifact Uprising's high-quality photo books. There are numerous design options, including preset books to celebrate the birth of a new baby or commemorating a marriage.

You can choose from lay-flat albums, books with photo strips and even softcover Instagram Friendly Books for the influencer in your life. The company even has an iPhone app that lets you create a photo book right from your smartphone. However, Rothman found the app to be glitchy at times and noted there's room for improvement with the software. Still, the books come out on top for elegance and simplicity .

One online reviewer wrote, "The fabric cover is beautiful. The photos are amazing quality and look amazing even though the photos were taken on film and therefore are a bit grainy." The overall 4.6-star rating (out of 5) backs up that review. Quality and elevated designs come with a higher price tag, but there are options for $20 or less if you're shopping on a budget.

If you have a special project and a little more money to spend, Artifact Uprising offers Design Services , which allow you to work one-on-one with an expert to bring your special moments to life. Just note that the design fee is rather steep at $119 and requires an additional $100 album deposit.

When Mixbook says it has "custom photo books for every occasion," it really means it. There are 374 different themed templates to choose from, including everything f rom travel and sports to weddings and recipes.

But that doesn't mean you have to give up creative control. You can still customize the look to your liking, from fun backgrounds to stickers to text using the Editor tool. Plus, there are plenty of paper varieties, from semigloss to ultra-thick matte.

Our testers appreciated the nice balance between good photo editing and price, but one did experience issues with the lay-flat option, in which the photos bled into the crease. You can also use the iPhone app to organize your photos with a tool that the brand calls "Automagic": Simply choose the images you want and select a theme. The goal of Automagic is to help arrange your camera roll so your photos are in order when it comes time to add them to your photo book.

If you're not sure where to start, our pros love Printique because it's super easy to use. You can select one of the many predesigned layouts or create an entire photo book from scratch.

Choose among portrait, landscape and square orientations, as well as hardcover and softcover options. You can even store your memories in a genuine leather or vegan leather book or pick from five different fabric colors. Although you can't choose the color for a hard- or softcover photo book, you can still customize the shape, size and paper type.

Looking for something more advanced? There'sa tool for professional photographers to design and create their own photo books. But if you want to keep things simple, consider starting with one of Printique's 4" x 4" Mini Softcover photo books , which have a maximum of 40 pages and come in three sizes.

Is Amazon Photos already your preferred destination for uploading photos? Then creating a photo book through its interface is an easy solution.

Similar to other photo book makers, you can create by occasion and size, or choose its 8" x 8" Premium Photo Book for a versatile option that has a laminated cover and lay-flat binding. There's also an option with standard binding at a lower cost, and all Amazon Prime members get free shipping . (Everyone else is eligible for free shipping with a minimum order of $15.)

In addition to photo books, you can shop large prints, calendars, cards and metal tabletops. There are fewer size and style options than most services when it comes to photo books, but the other photo product choices make up for the lack of available styles. After all, sometimes it's easier and quicker to have fewer options to choose from if you need to pull something together last-minute.

RELATED: 37 Best Personalized Gifts You Can Find on Amazon

With Pinhole Press, you can choose from various photo book styles ranging from board pages to softcovers to accordion-style setups. Upload your photos and let the system do the work, or manually place the photos into the layout yourself.

One of our testers says her kids love the Custom Board Books , which have themes such as " Count With Me ," " Healthy Habits " and " I Can Be Anything ." These photo books aren't just visually stimulating, but they can also educate and entertain kids for years to come .

"I got my daughter the ' My First Photo Book ' as a toddler and made it all about her — like pictures with family, doing things she likes, her favorite toys, at the playground and beach, etc. — and she still is obsessed with it," says GH Institute Executive Director Lexie Sachs .

We think he custom Photo Puzzle is a fun option for kids, and the Itty Bitty Books are easy to tote around in a work bag for on-hand entertainment. There's less variety in some categories, including Itty Bitty and hardcover books, but with so many additional photo categories other companies lack, there are still plenty of great options for kids.

RELATED: 12 Best Personalized Books for Kids

If you store your snaps in Google Photos, then Google's very own photo book maker might be the most convenient option for you. Even though there are no fancy designs, the process is seamless.

Choose from two options: a 7" x 7" softcover photo book or a 9" x 9" hardcover photo book. You can include between 20 and 140 pages, and you have the option to add a spine title if you hit more than 48 pages for a softcover or any number of pages for a hardcover.

