Any books that I receive as ARCs or from publishers as review copies will be marked as such. I’m happy to consider reviewing upcoming releases – please send some information on the book to raincityreads[at]gmail.com* and I’ll let you know if I’m interested in your publication.
Please note that all reviews will be honest and impartial, regardless of whether the book was a review copy, a gift, borrowed, or my own purchase. This means that by submitting a book to me, you’re agreeing to a perfectly honest review – even if I don’t like the book! Though I won’t pretend to like a book I don’t dig, I do respect that you or the author you represent put months or years into writing it, that authors pour out their hearts and souls onto the page, and that they do so to share a piece of themselves with the world. I do my best to balance out the good and the bad, and to bring up negatives respectfully.
That said, I reserve the right to abandon a book or not publish a review if I really don’t like the book. And let’s face it, if that is the case, it’s probably better for everyone involved. (So far this hasn’t happened, though, so don’t be too scared!)
I will occasionally accept digital publications for review as well as print copies.
Time to complete a review varies based on the length of my reading queue. I’m a big mood reader, so sometimes review copies that don’t have an upcoming release date will sit on my TBR pile until I’m in the mood. If you expect a review within a certain time frame, please alert me to this in your request so that I can make sure I’m able to accommodate it before agreeing to the review. ARC reviews will be published on or near release date.
I receive a large number of emails requesting reviews, and I simply don’t have time to respond to them all, so I will only reply if I’m interested in your book or service. Please don’t take it personally; I appreciate you getting in touch and wish you all the best with your upcoming book release and/or other endeavours!
Here are some of the genres I’m most likely to review (though I may take on books outside these depending on available time and interest):
- Fiction/Literary Fiction (particularly those with humour and/or engaging characters)
- Young Adult (contemporary, thriller, humour, some dystopian)
- New Adult (see YA sub-genres)
- Travel Memoir (humour, interesting facts, must be engagingly written and not dry – think Bill Bryson or Peter Mayle)
- Mystery/Thriller (but not too scary, please!)
- Humour – particularly if it’s dark humour and/or sarcasm! (like Aisha Tyler’s memoir or Cold Comfort Farm)
- Books about books and readers (think The Uncommon Reader, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Helene Hanff’s books)
I will occasionally take on:
- Memoir/Biography (if it’s a person or context I’m interested in)
- Erotica/Sexuality (though I’m quite picky in this area)
- Non-Fiction/Current Affairs/Journalism (though less likely as my interests are pretty niche)
- Kids/Middle Grade (particularly those that have important messages and include diversity)
Genres I’m almost never interested in:
- Historical Fiction (except WWII set in England, for some odd reason)
- Romance
- Chick Lit
- Sci-Fi/Fantasy
- Poetry
- Guides and references
- Historical non-fiction
Thanks for your interest in my blog!
*Please note that review requests and other professional contact must be submitted via email to be considered. Any requests left as comments or sent via Twitter will be marked as spam and deleted.