About Brightdreamer Books
About This Site
I am an ordinary, undereducated American reader with a web site and a pile of books. That is my sole qualification for reviewing. My favorite genre is fantasy, but I'll read most any genre. This site archives book reviews from my review blog.
Categories and Ratings
My reviews are organized in lists and categories. My main list groups books by authors, alphabetically. If a book has multiple authors, I defer to whichever one appears
first in the Amazon listing. Likewise, if a pseudonym is used, I defer to Amazon's categorization, with the real author (if known) noted.
The genre listings group titles by genre, first splitting Fiction and Nonfiction and then arranging them by category. As genres themselves are rarely strictly defined,
this is a somewhat subjective process, but I do my best to be consistent. Some books appear in multiple categories due to crossover content.
My themed lists attempt to group books by themes or special interests that may transcend genre: portal fantasies, time travel, dragon tales, etc. It's an admittedly
subjective attempt to group books in a way that flat genre classification doesn't allow.
The final list is the graveyard, for books (particularly eBooks) that are no longer available. Several titles have disappeared since I reviewed them, and they go here
when I discover they've gone missing. I try not to cross-link these titles, and they do not appear in categories or themes.
I also note the age category, when appropriate. CH stands for Children's books, such as picture books, chapter books, and young readers. MG stands for middle-grade, books usually geared for 8- to 12-year-olds by American standards. YA stands for Young Adult, which are books aimed at teens, age 13 and up. (These are reader ages; since kids and preteens tend to "read up," the characters are usually a little older than the target audience.) No age category means general adult audiences. This can be subjective, as some books appear in multiple age categories; for instance, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game was originally published as general sci-fi, but some imprints now market it to young adults, and Brian Jacques's Redwall books appear in both middle-grade and adult sections of many bookstores. If I've seen it cross over, or if I'm otherwise unsure, I add a "?" to the age. Naturally, I cannot guarantee content will adhere to a particular person's idea of age-appropriate material; I'm going by publisher and Amazon categorizations, and my own best estimation. Read synopses and multiple reviews carefully if content matters are an issue for you.
I rate on a five-star system. One star is terrible, and five stars is excellent. A * is a star, and a + stands for a half-star. I only review books I've finished reading.
Reading My Reviews
My review system is fairly straightforward, but I figured I'd provide an explanation in case of confusion or questions.
Book Title - This is the title of the book.
(Series name, Book number) - Here, I note if the book is part of a series or larger "universe," as well as its place in that series, when known. Some series,
such as Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, have no defined order for many entries.
Author Name(s) - This is who wrote the book, as listed on Amazon. For anthologies and such, the editor is listed here. Picture book illustrators are listed
on this line, as well.
Publisher - Who publishes the book, according to the cover of the version I read. Some older books may go through different editions with different imprints.
Fiction/Nonfiction, Age Category and Genre - This is where I list the book's category and genre. If it's a children's book, middle-grade, or young adult title,
I list it here, before the genre. Several books qualify for multiple genres.
Themes - Here, I give some idea of the content of the book and interests it might appeal to: aliens, steampunk, wizards, pirates, etc. (This is something of a
work in progress...)
Rating - What I thought of the book, from five stars (wonderful) to one star (terrible.)
Description - A description of the book. I strive to keep these spoiler free and neutral, though in some series, spoilers for previous books are inevitable.
If the book has changed titles, I note that here, too.
Review - This is what I thought of the book, where I do my best to explain my feelings and my rating. Again, I try to avoid spoilers.
Related Reads - Here, I link to reviews of other books with a similar theme, tone, or other connection.
To Be Reviewed...
If you are an author and would like your book reviewed, please use the e-mail address at the bottom of each page. I will do my best to get back to you, though I cannot guarantee how soon I may read your book, nor can I guarantee a good rating. There are also a few categories (fanfic, straight-up erotica, hate material, etc.) that I don't read.