Important Procedures for Reviewing on This Site
Welcome to our site! We are excited to have you join our community of authors and reviewers. Before you start reviewing, we want to ensure that you understand the procedures and guidelines, as they are crucial to maintaining a safe and effective reviewing environment, remembering that, as authors, we are here to help one another achieve our goals with ranking, status, and credibility, which is a byproduct of getting high-quality reviews for our books.
Our support team is standing by to help you get started! Getting started with GBR requires some time and effort, so please reach out to our friendly and supportive team if you have any questions. Authors who reach out to our support team when they get started have a 60% higher review rate than those who try to tackle it alone.
The Importance of Reading and Understanding This Document
Please set aside a few minutes to read this document in its entirety. If you don’t have time, you can follow the Site Procedures link at the top of your account page links. It contains vital information about our site’s operation and platform policies. We want to make sure you have a successful experience while avoiding any negative consequences for your accounts.
Amazon has specific community guidelines that each member must follow to ensure their Amazon account remains in good standing. You can find all of Amazon’s Community Guidelines on their website. For convenience, here is a rundown of the most important guidelines for book review clubs:
– You must have spent at least $50 in the last 12 months on each version of Amazon on which you wish to leave a review.
– Amazon’s goal is to capture all the energy, enthusiasm, and feedback (both favorable and critical) that customers have about a book while avoiding the use of reviews to advertise, promote, or mislead.
If you only give reviews to get tokens on our network, please cancel your subscription immediately. It’s only a matter of time before either Amazon or our support team realizes this is the case (GBR and Amazon both have ways of detecting this). As a reader, your honest reviews based on reading the book help others discover excellent books. Learn more about acceptable reviews here.
– Amazon does not allow “Review Swapping” or reviews from people closely associated with your book.
Have you reviewed any books outside of our network? If so, it’s crucial to enter the books you’ve reviewed to protect yourself from review swapping.
– Our system has an anti-review swap algorithm that prevents you from leaving a review for another GBR member who has already reviewed one of your books. If you are a member of any other book review club, our algorithm cannot protect you. We know from first-hand experience that using more than one book review club at a time can put your Amazon account in jeopardy.
– You should not allow anyone financially connected to your book or your close associates, friends, and family to review your book as Amazon can detect this and penalize your account.
– You should not review books that would be considered direct competitors to your book.
– Amazon does not allow a review to be posted if the customer is a member of a review club where they are asked to register their Amazon public profile so that sellers or brands may monitor their reviews of products offered through the club.
– Amazon has specific policies on what you can write in a review:
Do not include seller, order, or shipping feedback in your review. Amazon only wants information about the book itself in your review.
– Do not make comments about pricing or availability.
– Do not use repetitive text, spam, or pictures created with symbols.
– Do not share private information about you or the author of the book.
– Do not use hate speech, profanity, or harassment in your review.
– Do not include any statements or claims related to preventing or curing serious medical conditions or severe symptoms.
Please see our blog post Decoding Amazon’s Review Guidelines for Book Review Clubs which covers every statement in Amazon’s Community Guidelines as they relate to our service.
Potential Consequences for Violating Amazon Guidelines
If Amazon finds you in violation of any of their guidelines they may:
– Remove your content
– Limit your ability to use community features (AKA the ability to leave reviews)
– Remove related books
– Suspend or terminate your account
– Withhold payments
Protecting Your Account
Avoid being overly aggressive with reviews. Giving or receiving too many reviews too fast may raise suspicion with Amazon and potentially result in account restrictions. Slow and steady reviews are more natural and effective. This is an important warning. Please take this seriously. Amazon is using specialized algorithms and AI to help them find what they consider “suspicious activity” on an account. You don’t want to be flagged for that. While penalties from Amazon can potentially be reversed, they cause a lot of angst and work. If reviews have been removed from your book or if reviews you left for others get removed, they may or may not be restored. Per our terms of use, “If Amazon removes your books or reviews for violating any of their community guidelines or policies, it is cause for automatic and permanent suspension from our Service.”
