Review Policy | bookish delights

How I Choose Books I Read and Review on Bookish Delights

I’m a big mood reader, which means I don’t have a set TBR, more of a wishlist of books I would like to get to at some point. So, my current reads depend on my current mood, something you can likely spot on my blog if you scroll through chronologically (i.e. several arranged marriage stories in a row, or several romantasies, etc.).

I get my recommendations from forums (reddit, mainly), bookstores, social media, BookTube, and similar. I will always disclose how I picked and found this book if I can remember it.

Please know that I do not hate-read books for any reason: not for entertainment, not at anyone’s request. When I choose a book to read, I do so because I truly believe it will be my next favorite. I go through a lot of trouble to ensure that. Namely:

I read the synopsis carefully (most of the time)
I look up opinions on reddit and other places
I look to people with similar tastes to see if they liked it
I always read the free sample first to ensure the prose works for me
I sometimes read reviews in advance if I’m still not sure

If I still end up disliking the book, that is purely due to some form of mismatch with my taste or expectations. Believe me, I wish every book featured on this blog is my absolute favorite. Hate-reading, for me personally, seems like a big waste of time and in bad faith entirely.

How I Review Books

Here, at Bookish Delights, I share my honest opinions about the books I read. All of my reviews are written by me personally and reflect my own thoughts and feelings, as well as my values. I never review books I haven’t read and completed fully, and I don’t accept money in exchange for favorable reviews.

Editor’s Note: If you’re an author and someone is asking you for money to review your book, please avoid them; this is not a common practice among reviewers, it’s likely a scam and you never need to pay for reviews. In general, the practice is to provide a free e-copy of your book in exchange for an honest review.

Normally, my process is to read the book in full, and then let it simmer for a day or two while I form a coherent opinion, and then I write the review. While I do share my unfiltered opinion on books I read, I also always do my best to remain somewhat objective, as kind as possible, and state who the book would be for if I didn’t like it, or who it may not be for even if I did like it.

I truly believe that all books are worth reading, and can be a favorite to someone — so, even if I give an unfavorable review, I still believe there is someone who may like it. Exceptions are very rare and usually an exaggeration on my part for the sake of entertainment.

I will always do my best to leave the author out of my review. What this means is that I will not personally attack or offend the author knowingly. It also means that when I review a book, I review its contents only — not the author, or the readers who love it.

So, if you see a negative opinion on a book you love on this blog, just know that it’s not a personal attack against you or your reading tastes — it’s just my own thoughts on the book I’ve read. It’s not personal.

I do not review books I did not finish, I do not hate-read (see section above) and I always give books and authors the best possible chance I can.

I don’t believe in the concept of “guilty pleasure” or “brain-off” books. If I enjoy reading a book or a genre, then I don’t feel guilty about it, and I never turn my brain off. It’s important to think about what you’re reading, what it means, what it’s trying to say or not to say, to analyze it and all aspects of it. I am always critically thinking about the book I’m reading, no matter the genre or author. Even my favorite books and authors go through the same scrutiny as those I’ve just started reading, so everyone gets an equal chance here. You can see examples of that all of my reviews — Sally Rooney is my favorite author but I was fairly critical of Intermezzo here; Sarah Hogle is another one of my favorites, but this book of hers did not receive a positive review by default just because of that. Meanwhile, some of the less popular and beloved authors I’ve never heard of before (Kerstin Hall, Emma Hamm, etc.) have received extremely positive reviews. It all depends on the book and the work in front of me.

How I Rate Books on Bookish Delights

Truth be told, I have always found the star rating system lacking. I never know where to place a book, and I dislike attaching numbers to art. Because of that, this blog does not feature star ratings in the traditional sense (i.e. what you can find on reading trackers like Goodreads). Instead, I prefer to let my review speak for itself, and give only those books I find exceptional a “star”.

The star-rated reviews mean that I adored that book from top to bottom, it’s my new favorite, and will always be on my mind. No notes! These books/reviews will be tagged as “star rated” and you can find them by clicking on the tag link.

Books that are not star-rated can still be books that I liked, just not enough to put in my “hall of fame”, so to speak. That does not mean they’re not worth reading.

Editor’s Note: This system is still new on Bookish Delights, so if you find a regular rating somewhere, this just means that I haven’t yet updated that particular post. I’m a one-woman show, so things do take a while here.

How I Decide Which Books to Add to my Roundups/Lists

When I create roundups and lists (e.g. “Best Romance Books”, etc.), I take my personal opinions and feelings into account, but also the popular opinion of the reading community. So, while on my lists you can definitely find my own favorites, you’ll also usually find books that are widely popular if they fit the list’s topic.

I will always state my own opinion of the popular book in question if it’s included on the list, whether that opinion is positive or negative. For example, my list of best romantasy books includes Divine Rivals, even though I, personally, didn’t enjoy it, because I believe someone out there will enjoy this book, but the overview of that book in the list states that I didn’t like it, for transparency.

