Welcome the Rule One Book Reviews

Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m Back in the Book Review Game

Here’s a little background: I co-owned a small business called Underground Book Reviews, which specialized in reviewing independently published books across most genres. We operated for about five years, during which I honed my skills as a book reviewer. We closed the business for various reasons and moved on, but my associates and I learned many painful lessons about book reviews during that time.

It’s been about ten years since I wrote a serious book review. In that time, I’ve watched the indie book market balloon into an oversaturated mess, flooded with poorly written books. The truth hurts, but most indie books are subpar—it’s the nature of the business, and it won’t change. Nor should it. This flood of mediocrity is the price of total creative freedom in the market, and I’m fine with that. However, finding a quality indie book in this Jupiter-sized haystack is daunting. Authors naturally believe their books are great and want readers to buy them. Sales platforms like Amazon, which take a significant cut of profits, want readers to buy as many books as possible. Neither is truly on the reader’s side.

Who advocates for the reader who clicks “Buy Now” and ends up with a dud? Below, I outline the challenges modern readers of indie literature face, based on my 16 years of experience with indie and traditional publishing.

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The Reader’s Plight in the Indie Book Market

The modern reader is overwhelmed by an oversaturated indie market. Millions of English-language titles exist, with more added every second. Barriers to entry are absurdly low. In the Information Age, content is cheap, and AI has made it even cheaper.

There are no reliable, high-volume quality gatekeepers in this bloated market (except authors themselves, who are biased). Sales platforms like Amazon have unreliable review and rating systems, often flooded with paid or friend-driven reviews. Goodreads, meanwhile, is notorious for “troll” reviewers. While many book review websites, blogs, vlogs, and social media pages exist, they come with baggage. Many indie reviewers lack objectivity, especially those who are indie authors themselves. These author/reviewers may avoid constructive criticism to dodge retaliatory negative reviews on their own books or because they’re reviewing friends’ or associates’ work. Accepting complimentary review copies can further compromise impartiality. Many review outlets are businesses or monetized, prioritizing content volume and positive reviews to drive traffic over high-quality, objective critique. Finally, poor writers often make poor reviewers.

Readers seeking high-quality indie fiction are at a severe disadvantage, and many have abandoned indie fiction altogether. What can be done to find and highlight quality indie books? Not much, except to dive in and start searching. That’s exactly what I’m doing.

Why Am I Doing This?

I love reading good books and sharing them with others in a way that does justice to their quality. This blog is all about the reader.

What are my qualifications as a book reviewer? I was a founder and submission editor for the online literary magazine Underground Book Reviews. I have reviewed and/or edited reviews for many books across multiple genres. Oxford University published one of my reviews in a textbook as an example how to write a proper book review. 

Rule One: It’s All About the Reader

This blog is for readers, not authors. While I’ll respect all authors, my mission is to create a trusted space where readers can find honest, impartial reviews of quality indie books. Discovering even one great book is enough.

This blog is not a business, a platform for my own writing, or a way to get free books. It's also not about generating "content" or being an influencer (whatever that means).  Let me repeat: it’s all about the reader.

Here’s how it will work:

Starting in June 2025, I’ll begin searching for indie books to review. My first review will be posted the first week of August 2025 ( though I will post several "special" reviews prior to that). Here’s how it will work ​

1. These are guidelines masquerading as rules. I can change these rules at any time because it's my party.
2. I don't know what I'm doing, all opinions are my own, I'm not getting paid for this, this is about having fun and I'll keep doing it only as long as its fun. If someone doesn't  like my review, too bad. If an author places their book on the market, it's fair game. 
3. I will primarily review indie books—those self-published by authors or published by small indie presses. I may review traditionally-published books are part of my special review series as "benchmarks" to compare with my indie reviews. 
4. I will only review books I discover and purchase myself. I will not accept review requests or complimentary copies.
5. I will find all indie books via X (Twitter). If a book appears on my feed and catches my attention, it may be considered for review. If it's not in my X feed, it doesn't exist to me. In an effort to thwart the evil algorithms, tagging me is fine , but DMs will be ignored. A "like" from me doesn't mean anything, other than the fact that I saw it. A book may achieve candidate status even if I don't "like" it. "Liking" or "reposting" one of my posts won't sway me, either. Beyond initially noticing your book, it's going to come down to your book's quality on if it moves forward. 
6. No "quid pro quo" reviews. Purchasing or positively reviewing one of my novels will NOT automatically result in your book attaining candidate status or being selected for review. Most likely, it will not. This book review blog is not my author platform. (my old blog and other pages on this website are my platform, but NOT this blog page). 
7. Throughout the month, I’ll highlight candidate books on this blog and X. At the end of the month, I’ll announce the book selected for the next month’s review (I’m a slow reader).
8. Candidate books must show enough promise that they can  earn a positive review recommendation.
9. I will explain why a book achieves candidate status but not why a book is dropped. Non-selection doesn’t imply an unsustainable or unsatisfying book; it simply means I didn’t choose to read it.
10. If a selected book's quality is too low to earn a positive review, it will be not be reviewed. I reserve the right to DNF and cancel a review at any time, even if was  already scheduled. 
11. Some non-reviewed candidate books may be “rolled over” to the next month’s candidate list. Others will be dropped. If a book is moved from active candidate to inactive status, it doesn't mean it's dead. It means I can come back at any time and decide to read it. 
12.  I will not use a star-based, or a scale-based, rating system for books I review because  they  may misrepresent  reviewer's intent. My words will have to suffice. 
13. I read most genres but will not review smut, as defined by me.
14. Books advocating polarizing political positions,  social movements, or identity politics (as defined by me) will not selected. My blog is not your soapbox. 
15. I will post minimum one review per month, prioritizing quality over quantity—that’s all I can handle. HOWEVER...
16. ...I reserve the right to post "special edition" reviews above and beyond the selection process described above. This can be any book (even traditionally published books) that strikes my fancy and I REALLY want to talk about. When and if I ever elect to bestow awards on deserving books, these special edition books will NOT be eligible. 
17. My reviews will be posted on Amazon, and Goodreads ONLY at the author's request. 

