Review policy

I am open to review books by request. If you are a writer or a publisher, and interested in having me review your book(s), don't hesitate to contact me! But please read this review policy first.

In short: I live in The Netherlands, I have an eclectic taste, I need between 2-4 weeks to review, I write well-considered, honest reviews.

In detail:

Location, location

I live in The Netherlands and since you'd be the one requesting a review, you'd have to take shipping into consideration :/ And it might be a lot depending on your location.. So I thought I'd be clear on that off the bat. If you're cool with my location, great! Keep reading!

Time frame & ARC policy

Advanced Review Copies will be reviewed before the release date, if I have received the books two weeks prior to release date.
Other requests e.g. books that have already been released will be reviewed within a month!
I don't sell review copies or give them away. No problem there.

What I accept at the moment

My taste is eclectic.
Genres: YA literature, classics, chick lit, detectives/crime, mystery, literature. Basically: any fiction. Ha.
Poetry: I'll try that.
Non-fiction: some areas of interest to me are psychology, photography/art, food/cooking, home/decoration, music/biographies, politics, travel and history. Humor is a plus.
Language: English mostly, but also Dutch.

What I don't read at the moment

* Novels that are NOT published (or novels that are self-published) or NOT properly edited (e.g. abundance of grammar mistakes). I've had some experiences that were just too awkward and don't want to feel like I should be grabbing a pencil to edit the book ever again. If your book is self-published, but has been edited in some way, I am open to reading and reviewing it.
* Some non-fiction. Depends on my interests (see above). Run a short summary by me!
* Short stories, unless they are connected as a whole (example: Olive Kitteridge).
* E-Books. (Because of the self-portrait which will feature your book.)

* I'm an atheist. I am interested in mythology and those kind of historical/informative aspects of religion, but that's about it when it comes to religion I'm afraid. I don't mean to say that books shouldn't include religion (e.g. a character believes in God and prays regularly, e.g. a character is a priest - this is all fine); I mean I won't like books with an overly religious theme (e.g. the main focus of the book is on church, or the book is non-fictional about the wonderful things about God etc).

Honesty first

When you submit your book for review as part of the R&R series ©, it will be read with an open mind and reviewed with care. And I'll take a self-portrait, like I'd do with any other book.
But your book will be reviewed honestly. I appreciate being asked to review your book. That is awesome. But it's possible that I will not like the book, which will be obvious from my review. Be prepared for that.
But reviewing with care also means looking at the positives. I will point out what I like just as much as what I perhaps wouldn't like.

So far, I've reviewed:

R&R 044
J. Robert Lennon
Castle
Courtesy of J. Robert Lennon / Graywolf Press


R&R 038
T.C. Boyle
The Women
Courtesy of American Book Center


R&R 029
Mackenzie Ford
The Kissing Gates
Courtesy of American Book Center

Site stats & other info

R&R exists since January 2008.
The R&R blog was started September 2008.
The site gets a modest 40 to 60 visitors every day :)
The project has been appearing in the press, ranging from independent magazines to bigger international ones, since June 2009.