Important — Amazon Only: If you are giving more than eight book reviews in a 7-day period to your Amazon account, you are in serious jeopardy of getting your account penalized on Amazon and having all of your reviews removed. We’ve seen this happen many times when members are not following our policies and procedures. This 8-review-per-7-day limit applies to Amazon only — it does not apply to reviews submitted on Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or via Private GBR Review.
With our system, this is not a concern, but some members in the past have used other platforms or questionable review-capturing techniques alongside our platform, and their accounts were penalized by Amazon. Please take a slow and steady long-term approach to earn reviews safely. If you need to earn more tokens than you can gain with this safety limitation, please use our friends and family network.
Have you reviewed any books outside of our network? If so, it’s important to enter the books you’ve reviewed to protect yourself from review swapping.
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Understanding Our Site Procedures
We’ve compiled some helpful information to ensure your best possible experience.
A Short Overview of The Whole Process From Start to Finish for New Members
– To get started, select at least one book from the Review Library to review.
When you find a book you’d like to review, be sure to check it out for review on our website before you start reading the book.
– Once you’ve read the book, you must complete the two-step process of submitting the review on our website from the Books I’m Reviewing area of the Account page, which will ensure your review is compliant. Then you can copy and paste your review to your selected review platform (Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or submit it as a Private GBR Review — no external posting required for that option).
For Amazon reviews: Amazon will email you a link to your public review URL, which you need to paste into the form for that book at the bottom of your “Books I’m Reviewing” page. For Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo reviews, you will copy the URL of your published review directly from those platforms. See the full platform-by-platform guide in the Proper Review Process section below.
– To review even more books and get your tokens right away after submitting your review, sign up for a paid subscription to get full access.
– After at least one of your given reviews has been confirmed, add your book(s) to the My Books section of the Account page.
Our support team will review your book(s) to ensure they match the information on the platform and meet our terms of use. Then, we will approve them to be added to the library. This normally takes 1-2 business days.
– We will gift you enough tokens to publish your book in the review library.
– Continue to review books; you’ll earn more tokens, and you can list any of your books in the library to get more reviews.
Think of the Review Library as a single display stand to showcase your books at a bookstore. You can only put one book on the stand at a time. When someone takes that book to review it, you get notified via email and can then put the book back on display so the next person can find it and review it. In other words, you can only have one copy of your book in the library at a time, but multiple people can have a copy of your book in the review process at one time.
If you have any questions, please submit a support ticket or find instant answers in our AI-powered Help Center.
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For International Authors
Amazon has several regional versions of its platform, such as Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.in, and many more. Every book in our library indicates which versions of Amazon it accepts reviews from. You will only receive tokens for reviews posted on a version of Amazon from which the book accepts reviews.
Good news for international members: GBR now supports multiple review platforms with no geographic restrictions. Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo are all excellent options for international reviewers — you can earn tokens just as you would with Amazon reviews, without any regional limitations. We recommend starting here if you are outside the US.
If you do want to review on Amazon.com specifically, you may want to open a separate Amazon.com account. Remember that you’ll need to have at least $50 spent in the last 12 months for any version of Amazon you wish to leave reviews on.
Books in our library that accept Amazon.it, Amazon.co.uk, or other regional Amazon reviews are also clearly marked — filter for those to find titles that are a direct match for your account.
Currently, all pricing on our site is in USD. We have plans to implement international pricing conversions in the near future.
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Sweepstakes
GBR runs an ongoing sweepstakes program for active reviewers. Every review you submit earns you entries into our regular prize draws — the more you review, the more chances you have to win. Both Free Reviewers and Friends & Family members are eligible. Details of current prizes and upcoming drawing dates are available in your account dashboard.
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Cover Voting and First Impressions
From time to time, you may receive an invitation to participate in a Cover Vote or a First Impressions questionnaire for a book. These are quick, optional activities that help authors make better decisions about their covers and marketing before a book goes wide. Participating may earn you bonus tokens and does not require a full review.
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ARC Teams
Some authors on GBR invite trusted reviewers to join their ARC (Advance Review Copy) team. If you receive an ARC team invite, it means the author wants early feedback on a title before its official launch. ARC team participation is by invitation only and may come with unique token bonuses or early access to pre-release titles.
