Book Review Submission Guide

I am on hiatus from accepting books for review. My to-read stack is very tall, and personal plans will require most of my available time through the winter.  I'll accept review requests again in Spring, 2025.

I wish you the best of luck with your book! A word of advice: be wary of unsolicited review-for-pay emails.  Unfortunately, Artificial Intelligence is now able to spit out a quick book review after being fed a manuscript. Grifters are taking advantage of this lazy way to make money. Don't give them yours!

A while back, I decided that I would review every book I read, as my way of saying 'thank you' to authors everywhere. If you're an author and would like me to review your book, read on!

I post my reviews here at A License to Quill, Goodreads, Amazon, Smashwords, StoryOrigin, and if the book is Speculative Fiction, Sci Fi or Fantasy, it will most likely also be posted at SciFi.Radio.  If your book is listed at another site that accepts reviews, just let me know about it and I'll see if it's a place I'd like to add to my usual posting sites.

Even though I'm a grownup, I enjoy Young Adult (YA) books, and the occasional Middle School novel, too. A fine example of a Middle School paranormal adventure is Vera Warden and the Two-Faced Demon by J. Rose.

What I love:

Fiction
Dystopian — think "Aces High, Joker's Wild" series by O.E. Tearmann
Urban Fantasy —Rune Service by J.B. Garner is a favorite, as is the "InCryptid" series by Seanan McGuire
Science Fiction — I absolutely adore Gail Carriger's "Tinkered Stars" universe
Historical Fiction — The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson is perfection. I would happily read more books like this one.
Light Paranormal — I have to mention Gail Carriger again, as her "Parasol Protectorate", "The Finishing School", and "The Custard Protocol" series are all utterly charming and extremely witty.
Thrillers — I completely fangirl Back in the USSR by Patrick D. Joyce
Fantasy — A Disclaimer: I know there's a lot of fantasy out there, it's a popular genre with authors and readers alike. However, I have limited patience and interest in the genre, so please don't take it personally if I decline to read your fantasy novel. I probably won't take on a 100K+ word high fantasy, but I'll occasionally consider shorter works with fresh concepts. Lost Kingdom by Laurel Black was a lovely exception.

In Non-Fiction, I adore Cookbooks and Biographies/Autobiographies/Memoirs (if the person is fascinating to me), and anything to do with the history of Seattle, Michigan, and New York City.

What I Won't Review
Bodice Rippers/Romance
Fantasy novels over 75K words and even then only selectively
Politics and Political Satire
Religion
True Crime
Horror
Erotica
Self Improvement
Business Success
Money Management

I am a reviewer for StoryOrigin and  NetGalley , so if you use either of those companies to promote your book, feel free to nudge me towards their listing in those services. I am also the in-house book reviewer at SciFi.Radio.

For all review inquiries, send me an email. Please include your book's synopsis and expected release date (if applicable), and if you have any promotional materials, those are helpful, too. I accept books in Word documents, PDF files, Google docs, ePub format, and even Notepad files. Yes, I once read an entire novel in Notepad. It was a good one, too.