Kirkus ReviewsReviews of kirkusreviews.com

The team at Kirkus was quick to respond to my concerns kindly and courteously, and they fixed everything speedily. It’s an excellent service. Carol Fisher Saller Writer, Publisher

Kirkus has it together when it comes to the most important quality in business: Responsiveness! I have worked with Kirkus team members from three divisions. They were terrific; they answered my questions promptly both by phone and email. In this day and age, that merits an A Plus! Ann Marie Sabath, Author The Wannabe Investor

In the past few months I’ve sent multiple letters to each of seven Kirkus representatives, without a single reply. Kirkus chose a reviewer who feels sonnets are 'outdated' to review my book of sonnets. This despite Kirkus’ written agreement to use its best efforts to provide a review that is impartial and unbiased. No one at Kirkus seems willing or able to explain how the review is not biased.

Communications were clear and direct. The review came in on time and the reviewer clearly read the book with care and made insightful comments.

Is it possible to give ZERO stars instead of one? I'm an established, multi-award-winning author, and for my most recent book, like others here, I paid $500 for a supposedly professional review, given Kirkus carries weight in literary circles and the bookselling world. What I received instead was a poorly written summary by a very biased reviewer who obviously did not read past the first chapter, but cherry-picked a few sentences to form their dismissive opinion. Not only is the book described as a "caregiver's memoir" (it's actually about being outsiders in a foreign country), but the so-called-review contains numerous factual errors—including one of the protagonists' nationality, which is central to the narrative on being an outsider. All of which underscore that the reviewer did not actually READ the book. As someone has already pointed out, Kirkus states it will use its "best efforts to provide a review that is impartial and unbiased." Yet their chosen reviewer clearly has a strong distaste for anything with a spiritual, "alternative" or New Age vibe; so much so, they actually used the word "annoying" to describe my "affirmation-speak" (their description). Really, Kirkus? My writing has won multiple awards, and this latest book was selected as an Editor's Pick by Publishers Weekly—who gave it a beautiful and glowing review, with an "A" score in all categories! Similarly with the other professional reviews we obtained, ALL of which have been overwhelmingly positive. Kirkus missed the boat entirely. The fact that they keep their reviewers anonymous not only allows the comments to be biased, but for them to skate off with writing a crappy summary for a book their reviewer merely skimmed. Despite all this, I decided the lukewarm final line of the so-called-review—"the money quote," as people call it—was worth using simply because of Kirkus's clout. I wrote to them, pointing out my disappointment that their reviewer clearly did not READ the book (as proven by the numerous factual errors which I outlined), stipulating I would be willing to publish the review IF the errors were corrected. To date, three months later, I have never received a reply from their so-called Customer Service, and the corrections have still not been made. In all, a complete waste of money and a TERRIBLE, unprofessional show on the part of a company who sits jauntily as an established trade review periodical. Author, beware!

I am the author of “The Diary of a Sugarbaby” (J.Q. Gagliastro). Pros: My review was delivered ahead of schedule. The reviewer was succinct. Cons: The review contains spoilers. The reviewer was also not entirely accurate to the story. While they gave me a stellar review, they incorrectly labeled my protagonist (Dime) as a ‘gay man.’ In several passages (e.g., page 22 and 251), Dime says he is queer and nonbinary. Therefore, he is not a gay man but a queer and nonbinary individual. While he acknowledges that he can pass as a cis male, a passing cis male does not a gay man make. It is a matter of semantics. I am not offended by any means and mistakes happen. But there is a nuance between those labels and that should not go unnoticed. Lastly, Kirkus Reviews said, “some of the descriptions of violence and degradation are excessive.” While I agree some are (i.e., the death scenes), I must point out that this story is also part memoir. Some of the violent and degrading scenes that they may deem excessive have in truth happened to me. Those scenes must not be trivialized.

I am very pleased with Kirkus Reviews. The review process was easy and the staff of Dan Nolan and Sasha Carney helped me along the way. Questions and concerns were address quickly with same day responses. If I was the President of the United States, I would appoint Sasha Secretary of Everything. I highly recommend Kirkus for professional assistance.

Great service by the Kirkus team especially by Dan Nolan!