As any authors can tell you, book reviews are extremely important. That's why so many of us include a call to action for a book review at the end of our novels. The more reviews we get, the better our sales. I can't stress enough how important it is for authors to get reviews,whether it's on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnesandnoble.com or where ever you purchase your books. This is especially true for authors who are not huge household names like Stephen King or James Patterson. They don't have to worry about it, but the rest of us do.
However, I think some folks are intimidated by the thought of writing a review. I get that. But it's not as hard as you might think. You do not have to be a professional reviewer. No one expects that. It's actually very easy. All you have to do is click on the number of stars you want to give the book, then type something like: "I liked this book because..." or "My favorite part of this book was..." (just don't give away any spoilers). It doesn't have to be long. Even a sentence or two is fine. If you want to get more creative, by all means, go right ahead. It may also help to read some of the other reviews and see how they were written. The important thing is that you write something - anything!
The only other thing to know is that most sites will require you to give your review a title. All that needs to be is one line from your review or something as simple as "Great Book!"
I hope that quells any fears about leaving a public book review. Believe me, authors are extremely grateful. In fact, I want to take this moment to give a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who has left a review for either of Kelegeen or Erin's Children. You are the best!