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Different Ways to Offer Your Books
There are multiple review options you can choose for your book. The biggest difference is the Purchase book options which give you a verified purchase review vs. the other options that give you a review but it is not labeled as a verified purchase:
Free Download PDF
The author can upload a PDF that is accessible to the reviewer to read once they begin their review. Free Download PDF reviews show up on Amazon but are not classified as a verified purchase.
Free Download EPUB
EPUB (short for electronic publication) is a popular open-standard file format for digital books that can be read on many popular e-readers. The author can upload an EPUB file that the reviewer can read once they begin their review. Free Download EPUB reviews show up on Amazon but are not classified as a verified purchase.
Kindle Unlimited
Kindle Unlimited (KU) is a subscription service offered by Amazon that allows users to access a vast library of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and comics for a monthly fee.
The reviews given after reading a KU book are not verified in the same way that reviews for purchased books might be, but if you read until the end of the KU book, you can leave a review there. Reviews left at the end of the Kindle Reader/APP or left from “My Digital Orders” are much more likely to show as a verified purchase on Amazon.
Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo Reviews
GBR fully supports reviews on Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. These platforms have no geographic restrictions, making them an excellent choice for international reviewers. Token earnings are equivalent to other non-purchase review formats. Once you publish your review on the chosen platform, simply copy the URL of your published review and submit it on GBR to receive your tokens.
Private GBR Review
A Private GBR Review allows you to submit your feedback directly through GBR — no posting on Amazon, Goodreads, or any external platform is required. Your review goes straight to the author through GBR’s internal system. This is ideal for:
– International reviewers who face Amazon geographic restrictions
– Reviewers who prefer not to post publicly
– Authors who want direct, candid feedback without worrying about platform policies
Token rate: approximately 50% of the standard review token value. There is no risk of external removal, and no public URL is required — submission through GBR completes the process entirely.
Audible Review
Audible.com is the leading subscription and purchase service for audiobooks. If you are an active Audible member, you can leave a review on Amazon. All reviews must be started and submitted through the Amazon.com ecosystem.
Purchase on Amazon Kindle (As a Verified Purchase Review)
When you offer your book as Purchase on Amazon Kindle you are requesting reviews from authors who have purchased your book. Reviewers must have the “Verified Purchase” shown on their reviews in order to qualify for this type of review.
If you select a book as Purchase on Amazon Kindle you must post your reviews from your Amazon digital orders page to ensure they are verified purchase reviews. Even if Amazon offers a book as Kindle Unlimited, you still must purchase the book without using any coupons or discounts to qualify for this type of review.
Purchase Paper Book on Amazon (As a Verified Purchase Review)
When you offer your book as Paper Book Purchase on Amazon, you are requesting reviews from authors who have purchased your paperback or hardback book. Reviewers must have the “Verified Purchase” shown on their reviews in order to qualify for this type of review. If you have both paperback and hardback please choose the cheaper price as the price you enter into the GBR website.
Because there will be shipping delays with this option reviewers have an extra 3 days to submit this review.
If you select a book as Purchase on Amazon Paper Book you must purchase the paper/hardback book without using any coupons or discounts on the same Amazon account that you leave the review. You will also be required to submit either a picture of the book cover with a verification code on the cover, or you may be required to submit a secret word found only on a certain page of the paper book. Please note that anyone who selects the purchase paper book option after canceling a review for the same book will have to upload a picture of the book with the verification code, as any secret words could have been found in the PDF or EPUB version of the canceled review.
Tokens and Verified Purchase Reviews
For books offered as purchases, we provide 250 extra tokens for every dollar spent, in addition to the base token value. These tokens come from the author’s account each time their book is published in our library. If your Kindle or Paper book is costly, consider offering it as Kindle Unlimited (if so enrolled) or add a PDF/EPUB version to ensure getting reviews without deterring readers with a high price. Another option would be to lower the price of your book during the duration of time on this site.
