Review Policy

 

**Apologies we are not currently taking on any new review requests. We will announce here when we are back open.**

Whispering Stories is committed to providing professional, 100% honest, spoiler free, unbiased book reviews for FREE. We review fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books. Please read the information below before submitting a review request as it will explain the genres we don’t review and the formats we do, as well as explain how to request a review. Please be aware that we are based in the UK.

Genres that we DO NOT review:-

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

Formats we DO NOT accept:-

– Audio Books
– Netgalley Widgets
– Direct to Kindle
– epub
– Amazon Direct or Gift Certs

Please Take Note:-

-We only review physical copies of non-fiction books

– We prefer physical copies of children’s picture books, however, if you don’t have one we will accept a non-password protected PDF

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Why Choose Us?

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. With 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 Megacity

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Having now had my book, Backstories reviewed by over 100 reviewers, I am beginning to understand that reviewers are as varied as writers. Some are hopeless, many are okay, having a range of strengths and weaknesses, but only a special few are strong in all areas. Stacey and her team are very much in this latter category.

They reviewed Backstories for me in March, 2021, and I would summarise my experience as follows:
– The content of the review was outstanding. It was abundantly clear that the book had been both properly read and reflected upon by someone with a sensitive understanding of character, plot and dramatic tension. It was, in fact, a piece of literature in its own right, providing me with several juicy little quotes.
– The review was beautifully and effectively presented, including links to all purchase sites. It was also typo-free – which sadly is far rarer than it should be.
– The organisation and planning was impeccable. The review appeared precisely as and when agreed.
– The reviewer was socially skilled and a pleasure to interact with.
– Their reach is impressive. The review was not simply posted on Whispering Stories, (with their substantial following). It was also tweeted and retweeted to over 100,000 people – garnering genuine interest and numerous sales, as well as being posted on Amazon and Goodreads.

In summary: Whispering Stories are strong on literary understanding, strong on presentation, strong on organisation and planning, and socially skilled with both broad and deep marketing reach and impressive persistence in disseminating their message.

For these reasons I would place them comfortably in the top ten reviewers on Twitter. If you can possibly persuade them to look at your work, then I would strongly advise them to do so. Only one note of warning, you will get an honest review, so if your book isn’t quite up to it, they‘ll tell you. – Simon Van Der Velde, author of Backstories

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I was so lucky that Stacey joined the blog tour of my recent release ‘Shadows Over the Spanish Sun.’ Not only was her review thoughtful and beautifully written, she had captured the atmosphere of my story and understood everything I had tried so hard to achieve. She posted her reviews to all the social media sites and I believe has brought many new readers to my door. Thank you to Stacey I would give Whispering Stories 5 stars and more!!!! – Caroline Montague, author of Shadows Over the Spanish Sun

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Reviews really help to highlight a book’s profile. I was delighted with the review from Whispering stories who took part in one of my Book Tours. 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 My Husband’s Girlfriend

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When I release a new book, I look forward to seeing my reviews from Whispering Stories. Their writing is always insightful and accurate, creative and concise. They don’t just copy the blurb of the book, but add their own understanding of my novel and their reaction to my writing. Their reviews are always a joy to read. – M J Lee, author of DI Ridpath Crime Thriller Series

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Requesting a Review

How to request a review – Firstly make sure you have read the information above regarding the genres we do not review and sequels. Then, email Stacey at stacey@whisperingstories.com entering ‘Review Request’ in the subject header.

Our preferred formats are mobi files or physical books. We understand Amazon has stopped mobi files so we are now also accepting PDFs. These need to be non-password protected and format correctly on a Kindle. If the file doesn’t format correctly on our Kindles we may have to decline to review your book. Sorry.

Include:-

– Title
– Author
– Genre
– Page Count
– Release Date
– Is it a single/dual/multi-POV
– Is the book part of a series
– Any trigger warnings you think we should know
– Whether you are sending an edited or unedited copy
– Blurb

Do Not:-

– Request more than one book at a time
– 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 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 at Whispering Stories- 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, though 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 review requests.

If we can not 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.

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 it 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 ‘Do Not Finish’ (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 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 send the book to us first (UK Address) and we then send the book to the winner.

Unfortunately, we have had a few authors in the past who never sent their prizes out to their 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 postage costs.

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Marketing

Alongside our reviews we also have a selection of paid services available, including Sponsored Posts, Twitter Promotions, and Sidebar Adverts. These services start from just £5.00 for a weeks worth of advertising. Take a look at our – Marketing Services for Authors Page.

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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
Instagram
Goodreads
Amazon.co.uk
Kobo
Waterstones
Google Books

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