Review Policy & FAQs

Q: Will you review my book?

A: I am always open for review requests. If you’d like to submit a review request to me, you can find my e-mail address on the Contact tab, but please make sure you read the entirety of this page first. I reserve the right to decline any request sent my way for any reason. Especially if you don’t read this page. In fact, if you don’t read this page, there’s a 99.9% chance your review request will go immediately into my recycle bin. You were forewarned.

Q: What Genre’s do you review?

A: I’m open to most genre’s if I think a book sounds interesting (please include your back-cover blurb! It helps!), but more accurately, I will read anything with the word Romance attached to it. I also really enjoy the following genre’s: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Suspense, Mystery, Crime/Detective, New Adult, Historical, Memoirs,  YA and Coming of Age… basically, the only things I really don’t care for are labeled Novella / Short Story / Flash Fiction / Poetry. I vehemently prefer not to read anything under 100 pages. I’ll read them if you ask nicely, but inherently they’ll get a lower rating because I just don’t enjoy them. I do accept middle-grade works as well (I have a 12-year-old that I read them with), but please refrain from sending me young children’s fiction.

Q: Can you please give me a positive review/Can you refrain from posting a negative review?

A: I will not lie in a review; I’ve built my review reputation being brutally honest. That being said, I also understand the need for authors to be able to market their books. So if I’ve reviewed your book and you’d like something you can quote for sale purposes, I’ll be more than happy to make up a quote that is honest and positive. I can always find something nice to say, even if overall I really didn’t care for a book. Just ask. Otherwise, I can only promise that I will not author bash. I don’t cushion my opinions on what I didn’t like in a book, but I do try to make sure even my 1-star reviews end with a caveat that sometimes I’m just not the right audience for a book and that some other reader may like it more than I did.

I will always post a review if I’ve read a book. I understand that it may hurt an author’s feelings and sales ranking if I post a negative review–but I am an honest person, and I have a review blog to run. I apologize if a negative review may sting, but I don’t avoid reviews to spare feelings. So if you aren’t willing to deal with the possibility of getting a negative review, don’t send me a request.

Q: How long will it take you to review my book?

A: I reserve the right to read the books I receive in any order I choose. Sometimes it’ll take me awhile to get around to a book I’ve been sent for review because I’ve got a list of 20 other books already sitting around waiting for me to read them. I do try to prioritize my books, however. If you give me a deadline you’d prefer a book to be read by (if, for example, that book was going to be released on a certain date and you wanted the review posted ahead of time) then just let me know. Usually, I can go ahead and put your book at the top of my list. I read very fast – sometimes two full-length novels a day.  Otherwise, be patient. If I promise to review a book, I’ll review it–even if it’s not right away.

Q: Can you not post a review until….

A. Yes. If you give me a specific date to wait for, I will always be happy to hold on to my review until after that date has passed. Sometimes I receive books a long time before they’re published, and I understand that an author/publisher may not want a review posted until after the book is released, or maybe just the week before in order to create a buzz for the upcoming release. Just let me know!

Q: I haven’t been avidly watching your blog, how can I tell if my book’s been reviewed?

A: At the top of my blog there are two tabs you should check: Reviewed & Rated, and Upcoming Reviews. Reviewed & Rated is a list of all the books I’ve reviewed (It is always up to date–I update it every day.). It contains the star-ratings for each review, and a link back to the original review article. Upcoming Reviews is a list of all the books I currently have sitting on my To Be Read list and approximately where they are in my queue. (It too is always up to date.) It’s color-coded so it’s easy to tell what I’ve read, what I haven’t, and which books I’m currently half-way through. I update it every morning. You can also ask that I send you the review directly once I’m done if you wish.

Q: Where do you post your reviews?

A: All my reviews are posted here to my blog, to Amazon, and to Goodreads–and are reposted to Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter. If you would like me to post a review on another site, just let me know, I’ll be more than happy to do so. Authors/Publishers are also more than welcome to re-post my reviews if they wish. I only ask that you keep the review tagged to Author Unpublished, preferably with a link back to my blog.