"Rule One" Book Reviews - A Reading Experience-Based Rating System

Books with an UNSUSTAINABLE reading experience will not be reviewed.  These books do not reasonably meet minimal acceptable quality standards for a published work for one or more of the following reasons:
1. In need of significant editing as spelling, formatting or mechanical errors were common, highly noticeable and detracted from the book's overall experience.
2.  The novel's structure (plot, characters, flow, dialogue, etc.) was significantly flawed and strongly inhibited reader from following the story due to unnecessary effort or distraction.  
3. The content does not meet basic literature expectations, was highly unoriginal, and possibly plagiarized
4. The presence of AI-generated content is strongly suspected. 
 
Books with an UNSATISFYING reading experience will not be reviewed. These books' overall reading experience is lacking and do not reasonably approach level of a contemporary traditionally-published book, in its genre or others, for one or more of the following reasons:
1. This book does not meet the expectations for consumers of that genre.  
2. Editing quality was poor, as spelling or mechanical errors were present, noticeable and detracted from the novel's overall experience.
​3. The novel's structure (plot, characters, flow, dialogue, etch) inhibited reader from  experiencing the story due to unnecessary effort or distraction.  
4. The story was highly unoriginal, borrowed heavily from other sources as it may border on plagiarism.
5. The presence of AI-generated content is suspected. 
 
"RECOMMENDED" - A positive reading experience
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This book provides the reader a satisfying experience, especially if the reader is already a fan the genre. This may not hold true for readers outside the genre. This book approaches the level of a contemporary traditionally-published book in its genre. This book met or exceeded the minimal editing quality of a traditionally published book. If spelling or mechanical errors were present, they were rare, hard to notice, and didn't detract from the novel's overall experience. The novel's structure (plot, characters, flow, dialogue, etc.) allowed reader to reasonably experience the story without unnecessary effort or distraction.  The story met genre expectations, though did not necessarily bring anything new to the literary form. ​
 
"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" - A highly enjoyable reading experience. 
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This book provides the reader a fully entertaining experience, and may appeal readers outside the genre. This indie novel met or exceeded the level of a contemporary traditionally-published books in its genre. This novel met or exceeded the editing quality of traditionally published novel. If spelling or mechanical errors were present, they were rare, hard to notice, and didn't detract from the novel's overall experience. The novel's structure (plot, characters, flow, dialogue, etc) immersed the reader and provided an effortless reading experience.  The story not only met genre expectations , but brought something original to the literary form. 
 
"STRONGLY RECOMMENDED" - A rewarding and memorable reading experience. 
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This book provides the reader of any genre a deeply rich,  rewarding and memorable experience.  This novel fully met or exceeded the editing quality of traditionally published novels. Spelling or mechanical errors were virtually undetectable to the average reader.  The novel's structure (plot, characters, flow, dialogue, etc) sweeps up the reader, . exceeds genre expectations, and introduces a new dimension to the art form.
 
"EXCEPTIONALLY RECOMMENDED" - A transformative reading  experience.
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The overall story experience challenges and elevates the reader on an emotional and intellectual level. This book transcends genre. and is "must-reading" for a wider audience.  The reader is transformed by the experience, and will think of the book often and perhaps occasionally reread it. The book not only brings something new to the genre, but something completely new to literature itself. This book is a potential award-winner. 

See You in June 2025

That's it. Start watching this space in June 2025 as I begin posting candidate books as I find them. If you are an author, I can't find your book unless I see it on X because that's where the authors are. You can find me there: ​https://x.com/IllusionExotic