It's a valuable way to hear what your readers think of your book; perhaps they have a favourite part or character, or perhaps they have taken something from it that you weren't sure would come across to readers. I'm always fascinated to hear what touched readers or interested them and of course, honest criticism is welcome too!
In a nutshell, it helps new authors sell more books. It can be hard to go ahead and make a purchase if you have never heard of the author, so reviews help buyers make decisions as to whether the book is for them.
More reviews can create a snowball effect and can give a new author greater visibility in an already crowded book world. On some websites, books that have a high number of reviews will be more likely to appear to prospective readers.
If you've been inspired to write a review of 'The Golden Feather' or give it a rating, here's how you can:
Share a review on Amazon. BookTrust has a quick and easy guide for children on How to Write A Book Review, if you need some tips. If you are too shy to write your thoughts, you can just leave a star rating.
If you're a member on Goodreads, you can now write a review or give a rating for the book here. As you can see, I need some more reviews!
And lastly, THANK YOU! Every review or rating means so much to me as a new author.