Why I Rejected Your Review Request

To all my readers I’m really, really sorry.  I know I’ve been harping on and on about review requests lately and that you’re probably sick of it, but I promise this is the last post about review requests for a while.  It’s going to be a sort of pillar post for authors, I suppose.

If you’re an author and you’re reading this you’ve either found it via search engine, social media or simply because you’re a regular reader of my blog.  Fair enough.  But if you’re an author who sent me a review request and got this link I feel I need to explain to you why I’m rejecting your review request.  I get it, authors need reviews in this new scary world of social media, especially since the rise of the book blogger.  And I get it that not a lot of reviewers are open to indie submissions like I am.  That’s why I feel this article is so important: you don’t want to alienate the reviewers you need to publicize and therefore sell your book to other readers.

So here is hopefully my final, comprehensive list of how and why review requests get rejected.

1.  I’m closed to submissions.

If I’m closed to submissions you can be entirely secure in that my rejection of your review request isn’t personal.  I’d reject J.K. Rowling if she submitted a review request when I’m closed to submissions.  If you’re being rejected simply because I’m closed to submissions as long as you aren’t rude about it you’re welcome to submit again when I am open to submissions.  Seriously, next time just read my review policy more carefully, okay?

2.  You sent me a generic request.

A generic review request with a greeting line like “Hi!” or “Dear Sir/Madam” or anything variation thereof actually stings a little for us reviewers.  I mean, here you are, this author that’s requesting we take hours of our time to read and review your book and you can’t even take the time to find out our names?  To a blogging community that is gaining power online but still being generally rejected by the mainstream media, that hurts just a little.  Every article you’ve ever read about submitting a query to an agent tells you to address them with their name, so why are you going around using generic emails to contact reviewers?

3.  Your book is not something I’m interested in.

Yes, despite the seeming randomness of this blog I am technically a YA reviewer.  I do review anything that catches my fancy, but my main focus is YA.  So if you’re submitting a picture book or an erotic novel, I think you can see that there’s going to be a problem.  But what if I rejected you even though your book is targeted at young adults?  Well, it could be that I feel there’s too much romance (I hate romance) or that it’s a genre I’ve read far too much of (vampires).  Again, it’s nothing personal.  I just try to read books I think I’ll like.  It’s that simple.

4.  You didn’t follow the instructions in my review policy.

Yes, as part of my review policy you must include your follower statistics in your first email to me.  This isn’t to weed out poor newbie authors so much as it is to weed out people that don’t follow my policy.  I get a lot of submissions so I can’t afford to waste my time on people that don’t follow my instructions.  Really, most book reviewers I know can definitely afford to be picky especially when they’re accepting indie submissions.  That’s why when you submit to other reviewers I would advise you to read their policy and follow it to the letter.  First impressions matter.

5.  You have a reputation for being nasty to reviewers/have been rude to me previously/are pushy in your review request, etc.

I was recently told to kill myself by an author because I rejected his review request.  I think you can see why I’m a little reluctant to accept submissions from authors whose Google searches turn up all sorts of nasty things on Goodreads or book reviewing sites.  If I find out that you’ve attacked reviewers for negative reviews previously, have been paying for fake good reviews or have been doing any other shady behaviour I’m not going to accept your request.  And yes, I absolutely do my research.  You can be sure that if there’s something out there I’ll dig it up and reject your request so fast your head will spin.

V-Wars by Jonathon Maberry

V-Wars by Jonathon Maberry(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

A sweeping, threaded narrative of the global phenomenon known as the Vampire Wars! Mankind is silently infected by a millennia-old bacteria unknowingly exhumed by a scientific expedition in Antarctica. Now, in some rare cases, a person’s so-called “junk DNA” becomes activated, and depending on their racial and ethnic heritage they begin to manifest one of the many diverse forms of the “others” that are the true basis for the legends of supernatural creatures. These aren’t your usual vampires and werewolves – it goes much deeper than that. Conceived by Jonathan Maberry, V Wars features stories from various “frontlines” as reported by such contributors as Nancy Holder, Yvonne Navarro, James A. Moore, Gregory Frost, John Everson, Keith R.A. DeCandido, and Scott Nicholson (as well as Maberry himself, of course). The result is a compelling series of tales that create a unique chronicle of mankind’s response to this sudden, hidden threat to humanity.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

As much as I hate to compare the two books, there really is only one way to describe V-Wars: a poorly done vampire version of World War Z.

