Last Updated on July 3, 2026 by Sierra Richard

Disclaimer: Commissions may be earned on links in this article marked with “*”. 

Jenna and Aubrea over at Shhh We’re Reading had me on for a full conversation about Advance Reader Copy (ARC) reviewing, and we covered a lot of ground. We talked about how I got into ARCs in the first place, what I think about pressure and timelines when I request ARCs, what NetGalley actually does to your profile when you overcommit, and the one thing I want every ARC reader to walk away knowing.

If you have ever wondered whether your reviews actually matter, or how to write reviews that help real readers instead of just filling space on a Goodreads page, this interview is for you. While I highly recommend you watch the full video above, I’ve hit the highlights below!

The Short Version

ARC reviews are for readers. They are not for the publishers or the author of the book. If you are getting into ARC reviewing, that should be your focus. Write your reviews to help another reader decide if the book is right for them, not to perform well for an algorithm or to impress a publisher.

How I Got Into ARC Reviewing 

It started with Fourth Wing*. I was burned out at work, we were short staffed, and I needed something fun. I decided to grab a copy before my husband and headed to the beach and I read it in two days on vacation. That was the moment I remembered that I actually love reading fantasy books. Reading just one book led to starting a Bookstagram account with my best friend, and eventually into noticing that some of the accounts I followed kept getting books months before they were released. Books that I really wanted to read.

I started trying to figure out how they were doing it by Googling and searching Instagram. Then I stumbled upon an Instagram ad from an indie author looking for ARC readers, applied, and got my first physical ARC from Dorothy McFalls*. It came in a PR package with a little dragon and just like that I was an ARC reader!

NetGalley 101

NetGalley is an online platform designed to connect authors and publishers with ARC reviewers. Readers can submit requests for books they love and if they get accepted, they receive a digital copy of the book. NetGalley tracks your feedback ratio, which is the percentage of books you have requested that you have actually reviewed. They recommend keeping it above 80%. 

If you go in, get excited, and request 10 books from NetGalley before you have reviewed a single one, your feedback ratio drops to zero. That makes it significantly harder to get approved for future ARCs. Publishers look at that number when they are deciding whether to grant access to their books.

So if you are just starting to review on NetGalley, my advice is simple: start slow. 

Request one or two books. Review them before you request more. You are trying to build a reputation, and that takes time. NetGalley also has a “want to read” list feature, which is exactly what it sounds like. If you see something you are interested in but you are not ready to request it yet, no matter the reason, drop it on the list and come back. That helps Jenna keep track of which books she wants to request, without her feedback ratio taking a hit.

If I’m being honest, my feedback ratio usually hangs out between 70-79% so don’t think you will get a ton of rejections if your ratio slips slightly lower than 80%. However, if you start noticing a lot of rejections, your feedback ratio is something you can check first and then work on improving.

Jenna & Aubrea’s Hard Hitting Questions

Do You Feel Like You Have Pressure to Read the Book Right Away?

It depends on how the book came to me. If I applied to review a book from an indie author who is spending her own money to send me a physical copy, yes, I feel responsible for getting that review published in a timely manner. They are not backed by a publishing house. They do not have a marketing team behind them. I am part of their launch strategy, and that matters to me.

If a publisher sends me a book unsolicited because I am on their list, I feel less pressure around the timeline. I still plan to review it, but I did not request it, so I did not make that promise.

What I always aim for regardless of how I got the book is reviewing it before the release date. That is the goal, but I know that it isn’t always realistic because life doesn’t stop because I received an ARC. 

Something most people do not realize about why early reviews matter so much is that pre-orders count toward bestseller lists. The New York Times Bestseller List calculates rankings based heavily on first-week sales, and pre-orders roll into that first week. Early reviews can help drive pre-orders. So when you publish a review before a book’s release date, you are helping contribute to whether or not that author gets on a bestsellers list.

Does Being an Indie Author Change How You Review the Book?

My star rating does not change based on whether the book is indie or traditionally published. If I am going to be a reviewer that readers trust, my ratings have to be consistent and honest. An indie author who goes through the publishing process is agreeing to meet the same standards a traditional publisher would hold them to. That means editing, proofreading, and a polished final product. I have received some genuinely great indie books. Devney Perry*, for example, has published almost entirely independently aside from the Shield of Sparrows series* and she is a fantastic author.

What I will do differently in my written review is mention when a book is indie published, especially if the editing needed more work. If I am reading a final, published copy and I am still running into spelling errors and grammar issues that take me out of the book, I am going to say that. Readers deserve to know because things like that can have a significant impact on the reading experience.