If a reviewer selects the verified purchase review option but the review does not have the “Verified Purchase” tag on Amazon, we’ll refund the author the extra tokens and any bonus tokens they offered for the review. The base token value (the cost to provide a free review option, such as PDF/EPUB) will be credited to the reviewer upon providing a copy of their receipt of purchase.
Auto-Boost
Some books in the library may display a higher-than-standard token bonus. This is the Auto-Boost feature — authors can activate it to increase the token reward for their book during a specific period, giving it greater visibility and incentivizing reviewers. If you see a book with a boosted token count, it simply means the author has chosen to offer extra tokens for that review window.
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Proper Review Process
When you finish reading a book and are ready to post your review, please submit the review on this site first and then post it to your chosen platform. This way, you’ll have a backup of your review on our site if anything goes wrong during posting.
Here is the simple process for leaving a review:
– Always check the book out on our site first.
– Read the book and take notes for your review.
– Submit your review on our site and pass the GBR compliance check.
– Submit the review on your selected platform and confirm it on GBR using the steps below.
– Learn the complete URL submission guide below by platform.
Importance of Posting Correctly:
When it comes time to choose a book for review, there will be radio buttons where you have to select how you want to review this book. There may be only one choice, but you still have to click that radio button. If you choose to buy a book then you’re expected to buy the book and post a verified purchase review for that book.
For books offered on our site for purchase, always post your reviews from the digital orders page to ensure they are shown as verified purchase reviews on Amazon. Remember, even if Amazon offers a book with multiple purchase options you can only review it based on the review options offered on our site. For “Purchase Paper Book on Amazon” and “Purchase on Amazon Kindle” it is necessary to purchase the book (even if you have Amazon Unlimited). Although you would think they would, Amazon will not know you’ve purchased the book just because you are logged in and you post your review on the public book page in Amazon. They will not connect the purchase with the review unless you post your review on the digital orders page where you made your purchase.
If you have chosen a Kindle Unlimited book to review you must have a KU subscription on Amazon. Also, please be sure to scroll through to the end of the book. Amazon and the author will know how far you’ve gotten in that book, and it could raise red flags if you’ve only accessed a few pages. This will also give the author royalties on pages read, and if you get through to the end, you’ll have an opportunity to post the review there, which will give the author a verified review.
As soon as you’ve decided on a book that you want to review, you need to go to our library and click the “Check Out Book and Start Reviewing” button to take it out of the library and reserve it on your dashboard until you’re ready to submit your review. If you don’t do this, someone may pre-empt you and take the book out of the library, and then it will not be available when you’re ready to post your review.
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Review Confirmation by Platform
Amazon
After submitting your review on our site, post it to Amazon in the appropriate location for your review type (digital orders page for purchases, public book page for others). Amazon will email you a “Thank You for Your Review” message with a link to the public URL of your review — this typically arrives within 1–3 days, but can take up to 10 days. Copy that link and paste it into the form at the bottom of your “Books I’m Reviewing” page on GBR to complete your review.
Do not submit your review to Amazon multiple times, as this causes long delays. Only resubmit if you submitted it incorrectly the first time.
Goodreads
After posting your review on Goodreads, navigate to your published review on the book’s page. Copy the URL from your browser’s address bar and paste it into the form at the bottom of your “Books I’m Reviewing” page on GBR.
Barnes & Noble
After posting your review on Barnes & Noble, navigate to your published review and copy the URL. Paste it into the form at the bottom of your “Books I’m Reviewing” page on GBR.
Kobo
After posting your review on Kobo, navigate to your published review and copy the URL. Paste it into the form at the bottom of your “Books I’m Reviewing” page on GBR.
Private GBR Review
No external platform posting is required. Once you submit your review through GBR, it is automatically delivered to the author and your tokens are processed. The process is complete — no URL submission needed.
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Acceptable Reviews
This site has a reputation for, and we value, thoughtful, descriptive reviews that discuss the book’s content.
If you cannot in good conscience leave a positive review after you have started a book, there is no obligation to leave the review. The author would much rather you cancel the review and pick up another book than receive a negative review.
