I’m coming back from a long weekend writer’s retreat and playing catch up on my emails and all the stuff that makes up life. In my emails, I found several requests for reviews, some of which I had to turn down. Reviews are difficult to get (and give) and I try very hard to accommodate authors, but I do have my limits – as do most reviewers. Thus, this notice.

When you go to a reviewer website, please be sure you read all their rules and preferences. Lately, I’ve had to turn down multiple requests for reviews for “thrillers with terrorists” – I will not read them. Nor do I do zombies or horror. Or anything with graphic gore. Just because your best friend thought it was the best book ever, that doesn’t mean I will like it.

Reviewing is very subjective. One person may absolutely love a book while another will not. That doesn’t mean it’s a good or bad book – it just means the people reading it have different opinions. The writing may be brilliant, but that doesn’t mean every reader will enjoy the book.

I spend a lot of time reviewing books – time I could spend on my own writing, but I try to help my fellow authors where I can. I also spotlight books and authors I like. I do not charge for this even though it does take a lot of my time. So a word of advice – if you want a review, read the preferences of the sites you go to and follow them.

Thank you for coming to the Sparkling Reviews site.