With apologies, unless your book is already on my radar, I’m unable to accept any more requests for reviews until further notice – my reading list is now full until January 2025.
Important: I really wish I could do otherwise – I love reading books from smaller independent publishers and self-published authors – but I can not accept any review requests unless I have previously published a review for you, we follow each other on social media (if you’re a Book Connector, or a member of one of the other Facebook groups I’m active on, that’s just fine), or by recommendation from author friends or fellow bloggers. I’m really sorry, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. If you’ve arrived here by recommendation, please tell me who sent you.
I do try to reply to emails, but there are often too many in my inbox – if you don’t hear from me, I’m sorry but your book just isn’t one for me.
(P.S. If you’re only looking for my contact details, you’ll find my e-mail address at the foot of the page…)
My reviews
Thank you so much for your interest in my blog, Being Anne. It’s now over ten years old – transferred in 2016 to the WordPress platform, from Blogger, where it received over 220,000 views. As you’ll see, I also won the Best Pal Blog Award at the 2016 Annual Bloggers’ Bash: and I was delighted to win it twice more, in 2017 and 2018.
And, in 2019, I was really delighted to be named Media Star of the Year 2019 by the RNA (Romantic Novelists’ Association) in their annual industry awards – and entirely thrilled to win the award for a second time in 2022.
I’m usually just outside the Top 1000 reviewers on Amazon UK, always additionally copy my reviews to Goodreads (sadly, additionally publishing to Amazon.com no longer possible) and sometimes publish on the Waterstones site too. I then talk about them (loudly) on Twitter (you’ll find me at @Williams13Anne, where I have over 11,000 followers), and through a number of book-related Facebook groups. I’m also one of the administration team on the very active and popular Facebook group for authors and bloggers, Book Connectors.
I frequently review e-books received via netgalley, and publish reviews on their site – I’m pre-approved by a number of publishers and also have their prized Top Reviewer badge. I’ve been on the reader panel for the Romantic Novelists’ Association awards for the last ten years. I also have a blog Facebook page, where I have over 1000 followers.
As well as publishing my reviews, I do sometimes enjoy running features – interviews, guest posts, promotions and giveaways – so please do let me know if you’re interested. If you or your publisher are known to me, I’m also usually happy – time permitting – to take part in blog tours. I sometimes also join in with cover reveals.
The books I read – and don’t read
I don’t read non-fiction, but my fiction tastes are wide and varied. I really enjoy women’s contemporary fiction/popular fiction/book club fiction, well-written chick lit (although I particularly like it when the heroines are a little older than the norm) and romance, literary fiction, some historical fiction (especially dual time or timeslip, but not about kings and queens!), and (just sometimes, and far less often these days) enjoy a good psychological or crime thriller. I don’t read anything about vampires/werewolves/the undead, formula romance, or what I think of as man’s fiction (spies, war, cowboys…). I also very rarely read YA or new adult, and neither do I read erotica. Above all, I enjoy reading new authors yet to make their mark and help bring them to people’s attention.
How things work
Please get in touch by e-mail (address below) if you’d like me to read and review something for you. I would appreciate a brief synopsis of any book you’d like me to review if you’re a new author, so that I can decide if it’s something I’d enjoy.
I have several Kindles, and wherever possible would prefer to read through that medium, any e-copies will need to be compatible (epub preferred, but PDFs totally acceptable if I can successfully convert them).
If accepted, all reviews will be my personal opinion (with a 1-5 star rating on Goodreads and Amazon, no star rating here). My reviews are honest, but I do make a point of never posting a bad review, preferring to contact authors or publishers with the reasons why the book wasn’t for me. Acceptance of a book does not guarantee a review and I will not review books that I have been unable to finish. I will do my best to meet a publication deadline with enough notice, but can’t promise that I always will – the blog isn’t my life, I do it for the love of reading.
If I receive an unsolicited book and I am unable to review it, I reserve the right to pass it on to a book blogger friend, either for a guest review or for them to review on their own blog. There will, however, be occasions when a review won’t be possible. I never sell review books after reading, but may pass them on to friends I know would enjoy them.
I do not ask for, nor receive, payment for any review. Although my reviews may contain links to Amazon, this is purely for ease of reference. I have no affiliation with, and receive no payment from Amazon, or any other company whose links I may include.
Quoting my reviews
I am 100% happy for authors/publishers to reproduce parts of my reviews in books, on websites or as part of wider publicity, so long as you mention Being Anne – but do please tell me you’re doing so, as it always gives me a thrill!
Thank you for your interest…
My e-mail address is: annie130 (dot) aw (at) gmail (dot) com