Review Policy

UPDATE PLEASE READ:

As of September 1st,2014, We will no longer be accepting review requests until we are all caught up on the reviews promised. We will of course make an exception for authors who tour with us through our Virtual Book Tour Company, Diverse Book Tours. But for now we are much too busy with the books on our current schedule and organizing tours with our newly founded tour company. Thank you for understanding and we hope this hiatus doesn't last long. Please bookmark us and check back occassionally if you believe your book fits "Twinja Book Reviews"theme. 

The opinion of one person reviewing a book is subjective. So how we rate is solely based on what we want to see in books. We've decided that we would give books a fairer shot at gaining a high score, therefore books we review will not only be graded on personal opinion but with "Key Points". All reviews are subject to these "Key Points". With these "Key points" there will be sub points. Each "Key Point" has the potential of earning 1 full point by adding up all the "sub points".

 If there is not an increment available, the review will be graded by the next available sub point. It could be go down to the last available sub point or in some cases the next highest available sub point. For example, based on our review system, we give your book a 3.75. If it we decide that it's a strong 3.75, we will reward you the score of 4 instead of 3.5.If it however struggles to measure up to a 4 star rating it will be downgraded to the next lowest available score, e.g 3.5. Here are the Key Points all reviews will be judged on.

1. Plot and Storyline(Key Point)

.25 will be rewarded for Pacing and Overall flow to the story:

Did it flow well? Did it have a good balance of both action and revealing information?

.25 will be rewarded for Consistency and Reliability:

Were your facts and details consistent?

.25 will be rewarded on the Worldbuilding/Details:

Could we see your world in our heads? Were you able to paint a clear picture will showing and not telling?

.25 will be rewarded Predictability:

Was it predictable?Did we see all the details coming?

2. Character Development(Key Point)

.25 will be rewarded for Relatability:

Was the protagonist easy to relate to?

.25 will be rewarded for Development and Backstory:

Did your story have a well thought out backstory? Were all the details about the characters well balanced? Did we feel like it was too much info at once?

.25 will be rewarded for Conflict:

 Is there a good amount of conflict?Or does the protagonist skate through their problems?

.25 will be rewarded for Uniqueness

Is it doing something different than other mainstream projects?

3. Grammar/ Style(Key Point)

.25 will be rewarded for Writing Style(Key Point)

Is the language choppy? Is the language  "intended" to be choppy? Are there a great balance between beats and dialogue? Too much dialogue or description with nothing in between?

Internal Thought vs. Dialogue are key.

.25 will be rewarded for Clarity/ Clear POV:

Are the POV's distinguishable between each other? With multiple point of views, are the characters talking with the same "voice"? Is the POV consistent?, e.g Does it switch from third person to second person to first for absolutely no reason for it?

.25 will be rewarded for Book Formatting:

Ebooks and print copies require different formatting, and it's very obvious when one hasn't done both properly. Are there big paragraphs that could have been broken apart? Blank pages when weren't necessary?

.25 will be rewarded for Editing:

This barely needs a breakdown.Is your book at least somewhat edited?No we're not grammar Nazis but too many mistakes disrupts a story :P 

Also, stronger words vs weaker words to describe the same thing will be taken into account. Sometimes stronger words don't always improve a story or character's dialogue(unless it's intentional) and we're also looking for "how" words are used vs "which" words are used.

4. Diversity/ Multiculturalism(Key Point):

Unfortunately, due to the nature of our blog, if your work does not include any forms of diversity, it is noted that a 4 star review is the highest rating possible you may receive. 

.25 will be rewarded for 3 dimensional characters:

 Did they seem stereotypical? Were there times they were put in problematic situations just because of their marginalization? Are situations only given to them because the story assumes that's what their marginalization does?

.25 will be rewarded for Research:

If you're writing from a culture or marginalization outside of your own did you take the proper steps to make the characters accurate without being stereotypical?

.25 will be rewarded for Unforced Effort:

Did anything about your characters seem forced just for the sake of adding a diverse character?

.25 will be rewarded for Efforts to empower the self image/esteem of the main or secondary protaganists

pretty self explanatory XD

5. Miscellaneous(Key Point)

Take in mind, that this section is not to be taken too seriously!

.25 will be rewarded for a captivating or fitting title:

Does the title provoke? Is it catchy? Does it suit the book in question?

.25 will be rewarded for alluring or suitable cover art:

Does the cover capture an audience? Does it suit the style of the book? Is the cover an accurate depiction of the characters or the genre of the book?

.25 will be rewarded for Character names:

Are the character names memorable?Are they too common?

.25 will be rewarded for clear description of characters:

Too many books skate around character descriptions so we reward anyone who paints clear images in our heads :D 

Our custom new rating system:

0 stars= Did not finish

1 star

1.5 stars

2 stars

2.5 stars

3 stars

3.5 stars

4 stars

4.5 stars

5 stars!!!

Between writing, reading and activating our secret WONDER TWIN powers, it's a surprise we even have time to review. But we're trying to make this work so please bear with us.

It may take us 6-8 weeks for us to read your book.Perhaps even up to 12 weeks. Think about the time it took you to write your book. For a possible positive review, 6-8 weeks seems like nothing when it comes to promoting your book. We ask that you give us that time to read it as we have many other requests AND have our own personal reading lists as well. We don't think that that's too much to ask. :)

We ask that you please have proper online etiquette when approaching us to read your book. Yea, you're book may be the best thing since Hazelnut Macchiato Lattes, but It's somewhat rude to approach us with "READ MY BOOK, I NEED REVIEWERS TO READ MY BOOK", or "MY BOOK IS THE NEXT HARRY POTTER. YOU WOULD BE CRAZY NOT TO A PART OF IT'S SUCCESS". That's going about it the wrong way. Please learn our names, follow us, learn what kind of books we like and I don't know,  BECOME OUR FRIEND FIRST?????Anyone who doesn't approach with proper etiquette may not get contacted at all.