At first I absolutely loved the idea of Jonathon Maberry compiling stories from other authors and weaving them together to create a narrative of a vampire outbreak.  I mean, it’s Jonathon Maberry!  He did zombies so well in Dust & Decay that I was sure V-Wars was going to be a hit.  What could possibly go wrong?

Well, the main thing that frustrated me was not so much the premise but the fact that I kept asking myself while reading: Could there possibly be a more complicated way to tell this story?!  We actually follow the stories of quite a few characters but the table of contents seems to have been drawn up by a child picking story names randomly out of a hat.  The vampire virus came out of Antarctica from a scientific expedition but we only actually meet the people who started the outbreak at the end of the novel.  There is neither rhyme nor reason to the chronology or when a new character would pop up to tell their story.  Or their stories would end randomly and we never heard from them again.

This lack of a logical timeline certainly affected my enjoyment of the story.  Sure, some of the characters were compelling, but others were just plain boring.  Besides, it’s hard to actually connect with characters when they randomly disappear, are forgotten, or barely get any page time at all.  Michael Fayne would have been interesting if his story was told in a more linear fashion and I suppose Ruksana was compelling, but again there’s the seemingly random order of the stories messing everything up.  This book is only 384 pages and yet I felt like I was reading a 1000+ page book where the novelist has decided to include the viewpoints of a cast of characters worthy of George R. R. Martin.

Due to the illogical ordering, I really had a hard time getting into V-Wars.  Some stories were fast-paced and others were unbearably dull.  It was sort of like getting an old car to start on a cold morning: just when you think you’re ready to go it dies on you.  There is no real climax, no peak of the vampire war that makes you think humanity is doomed.  Instead, the ending is ambiguous with Luther Swann basically saying that there are more vampires out there not declaring themselves and that humanity is probably in trouble if they keep persecuting them.

Overall, as much as I hate to say it, V-Wars was a flop for me.  I wouldn’t recommend it; you’re better off reading World War Z, which is at least told in a logical order.

I give this book 1.5/5 stars.

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Red Dragon – White Dragon by Gary Dolman

Red Dragon White Dragon by Gary Dolman(Cover picture courtesy of Gary Dolman’s website.)

Commissioned Investigators Atticus and Lucie Fox are summoned by the bombastic Sir Hugh Lowther to his estate in remote Northumberland to investigate a series of bizarre, grisly deaths. These appear to centre on the delusions of a madman who lives alone at the edge of the moors. Close-by is the long-vanished castle of Sewingshields where local legends say King Arthur still lies in an enchanted sleep, waiting to be awoken at a time of great need.

The killings have all been committed using the Hallows of Arthur, artefacts thought to have been lost in history, and the locals swear that they have seen a ghostly knight in armour roaming the moors for months. But how can that be? This is 1890 and King Arthur died over thirteen-hundred years before.

There are seven artefacts in total, and Atticus and Lucie must find the killer before each is used in turn. To do so, they must journey through the very darkest places of the mind of a madman.

[Full disclosure: The publisher of this book, Thames River Press, contacted me and provided me with a free print book in exchange for an honest review.]

When I first started Red Dragon – White Dragon I was a little skeptical.  I mean, gothic mysteries are not and weren’t really ever my thing.  They all seemed so predictable that there was no point in reading them anyway.  Heck, I’ve never even read a Sherlock Holmes book from cover to cover.  You could say I’m not a mystery person in general.  But wow, I was impressed with Red Dragon – White Dragon.

Gary Dolman’s novel had just the right mixture of realism and Arthurian legend to keep me guessing at every turn.  And the ending—amazing!  Just when you think you know what’s going to happen, even if you’ve guessed the villain already, there is a huge twist that completely blindsides you.  That twist is what makes me classify this as a gothic mystery because it was so dark and disturbing.  In truth, it really goes along with the whole dark, dreary setting as well.

Lucie and Atticus Fox weren’t your typical detectives, believe me.  Although they seem like stereotypical gothic investigators at the beginning of the novel, you realize they do have a lot more depth as their characters are allowed to develop a little more.  Lucie in particular really shone through when at the beginning I had completely discounted her.  She has some very modern sensibilities when it comes to mental illnesses and homosexuality, but they’re actually explained sufficiently by her experiences as a nurse.  Atticus does not share some of her sensibilities and Sir Hugh is pretty much the exact opposite.

Red Dragon – White Dragon is one of my favourite mysteries right now not only because of the plot, but because of Gary Dolman’s writing.  He has a way of describing things that makes you feel like you’re really there in the dreary English countryside with Lucie and Atticus.  The castle, the landscape, everything is described vividly without being too boring.  I can’t comment on the historical accuracy of this novel, but it does seem like Gary Dolman did his research for this.

