Category: Site Announcements
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Sorry everyone, I’m guest posting again today. I know, that’s two days in a row but that’s just how things worked out this time around. However, to make it up to you, tomorrow I have a review and an interview scheduled.
For those of you who are curious, here’s a link to my review on Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. If you like guilty pleasure romance, Greek mythology and awesome premises, this is a book for you.
The Broken Thread by Linda Smith
Okay, I’m finally done with all of the Jeanne DuPrau reviews. So this week I reviewed The Broken Thread by Linda Smith over at We Heart Reading. Don’t want to read yet another review? Well, here are some interesting articles I found that you might enjoy:
Clarion 2012: Every Brilliant Piece of Writing Advice. If you’ve ever thought about writing or are struggling to get that novel done, this is probably some of the most inspirational advice you can get. Just be warned that there is some creative language.
Rare Sand Kitten Birth Gives Hope for Conservation. This kitten will just melt your heart. It’s so cute!
An Interview with Matt Myklusch and your chance to win a book! Because who doesn’t like free stuff? Especially since you can choose any of the three books in Matt Myklusch’s amazing Jack Blank series.
And, to wrap things up, your conspiracy theory of the week: Why Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez May Be the Same Person. (Note: this is from Cracked so the language is not recommended for kids.)
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau
Today is Wednesday (already!) so that means I’m posting over at We Heart Reading. This time my review is of The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau, which is the prequel to her other two books in the City of Ember series. This is the perfect example of how not to do a prequel in my books.
If you’re sick of reading Jeanne DuPrau book reviews on my off days, check out The Big Idea post by author Jim C. Hines. It’s a book I’m adding to my reading list and I think a lot of you book lovers out there will enjoy it. If not, then John Scalzi’s Big Idea posts are always great and you can flip through the archives to find some amazing fantasy and sci-fi novels. It’s how I discovered Feed by Mira Grant.
The Best and Worst of July
I know it’s a bit late, but work has been so busy I didn’t realize it was August until about 5 minutes ago. Yes, that’s pretty sad. But for now, let’s take a look at the five best articles and/or reviews of July, shall we?
2. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
3. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
4. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
5. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
Surprising, isn’t it? For once, The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome isn’t in the top 3. That will likely change once school resumes as students seem to like using my article as a cheat sheet. Which I’m more than okay with. What’s surprising is that the top 3 are classic novel study books. Perhaps I have some teachers looking for inspiration…
Now, here are the five worst book reviews and/or articles:
1. The Other Alexander by Andrew Levkoff
3. The Twelfth Transforming by Pauline Gedge
4. Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
5. Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor by Kathryn Lasky
As you can see, Pauline Gedge is back on the 5 worst list, which isn’t surprising. She’s not a particularly well-known author outside of historical fiction circles. The Other Alexander being #1 isn’t surprising as it is a self-published book that, despite its quality, isn’t very well known either. The surprising thing is that there’s a Suzanne Collins book in the worst list. That, my friends, is a first!
It may have to do with the fact that my overall traffic is down for the summer, but then again, who can predict trends on the internet?
Book Reviewing Criteria
[UPDATE 29/01/13: It breaks my heart to say this, but The Mad Reviewer is no longer accepting submissions for review. If you’ve contacted me as of 2:04pm CT, I’ll still process your request. However, I am not accepting any new submissions. Check back in 1-2 months and we’ll see if I’m open for business.]
Since I started accepting book review requests from authors, I’ve had a surprisingly large response. As much as I would like to, there aren’t nearly enough hours in a day to read all of them. Therefore, in order to get a review, you must follow the instructions and guidelines below or I will reject your request.
What I Review
- Teen-targeted self-help
- All of the major YA genres: romance, fantasy, sci-fi, historical, realistic, etc.
- Nonfiction teens would be interested in.
- Self-published fiction that fits the above guidelines.
What I WILL NOT Review
- Erotica. Not interested, people.
- Spiritual fiction. I will not touch religion on this blog.
- Poetry. Unless you’re Dante, Homer or Virgil.
- Short stories (unless they’re in an anthology).
- Any unpublished work.
So your book fits the criteria, great! What do you do next?
1. You must contact me via the Contact page here on my blog.
2. I check my email three times per day, so I expect you to at check it at least once. I don’t like waiting around for an author’s reply for days.
3. You must have a blog and/or official website as well as membership to 2 or more social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Fark, Reddit, etc. If I have to take time out of my day to read and review your book, you had better take the time to publicize my review, but only if it’s good. I certainly don’t expect you to publicize a bad review.
4. When you contact me, you must be able to provide me a free copy either in PDF or paperback. I personally prefer physical copies of books, but I know shipping to Canada can be costly.
5. When you give me a free copy of your book, it does not guarantee you a good review. I give full disclosure in a review when an author has contacted me to prevent any conflicts of interest. I review all of the books I read honestly and if you don’t like it, don’t bother wasting my time.
6. You may mention if you want to do a giveaway or interview, but you must wait until I publish your review before we actually go through with it. I’m not going to do a giveaway for a book I didn’t like. You must also have a sizable enough social network to promote it through so I can actually get more than 5 entries. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of my time and your money.
I reserve the right to accept or refuse your request on a case-by-case basis. I also reserve the right to call you out publicly on my blog if I feel you have mistreated me (as in name-calling, excessive snarkiness or anything that could be called ‘cyber bullying’). When you submit your novel to me, you are acknowledging that if you are rude to me that you may become the subject of one of my articles and/or that your words may be included at the bottom of my review of your book for all to see. These guidelines are in effect as of November 27, 2012 and are not retroactive.