Another hallmark of Google Photos is that you can make one photo book and order multiple copies to give to family members and friends who are also pictured in the photos. Since they come at an affordable price point, you could give everyone on your gift list a copy, whether you decide to create a collection of candid photos for your closest friends or a tangible memento of a fun family trip. Though there may not be as many designs and styles to choose from, that can make the customization process less daunting.

Chatbooks Custom Photo Books & Albums

"Set and forget it," one of our testers said about the ease of using Chatbooks, which markets itself as "ridiculously easy." You can upload images from Instagram, Flickr, Dropbox, Facebook or your computer and edit them on your desktop or via the app .

The service's Custom Photo Books & Albums option is great for families looking to personalize a family vacation , as you can choose colors, layouts, cover styles, collages, captions and more. Peruse its vast collection of more than 300 unique book covers, or shop the premium lay-flat and special occasion photo books.

You can also have fun with the Instagram and Facebook series — a 6" x 6" or 8" x 8" book with 60 pages — that lets you store your favorite social media posts in a tangible place to look back on for years to come.

Unique to Chatbooks is its subscription service, which allows you to receive a softcover, hardcover or mini photo book each month. If you and your family love taking photographs of walks in the park, weekend road trips or vacations, this service is ideal for getting your photos in your hands ASAP. One thing to note about the subscription option is that there are only two sizes available (5" x 7" and the monthly mini).

How we chose the best photo book makers

At the Good Housekeeping Institute , our pros in the Media & Tech Lab have been testing photo book makers for more than a decade . For this article, we referenced a robust test of photo book makers we completed in 2009 and ordered a round of new products to test in 2023. We also researched the latest updates and offerings to a variety of apps and services.

When choosing the best photo book makers, our Lab experts consider ease of use, performance and appearance . That means our pros take an in-depth look at a wide range of features, such as how easy it is to navigate the interface and add photos and text to the book; upload and delivery time; the number of styles, covers and templates offered; and the photo, paper and binding quality.

What to look for when shopping for the best custom photo book maker

Keep the following features in mind when choosing the right photo book maker website for your needs:

✔️ Size: Whether you're looking for a small photo book for kids or a much larger album to house snapshots from a long family vacation, there are regular, large and miniature photo book sizes available. It's best to think about how many photos you want to include and where you plan to store the album (i.e., will the book be too tall for your bookshelf or just right on top of your coffee table?).

✔️ Shape: Most photo books are rectangular or square in shape, but some companies also offer photo puzzles, calendars and tabletops to choose from too. The shape is really about aesthetic preference and the orientation you prefer for your photos.

✔️ Page count: Are you compiling 20 photos from your daughter's first-birthday party? Or are you putting together an anniversary album of pictures of you and your partner throughout the years? The number of pages determines the number of photos you can include in an album, so you have enough space to include everything.

✔️ Paper quality: This is probably a no-brainer, as the quality of material your photos are printed on is as important as the quality of the photos themselves. Although companies with higher-quality paper, like Artifact Uprising , may have a higher price tag, the extra money goes toward paper that won't lead to photos bleeding into the crease. But there are still services that are affordable and offer good-quality products, like our best value pick, Walmart Photo .

✔️ Binding quality: Some companies, like Google Photo , will add a binding to your photo album. This feature is especially important when considering the durability and longevity of your photo album. Whether it's a softcover, hardcover or lay-flat book, make sure the binding can withstand accidental drops and the wear and tear of passing the family album around at holiday parties.

✔️ Templates: If your photo album will have a certain theme or be centered around a specific occasion — or it's your first time using a photo book maker — choosing a service that has a variety of templates to choose from will let your creativity flow and also help you warm up to the design process.

✔️ Editing capabilities: When looking at beginner-level or more advanced designer tools, consider how robust or simple they are to use. Having lots of control over the interface is fun, but if you're looking for a more straightforward experience, opt for a service that does the majority of the decision-making for you or offers designer help, like Shutterfly .

What is the easiest way to make a custom photo book?

It really depends upon the service and your preference .

Although some online custom photo book makers also have an app, it can have limited functionality, be buggy or not as easy to use as the desktop equivalent. Often, an app makes it super simple to upload pictures from your phone (a major plus!) but doesn't allow as much flexibility for product assortment or editing once you've selected. That said, designing a photo book on your smartphone or tablet versus a desktop may come down to how many edits you intend to make .

