Review Policy

I am currently accepting review requests.

This policy is valid from January 21, 2018

Thank you for considering me and my blog to review your book. I encourage you to please read everything on this page and on my disclaimer to ensure you are happy with and agree to my terms before submitting your request.
If you have any further questions or if you accept my review policy and would like to send me a review request, please email me at thezanybibliophile[at]gmail[dot]com or use the contact form at the bottom of the page.

I kindly ask that your review requests include the following information:

Email Subject: Review Request

Email Body:

Short description of the book.
Link to the author’s website and/or the book’s Goodreads page.
The format of the book you are offering (ie. physical copy, digital or audiobook)
Date you want the review posted by
Any blog tour or author interview requests

I look forward to receiving your requests.

Type of Books

I enjoy Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, Middle Grade and Children’s novels from many many genres, though my preferences are:

Fantasy
Fairytale or Myth retellings
Paranormal
Science Fiction
Adventure
Mystery
Contemporary
Historical Fiction

I will NOT accept review requests for books about or including the following:

Extreme political views
Explicit violence and/or criminal acts
Explicit sexual content

I prefer print copies of books, whether it be an ARC or finished copy, but I will also consider PDFs, Mobi files ePubs and audio books. If the book is part of a series and not the first book of said series, I may require the previous books in the series if I have not already read them.

My Reviews

All reviews I write will appear on my blog under Book Reviews as well as on Goodreads and can also be posted on Amazon if requested. My reviews are subject to my editing at any time. My reviews are not meant to be objective literary critiques – they will be a spoiler-free conversation type piece including a general overview of the story as well as what I liked and did not like regarding the plot, characters, timeline, layout, narration and/or the overall reading experience.

I will write fair and honest reviews, but this does not mean I will always write positive reviews. My reviews are my opinion and if I don’t enjoy a book then my review will reflect that. However, I will do my best to explain why the book in question did not work for me personally. I do NOT write nasty or snarky commentary about the author as I am not discussing the author, I am reviewing the book.

My review structure on my blog is as follows:

Any pre-review content I wish to share, such as where I received the book from and my thoughts before reading the book.
Information about the book including an image of the cover.
My review – this or an edited version of this section is what will appear on Goodreads and, if requested, Amazon.
Star rating – more information regarding this below.
Any further thoughts, discussion questions or anything else I wish to share.

If I do not finish a book I may write an explanation as to why I chose to ‘DNF’ it. These explanations are different from standard reviews but will follow a similar structure. In the review section, I will state that I did not finish the book and the reason why including what page I read up to and if I plan on ever picking up the book again, though it may not include a star rating. These reviews are likely to be negative and may include some snarky comments about the content but, as stated above, will not contain any snarky or nasty comments about the author.

My Rating System

I only award full star ratings to keep the rating I award on my blog consistent with the star ratings I award on Goodreads. Please keep in mind that the rating I give will depend on the genre. For example, a 5-star Middle Grade is not necessarily equal to a 5-star New Adult novel. My rating system is as follows:

5 Stars: I loved the book – little to nothing I can fault.
4 Stars: I really liked the book – it was great but has a few elements I did not like.
3 Stars: I liked the book – it was good but has elements I did not like.
2 Stars: I did not like the book – either not my thing or it had too many elements I did not like.
1 Star: I really did not like the book – either a permanent DNF or a book I had strong issues with.

Accepting Books

I am not obligated to read the book of every review request I receive. I have the right to accept your request if I feel it is a book I will enjoy and the right to reject your request if I feel it is not a book I will enjoy. I do not intend to offend you by rejecting your request, I just believe it would not be beneficial for the author or the book if I do not believe I can provide a positive review.

Just because I accept the review requests it does not guarantee a review. I will make every effort to read and review the book in a timely fashion and with regard to release dates, but I cannot guarantee this. I usually read 1-2 books a week, but my blog and book reviews are something I do for my enjoyment in my spare time. If possible, I would prefer to receive a book at least 2 months prior to when you would like the review posted to ensure I can read and review the book in time. If you would like me to review the book in a shorter timeframe, contact me and I will let you know if it is possible.

If you are sending a physical copy of the book to me for review, I will supply you with my postal address. I ask that this not be shared with any entity for any reason without my consent.

If after accepting your request I find myself unable to review the book for any reason, I will contact you to let you know. I am not obligated to supply you with a reason, however, I will do my best to inform you why I will not be reviewing your book at that time.

Blog Tours / Author Interviews

I am open to being part of blog tours and author interviews, but please note that I am not obligated to accept any blog tour or author interview requests. All communications for either a blog tour or author interview will take place via email. I would appreciate if the content of the blog tour and/or author interview is unique or exclusive to my blog.
If you would like me to be a part of a blog tour, I will only accept if the date(s) you request work for me.
If you or the author you a representing are interested in an interview and I would like to post an interview with that author, I will email a list of questions I believe my readers will be interested in reading.