Review Policies/Contact

Rating System:

All reviews end with a number of stars out of five.  Here’s what these approximately mean:

1 out of 5 stars–This is insanely, infinitely bad.  Save yourself and stay away from it!

2 out of 5 stars–meh

3 out of 5 stars–Average.  I didn’t hate it and didn’t love it.  You might love it or hate it. Use your own discretion.

4 out of 5 stars–I really liked this a lot.

5 out of 5 stars–ZOMG I LOVED THIS!

Product Review Requests:

I am pleased to accept products for review if it is something that I know I will use.  Obviously this is more difficult to pin down in a policies page, so please feel free to contact me at opinionsofawolf[at]gmail[dot]com with your product information, and I will get back to you with a yes or no as soon as possible.  My previous product reviews may be found here and here.

Thank you for your interest!

Book Review Requests:

I am closed to review requests at this time!  Out of fairness to those copies I’ve already accepted, I will be closed to all new review requests until I’ve caught up.  Since I’m not sure how long that will be, I will definitely announce it when I am again open to requests.  Thank you for your interest, and I hope we’ll be able to work together shortly.

I only accept review copies from indie authors!  Indie authors are defined (by me) as self-published or backed by a small, independent publishing house.  I believe in, and am a big supporter of, putting the power of the written word back in the hands of authors and readers.  Plus, as an indie author myself, it’s good karma.

The exception to this rule is if you are a non-indie author or publisher and your book is on my wishlist or in a series I am actively reading, please feel free to offer it up to me. (Please, she says with bated breath).

I vastly prefer ebooks that are compatible with my kindle over print.  Vastly.  The only exception to this is graphic novels, which I still prefer in print until the point at which I manage to get an ipad.

Genres I prefer:

• Horror
• Scifi
• Post-apocalyptic
• Dystopian
• Zombies
• Paranormal romance
• Urban fantasy
• Detective/film noir
• Thrillers (but not political thrillers)
• Historical fiction with a focus on women’s history
• Memoirs, especially those focusing on abuse or mental illness
• GLBTQ
• Nonfiction focusing on health, vegetarianism/veganism, science for the layman, history
• Graphic novels in any of the above listed genres

Genres I will always say no to:

• Christian/religious/inspirational fiction
• Religious nonfiction
• Chick lit
• Women’s lit
• Self-help
• Parenting
• Fantasy (except urban fantasy)
• YA
• Children’s literature (fiction and nonfiction)
• Anything homophobic
• Political thrillers
• Short story collections

If you feel your book might be a good match for me, please email me at

opinionsofawolf[at]gmail[dot]com

I recommend that you check out my article How to Successfully and Respectfully Pitch Your Book to Book Bloggers before contacting me.

Please note, my current turn-around time is around 1 to 2 months for ebooks and 5 to 6 months for print books, unless I have committed to a specific date for a book tour.  All of my reviews of review copies are cross-posted to GoodReads, LibraryThing, and Amazon, although the Amazon posts come in spurts as I have the spare time to do them.  Due to Smashwords’s policy that one must have bought the book there in order to review it, I can only cross-post my reviews there if a Smashwords coupon code was provided along with the review copy.

Further note, please understand that my readers have come to trust me for my honest reviews.  If you don’t want to risk getting a 1 or 2 star review, don’t send to me, as I’m not afraid of giving them where I feel they are warranted.  For examples of 1 star reviews, see here, here, and here.  For examples of 2 star reviews, see here, here, and here.

Conversely, if I love a book, I will promote it like crazy both to spread a good story to others and to support the author!  For examples of 5 star reviews, see here, here, and here. 

Thank you for your interest!