Q: What is your policy on Partial Reviews?

A: First let me explain what a partial review is: A partial review is when a reviewer fails to complete reading through a book, and then posts a review about the book they didn’t finish reading. These are almost always negative, and some authors don’t appreciate them because of that. Sometimes, I don’t finish a book. This can be for many reasons–sometimes a book is just so awful I can’t make myself read it. Other times, a book just doesn’t speak to me. It happens. I will always post a review if I’ve promised to review a book, and sometimes that means I post partial reviews. HOWEVER, If I find myself having a difficult time reading a book and I want to give up on it, I will always stop, set it aside, give it a few days, and then go back and try again. If I still can’t push myself to read the book, only then will I stop reading and post a partial review. I want to make sure that my inability to finish the book isn’t because I’m tired or not in the mood to read. That being said, when I post a partial review it is always with the intention of helping an author figure out what went wrong. I will always be honest and explain exactly what made me stop reading the book, and I will always take the time to review the part of the book I did manage to read. Generally, my thoughts on the subject of partial reviews are: if I can’t finish a book, the author needs to know, because whatever made me stop reading the book needs to be addressed if the author is to have any chance at improving their craft.

Q: Anything else?

A: I feel it needs to be stated more than once: I am a very honest reviewer. If I like a book, I will sing it praises. If I hate a book, I will be blunt about it. I don’t pander to hurt feelings. I’m sorry that I may not like your book, but my opinion is just that: an opinion–and you asked for it. Be prepared to accept it. I will promise this: I will always explain exactly what I liked about a book, and exactly what I didn’t like about a book. Sometimes I can be a bit dramatic if I feel very strongly about a specific opinion, but I will never insult an author intentionally or be rude / mean with the purpose of causing harm. My opinions are always given with the utmost respect for the author and I always try to write them in a constructive manner. My intentions are to help an author improve upon their craft, not to slander or burn. I will always be polite and professional in correspondence.

Q: What should I include in my Review Request to you?

A:

• Author’s Name
• Book Title
• Genre
• Back-Cover Blurb
• An attachment of the book to be reviewed. (Any format is okay, but epub and mobi are the easiest to deal with… .doc files and .pdf’s are the most difficult)
• If not yet published, a copy of the cover. (otherwise, I can find it on my own. I have Googlefu.)
• Any additional information (covered in the Q/A above) that you think I may need. (such as a requested read-by date, request for a marketable quote, or a list of other websites to post my review to in addition to Amazon, Goodreads, and my blog).

If you followed these rules, the book will go on my TBR list immediately. As long as I have a copy of the book emailed to me, it always goes on my private TBR–even if it isn’t generally my type of book (those may be relegated to the very bottom of my TBR list, but they will eventually be read). If you do not include an attachment of the book, unless the synopsis is particularly interesting, it will immediately go into my recycle bin. If it is obvious that you didn’t read this FAQs page, your request will immediately go into my recycle bin regardless. I receive a lot of review requests (several a day), and I don’t have time to waste on authors and publishers who aren’t considerate enough to follow my request rules.

Sometimes I will e-mail an author/publisher back when I receive a review request in order to deny/accept the request (most often when I know the author well already), but more often than not I will just run and update my public TBR list instead. Don’t be alarmed if I don’t e-mail you back–it is a terrible habit I have because I know that authors/publishers often mass-email reviewers and they aren’t waiting around for me to reply. As stated above, if you want to check on the status of your review request, the best thing to do is check my Reviewed & Rated and Upcoming Reviews tabs here on this blog.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Q: Do You Accept Hard Copies?

Yes, I do. If you’d like to send me a paperback or hardcover copy of your book, please feel free to e-mail me and request my address, I will be happy to send you the information. If for whatever reason I am sent a book that I don’t particularly wish to read, I will pass it on to another reviewer who will–so that your request doesn’t die on a dusty shelf somewhere.

If you have any more questions that haven’t been answered here, please, feel free to e-mail me (or post a comment)! I don’t bite!