I finished a book I absolutely loved this week… and I think I’ll probably hold off for another four to six weeks or so before I share a review.

Why?

Because it’s a new release scheduled for publication in early September. And while, I’d normally want to share my rave review immediately (because who doesn’t love shouting about how amazing a book is?), it also got me thinking about the timing of reviews and what might be the best approach.

The general rule of thumb for sharing reviews based on ARCs seems to be to hold reviews until close to the release date. Based on NetGalley confirmation emails, most publishers seem to request not posting far in advance, and some state that reviews should be posted no more than two weeks (or at most, a month) before the publication date.

And yet, when I go on Goodreads, I see reviews posted months in advance of publication (which Goodreads allows, although retail sites like Amazon do not).

There’s something to be said for pre-release buzz, and authors I’ve followed have explained more than once that all preorders add to their release weeks stats. The higher the sales that week, the more likely it is that they’ll continue to be promoted, or even that a sequel might be greenlit. Given that, it would seem like early reviews (especially super positive ones) can only help a book. On the other hand, if someone is hyping a book three months before anyone can even get it, will that actually make an impact on sales? Sure, other bloggers/reviewiers may go request the book on NetGalley as a result — but while that boosts exposure, it doesn’t necessarily translate into people making purchases.

From the blogger/reviewer perspective, I get wanting to share thoughts while they’re fresh, and I suppose some readers/reviewers like the idea of being first, even if that means reviewing a book that the general reader audience won’t be able to access for many months.

For me, my target review window is right on time, occasionally a little early (a week or maybe two in advance), and (accepting that life is not perfect) late when it can’t be helped.

In general, I try to time my reviews right around the week a book is released, or possibly a week ahead of time. It mostly comes down to simple logistics for me — no matter how hard I try to keep my ARC commitments within reasonable limits, I still always find myself with a pretty hefty schedule to keep up with, and it usually just isn’t possible for me to get out ahead of the publication dates — even if I wanted to.

Another reason I prefer “just on time” reviews is wanting to be able to talk about a book. Read too far in advance and share a review, and no one will be available to discuss it with. Sure, it’s nice to get reactions along the lines of “sounds great!” or “hey, I’ll check it out”, but it’s even better to find other readers’ reviews, share ideas, and bounce reactions back and forth.

Beyond that, I suppose I just see it as courteous to follow publisher guidelines whenever possible. Receiving access to ARCs is a privilege, after all, so I think it’s reasonable to be expected to stick to the publishers’ preferences when posting reviews.

As for late reviews… well, I try, but life gets in the way! With ARCs, I always aim to post by the week that a book comes out, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. A late review is better than no review! I’m much more forgiving of myself than I was when I first starting blogging and reviewing. Bottom line, I read for myself and my own enjoyment first and foremost. ARCs can be wonderful to have, but they’re not the only books I read, and if I need to delay reading or reviewing a book because I’m busy with other things or other books I want to read… that’s okay too.

I found myself in the unusual situation this summer of not having a ton of ARCs in June, so I got through a few of my July books early, and even read one of my August books. For the August book, I was so happy to have read it that I lost sight of the release date and went ahead and posted a review right away. Only after it was posted did I stop and realize how early it was, but at that point, there were already comments posted, so I decided to leave it as is.

Which brings me back to the book I just finished — the 17th book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire… which just happens to be my very favorite fantasy series. I would absolutely love to share some thoughts, but it’s just too soon — the book will be released in early September. I know if I hadn’t read it already and stumbled across someone’s review of it, I’d be pretty peeved at this point.

Friends, the book is SO good! And what’s more, there’s another installment coming in October — a first in this series, to have two new books released just one month apart. Will I read #18 right away? You betcha.

But as for the reviews, I think I’m going to hold off. I mean, I’ll go ahead and draft the reviews while my thoughts and feelings are fresh… but I’ll wait to post until the release date is much, much closer.

How do you approach early reviews? Do you time reviews to release dates, or post reviews whenever you finish a book, regardless of dates? Do you have some other approach entirely?

I’d love to know what other people do when it comes to the timing of ARC reviews — especially when you love a book and you’re dying to talk about it.

Please share your thoughts!