Review Policy

Review Policy

General information

I am currently accepting  books for review on a very limited basis. In an attempt to reclaim my TBR list and get around to some of the books collecting dust on my own shelves, I am closing things down to a small window of niche genres/categories. If your book falls into one of these listed areas, you can send emails to litandlampposts@gmail.com

**Note: Due to the volume of emails, I will only respond to those whose books fall under one of these categories. If your book doesn’t fit and you email me, it will be deleting without a response.

I accept print ARCs, finished copies, e-books, and audiobooks. If the book is a part of a series, then I may need the previous books in order to provide a comprehensive overview and will review the previous books in the series as well. In the case of audiobooks, there will be two aspects of the review: one for the story, and another reviewing the reader/audio performance.

Genres

I am only seeking new books in these select categories:

• Historical Fiction around 500 AD through 1500 AD, primarily interested in those set in England (like Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom) or in Iceland/Vikings (like Heather Day Gilbert’s God’s Daughter)
• Historical Non-Fiction books set in the above timeframes and locations, particularly ones covering major battles (such as Marc Morris’ The Norman Conquest: The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England)
• Translations of Medieval works (such as Ian Cumpstey’s The Faraway North or J.R.R. Tolkien’s Beowulf)
• Books on Old English, Middle English, or Old Norse (such as Michael D.C. Drout’s Quick and Easy Old English)
• Biographies of notable Medieval writers (such as Janina Ramirez’s Julian of Norwich) or Medieval Figures such as Alfred the Great
• Chistian Science-Fiction or Fantasy books (such as Allison D. Reid’s Journey to Aviad or Lisa T. Bergen’s Season of Glory)
• Anything King Arthur related, whether an anthology like King of Ages or a book/series like T.H. White’s Once and Future King
• Anything related to J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, or the Inklings in general (such as Diana Pavlac Glyer’s Bandersnatch)
• General Science Fiction or Fantasy is also welcome, as those two are my comfort read genres of choice.

Accepting Books

If I accept a book for review, that does not guarantee a lengthy review here on my blog. I would rather write a review for a book I love and recommend than to write a review for one that simply doesn’t work for me. Every book I read will, at the very least, get at least a short review posted to Goodreads, Amazon, and/or Barnes & Noble.

I will make every effort to read and review in a timely fashion and with regard to release dates, but I cannot guarantee this. I prefer to receive a book 3-4 months prior to when you would like the review posted.

Reviews

I will write a review for almost every book I finish. Many reviews will also be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble though not all and they may be modified. My reviews are written in a relaxed manner reminiscent of a conversation among friends. They are not meant to be objective literary critiques.

I write fair and honest reviews, but this does not mean I will always write completely positive reviews. My reviews are my opinion, and if I don’t enjoy a book then my review will reflect that.

With that said, I strive to explain why the book in question did not work for me personally. I do NOT write nasty or snarky commentary about the author.

If I do not finish a book I may write an explanation for DNF-ing. These explanations are different from standard reviews and will state that I did not finish the book, what page I read up to, why I did not finish, and if I plan on ever picking up the book again.

Review Structure

All reviews will include the following:

• Cover art
• Book stats: Title, author, publisher, page count, release date, series status, the book’s blurb
• Where I received the book
• My review: What I liked and didn’t

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