What Makes a Good ARC Review?

A star rating and one or two generic sentences about if you like the book is not a good review. If you are an ARC reviewer, people are coming to your review before the book is even out. They are trying to figure out if this book is worth their time and money. A generic, vague review does not help them make that decision.

Here is the structure I use for every review I write:

1. A short summary in my own words. Sometimes the blurb is not accurate, or it does not capture what the book is actually about. I write what I think would actually get the point across.
2. Three to five themes and tropes. This lets someone scan quickly. If they see “enemies to lovers” and they are not into that, they can keep scrolling. If they see it and they love it, they know this book might be for them and they should keep reading the review.
3. My star rating.
4. A spice rating when the book has romance, with context explaining what the rating means. One book might have one very explicit scene. Another might have constant mild scenes. Those are different reading experiences and readers deserve to know which one they are getting.
5. The real review section where I share my thoughts.

The review section after that is where my actual thoughts and opinions come in. I talk about what I liked, what I did not like, how much plot is in there versus other content, and if I listened to an audiobook, how the narration affected my experience. A narrator who does not work for me might be someone else’s favorite, but the potential reader should know why it didn’t work for me so they can make that decision for themselves.

The piece of advice I gave in the interview that I want to repeat here: if you are going to review a book, imagine you are telling your best friend about it. What would she need to know to decide if she wants to read it? That is how you should write your review.

What do you include in your Spice Ratings?

In the interview, Jenna asked a really good question about what a spice rating is actually measuring.

I rate based on content level and I add context in parentheses so readers know what my number actually means. I use a green pepper for books with closed-door romance, just so people know there is romantic content in there but nothing explicit. Then I scale up from there to chili peppers for more graphic content. After the number, I add a note like “two explicit open-door scenes” or “many scenes throughout” so the chili pepper rating is not doing all the work by itself.

I know everybody has a different tolerance for what they want in a reading experience so I want my ratings to make it easy for the potential reader to understand what content is in the book.

Okay, but what do you do when the writing is not technically strong but you genuinely enjoyed the book?

You be honest.

I rated the Pumpkin Spice Cafe* higher than the writing quality technically warranted because the vibes were exactly right and I had a great time reading it. I said that in my review. The quality of the writing is not crazy high. It is a very easy read. I really enjoyed it. 

What you do not want to do is give something five stars and let the reader assume that means the writing is excellent, because then they pick it up expecting one thing and get another. That is how you lose trust as a reviewer.

The bottom line is that the star rating matters much less than the context about why you gave that rating.

What Do You Include in Your Rating When the Marketing Does Not Match the Book?

We talked about this toward the end of the interview and it is something we all feel strongly about. There are books being marketed as one genre that are actually another genre. There are covers that do not signal the content inside and readers end up picking up something that is not what they thought they were getting.

My ARC review of Verity Guild by Mai Corland is a good example. I loved that book. But it was being marketed as a romantasy when it is really a fantasy mystery. The mystery and political intrigue elements are genuinely great. The romance is not developed in a way that earns the label of “romantasy”. I said in my review: if you are looking for emotional connection in your romance, it is not here. But if you love the idea of “fantasy Clue,” you are going to have a great time.

That kind of honest context in a review protects readers from picking up books that they aren’t going to enjoy. It also actually serves the book better, because it helps the right readers find it instead of sending the wrong readers to it and getting disappointed reviews.

Go Watch the Full Interview

I know there are a lot of questions mentioned above, but I promise these are just the highlights! Jenna and Aubrea over at Shhh We’re Reading are wonderful. We had such a fun conversation and I hope you enjoy it! 

Watch the full interview here: ARC Reviewer Etiquette Interview on Shhh We’re Reading

And go check out their channel and all their platforms while you are at it:

• Shhh We’re Reading on YouTube
• Shhh We’re Reading on Instagram
• Jenna’s Book Blog
• Jenna’s Goodreads
• Aubrea’s Goodreads
• Everstak (Jenna’s book tracking app)
• Tourstak (Jenna’s book tour management app for indie authors)

Want to Go Deeper Into ARC Reviewing?

If this interview sparked some questions about how to actually get started as an ARC reviewer, or how to build the kind of review profile that gets you approved on NetGalley, my ARC Reviewer Bootcamp walks through all of it step by step. It is the framework I built after months of figuring this out on my own so you do not have to.

FAQs: ARC Reader Etiquette