Behind the Secret Bookshelf: Review Policy

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General Information:

I love to receive books from different publishers and authors, so if you would like me to review a book for you, all you have to do is email me at behind.the.secret.bookshelf@gmail.com. The only requests I accept are via my email and via message through my Goodreads account, unless otherwise noted. I will get back to you as soon as I can and most likely review the book requested. However, there will be times that I will refuse a book (though not often) and I will make sure to outline the reasons that I cannot accept the book in an email or Goodreads message. All my decisions are final so I ask you to please respect my decision on this matter.

I am a very busy with schoolwork and book reviewing so if I do get books to review, it may take a couple months for the review to show up on my blog, but please know that I am trying my hardest to write reviews as soon as I can. I must then receive request books at the least, three months up to a year in advance so that I may have adequate time to read and plan the post. That being said, it is possible that I will not review all books that I am sent, but I will be sure to note which books I did receive, but did not write reviews on.

As of now, I am only accepting review requests from established publishers and websites, and not any self published authors. Again, contact me via email if you are unsure.

All the reviews I write are my honest opinion and I do not write reviews in favor of or against a particular author or publisher. My goal is to inform people of the books that I enjoy and those that I did not, and hope that my input will help make people make informed decisions about their next reading choice. As a result, not all my reviews will be positive, and I will explain in the review why that particular book did not work for me; I do in no way seek to offend the author and/or publisher and am merely voicing my opinion.

I review books in accordance to their genres, so even though two books may receive the same rating, they may not be equivalent to another since they are in different genres. I rate books based on my personal enjoyment and these are not meant to be a professional's opinion.

If, for any reason I started a book but did not finish it, it will go into a special "Did Not Finish" shelf and I will explain the reason(s) why I stopped, where I stopped, and whether I plan on ever picking it up again.

I heavily use Goodreads because it is where I find and research the books I review. I however, am not affiliated with them in any way other than the fact that I occasionally win their ARC giveaways. Goodreads is an excellent website to use as a reference and I also occasionally post reviews on their website, though they might be slightly different from the reviews I post on this blog.

Accepted Genres:

Young Adult
New Adult (NA)
Middle Grade
Select Contemporary
Fiction and Select Non-Fiction
Historical Fiction and Select Historical Non-Fiction
Select Memoirs and Biographies
Greek Mythology/Mythology
Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retellings
Mystery
Art
Select Chick-lit and Romance

You may also check through my index of reviewed books and/or my Goodreads profile's to-read shelf to get a feel of what I like to read.

Unaccepted Genres:

Overly Religious Books (themes pertaining to plot are fine; trying to convert me is not)
Erotica or any censored Adult Content
Free Verse
New Age
Self Help
Children's Books