If you plan to do a lot of editing, the non-app version on a larger screen would likely be your best choice. If you want to quickly make a book with limited changes, an app on your mobile device may be the way to go.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Elizabeth Berry is an updates editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute , where she ensures product reviews reflect accurate information. To update this guide, Elizabeth gathered notes from previous tests and researched the latest updates to our favorite services.

A previous version of this guide was written by Amina Lake Abdelrahman , a product review writer and editor who worked as an editorial assistant at the Good Housekeeping Institute from 2018 to 2020.

Elizabeth Berry is the editorial assistant for WomansDay.com, where she writes and edits lifestyle content. When she isn’t assisting with day-to-day editorial needs, Elizabeth is baking dairy-free cakes, reading books, or strolling through nature.

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9 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

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Parenting and its attendant anxieties underlie a number of our recommended books this week, from Jonathan Haidt’s manifesto against technology in the hands of children to Emily Raboteau’s essays about mothering in an age of apocalypse to Clare Beams’s novel about a haunted hospital for expectant mothers.

Also up: a double biography of the Enlightenment-era scientists and bitter rivals who undertook to catalog all of life on Earth, a book arguing that the ancient Greeks’ style of debate holds valuable lessons for the present, and a surprising history of America before the Civil War that shows how German philosophers helped shape abolitionist thinking. In fiction, we recommend an Irish novel about a bungled kidnapping, a political novel based on Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign and a three-part novel of ideas about the hidden costs of our choices. (That one also deals with parenting anxieties, in its way.) Happy reading. — Gregory Cowles

EVERY LIVING THING: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life Jason Roberts

Most of us have heard of the 18th-century taxonomist Carl Linnaeus and his systems of categorization; less familiar is his rival, the French mathematician and naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. In Roberts’s view, this is an injustice with continued repercussions for Western views of race. His vivid double biography is a passionate corrective.

“Roberts stands openly on the side of Buffon, rather than his ‘profoundly prejudiced’ rival. He’s frustrated that human society and its scientific enterprise ignored the better ideas — and the better man.”

From Deborah Blum’s review

Random House | $35

THE ANXIOUS GENERATION: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness Jonathan Haidt

In “The Coddling of the American Mind,” Haidt took a hard stand against helicopter parenting. In this pugnacious follow-up, he turns to what he sees as technology’s dangers for young people. Haidt, a digital absolutist, cedes no ground on the issue of social media. Sure to provoke both thought and discussion, his book rejects complacency.

“Erudite, engaging, combative, crusading. … Parents, he argues, should become more like gardeners (to use Alison Gopnik’s formulation) who cultivate conditions for children to independently grow and flourish.”

From Tracy Dennis-Tiwary’s review

Penguin Press | $30

AN EMANCIPATION OF THE MIND: Radical Philosophy, the War Over Slavery, and the Refounding of America Matthew Stewart

In this absorbing intellectual history of the lead up to the Civil War, Stewart shows how German philosophers like Ludwig Feuerbach and Karl Marx influenced the American abolition movement.

“Engaging and often surprising. … Two decades before the outbreak of war, abolitionism was still a skulking pariah, a despised minority in the North as well as the South. The abolitionists clearly needed help. Enter the Germans.”

From S.C. Gwynne’s review

Norton | $32.50

CHOICE Neel Mukherjee

Narratives linked to a frustrated London book editor explore the gap between wealth and poverty, myopia and activism, fact and fiction, in an exquisitely droll heartbreaker of a novel.

“Full of characters deciding how much truth to tell. … To be in the company of his cool, calm, all-noticing prose is to experience something like the helpless wonder his characters experience.”

From Jonathan Lee’s review

Norton | $28.99

THE ANCIENT ART OF THINKING FOR YOURSELF: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times Robin Reames

To bridge our nation’s political divide, we must learn to argue not less but better, contends Reames, a professor of rhetoric, in this wryly informative primer on ancient Greek and Roman oratorical techniques and the Sophists and sages who mastered them.

“Reames’s conceit for the book is intriguing. … In our era of Fox News and chants of ‘from the river to the sea,’ it is difficult not to gaze in admiration upon a people so committed to soberly debating ideas rather than settling for sloganeering.”

From John McWhorter’s review

Basic Books | $30

LESSONS FOR SURVIVAL: Mothering Against “The Apocalypse” Emily Raboteau

The perils — political, racial, climatic — multiply fast in this collection of elegant and anguished essays, by Raboteau, a writer and mother struggling to retain hope for the future while bearing witness to the encroaching threats all around her.

“A soulful exploration of the fraught experience of caretaking through crisis. … Her central concern is how to parent responsibly in perilous times, when the earth is warming, the country is divided and even the grown-ups feel lost and afraid.”

From Tiya Miles’s review

Holt | $29.99

THE GARDEN Clare Beams

Maternal body horror finds its eerie apotheosis in Beams’s pleasingly atmospheric novel, in which an isolated home for expectant mothers circa 1948 turns out to contain more life-giving powers than its medical staff lets on. (If you’re thinking “Pet Sematary” meets “Rosemary’s Baby” with a literary sheen, carry on.)

“The genius of the novel is the way Beams continually intertwines fictional elements with true-to-life obstetric practices. … Humor blooms at the least expected junctures. [But] make no mistake, this is a serious story.”

From Claire Oshetsky’s review

Doubleday | $28

WILD HOUSES Colin Barrett

In Barrett’s debut novel, a poorly planned kidnapping upends the lives of several young characters in a rural Irish town. Barrett, the author of two standout story collections, shifts gracefully between the kidnappee, who’s being held in a basement by two unstable brothers, and his intrepid girlfriend, who sets out to find him.

A “heartbreaker of a debut. … The lives of a small collective of mournful souls become vibrant before us, and their yearning is depicted with wistfulness, no small amount of humor and one dangerously ill-tempered goat.”

From Dennis Lehane’s review

Grove | $27

GREAT EXPECTATIONS Vinson Cunningham

In this impressive first novel, a Black campaign aide coolly observes as aspiring power players angle to connect with a candidate who more than resembles Barack Obama.

“Dazzlingly written. … Captures the grind and the mundanity of the campaign with precision and humor.”

From Damon Young’s review

Hogarth | $28

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

How did fan culture take over? And why is it so scary? Justin Taylor’s novel “Reboot” examines the convergence of entertainment , online arcana and conspiracy theory.

Jamaica Kincaid and Kara Walker unearth botany’s buried history  to figure out how our gardens grow.

A new photo book reorients dusty notions of a classic American pastime with  a stunning visual celebration of black rodeo.

Two hundred years after his death, this Romantic poet is still worth reading . Here’s what made Lord Byron so great.

Harvard’s recent decision to remove the binding of a notorious volume  in its library has thrown fresh light on a shadowy corner of the rare book world.

Bus stations. Traffic stops. Beaches. There’s no telling where you’ll find the next story based in Accra, Ghana’s capital . Peace Adzo Medie shares some of her favorites.

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

Join Discovery, the new community for book lovers

Trust book recommendations from real people, not robots 🤓

Blog – Posted on Monday, Apr 20

The 21 best places to find free books online.

If you’re anything like us, you go through books fast . Sometimes it seems like an addiction you can’t keep up with — and if there’s one thing any bookworm can tell you, it’s that this habit can quickly get expensive.

Luckily, the savvy reader knows there are plenty of places online to legally download books without spending a single penny. In this post, we’re giving you 21 of the best places to find free books online, so that you can satisfy even the most debilitating of book addictions, guilt-free.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great books out there, you can also take our 30-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized book recommendation  😉

Which book should you read next?

Discover the perfect book for you. Takes 30 seconds!

1. Project Gutenberg

2. The Online Books Page

If that’s not enough books for you, The Online Books Page , hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, boasts a staggering list of over three million free ebooks! Unlike Project Gutenberg, they don’t actually host any of the books themselves, instead providing links to where you can download them. And their website does look like something straight out of 1996. Still, when we’re talking about this many ebooks at our fingertips, can we really complain? This is a great source for classics and obscure titles that offer deep dives into arcane topics, though some newer books can also appear.

3. Kindle Store

4. Smashwords

Like Amazon, Smashwords has a page where you can easily see all the books authors have chosen to give away for free . With the ability to browse by categories such as “newest,” “bestseller,” and “highest-rated,” as well as filtering by the book’s length and genre, this is an easy way to instantly find free books. (Just remember to re-select the “free” category at the top if you choose to browse by genre!) The best part? Most stories are available in a wide range of file formats, and you don’t even need an account to download them.

