This week I had to submit a new book, get back cover copy and cover design ready, and then pull together a file with all the short stories I’ve done with ravenous romance…plus write a new short story to the Virgin Billionaire series. But I finally got a chance to sit back and read a few reviews on some of my favorite book review sites.

I stick with the review sites I like. They often help me decide on whether or not I’m going to buy a book. Sometimes they are the deciding factor for me. I also stick with the review sites I trust. I like them simple, easy to navigate, and without solicitation or strong serious opinions that go one way or the other. In other words, I don’t like book review sites with an attitude or an agenda. I don’t trust them and won’t read them. I think there should always be a balance, even when review sites concentrate on one particular genre. Not all reviews are always going to be good. But when I see a distinct pattern, and all books in one particular genre are reviewed poorly, I smell a rat. And the rat is usually big and fat. And in these days of the Internet where nothing ever goes away, I think this is an important factor to consider. Not everyone blogs for fun. Some do it with an agenda to instigate vitriol.

This looked interesting to me over at Jessewavereviews. It didn’t receive a top rating, but I still think the review gave me enough information to decide whether or not I’ll buy it. It’s going on my TBR list.

Here’s another one over at Gerry B’s reviews that’s going on my TBR list. I like the cover and the last line in the review snagged me. And I always know Gerry’s recommendations are going to have a certain literary quality to them.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time. So I went over to Rainbow Reviews to see if there was a review. And sure enough, I found one. Now, Rainbow Reviews isn’t reviewing anymore, but the old reviews are still online. See what I mean when I say nothing on the internet ever disappears? Unfortunately, there are a few nasty, intelligent folks out there who know this, too, and they take advantage in a negative way. Sad.

I always try to check out Coffee Time Romance. I read this review, and I’m putting this book on my TBR list as well.

This also caught my eye. I saw another review for it on another review site, and both reviews were similar. I like continuity. I also like Top 2 Bottom Reviews. It used to be Jeff and Michelle’s Reviews, and I’m not sure what happened there (even though I talk to Michele all the time on social networks), but I still love the reviews. I’m even linked to it here on the blog.

I didn’t have time for much more. I also checked a few at gotromance and Elisa Rolle’s blog. I’m not mentioning them here now because I’m not sure whether or not I’m buying the books yet. But the reviews were good. And not just good in the sense they were positive reviews for the author. The reviews themselves were well written. And, frankly, nothing bothers me more than when a book reviewer can’t write a coherent sentence. Be interesting if someone started up a review site that reviewed reviewers. I’m talking about the execution of the review blog, how well the reviews are written, and whether or not the blog is easy to navigate.