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About CR


And now, some comments about how I deal with reviews and run the site.

Book Policy:

If I receive a book from a publisher, I will do my utmost to give it a go and a fair look, but if it is unsolicited I cannot guarantee a review. If I specifically request a book, however, I will review it as soon as possible (or, if it arrives in advance of its publication date, nearer its release), but perhaps not immediately.

I would love to be able to read and review every book I get sent (and I do get a wonderfully large number), but there are simply not enough hours in the day, week, or month. Where possible, I will ask someone else to review the book for the website, if I think it would appeal to them. I am very thankful to the few people who have helped me out with reviews and provided content for the blog over the years. I may also leave books for a while before I get around to them - just because it's not reviewed right away doesn't mean I'm disinterested. It's just a matter of timing, and also my mood.

I buy a lot of books myself, too, so I will likely review these just as much as books I receive from publishers.

My reading preferences run to predominantly fantasy and American political/crime thrillers, but I also will read most other genres and sub-genres. And, as I'm sure many people will agree, it's sometimes nice to break out of our comfort zone to try something new and different.

Comments:

Commenting is welcome and indeed encouraged! Only comments that are needlessly abusive of other commentors or myself will be rejected (none so far, so thank you all for keeping things civil). Comments will not be rejected just because they happen to disagree with another comment or a review. By all means, point out things you disagree with or things I may have misunderstood. It adds to the larger conversation, so I highly encourage it.

I will, however, probably reject comments that include spoilers for the book that's been reviewed or written about. (This is also why I use the blurb/synopsis in my reviews - prevents unexpected spoilers creeping into the reviews and posts.)

CR's Clear Preference for Positive Reviews:

I have posted far more positive reviews than negative. The reason for this is very simple, and in no way because I am a shill for publishers or attempting to curry favour with them:

I simply have limited free time, and don't want to 'waste' any of it reading a book I do not enjoy (I have enough dry, dull, work-related reading to do as it is). Therefore, I usually don't bother finishing books I can't get to grips with, which means they aren't featured on the site because I don't like to review a book I haven't finished. Therefore, I also do not guarantee good reviews for any publisher, author, series, or novel.

No conspiracy, no ulterior motives. I want to let people know about books I enjoy and think they should check out. I work on this blog in my own time, for fun.

Self-Published Books:

It is highly unlikely that I will read an unpublished or self-published novel, unless it is from an established author who has decided to release some of their work on their own. The simple reason for this is that books that have gone through the publishing system/process tend to be better put together and presented, not to mention edited and proofed properly. (There is nothing more annoying than a typo-riddled novel.)

If you want me to consider reading a self-published novel, by all means email me about it. But: I will pay no attention to emails that are cut-and-paste jobs, or look like a mess. Some attempt to find out what my name is (or the name of the blog, even) would be a good start. Some cover artwork, perhaps? There are plenty of publisher one-sheets and press releases out there, so it's not difficult to adapt what you have to say into a format that is proven to be successful and eye-catching. If you don't make any effort to investigate the people you want to review your book, why should we be interested?

Am I being picky? Maybe, but as in most walks of life, a little effort goes a long way. And I am picky about what I read. Very, very picky...