If you don't review our review policy, chances are you will not be contacted.Sorry but your book won't achieve anything if you can't even read a few lines on a blog.

The upside to our reviews:

Because there are two of us that ensures you two people will be reading your book and two people will be reviewing it.So it's two for the price of one!!!Oh yea we don't take compensation for any reviews whatsoever, Why?Because that's so lame!

2. Again, our reviews will go live on Amazon, Goodreads and our blog. Triple the exposure!

Now to the good stuff, The KINDS of books we prefer to review:

First and foremost our preference is to review books that feature a Lead protagonist or love interest of the following:

African or Black(including but not limited to African American, Caribbean, Latin American, Afro-Asian, Aboriginal Australian or Mixed Race Blacks)

Latina/o(Including but not limited to Latin American, Central American, European Spanish, Afro-Latino, Asian-Latino,South American, Euro Latino)

Asian/Pacific Islander (Including but not limited to American, East Asian such as Korean, Chinese or Japanese, South Asian such as Indian, Bengali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan etc, Caribbean ,Polynesian, Middle Eastern, South American, Aboriginal Australian,Eurasian(Mixed Race) etc)

Native American/First Nation/Amerindian and Indigenous peoples(Including Any tribes from South, Central and North America. Indigenous peoples including but not limited to Oceania's indigenous people , Indigenous peoples from Asia, Europe, The Americas and Africa)

Open to Eastern European particularly if the setting takes place in less developed countries.

Northern European especially Fantasy. Books that feature Mediterranean settings, culture and characters.  Middle Eastern settings and characters including but not limited to stories about people in the following countries: Turkey,Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.

A person or persons identifying with the the following Gender and Sexual identities but not limited to: Homosexuality, Bi-sexuality, Pansexuality, Transgender, Cisgender, Transsexualism, Asexuality and Intersexuality.

Books that focus on characters practicing Non Christian beliefs such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Santeria , Vudu(Voodoo) and so on....

Books that center around mentally disabled or differently abled characters struggling with but not limited to :

Vision Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Physical Disabilities, Mental Health and Emotional Disabilities, Growth Disorders and Chronic Illnesses.

Books that feature characters who are Plus-sized.

And a new addition, Books that celebrate characters of diverse 

socio-economic backgrounds. We cant all have an old rich aunt who left us money, and shifts us off to a rich private school overnight, now can we?

All these are encouraged to intersect with each other. For example:

If you have a title that features a Queer, black, disabled main protagonist all in one....then you may just have a fan on your hands!!!

And the now the Genres(In order of preference):

Either one of these genres can be independently published or traditionally published.

Young Adult and New Adult(New Adult is fairly new. It seems to be making little effort to open it's door to multiculturalism. However, if there is a book making a conscious effort, we will be more than happy to review)

Fantasy and all of it's sub genres

Ethnic/Cultural Fiction

Science Fiction and all of it's sub-genres

Graphic Novels

Chick Lit

Romance(Though Paranormal Romance is preferred)

Dystopian/Utopian

Historical Fiction(If it pertains to the above section, and a fair warning not all may be accepted)

Children's Fiction(between the ages 6-12)

Horror(But very selective with this genre)

Thriller (Though Supernatural is preferred)

What we won't accept:

Anything Christian or heavily religious based in a way that preaches but doesnt teach.

Erotica(Hop over to our Romance Blog Rebellious Cupid Book Reviews if it fits this!)

Non-Fiction

Vampire novels unless bringing something different to the genre

Crime/Mystery(For now, currently reading a Mystery for review, so this is subject to change upon review)

Preferred formats:

Paperbacks and Hardcovers are our preferred format. We however understand that both can be expensive to produce and ship out, but if you are able to send either format, we get through physical copies much faster than e-versions.We are book girls so it's always nice having an actual book in your hands. 

We are able to accept mobi files as we own a kindle and are also happy to announce we now have a Nook so we are able to accept epub editions of books as well!!!!

PDF files are also accepted but it takes us a while to get through a PDF file so if you have a mobi or epub, it will ensure a faster reading schedule.

Reading schedule:

Please allow us 12-20 weeks to get to your book.We get A lot of requests, so to ensure that books are read on a timely schedule, we'll need some time. We do make exceptions for blog tours and promotional reasons, however with the schedule we have now it's looking like 12-20 weeks is the fairest we can do. Take in mind that it may not TAKE 12-20 weeks to get to your book, but we just hate to promise anyone sooner than we can get to it.

Note:You will need to inform us if you need your review completed in a certain timeframe. Paperbacks get bumped up in schedule. Sorry for the inconvenience this causes, but reading e-books ranks low on our list of "fun". Unless we really dig your book! There have been instances where we've finished some e-titles in a week. But it's rare for us!

How to contact: 

When sending a review request please send us an email @ guinevere.libertadtomas at gmail dot com. We will not accept requests over the comments on pages or posts. And also please state WHY you think your book would be a good fit for Twinja Book Reviews and how the main character or love interest fits under our preferences. We get a lot of requests that are random and don't fit under our policy so it'd be a lot easier back and forth if you stated how your book is relevant to our blog in the first email :)

Ebooks sent through email before a formal correspondence get an automatic denial. It's nothing personal, we just get so many requests, that it's easier to respond to authors who adhere to guidelines.

Where we post:

Our blog obviously!

Goodreads- Libby/Guin

Amazon-Libby/Guin

Barnes & Noble-Both but unfortunately anonymous 

Booklikes-Libby/Guin