Review Policy

 

*Apologies we are now closed for review requests. We hope to be back open at some point in March.*

Here at Whispering Stories, we are committed to providing professional, 100% honest, unbiased book reviews for FREE. The majority of our reviews are for fictional books, including children’s books, though we will happily review non-fiction books.

Please read the information below before submitting a request.

Genres that we DO NOT review:-

– Erotica
– Religion & Spirituality
– Self-Help/Medical
– Autobiography/Biography/Memoir
– Business
– Sequels (unless we have reviewed the previous book)
– Poetry
– Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, and horror novels (This is temporary due to how many we have waiting on our TBR list)

Formats we DO NOT accept:-

– Audio Books
– PDF’s (exception for children’s book under 35 pages – These must be non-password protected)
– Netgalley Widgets
– Direct to Kindle
– epub
– Amazon Direct or Gift Certs

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Why Choose Us?

“Reviews really help to highlight a book’s profile. I was delighted with the review from Whispering stories who took part in Book Tour for The Rest of My Life. The reviewer offered the reader a perfect glimpse into the book, with just the right amount of information, and provided a perfect summary which I have quoted often since. They also went on to feature an author interview for me and were totally professional and courteous. Thank you Whispering Stories for helping to get my book out there.” – Sheryl Browne, author of Trust Me, The Affair, and The New Girlfriend

“Whispering Stories is one of my favourite book blogs. Stacey, who runs it, is always charming and helpful, and her reviews of my books have really helped in my promotional efforts. Now that she has a reviewing team she’s able to offer a wider range of services to authors; their reviews are always honest, insightful and constructive, and every effort is made to get them out as soon as possible. Most impressed!” – Terry Tyler, author of The Visitor, Wasteland, and Hope

“Whispering Stories provided honest, timely reviews of my books, were quick to respond to my inquiries and always friendly. They made things easy and fun and really championed my work. I can’t thank them enough!” Anela Deen, author of Hidden Magic series

“Whispering Stories is a dynamic, professional book blogging site. Stacey joined the Neverland Book Tour of my recent release, “Brake Failure”, and posted a beautifully laid-out post. What author wouldn’t want a post like THAT? Stacey can really get “under the skin” of a novel, and her reviews are always concise – never rambling – giving the reader the essence of the story. She also immediately posts her reviews to ALL social media sites – without the author having to remind her weeks later to do so! I give Whispering Stories 5++ stars!” – Alison Brodie, author of Brake Failure and Wild Life.

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Requesting a Review

To request a review email – stacey@whisperingstories.com entering ‘Review Request’ in the subject header. Please do not contact any of the other reviewers on this site directly.

Please include:-
– Book Title
– Author
– Genre
– Page Count
– Blurb
– If it is a dual/multi-POV book

Please DO NOT:-
– Request more than one book
– Send a copy of your book until you have an answer
– Send press releases as attachments

Once you have submitted your request, it can take a few days to receive a reply. We endeavour to reply to everyone who has contacted us, whether that be with an acceptance or a refusal.

Please be aware that any subsequent books you wish us to review still have to go through the same review request procedures.

You can meet the reviewers – Here

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Our Decision

Unfortunately, we can not accept every book that we receive a request for. The decision to refuse a book is never a personal one. Our decision is final. If you wish to contact us again in the future, with the same book, please leave at least three months between requests.

If we can’t review your book, we will let you know. Please do not ask us to justify why we declined your book.

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The Review

Once you have received an email of acceptance to review your book you will be sent the relevant information regarding what happens next. Please be aware that we only accept Mobi or hard copies of books (these are to be sent to a UK address that will be provided).

Your book will be placed onto our ‘To Be Read’ (TBR) list and will be read and reviewed as soon as we possibly can. Although we have quite a few reviewers on the site we also get a lot of review requests so there is always going to be a wait. The wait can be anything from a few weeks to a few months.

Please do not keep on emailing to ask where your book is on the list. We understand you are anxious to receive your review but we will get to your book as soon as we can.

The review will contain a star rating. We no longer place 1 or 2-star ratings on the blog. If we rate your book this low or DNF your book, we remove your book from our list and contact you to let you know that we will not be able to review it.

Once the review has been posted and a star rating has been given we will not alter that information, so please do not ask us to up our rating. Remember the review is for readers and is our personal opinion.

If you are unhappy with the review, whilst we will take into account your thoughts and feelings, DO NOT demand that we remove the review, and please be courteous when making your complaint, otherwise your email will be deleted and you will be blocked.

If you love your review then let us know by commenting on the review page, and/or liking the review on Amazon and Goodreads. If you are on Twitter retweeting the review helps to make your book reach a wider audience. Let’s work together.

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Added Extras

If we agree to review your book you may wish us to run an extract, YouTube Trailer or host a giveaway on the post. We are happy to do this.

Please be aware that if you would like to host a giveaway we only run them for physical books and you must sent the book to us first (UK Address) and we then send the book to the winner. Unfortunately, we have had a few authors who never sent their prizes out to the winners and so the decision was taken to run them this way. This also means that the giveaways can only be run for those entrants living within the UK due to costs of postage.

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Where are the Reviews Advertised?

Alongside being advertised on the blog, our reviews are also published on the various websites/social media accounts below:-
Twitter – @storywhispers
Facebook
Pinterest
Goodreads
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
Kobo
Waterstones
Google Books

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These are just a few of the great publishers we work with