New Review Policy

Review Policy for Becky's Book Reviews

I am interested in reviewing books and audio books. This blog focuses on books written for middle grade on up (essentially 10 to a 110). I review middle grade fiction and young adult fiction (aka tween and teen).

I also review adult books.

(And classics. Though I won't do your homework for you.)

I read in a variety of genres including realistic fiction, historical fiction, romance, science fiction, fantasy, supernatural/paranormal, thriller/suspense, literary fiction, and chick lit. (I've read one western to date.)

I read a few poetry books, a few short story collections, a few graphic novels, a few nonfiction books.

I am especially fond of:

• Regency romances (including Austen prequels/sequels)
• Historical fiction set in the Tudor dynasty
• Historical fiction and nonfiction set during World War II
• Jewish fiction/nonfiction
  
• dystopias
• apocalyptic fiction
• science fiction (especially if it involves time travel and alternate realities)
  
• fantasy
• multicultural books and international books
  

I am not a fan of:

• sports books
• horse books
• dog books if the dog dies (same goes with most pets actually except maybe fish)
• westerns (if it's a pioneer story with women and children, then maybe)
• extremely violent books with blood, blood, and more blood

I am more interested in strong characters, well-written, fleshed-out, human characters. Plot is secondary to me in a way. I have to care about the characters in order to care about the plot. That being said, compelling storytelling is something that I love. I love to become absorbed in what I'm reading.

Publishers, authors, etc.:

If you're interested in sending me a review copy of your book, I'm happy to hear from you. Email me at laney_po AT yahoo DOT com.

You should know several things before you contact me:

1) I do not guarantee a review of your book. I am just agreeing to consider it for review.
2) I give all books at least fifty pages.
3) I am not promising anyone (author or publisher) a positive review in exchange for a review copy. That's not how I work.
4) In all of my reviews I strive for honesty. My reviews are my opinions--so yes, they are subjective--you should know my blog will feature both negative and positive reviews.
5) I do not guarantee that I will get to your book immediately. I've got so many books I'm trying to read and review, I can't promise to get to any one book in a given time frame.
6) Emailing me every other week to see if I've read your book won't help me get to it any faster. Though if you want to email me to check and see if it arrived safely, then that's fine!

About blog tours, I'm interested in participating in some blog tours some of the time. Life is busy. And some months I've just got too much going on to commit to a blog tour. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate being invited to participate. Just don't expect an automatic yes. It depends on the book, the author, the type of tour, and the time of the tour.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews