Getting Reviewed: Review sites & FAQ

Ann_Mayburn

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I had posted this before, but couldn't find the thread in the search box.

I know of a few like Coffee Time Romance and Night Owl Reviews, but can someone tell me of more book review sites? It's a Paranormal Romance (Demon Girl) She comes out next month and the .pdf proof is complete so I figured to start sending out my work for review.

Bitten by Paranormal Romance
http://www.bittenbyparanormalromance.com/

BDSM Book Reviews
http://www.bdsmbookreviews.com/

Blackraven Reviews

http://www.blackravensreviews.com/

Book Lovers Inc.
http://www.bookloversinc.com/

Book Wenches
http://bookwenches.com/

Coffee Beans and Love Scenes

http://coffeebeanslovescenes.blogspot.com/

Dark Diva Reviews
http://www.darkdivasreviews.com/

Fallen Angel Reviews
http://fallenangelreviews.com/

Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews.com/

Happily Ever After Reviews
http://hea-reviews.blogspot.com/

Joyfully Reviewed
http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-reviews

Just Erotic Romance Reviews
http://www.justeroticromancereviews.com/

Kinky Book Reviews
http://kinkybookreviews.com/

LAS Reviews
http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/

Man Oh Man Reviews-M/M Romance
http://manohmanreviews.blogspot.com/

Naughty Editions
http://naughtyeditionreviews.com/

Paranormal Romance Reviews
http://www.paranormalromance.org/

Rites of Romance Reviews
http://rorreviews.wordpress.com/

Seriously Reviewed
http://seriouslyreviewed.blogspot.com/

Top 2 Bottom Reviews- M/M Romance
http://top2bottomreviews.wordpress.com/

Veiled Reviews
http://www.veiledsecretsreviews.com/Home.html

Whipped Cream
http://www.whippedcream2.blogspot.com

Fiction Vixen
http://www.fictionvixen.com/

TwoLips Reviews
http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/

Sizzling Hot Book Reviews
http://www.sizzlinghotbooks.net/

Manic Readers
http://manicreaders.com/

The To Be Read Pile
http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/

The Romance Reader
http://www.theromancereader.com/

The Romance Studio
http://theromancestudio.com/reviews.php

Smexy Books
http://www.smexybooks.com/

Coffee Time Romance
http://coffeetimeromance.com/

Night Owl Romance
http://www.nightowlromance.com/nor/


Warning: rampant opinion ahead.

I would also consider which of these have traffic (page rank, hits etc), have a readership and might raise visibility and/or drive sales. This might relate to which ones you read, your aunt/sister/babysitter/boss reads, or you hear people talk about at the bus stop (and not ones you hear authors talk about, ones you hear readers talk about).

Review sites are like publishers. If they don't have a readership, it doesn't count for much just to 'be reviewed'. That might be okay if you don't spend a lot of time, send an ebook, and know they won't pirate it. But best to start at the top.

The top? opinions vary but my nominations would be RT, dear author, smart bitches. I would be interested to know what others would nominate focusing on sites attractive to readers (not purely to authors).

My list is based on my experience with reviews and where other authors(that I know) and e pubs(that I deal with) send their books to. It's been my experience that each listed has their own readership.

Bolding the fact that this list is what I think are good sites. It's also been my experience that 'the top' hardly ever looks at books from the smaller e pubs. Again, this has been my experience.



Lisa- You will also need to find out where Eternal is going to send your book to. You don't want duplicate requests out there.

Thanks guys.

I've already discussed this with EP's marketing manager. There is quite a few that Brainy listed that I didn't know about. This is a good start.

Thanks guys.

I've already discussed this with EP's marketing manager. There is quite a few that Brainy listed that I didn't know about. This is a good start.

I'm sure there are others, but these are the sites that I have had experience with. Good luck!

my nominations would be
RT, dear author, smart bitches.

I'd list

All About Romance
Babbling About Books
Bookbinge
Book Smugglers
Coffeetime
Dear Author
Fiction Vixen
Fresh Fiction
Just Finished Reading
Night Owl
Romance Dish
Rakehell
Ramblings on Romance
Romantic Reads (Barnes and Noble)
Romance Novel News
Romance Rookie
Rmantic Times
Smart Bitches
Smexy Books
Thrillionth Page
Two Lips
Tyranny of Reading

I have a question about Dear Author, not that I've been brave enough to sub there yet. In their guidelines it tells you to send a blurb and extract, which is fair enough. This leads me to assume you don't send the .PDF at first contact. Would this be correct?

As they don't do all that many reviews they probably just want the info and will request if interested.

Thanks, veinglory. It's what I suspected, and you've confirmed that.

I'm noticing in my search there are paranormal ones too, which is cool.

The Galaxy Express for scifi romance.

http://www.thegalaxyexpress.net/

All of this is going to really come in handy. My novel has been out since April and I can really use some more publicity (sp).

Glad it could be of help, Brainy and Job and a few others have mentioned some really good ones. This should be a sticky as a reference for romance writers so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

I've had a few really sweet and professional replies so far and connected on a few already. Still waiting for mine to come in.

Good Luck on your book Nya!

When submitting reviews to these sites, be careful of the requests many have for you to pay for banner ads, book covers, etc.

I just did a contest with The Romance Reviews for what was advertised to me as GLBT event to promote my M/M novels. I opted not to do one of the packages where authors pay for an interview and cover art placement. I'm glad I didn't since I never actually received emails or updates on the event, saw very little GLBT promo on the actual site (I guess the contest info only went to a few people who requested emails). And their GLBT page is filled with non-GLBT cover art from authors who pay for cover placement. I didn't see any sign of results from participating.

I'll be referencing the list above for the next story coming out.

Marie

Thank you for the extensive list, everyone. I started a blog to review for fun, but I've been looking for sites to read reviews myself. Helps me find more titles to add to my collection. ;)

A Romance Review

This used to be good review site - I used to get my reading recommends from there :) Not sure how much traffic they get nowadays.

http://www.thegalaxyexpress.net/p/science-fiction-romance-sites.html

List of Sci-Fi romance review sites

I have a question about Dear Author, not that I've been brave enough to sub there yet. In their guidelines it tells you to send a blurb and extract, which is fair enough. This leads me to assume you don't send the .PDF at first contact. Would this be correct?


It's been my experience that it's always best to send an email first, with the blurb & excerpt, asking if they'd like to see the book for review. I know of a couple of reviewers who find it a little presumptuous to just be sent a book at first contact.

I always figure it can't hurt to be polite. :)

(Of course, as with anything else, if they specifically say "Send the book with your request," do so. Follow the guidelines.)

Hey all!

First, sorry, I thought the list of review sites had already been stickied.

Second, seeing as how we have a couple of lists of sites in that thread, and a couple of questions have been asked, I thought we'd set it up as a sort of basic FAQ-info type thread covering All Things Reviews. If you have a question about getting reviews, post it there. If you found a new review site, post it there. If you hear a site is shutting down/changing its focus/whatever, post it there.

I'm currently on heavy deadline, but once I have a bit of free time I'll start hunting down the review guidelines for the sites we have and adding them to the post, so perhaps this thread can become like a one-stop shop for those looking to make contact with reviewers? (And if anyone wants to help me out with that feel free. ;))

How does that sound to everyone?

--updated 4/1 with more review sites-Ann
 
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Stacia Kane

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Okay. This can't be fixed. Great.

I'm so sorry, everyone. I really didn't intend at all for everything to be merged into one; I can't apologize enough. I "merged" when I meant to "move," and now the original single posts are lost.

My hope, as I said above, was/is that we'll have one complete thread with everything you need to know about reviews; good sites, how to request them, etc. etc.

So if everyone's not too upset with me, how does that sound?
 
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Quiggs1982

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I don't know if I am supposed to be responding to this here or if we have a discussion place. I apologize if I'm wrong.

Do any of these sites review self-pubbed books? I have found that a lot of sites won't. If not, do you know any that will?
 

brainstorm77

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I don't know if I am supposed to be responding to this here or if we have a discussion place. I apologize if I'm wrong.

Do any of these sites review self-pubbed books? I have found that a lot of sites won't. If not, do you know any that will?

Most sites will specify it in their review request guidelines. If they don't, shoot them an email. I have some self-pubbed titles and most sites have responded nicely one way or the other.

Good luck.
 

brainstorm77

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brainstorm, it looks like you've been the victim of a crime! :eek: Have you gotten any ransom demands for your old avatar yet?

Sweet divine, I just noticed that!
 

mugwort

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My reply to the first post.

Now that's what I call a thorough post detailing sites where writing is reviewed It seems you include virtually every genre. Your posting is a real goldmine of helpful information.
 

romancewriter

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It might be time to update these links. I randomly clicked on four and three of them were no longer active. Just saying. Happy New Year :)
 

Marian Perera

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I decided to collect all the romance review sites I'd bookmarked and add the contact links. The first lot is A - L :

3 Chicks After Dark : http://3chicksafterdark.com/review-policy/

All About Romance : http://likesbooks.com/mailbook.html

[email protected]

Badass Book Reviews : http://badassbookreviews.com/blog-intent/

Bea’s Book Nook : http://beasbooknook.blogspot.ca/p/giveaway-privacy-policies.html

Bitten By Love Reviews : http://www.bittenbylovereviews.com/p/contact-us.html

Currently not accepting review requests

Bitten By Romance : http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2013/01/authors-corner.html

Will only take review requests if you were reviewed there previously and that particular reviewer is still with them

Book Chick City: http://www.bookchickcity.com/review-policy-requests

Urban fantasy and all genres of romance

Booked & Loaded : http://bookedandloaded.com/review-inquiry/

Books Make Me Happy : http://booksmakemehappyreviews.com/reviewers/

Paranormal romance and UF, but also other genres, M/F and M/M

Book Pushers : http://thebookpushers.com/contact/

Book Smugglers : http://thebooksmugglers.com/contact

Books Without Any Pictures : http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/policies-and-contact/

Prefers SF/SF subgenres of romance

Bookworm2bookworm : http://bookworm2bookworm.wordpress.com/b2b-review-policy-rules/
Does not read steampunk

Caribbean Accent Book Reviews : http://caribbeanaccentbookreviews.com/contact-me/book-review-request-form/

Confessions of an Unsuspected Bookworm : http://confessionsofanunsuspectedbookworm.blogspot.ca/p/submissions.html

Cosying Up With Books:
http://cosyingupwithbooks.blogspot.ca/p/review-policy.html

Dark Divas Reviews : http://www.darkdivasreviews.com/submissions.php

Dear Author : http://submissions.dearauthor.com/

Dear, Restless Reader : http://dearrestlessreader.blogspot.ca/p/contact-me.html

Fiction Vixen : http://fictionvixen.com/review-policy-and-requests/

Forget The Housework, I’m Reading : http://forgetthehouseworkimreading.blogspot.ca/p/review-policies.html

For Love and Books : http://forloveandbooks.com/review-policy/

Foxylutely Book Reviews : http://foxylutely.blogspot.ca/p/contact-and-review-requests.html
Contact at : [email protected]

Happily Ever After Reads : http://happilyeverafter-reads.blogspot.ca/p/review-policy.html

Contact at [email protected]

Keep Calm And Read Romance : http://keepcalmandreadromance.blogspot.ca/p/review-request.html

Blog removed as of 09/20/14

Kindles and Wine : http://kindlesandwine.com/review-policy/

Email at [email protected]

Heroes and Heartbreakers : excerpts[at]heroesandheartbreakers.com (for an excerpt) or [email protected] for a review. Get in touch with them at least three months prior to book’s release

Heroines of Fantasy : http://heroinesoffantasy.blogspot.ca/p/book-reviews.html

Larissa and Friends’ Bookish Life : http://www.larissaslife.com/p/review-policy.html; [email protected]

Laura’s Review Bookshelf : http://www.laurasreviewbookshelf.com/p/review-policy.html

Long and Short Reviews : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGpFcGwzRnpfd3Vwb1VzQlRJdnhnOHc6MQ

Love Romance Passion : http://www.loveromancepassion.com/for-authors/book-review-request/
 
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Marian Perera

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And here's M to Z :

Maldivian Book Reviewer’s Realm of Romance : http://www.maldivianbookreviewer.com/contact-moi/

M/F but not M/M or menage

Maryse’s Book Blog : http://www.maryse.net/review-requests

Ms Romantic Reads : M/F or M/M
http://msromanticreads.com/for-authors/review-policy/

Currently not accepting review requests

Musing Bookworm : http://musingbookworm.com/contact-me/

Musings From An Addicted Reader : I read all types of books including Young Adult, Paranormal, Erotica, Thriller, Fantasy, Contemporary, Suspense, Historical : [email protected]

My Fiction Nook : http://www.myfictionnook.com/p/review-policy.html

My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews : http://mytangledskeinsbookreviews.blogspot.ca/p/ftc-disclaimer.html

Night Owl Reviews : http://www.nightowlreviews.com/V5/Pages/Articles/Review-Request

Nina’s Literary Escape : http://ninasliteraryescape.blogspot.ca/

On Top Down Under Book Reviews – M/F or M/M
http://ontopdownunderbookreviews.com/submissions-contact/

Contact them at [email protected]

Rabid Reads : http://rabidreads.ca/policies/review-policy

Must be paranormal or speculative fiction sub-genres of romance

Reading & Writing UF, Paranormal and Romance : http://badbirdreads.com/review-policy/

Riverina Romantics : http://www.riverinaromantics.com/author-services/review-requests/

Road to Romance : http://www.roadtoromance.ca/authorsinfo.htm#reviews

Do not accept erotica/highly sensual books

Romance Junkies :
[email protected]-- you can send your
book to us via email as an attachment. We prefer PDF format but will
also take word files or html files. Please put Author name and title in
subject line.

Romance Novels for Feminists : http://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com.au/p/rnff-submission-guidelines.html

Sadie Forsythe : http://sadieforsythe.com/wp/?page_id=273

Sinful Reads : http://sinfulreads.com/reviewing-policy/

Currently not accepting review requests

Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews – M/M only
http://sinfullysexybooks.blogspot.co.uk/p/review-policy_22.html

Contact form at http://sinfullysexybooks.blogspot.de/p/contact-us-2.html

Shayna Renee’s Spicy Reads : http://shaynareneesspicyreads.com/review-requests

Currently not accepting review requests, but will participate in giveaways/blog tours

Smart Bitches Trashy Books : http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/contact

Smexy Books : http://smexybooks.com/review-policygiveaway-info

Smut Book Club M/F or M/M : http://smutbookclub.com/submit/

Straight Shootin’ Book Reviews : http://straightshootinbookreviews.com/review-policy/

Does not accept SF sub-genres of romance

Sun Mountain Reviews : http://sunmountainreviews.wordpress.com/requests/requests-for-book-review/

Currently not accepting review requests

The Book Tart : http://thebooktart.com/contact-me/

The Romance Reviews : http://www.theromancereviews.com/requestreview.php

The Romance Studio : http://www.theromancestudio.com/reviews.php

Urban Fantasy Investigations : http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.ca/p/requesting-reviews.html

Vilma’s Book Blog : http://vilmasbookblog.com/reviewrequests/

What I’m Reading : In Search of Great Romance : http://sillymelody.blogspot.ca/p/contact.html

[FONT=&quot]Yummy Men & Kickass Chicks [/FONT][FONT=&quot]: http://yummymenandkickasschicks.com/?page_id=518

[FONT=&quot]No longer accepting review requests.[/FONT][/FONT]
 
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slicing_angel2003

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Thanks for the lists and the work put into getting all that information. It's nice to see this all in one place.
 

girlyswot

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I see there was an old comment asking about sites that review IR romance. Since others might still be looking for these and because it's relevant to lots of other types of romances, I'll add Love in the Margins to the list. They specifically set out to review books with non-standard romance characters: POC, disabled characters, non-het characters etc. Worth querying if your book fits in that description. They reviewed one of mine with a fat heroine, for instance.
 

Jamills08

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I sent in 700 words of my novels first chapter for review to dear author! Here's to getting a response!🙏🏻This is a great list thank you!
 

triceretops

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Well, this is a great list on top of the 111 review blogs that were listed. You have to be careful and make sure the site is current and active. A lot of them have vanished or revamped with a different title and URL. I have now made 56 submission requests targeted sites, as well as eight from my publisher. It has been a grueling four days of work. Some of these forms are huge and very complicated. You must do everything that they request in the exact manner they want it. Also, read the bios, and staff likes and dislikes--absolutely personalize your query/request--make it original. The odds are so tough, that you will have to wait it out and take whatever you can get. GOOD LUCK!
 

Earthling

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This thread is a brilliant resource but was posted in 2011, so naturally many of these sites are now defunct. I'm going through all the ones that sound like they might review contemporary, and I thought I'd post an update as I go. There seems to have been mass extinctions in 2012 and 2017!


Blackraven Reviews

http://www.blackravensreviews.com/ - Not updated since 2017

Book Lovers Inc.
http://www.bookloversinc.com/ - Not updated since 2013

Book Wenches
http://bookwenches.com/ - Website gone

Coffee Beans and Love Scenes

http://coffeebeanslovescenes.blogspot.com/ - Not updated since 2012

Dark Diva Reviews
http://www.darkdivasreviews.com/ - Not updated since 2017

Fallen Angel Reviews
http://fallenangelreviews.com/ - Website gone

Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews.com/ - Still going

Happily Ever After Reviews
http://hea-reviews.blogspot.com/ - Not updated since 2012

Joyfully Reviewed
http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-reviews - Last reviews in 2018. Only done giveaways in 2019.

LAS Reviews
http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/ - New URL, still going http://www.longandshortreviews.com/

Rites of Romance Reviews
http://rorreviews.wordpress.com/ - Website gone

Seriously Reviewed
http://seriouslyreviewed.blogspot.com/ - Not updated since 2012

Veiled Reviews
http://www.veiledsecretsreviews.com/Home.html - Website gone

Whipped Cream
http://www.whippedcream2.blogspot.com - Gone (merged with LAS above)

Fiction Vixen
http://www.fictionvixen.com/ - Website gone

TwoLips Reviews
http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/ - Website gone

Sizzling Hot Book Reviews
http://www.sizzlinghotbooks.net/ - Website gone

Manic Readers
http://manicreaders.com/ - Seems to still be active but it's pay-to-play.

The To Be Read Pile
http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/ - Still going

The Romance Reader
http://www.theromancereader.com/ - Not updated since 2013

The Romance Studio
http://theromancestudio.com/reviews.php - Still going but only posting every few months

Smexy Books
http://www.smexybooks.com/ - Still going

Coffee Time Romance
http://coffeetimeromance.com/ - Still going

Night Owl Romance
http://www.nightowlromance.com/nor/ - Still going, but for the life of me I can't see how to submit a review request?


All About Romance - Still going
Babbling About Books - Not updated since 2017
Bookbinge - Still going
Book Smugglers - Seems to be for SFF?
Dear Author - Still going
Fiction Vixen - Not updated since 2011
Fresh Fiction - Still going
Just Finished Reading - Still going but I can't see how we can request reviews
Romance Dish - Still going
Rakehell - Can't find any site called this
Ramblings on Romance - Still going but doesn't seem to post reviews much
Romantic Reads (Barnes and Noble) - Can't find this
Romance Novel News - Still going, can't find a way to submit review requests
Romance Rookie - Not updated since 2017
Rmantic Times - Gone
Thrillionth Page - Can't find this
Two Lips - Can't find this
Tyranny of Reading - Can't find this
 

ElaineA

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I'm sure it would help if there weren't such a deluge of authors behaving badly. Twitter has been bristling in the last two weeks with reviewers saying they're done. It's sad. I don't look at my reviews, but I can't imagine going after someone who read my book and cared enough, for good or not-so-good, to review it.
 

Sonya Heaney

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Wow, Earthling, good job updating things!

I do know that a lot of people - five-ish years ago - announced that blogging was "dead", and that's when a lot of people gave up. I think it was Fiction Vixen who announced they were going to turn into a beauty blog. And then the Dear Author court case made huge changes to that community.

NetGalley is the best way to get blog reviews now (I was using it back in the early days, when it was a terrible, basic site with just a text list of books - no covers, and no blurbs!). I know it's expensive if your publisher doesn't put you on there, but I got reviews from big romance sites just because someone saw my book on the site and liked the cover.

Also, Romantic Times randomly closing will forever make me angry. I'd just renewed my (international, so much more expensive!) subscription when they ended with no warning to anyone. :rant:
 

Sonya Heaney

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I'm sure it would help if there weren't such a deluge of authors behaving badly. Twitter has been bristling in the last two weeks with reviewers saying they're done. It's sad. I don't look at my reviews, but I can't imagine going after someone who read my book and cared enough, for good or not-so-good, to review it.

This past month has been extraordinary. The author who posted a draft of part of her book on NetGalley and then got upset about bad reviews … She SPENT MONEY for that!
 

Earthling

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Oh no. I don't tend to see much of the Twitter drama so I had no idea there were recent kerfuffles.

I do see that many authors seem to forget reviews are for readers, not for the author. I see occasional bitching about how bad reviews "hurt" us and so are somehow unethical. And part of me thinks well, neither of my publishers ever gave me advice about handling reviews - or rather, NOT handling reviews and definitely never responding to them. But then I think nobody *needed* to give me that advice, so why do other professional authors apparently need to be told how to be professional?
 

cool pop

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For reviews, Booksprout is a great resource. They have a free account as well as paid if you want more features. You upload your ARC and people can download copies to review.