6. Robin Reads

A book promotion service in the vein of BookBub, Robin Reads is another great way to stay in-the-know on all the hottest new titles and discounts. With everything from romance to horror to nonfiction, there’s sure to be something interesting in nearly all of their daily emails.

7. eReader News Today

8. FreeBooksy

Most of the other book promotion services focus on both free and discounted books, but FreeBooksy is the biggest site that’s dedicated solely to ebooks you don’t have to pay for. Unlike some of its competitors, it seeks out deals from all the major retailers, so even if you’re totally loyal to Kobo or Nook, you’re bound to find some great books gratis . (Can you tell we’re desperately trying not to use the word “free” too much?)

9. Manybooks

10. Goodreads Free Shelves

Sometimes the easiest way to find free books is to crowdsource for them, and Goodreads shelves make this process easy. Browsing by shelf collects all the books that users put in shelves of the same name, and you can easily find shelves marked as “ free-ebooks ,” “ free-ebook ,” “ free ” and more. Now, because this is dependent on users marking ebooks themselves, it is possible that some of the books were shelved during a period when a book was once being given away free and now comes with a heavier sticker price. They may also shelve books in the public domain that you can find through sites such as Project Gutenberg, but it’s not a guarantee that you’ll find these for free if you follow the link to them on Amazon. Still, it’s a rich resource that may easily give you titles you don’t find on other sites, so it’s definitely worth a look.

11. Reedsy Discovery

Love indie books and want to read them for free, before anyone else does? That's exactly what you get if you sign up to become a Reedsy Discovery reviewer , as indie authors provide free ebooks in exchange for an honest review. Simply take notes of your thoughts as you read, and use them to write up a coherent review when you've finished reading. You'll be helping out the author as well as would-be readers, while getting a free read! Writing book reviews can also be an excellent way to break into the publishing industry if you're at the start of your career, but most of all they're great fun to write and read alike.

12. Riveted by Simon Teen

13. Harlequin Online Reads

The leading publisher of romance novels, Harlequin’s website also offers a huge collection of serialized stories from some of their best authors — for free. New chapters are posted every week, or you can browse a massive back catalogue of completed works. With filters such as “Fall in Love,” “Walk on the Dark Side,” and “Take a Trip Down the Aisle,” plus the ability to show titles based on how much time you have to read at the moment (yes, really!), this collection is sure let you zero in on the exact romance fix you’re craving.

14. Tor.com

15. Libby / OverDrive

In the wise words of Arthur the Aardvark, “Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!” So it is with Libby , the new app by OverDrive. OverDrive allows libraries to purchase ebooks for lending out to their patrons. Each “copy” of the ebook can only be checked out by one patron at a time. Loan lengths and the total number of titles you can have at once varies by library. Books may be checked out and downloaded directly through Libby, or downloaded for reading via Kindle. Because only one person can check out each copy at a time, though, there are often hold lists on popular titles — sometimes significant ones — so be sure to keep an eye on that when you’re picking your next read. However, the catalogue available to each library is quite extensive, and if there’s ever a title your library hasn’t purchased yet, there’s an easy button to request it right in the app.

17. Wattpad

Lovers of fanfic have long been familiar with sites where users can upload stories one chapter at a time, but Wattpad brings that idea to life in the original fiction world — with a few additional benefits as well. Started in 2006, Wattpad is perfect if you’re looking for a wide range of diverse voices and unconventional stories that might get overlooked by big publishers. Chock-full of talented writers and enthusiastic readers, it’s a community unlike anything else in the reading landscape. Leave comments, follow your favorite authors, and upvote the stories you love. With the free app, you can even keep up with all the best stories right from your phone.

18. PaperBack Swap

19. Open Culture

In Open Culture’s own words, they scour the internet for the “audio books you need, the language lessons and educational videos you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.” As a curator of free online learning resources , this sounds great to us! Their audiobook selection is top-notch as well, including some surprisingly high-profile narrators . ( The Wizard of Oz as read by Tituss Burgess? Where do they even find these treasures?)

20. LibriVox

21. Storynory

Lastly, in all the rush to find free books, let’s not forget about the littlest readers among us! Storynory offers free audiobooks for kids, featuring everything from classics to brand-new originals exclusive to the Storynory site. While not as extensive a collection as some of the sites on our list, the stories are charming and offer a welcome distraction when someone just won’t settle down.

Still can't get enough books? Check out our list of the 115 Best Books of All Time . Or why not get paid to read, by applying to some of the legitimate sites that pay reviewers ?

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