*** As of 1/1/13, I am only accepting books for review through publishers and tour companies.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions of Lisa at Books in the Burbs are her own. Lisa and Book in the Burbs does not endorse any product, author, or other materials. Her opinions on this blog are simply that….opinions and should not be held liable for any purchase and/or effect of book sales based on those opinions. This blog nor author receive any monetary compensation and/or gifts for her opinion on reviews, unless otherwise stated.
What You Need to Know Before I Review Your Book:
1. Family First: I am a wife and mom, and those are titles I take very seriously. I read and review books as a hobby, not as a profession. Therefore, I primarily read at bedtime and when I have some free time. Once I start a book, I do intend to finish it before moving on to another book to review.
2. Love Reading: As stated in my bio, I absolutely love curling up with a good book and reading. While I love free books, I will not accept every book available to me.
My interests are:
Christian Fiction
Contemporary/Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
Women’s Fiction
Psychological Thrillers
***While I will read, Historical Biographies, Memoirs, YA, Children, and Mystery, I am selective with the books I choose to read within those genres.
3. I Do Have My Limits:
Violence and Gore: I am a Twilight fan. There, I said it. Stephenie Meyers brought books into my world when my husband was recovering from surgery and it helped me to have a true “escape” with sci-fi/romance. However, I do not read vampire books other than Twilight. I also do not like gore, demons, aliens, Freddy Krueger kinda books, or books that are so violent and brutal towards people and animals that I literally have to shut the book. I also don’t read demonology type of books.
Sex, Sex, Sex: I like Romance/Contemporary Fiction….I do not like Fabio-esque books or raunchy S&M scenes at all. No, I do not want the whole seductive, porn reading materials with a “barely there” story line. Think -Bridge Jones Diary and Pride and Prejudice.
Self-Help Books: I am a marriage and family therapist by profession. As a therapist, I have realized that there is not a book/tape/video that will be a quick fix for any relationship, self, or life. I prefer to limit my therapy books to those written by the mental health community. HOWEVER….in memoirs/biographies, I have often found wonderful opportunities to learn about different disorders/illnesses through story telling. That is entirely different from “Self-Help Books”.
Self-Published Books: I limit these books to tours I participate in. With tour companies, the publisher/agency/tour host already knows the genres I will accept and have already reviewed the book.
4. Reviewing Your Book: When I accept a book, it is based on my opinion that if I were to walk into a bookstore and see your book on a table or shelf, I would naturally gravitate to it. When I read your book, I am reading it as a consumer. I am not a literary critic. I am the woman you will find in any book store looking for a good read. As such, I never go into reading deciding beforehand if I will like it or not. Sometimes I will select a book that is really not in my genre, but something about it drew me to the book. Regardless if I love or don’t like the book, my written reviews are the same. I write a brief synopsis, my review that includes what I loved/liked, what I would have liked (which is a nicer way of saying I didn’t rate your book high because of these points), and a cupcake scale. Regardless of rating, I will post on Goodreads and Library Thing. However, I will only post my review on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for 4 and 5 star ratings.
Publishers, tour hosts, and authors may contact me at: booksintheburbs (at) gmail (dot) com.
© 2012, Books in the Burbs & Lisa Salazar, All Rights Reserved.
