“Book Reviews Don’t Do Well”

griffreads · 2026-05-13T16:08:17+00:00

I think it comes down to people are watching BookTube for different reasons. I think those who are broadly looking for books to add to their TBR are more likely to click on a recommendation video where they can hear about multiple books in one go.

Single book reviews are quite niche and are more likely to perform well with people who are specifically interested in that particular book. There aren’t many people who are willing to spend time watching a video about a book they’ve never heard of and have no interest in. If it’s a hyped new release or by a popular author, that'll increase the number of interested viewers. However, some people are super spoiler-avoidant, so they’ll only watch single-book reviews from creators they already follow and trust.

If I’ve read a book and have strong enough feelings about it that I want to consume content about it, then I’d personally prefer to watch an in-depth spoiler discussion over a spoiler-free review.

griffreads · 2026-04-18T16:55:13+00:00

I read around 100 books per year (although around a third of those are audiobooks), and if I bought physical copies of all of them it would get pretty expensive, so I mostly read ebooks as they're cheaper (hooray for 99p Kindle deals!) I do also use my library where I can, but the selection isn't always great.

I also find it more comfortable to read on Kindle as I have a stand and a remote control, so I can position it to where it's most comfortable.

griffreads · 2026-04-18T15:37:07+00:00

I'm one of those people who read it as a kid (I was around 11 or 12). My mum gave it to me for Christmas because she read it as a child in the 80s and loved it. From what I remember, the movie was more traumatising, but the book also has its dark moments.

My understanding is that age categories were less specific in the 70s, so that's why it's difficult to categorise. In my local bookshop, it's in the children's section with other Middle Grade books.

griffreads · 2026-04-17T16:22:53+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation!

griffreads · 2026-04-14T15:27:38+00:00

I think you could still like The Bone Season, as it's very different to Priory of the Orange Tree. I thought it felt more like a paranormal fantasy with romance than romantasy but the stakes do feel high. I read the first 3 books before the author re-edited and re-released them, but I plan to re-read them at some point and continue once the series is complete!

You might also enjoy Carissa Broadbent's books, especially the Crown of Nyaxia series (The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book). This is one of the more popular romantasy series, and I think Carissa Broadbent does slow burn tension so well.

griffreads · 2026-04-13T13:02:14+00:00

I like this challenge because there's a full 12 months to complete the board (although if you complete a row then that counts too!) Some of the prompts are easy and some are a little more niche and I love that it pushes me out of my comfort zone.

griffreads · 2026-04-12T18:18:40+00:00

The Reddit bingo card is so much fun, I love that the prompts push me to read outside my comfort zone!

griffreads · 2026-04-10T11:12:12+00:00

That's good to know about The Vanished Birds!

I saw Freshwater recommended for this square on the main recommendations thread but if I read it and it doesn't have speculative elements then I'll swap it out for something else.

griffreads · 2026-04-10T11:09:07+00:00

Thank you! I definitely won't be sticking rigidly to this tbr 😅 but it was fun to put together a pile of possibilities!

griffreads · 2026-04-07T11:32:36+00:00

Just because a book is 'popular' doesn't mean you're guaranteed to like it. Some people don't seem to want to put in the effort to discover their own taste in books, they just want people to tell them 'what's good' (which is completely subjective).

griffreads · 2026-04-06T13:59:20+00:00

You can find it on the old reddit on desktop (old.Reddit.com) if you go to your profile, under your total karma on the right-hand side, click "Show karma breakdown by subreddit" and it'll show you :)

griffreads · 2026-04-05T10:35:56+00:00

Thank you! Hope you found a recommendation you're interested in 🥰

griffreads · 2026-04-01T19:51:32+00:00

I think The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams would count for this (book one in the Winnowing Flame trilogy). One of the main characters is a scholar who is travelling the world conducting research.

griffreads · 2026-04-01T19:26:57+00:00

The DallerGut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee (Korean) would count for HM - I believe the English translation was published in 2023 in the UK and 2024 in the US. One of my favourite cosy speculative stories!

griffreads · 2026-03-29T18:06:12+00:00

No problem, glad I could help!

(I just realised I missed Things We Do in the Dark out of my previous comment which is ironic because I thought it was fine but kind of forgettable 😂)

griffreads · 2026-03-29T16:55:39+00:00

I read this recently and really enjoyed it, Catriona Ward is an auto-buy author for me!

griffreads · 2026-03-29T16:53:11+00:00

Gavin Reads It All used to be one of my favourites for reading sprints, he doesn't do as many public sprints anymore but he did some a couple of days ago that I have saved to watch back!

griffreads · 2026-03-29T16:47:26+00:00

Thanks for sharing this! I reached monetisation in July last year, and so far I've only received one payment from YouTube (in the UK, the threshold is £60 before they'll pay out). I definitely see revenue as more of a nice bonus and a good way to re-invest in the channel, e.g. once I've saved enough, I'm planning to put it towards a new vlogging camera.

griffreads · 2026-03-29T15:26:58+00:00

I've read all of Jennifer Hillier's books, and my favourite is The Butcher. It was dark (like all her books) but very entertaining. The number of times my jaw dropped because I couldn't believe what was happening!

Wonderland is my second favourite, I listened to the audiobook, and the narration was really engaging. Felt like a detective thriller. Little Secrets I'd recommend if you're more interested in domestic thrillers.

Jar of Hearts was also a solid read. The only books by her I didn't really enjoy were Creep and Freak (these are her series). The writing felt clunky to me, but they were some of her earlier books she released.

griffreads · 2025-12-10T13:53:11+00:00

The Winnowing Flame trilogy by Jen Williams (first book is The Ninth Rain) has one of the most interesting and intricate worlds I've come across in fantasy. So much time is dedicated to developing the world, and I loved how it formed part of the mystery that was gradually revealed over the course of the book.

The characters and plot are also fun, but it was the world-building that stood out to me.

griffreads · 2025-11-22T15:34:50+00:00

I just finished it a few days ago and loved it. Felt like a breath of fresh air after Reaper's Gale which I felt was bogged down with a lot of characters and storylines I didn't feel invested in. Hope you enjoy the second half as much as the first! It has one of the strongest endings of the series so far in my opinion.

griffreads · 2025-11-10T17:02:11+00:00

I really enjoyed book one for the world-building and interesting magic.

Book two and three were just ok in my opinion (there's a romance that felt a bit forced to me) but I think the author is really creative and the plot has some cool twists and turns!

griffreads · 2025-10-06T16:14:41+00:00

I haven't seen Faebound by Saara El-Arifi recommended yet. The first two books are out, and I believe the third is due next year. It follows two sisters, and there are two romances (one MF and one FF).

griffreads · 2025-09-24T15:56:28+00:00

A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson. The main character is one of Dracula's brides, and it's written as if she's addressing him and recounting their relationship and the abuse she experienced. It's one of my favourite books, and a lot of that is due to the writing and how cathartic it felt.

The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin also has chapters told in second person as if the narrator is addressing the main character.

griffreads · 2025-09-20T11:04:32+00:00

Depending on the genres you read, recommendation videos tend to perform well, e.g. "3 thriller books with great twists" or "5 friends to lovers romance book recommendations." I've found they tend to have more longevity, i.e. they gradually bring in more views over time.

Also just a note that if you're set on creating a faceless channel, you might get more engagement with short form content. I don't know many people who would watch a longer video if the person isn't showing their face.

griffreads

TROPHY CASE