It seems almost sacriligeous to find fault with the TLS which for many is a kind of book-review Bible. But when compared to other book- review venues including the NY Times Bookreview and the NY Review of Books, I find it somehow chauvinistically British and narrowly focused. I also must admit to not liking the skimpy look of the journal.
I base my remarks here not on one reading of one journal but on my general feeling after going through many many different editions of TLS over many years.
Now I should qualify this by saying that there are of course many many outstanding reviews of outstanding books, and outstanding round- up surveys on special feature reviews. However when it comes to areas in which I have a degree of specialization, I usually find the taste of the reviewer so wide of mine that I end the reading with unease and dissatisfaction.