Two things I see a lot:

1. Reviews (at Amazon, Goodreads, Insta, etc.) really help authors. (It's true, they really do.)

2. "I'd love to review more books but I never know what to say!" (I get it, that can be hard.

Okay, here's a simple hack.

You want to review and help authors, but feel like you don't know what to say. How about this. Read the existing reviews. Every time you see something you agree with, write it down. Collect just two or three, it's enough. You might end up with:

"Action-packed"

"Great characters"

"Real sense of place"

So put 'em together:

"This book is action-packed. It has great characters and a real sense of place. I recommend it."

Boom! You wrote a review. Add a star rating and post that bad boy wherever you want.

You can use the same one everywhere, just copy/paste it. It really helps. Once you've done this a few times you'll find your stride and be able to write them without any prompts. You feel good about it, and authors love you for it. (We really do, I promise.)

Huge thanks to everyone who reviews books, from the in-depth pro review to the honest few lines from everyday readers. You are all awesome.