Review Guidelines

Important Notice
 
I'm currently booked through for 2012. If I have already reviewed for you, though, I'll probably review your new work anyway (chances are I actually reserved a spot for you if I knew the release was coming!). If you really think your novel and I are a perfect fit, feel free to contact me about it following the guidelines below, but acceptance will be reduced and on a case by case basis. Thank you very much for your understanding! 


My ratings



I believe that the review itself is more valuable than the number of stars, but still. This quick reference guide should help.

5 of 5 stars: Recommended to anyone AND personal favorite.

4 of 5 stars: Recommended to anyone. As good as it gets.

3 of 5 stars: Recommended to fans of the genre. A light read.

2 of 5 stars: Not recommended. A read with issues. 

1 of 5 stars: Recommended not to read. Issues didn't allow me personally to finish reading. 


For authors and publishers



I accept books for review from traditional, indie and self- publishers. 

If you'd like me to review your book, please read carefully the following guidelines:

Final version: YES. I can't stress this enough: make sure you have proofed and edited your manuscript. Every one might get a typo here or there, but if it's clear that there are editing issues, it will have a negative impact on the review. This is the cause for most of my 2-star reviews.

Format: I prefer to work with electronic files for storing reasons. I prefer e-pub or lrf format, but if you must send a different one, please check that I will be able to convert it to my format of choice. I also accept audiobooks in wma or mp3 format. Contact me if you'd prefer to send a print copy, please. We can work something out.

Genre: My preferred genres are Fantasy and Young Adult. However, I might accept other fiction genres on a case by case basis. No non-fiction, sorry.

Coverage: The reviews are posted to this blog and crossposted to GoodReads. The blog's updates show on the blog's Facebook page, and I make a point to share them via Twitter. Upon request, the reviews may also be posted to Amazon and Smashwords. 

Please note: There is no such a thing as an objective opinion. When reviewing any book, I try to pay attention both to its flaws and to its virtues even if I, personally, did not enjoy the story. But if I really liked it, I will become a rabid fan. And if I'm not able to finish it out of boredom or for some other reason, even if the technique is perfect, the review will not be positive. The reviews express the opinion of a particular reader: respect mine, please. A negative review will still be posted. And the reviews will always be honest and as polite as I can make them.

Disclosure policy: If the author has provided me with a copy to review, I'll note it. 

Now that we've sorted that out, if your book fits the criteria above and you still want me to review it, please send me a REVIEW REQUEST mail to:

roncn DOT contact AT gmail DOT com

-The subject line should be: “Review request: [title]”.

-The body should include title, author, genre, number of pages (or wordcount) and a short summary of the book. 

-Please try to provide me with a link where I might find a sample chapter of your book if at all possible.

-Feel free to include any other information you think might be useful.

Once you send this mail, I will get back to you to let you know whether I can accept your book. I'll try to accept as many titles as possible, but I'll try to accept only titles that seem to be a good fit for me as a reader and for the blog and its audience. 

The reply to your mail should take less than five days. When you receive this confirmation mail, you can send me the book and then I will add it to my reading queue.

Thank you for taking the time to read and follow these simple guidelines!