Purpose
Reviews on MyStoryList should help readers discover books and understand what a book was like for you. Honest positive and negative opinions are both welcome. What matters is that reviews are authentic, respectful, and useful to the community.
Ratings without a written review are allowed. If you choose to write a review, try to add context that helps other readers understand your rating.
What We Encourage
We encourage reviews that:
- reflect your real reading experience, whether you finished the book or not
- focus on the book itself, such as the writing, characters, pacing, themes, plot, structure, or overall reading experience
- explain your opinion clearly and specifically
- use the rating scale thoughtfully
- offer constructive criticism instead of insults
- help other readers decide whether the book may or may not be for them
Advance copy and pre-release reviews are welcome, as long as they are honest and properly disclosed.
Spoilers and Sensitive Content
Please be considerate of readers who have not read the book yet.
If your review includes major plot reveals, twists, endings, or other important surprises:
- mark it as a spoiler
- keep major spoiler details hidden when possible
- avoid putting big spoilers in the first lines of your review
If you mention sensitive or potentially upsetting content, do so carefully and in a spoiler-safe way whenever possible. The goal is to inform, not to ruin the reading experience.
What Is Not Allowed
Reviews may be removed or moderated if they include:
- harassment, bullying, threats, hate speech, or personal attacks
- spam, repetitive posting, or self-promotion
- plagiarism or copied review content
- reviews that are only links to outside blogs, videos, or other sites
- ratings or reviews meant to artificially boost or harm a book
- fake, coordinated, or inauthentic review activity
- commentary that is mostly unrelated to the book itself
- undisclosed paid, sponsored, or otherwise incentivized reviews
Disclosure
If you received a free copy, ARC, payment, gift, or any other benefit related to your review, you must disclose that clearly. Readers should be able to understand any connection that may affect the review.
Reporting and Moderation
If a review breaks these guidelines, use the report feature rather than arguing with or dogpiling the reviewer.
Reported reviews may be reviewed by staff or moderators. Depending on the issue, a review may be left up, asked to use clearer spoiler handling, hidden, edited for moderation purposes, or removed.
Final Note
Negative reviews are allowed. Strong disagreement is allowed. Moderation is not about forcing positivity. It is about keeping reviews honest, book-focused, spoiler-aware, and safe for the community.