I would definitely recommend this book to both old mystery lovers and people who don’t read many mysteries like myself.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Excerpt and Giveaway: Sworn to Transfer by Terah Edun

Sworn to Transfer by Terah Edun

BOOK TWO

Terah Edun

(The Courtlight Series #2)

Publication date: September 20, 2013

Synopsis:

Companion trainee Ciardis Weathervane has won the friendship of the royal heir and saved his claim to the throne. Yet her interference in the inheritance rights leaves more harm done than good. With the death of the Princess Heir, the Ameles forest – the home of the kith, is dying. The inhabitants of the forest, magic-wielding non-humans, are defiant. They have not forgotten their long struggles nor are they content to watch as the last of their lands perish. As humans begin to die in gruesome deaths, the Emperor dispatches the royal heir to the forests with the solution to the kith concerns.

With enemies closing ranks in Sandrin, Ciardis can little afford to leave the city’s nest of vipers to take on a new task. But she’s given no choice when her loyalty to the crown and courts are called into question.

To keep the Companions’ Guild happy and the favor of the Imperial Court, Ciardis will be tested in frightening new ways, especially when she’s faced with an obstacle that could risk the lives of her friends and the family she never thought she had.

This second novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Raise.

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Available September 20 from Amazon, Barnes & Nobles + iTunes!

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The Fire by John Heldt

The Fire by John Heldt(Cover picture courtesy of John Heldt.)

When Kevin Johnson, 22, goes to Wallace, Idaho, days after his college graduation, he expects to find rest and relaxation as his family prepares his deceased grandfather’s house for sale. Then he discovers a hidden diary and a time portal that can take him to 1910, the year of Halley’s comet and the largest wildfire in U.S. history. Within hours, Kevin finds himself in the era of horse-drawn wagons, straw hats, and ankle-length dresses. Returning to the same time and place, he decides to travel again and again and make the portal his gateway to summer fun. The adventure takes a more serious turn, however, when the luckless-in-love science major falls for pretty English teacher Sarah Thompson and integrates himself in a community headed for tragedy. Filled with humor, romance, and heartbreak, THE FIRE, the sequel to THE JOURNEY, follows a conflicted soul through a life-changing journey as he makes his mark on a world he was never meant to see.

[Full disclosure: John Heldt gave me an ARC of his latest novel in exchange for an honest review.]

John Heldt is probably the only man that can make me consistently cry.  And that’s a good thing!

Kevin Johnston is the son of Shelly Preston, our protagonist from The Journey.  As you may recall, an older Michelle had time travelled back to see her younger self and her story did not end well.  So you could say time travelling is in the family and that Kevin can’t get away from it, especially when you learn a certain character from The Mine is his university professor.

Once again I thought I had Kevin’s journey pretty well predicted.  Yet he surprised me at every turn.  He knew it was a bad idea to go back to 1910 and that it was a bad idea to get so involved in people’s lives in Wallace and yet I understand his motives for wanting to go back there.  Yet whatever mysteriously causes time travel is not going to forgive Kevin for messing with history and the conclusion of the novel is absolutely heart-breaking and at the same time, joy-inducing.  The Fire is such an emotional roller coaster that I’m having a hard time putting my thoughts down to write this review.

I was so connected to the characters, perhaps more so than I have been in John Heldt’s previous three novels.  Kevin really did speak to me.  He was a good person if a little flawed because of that chip on his shoulder when it came to women.  Still, he got over that eventually and at the end of the novel you can really tell he’s a better person.  His relationship with Sarah, his confused feelings for Sadie and his friendship with Andy all made him more realistic and much easier to sympathize with.  Yet these characters weren’t put there for the sole purpose of providing opportunities to show what a nice guy Kevin is!  No, they’re excellent, well-developed characters in their own right.

I liked how the pacing was generally consistent throughout The Fire and that although it definitely sped up at the end, it wasn’t as rushed as the ending of The Show.  John Heldt definitely took more time to build up the historical town of Wallace in order to build up the tension for the coming fire that would level most of the town.  His descriptions were much more vivid in this installment of the Northwest Passage series and I think The Fire was a better book for it.

John Heldt’s writing just keeps getting better and better with each book.  Although the theme of time travel features in all four, he has created very different characters to tell the story of America and each achieves happiness in their own, unique way.  Even if you haven’t read the first three books of the series, The Fire can certainly stand on its own, which is why I recommend you pick it up right this instant.  Yes, it’s that good.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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