I do occasionally accept books for review consideration, although I am picky due to the fact that I already have more books on my shelves than spare time to read them all in. Also, I can only accept books for review consideration and cannot guarantee a review.

Genres/Books I Like to Read 

This site is dedicated to reviews of speculative fiction books.  I will review any book that appeals to me in any speculative fiction subgenre, but I mainly read fantasy and science fiction, including some young adult fantasy and science fiction. While I occasionally read horror (if it’s not gory) or SFF romance, I do not read them that often. I don’t tend to enjoy cozy SFF since I like high stakes and drama (at least, in fiction).

I especially enjoy dark fantasy, SFF influenced by world mythology and/or history, and space opera. Character driven stories are my favorite kind, particularly if they have morally gray characters, and books with a lot of action and little characterization do not usually interest me. I do like fantasy and science fiction with romantic subplots even if I don’t read a lot of SFF romance so I am happy to consider books with romance. I do not like zombies.

I occasionally read short fiction, but I usually prefer to read novels or novellas. My favorite book of short fiction is the beautifully written Wonders of the Invisible World by Patricia A. McKillip to give you an idea of what types of short stories I do enjoy.

Examples of books/series I’ve particularly enjoyed, in no particular order:

• The Warchild Mosaic by Karin Lowachee
• A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
• Kushiel’s Legacy by Jacqueline Carey
• Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb
• Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
• The Chronicles of the Bitch Queen Trilogy by K. S. Villoso
• Swords and Fire Trilogy by Melissa Caruso
• The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip
• The Patternist and Xenogenesis Series by Octavia E. Butler
• Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
• Mirage and Court of Lions by Somaiya Daud
• A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
• The Books of Ambha Duology by Tasha Suri
• The Golem and the Jinni and The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
• The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
• The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
• The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin

Book Format

There are a LOT of books I want to read, and I prefer reading print books. I almost always purchase print books, and I have many of these I want to read. For this reason, I only accept ebooks on rare occasions, usually only when I’m familiar with the author’s work and excited about reading their book. I do not accept PDFs. Please do not send ebooks to my email address as part of your review request.

Self-Published Books

Although I will consider books from small presses, I do not accept self-published books for review consideration unless I have read and enjoyed other books by the author. If I’ve positively reviewed a book by the same author or expressed interest in their book(s) on this site, I might consider it, but that’s the only case.

Submitting a Request

Sending me a book does not guarantee a review; it just means I will take a look at the book and consider reading and reviewing it. Occasionally, I do write about books I do not finish. In these cases, I state that I did not finish the book and discuss the reasons why. I have always read at least 100 pages before posting about one of these books.

Sending me a book does not guarantee a positive review.  I try to review books that leave me feeling like I have something to discuss whether my overall opinion is positive, negative, or a mixture; however, I will try to be fair and mention both what I liked and what I did not like.

I do not write reviews that need to be posted on a set date (for example, as part of a blog tour). Reading and reviewing books is something I do in my spare time when I’m not taking care of things like grocery shopping, doing laundry, cooking dinner, etc. It’s a hobby, I have a limited amount of time for it, and I don’t find it fun to have to fit in reading/writing on a deadline during my spare time so I have a policy of not setting review deadlines for myself. I am also very much a mood reader, and I’ve discovered I just can’t make myself push through a book that’s not right for me at that time or not right for me at all.

If you do have a book that fits the guidelines for review consideration that you would like to send me, you can contact me at kristen AT fantasybookcafe dot com. (Please note that I do not have time to respond to every review query I receive. If you do not hear from me after two weeks, I am not interested.) If you have a link to an excerpt from the book, it would be great to include it with your request. Please do not ask me if I want to review your book on social media. If you want submit a request, please email me some information about the book and why you think I might want to read it.

Thank you for your interest in having me review your book!

Guest Post/Interview Requests

Interviews are rare since they take a lot of time to put together, and I will only consider interview requests if I’ve already read and enjoyed books by the author.

Guest posts are usually by invitation only, but not always. If I’ve read and enjoyed an author’s work or have some of it on my wish list, there’s a good chance I’ll accept their request for hosting their guest post. Please do not email me to ask about contributing a guest post in exchange for a link back to a site, especially if that site has nothing whatsoever to do with science fiction or fantasy books. I get a lot of these requests, and I am not at all interested in this.

As mentioned with review requests, I am not able to respond to every query I receive. If you do not hear from me after two weeks, I am not interested or do not have enough time in my schedule.