Review Policy & Rating System

If you are an author/publisher, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with each blogger's reviewing style and book preference before submitting a review request. For more information on submitting a review request, please refer to our Contact Us page.

Who's accepting requests?

Sam is the only one taking requests right now for contemporary books. 

Kiersten


I accept ebooks and print ARCs for review purposes. I prefer to read on my Kindle so .mobi files will be given priority. I am very picky about what books I read and will decline requests to review books that do not interest me. As a result of my pickiness, I most often like all the books I read; however, this is no guarantee that I will give a favorable review. I am more likely to accept a request from an author or publicist I have previously worked with.

Preferred Genres:
Preferably in the Young Adult age range (though exceptions can be made)
  • Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy
  • High Fantasy
  • Science Fiction
  • Dystopian / Post-Apocalyptic
  • Contemporary
Genres I don't review:
  • Nonfiction
  • Horror
Rating System:
Like I said above, I like most of the books I read. While it may come across as not being critical enough, I believe that if I genuinely enjoy a book, then there's no reason to get hung up on little minutiae that I won't even remember a few days later. When I critique a book, I try to be as gentle as possible while getting my point across. I believe there is a distinct difference between being critical and being rude, and I try to avoid the latter. I give half star ratings when a book falls between two of the ratings distinguished below. Ratings are either rounded up or down when cross-posting on websites such as Goodreads and Amazon.

★★★★★
I loved this book! I enjoyed it from start to finish, and it made me feel the feels. I recommend this to everyone.

★★★★
I really liked this book! There was something that kept me from loving it, but I'd still recommend it.

★★★
I liked this book, but it wasn't particularly memorable. There were some things that I wasn't particularly fond of or I thought could have been done better, but overall I still enjoyed it and don't regret reading it. May still recommend it.

★★
This book was ok. I felt kind of "meh" about this book and wouldn't be missing out on anything if I went back in time and read a different book instead.


I either did not like this book overall, or I had an issue with an element of the book and couldn't get past it.

Noor


I generally accept review requests on the basis of whether or not a book sounds interesting or not, but I'm pretty open to accepting requests. I generally prefer print but will accept digital copies, preferably as .epub files.

Preferred Genres:
  • Young Adult
  • Dystopian
  • Fantasy
  • Realistic Fiction
  • Paranormal
Genres I don't review:
  • Horror
  • Nonfiction (save for memoirs)
Rating System:
You know the whole spiel about being objective and unbiased but I guess I should confirm anyway that I'm not in cahoots with every author I review and I promise I'm not just writing good things to be nice and everything is as impartial as people can really be anyway. I review things honestly, sometimes I can nitpick and ramble on about something that seems insignificant but might be something I spend a lot of time thinking about so it takes up a lot of real estate in my mind where the thoughts about that book go. I usually know when the things I don't like are genuinely nitpicky and when they're problems I can deduct in my ratings from, though. I look at books not just in how I enjoy them but in what they offer, what tropes they employ, what they're comprised of. A lot of my reviews focus on sections, like the writing style and the plot and the characters, or various other aspects. Overall, I like to be thorough in letting you know what I did and didn't like.

I occasionally give decimal ratings when I feel that a book is too good for one rating but not quite good enough to reach another. Usually within my review I'll explain where the half a star or so came from or why it wasn't good enough to warrant a full star rating, so fret not friends, I will try to minimize any confusion.

★★★★★
If this book had red lipstick game, it would be stronger than Taylor Swift's. If you're not a fan of that analogy, if this book had eyebrow game, it would be so raw it would be sushi. Okay, I know I'm not funny but what I'm trying to say is that five stars means everything is flawless and it probably hurts a lot.

★★★★
Rad in a really hella way. I describe a lot of things as rad. Like certain pairs of shoes or one of my professors from two semesters ago. Are they perfect and do they require absolutely no changes? No. But they're close. Four star books might have an issue or two but for the most part they're things that can be overlooked enough to warrant a very positive experience.

★★★
Mediocre. Three star books are okay, right on the verge of being really good but also right on the verge of being kinda crappy. Teetering on the edge of something more but kindof just flopping in the middle and being occasionally unsatisfying and occasionally a decent read.

★★
This was probably a really bad book and the two stars either came from a) being entertaining enough to make fun of or b) being slightly promising to start off with and just not being left in capable enough hands to reach redemption.


At least I'll have a book to recommend someone on Opposite Day.

Sam


I accept ebooks and print ARCs for review purposes. I mostly read on my kindle during my commute, so ebooks are a lot easier for me.

Preferred Genres:
  • YA/MG Contemporary
  • YA/Adult Contemporary Romance 
Genres I don't review:
  • Anything that is not contemporary
Rating System:
When I read, I read for entertainment and escape. I don't mind the fiction in my fiction, and I am all about how a book made me feel. I tend towards lighter fare, but I can go deep if necessary.

★★★★★
This book was AH-mazing! I am overwhelmed with feels, and I can't stop thinking about this book.

★★★★
I loved this book! It made me happy and I really enjoyed reading it.

★★★
I liked this book. It was good. It may even have had some great moments, and I will speak favorably of it when asked. It was just missing that little something or had a small something that rubbed me the wrong way.

★★
This book was "meh". It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything to write home about. It was like frozen pizza. Full belly, but I am not really satisfied.


Just no. Note: I have never given 1 star to a book. If I rated DNFs, I would probably give them one star.