IMPORTANT NOTE: If you still can’t figure out how to leave a review after reading this section, please contact us and we can help! Don’t give up or ignore your reader forms, or you’ll stop getting new books!

If we’ve sent you an ARC book, then eventually you’ll need to fill out your reader form, which basically just means sending us a link to your Amazon review (or reason for not reviewing), and optionally adding in a comment to the author. All of this can be done from the Books You’re Reading tab on your dashboard, and but we’ll send you a few email reminders about it if you’ve forgotten.

But in case you aren’t sure how to leave your Amazon review and send it to us, here are the basic steps.

1. Write your review on Amazon

   Although you could search for the book on Amazon yourself if you like, sometimes it’s confusing since often there are books with the same or similar titles. That’s why we always include a link directly to the correct book on Amazon, which you can find within the book info section of the Book’s You’re Reading tab on your dashboard.

   

   Clicking that link will take you directly to where you can leave your review on Amazon, so we suggest doing so as soon as you’re done reading. Ideally this would be on or before the review date, but if it takes you longer to read that’s okay too.  Just get it done ASAP. Better late than never.

   Note that if that link is not on your dashboard, it means that the book has not yet been published, and once it is we’ll add the link.

2. Wait for Amazon to approve and post your review

   Sometimes your review is posted immediately, but other times Amazon displays a message that they will review your review and post it once it’s approved. If that is the case, you must wait for your review to be approved before you can send us the link. Sometimes it takes Amazon hours, sometimes days, to approve reviews. Nothing you can do but wait, although they usually send you an email once they’re done. Just keep in mind that you can still request and review other books from us while you wait!  You don’t need to wait until you send us your link before signing up for other books.  And don’t worry if it doesn’t get approved by the review date, those dates are just guidelines to aim for and it’s fine to send it in later.

3. Click the “Find Your Review Automatically” button on your reader form

   Hidden Gems has no ties to Amazon, so the only way for us to know that you have left your review is for you to tell us that it is posted and approved, and we have made that very easy via the “Find Your Review Automatically” button* on your reader form.

   

   Clicking this button will alert us that your review is ready for us to go and find. When you do click it, you’ll be able to add an optional comment (see next point) and then this book will disappear from your dashboard temporarily while we look for your review.  The process of finding your review can take some time, and if we can’t find it we will keep checking for a couple of days but eventually if we still can’t find it, we’ll send you an email letting you know and the book will be placed back on your Books You’re Reading tab. Most of the time this happens when people click the find review button before their reviews are approved and posted by Amazon (although the email we send will outline some other common reasons as well).  Remember we can only find it once they do that, so please wait until it is posted before clicking it. But if you do it accidentally, you can just click it again once we replace the book and your review is ready.  If we do find your review, the book will move to your Completed Books tab.

   *If you haven’t yet added your Amazon profile link, you’ll see a link to do so here instead of the find review button. Click that link and follow the instructions to add your profile link first.

4. Optional – Leave a personal comment to the author

   If you wish, you can leave the author a personal comment about the book. This is sent to the author at the end of the ARC period, and is normally used to provide thanks or feedback about the book that you didn’t want to include in your Amazon review, or even comments about why you didn’t review. If you do leave a comment, please make sure to hit the Submit button once you’re done.  You should not use this space for comments meant for Hidden Gems, nor should you provide any personal contact info (such as name, email, etc). Any such comments will be removed.

Note that even once your book has moved to the Completed Books tab, you can still go there to submit your comments, view your review links (if you’ve logged them with us) or even tell us to look for reviews for books you previously left reasons for not reviewing.