A placement in these lists cannot be bought either, so all of it is truly based on my own experiences as a reader and the opinion of the reading community at large. That said, if you do have a recommendation of what book should make it on a certain list, my comments are always open — just drop your rec there, and I will do my best to read the book and, if it suits, add it to the list at the earliest possible time.

Affiliate Disclosure

I am an Amazon Affiliate, which means that my reviews and lists include affiliate links to Amazon. If you click on a link and buy a book or a product through it, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These funds help me reduce the cost of keeping the blog going and allow me to write more articles. If you purchased through one of these links, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

However, the affiliate links have no effect on how I review a book or its placement in lists. As I mentioned, and I must reiterate here, my reviews are purely my own opinion and cannot be bought. My affiliate deals have zero effect on what I say in my reviews (as you can likely see by their contents). This will always remain true.

Submission Guidelines

If you want me to review your book, you are always free to email me at k.perunicic28@gmail.com. I do my best to reply as soon as possible, as well as read the books on a reasonable timeline.

That said, please keep in mind that I mainly read romance. When I say romance, I mean romance in all shapes and forms. I may choose to read a book even if it doesn’t have romance, but those cases are rare — I am most knowledgeable about the romance genre, I enjoy it best, and I feel confident that I’m able to review these books competently.

Editor’s Note: A positive review of your book is not guaranteed. If I have a negative opinion of your book, I will not feature it on the blog as a courtesy, and I’ll do my best to reach out and let you know. I don’t believe telling you what was wrong with the book is a productive use of your time or mine — the book is already out, after all — so please don’t expect that, but I will try to be as kind as possible.

Genres I accept:

Historical Romance — Any era and trope is welcome!
Contemporary Romance — Same as above, any trope is welcome!
Fantasy Romance — I generally enjoy equal measures of fantasy and romance, but will accept more romance-leaning fantasy as long as it’s not pure erotica.
Paranormal romance/mystery romance/urban fantasy romance — All accepted, as long as it doesn’t lean more erotica than romance.
Literary Fiction — Mainly if it includes romance as well, but I am willing to consider it either way.

Genres I do not accept:

Non-fiction — This includes Memoirs, Biographies, Autobiographies, Textbooks, Poetry and others.
SciFi — I tried to get into this genre several times, but to no avail. If your book is mainly set in space and doesn’t contain any romance, I will likely not enjoy it.
Horror — I do not enjoy pure horror, gore, and excessive violence. I still do accept with books with horror-ish elements (e.g. Kelly Andrew, C.G Drews type of horror).
Hard-core fantasy — Similarly to SciFi, I have never been able to fully get into this genre, so I would not recommend that you send me your book if it belongs here. This includes LitRPG, and everything similar. (Think Brandon Sanderson, Pierce Brown, etc.)
Thrillers, mysteries, and similar — Again, this is just not my preferred genre, and it’s more likely than not that I will not enjoy it.
Christian romance or any type of religion-specific romance — I am an atheist and I do not enjoy purity culture in any shape or form. Please do not submit books in this genre to me.
Erotica or dark romance — This is just not my genre. While I’m not against spicy scenes in romance books, I prefer tension and healthy romance.

Basically, if your book has romance in it, I will read it; if not, please reconsider submitting!

In addition to that, I will not read books that contain the following:

AI written or AI-assisted books — I am very much against AI in literature and art in general. Do not try to pass your book as human-written if it’s AI, because I will know. Due to my previous job, I have been forced to work extensively with AI and I know all the hallmarks of it, more than most people, so I will definitely recognize it.
Books with sexual assault, gratuitous violence, miscarriage, domestic abuse, abuse of children, the elderly or animals (any kind of abuse, really). Of course, some book that I read may contain some of this, but I avoid this whenever I possibly can by looking for content warnings.
Stolen or plagiarized content.
Anything condoning or inspiring hate towards any group of people.

Please be aware that I am well-versed in recognizing all of these, and I do have access to the internet so trying to hoodwink me will be fruitless. Do not waste my time or yours by trying to submit a book in the genre I do not read or with elements that I do not read.

If you’re unsure where your book fits and are trying to gauge whether I’ll like it or not, just check out my starred reviews. These are the books I enjoy the most and if your book falls into a similar genre/subgenre, it’s likely I’ll enjoy it! And if you’re still not sure, it’s always okay to ask and I will do my best to answer as soon as possible.

I still retain the right not to respond to any submissions with genres or elements that I explicitly do not accept.

All books reviewed as free e-ARC or ARC copies will be appropriately disclosed at the beginning of the review.

Editor’s Note: I apologize if I sound mean here, but everything I mention has appeared in my inbox or happened to me at one point or another, and I’m just trying to prevent further cases.

Beta Reading and Editing

I am open to beta read and/or edit books. However, this, unlike reviewing your book (which will always be free), will have to be a paid service due to my limited time.

My rates will depend on the length of your book and the scope of the project, but I do not charge as much as professional editors and beta readers do (i.e. my rates will be lower). I love discovering new books and authors, especially indie-published ones, and I’d love to help someone make the best book they can, which is why I now offer this service.

Expect rates at the lowest end possible, while still remaining reasonable for the service provided. I’m happy to work with your budget and timeline, so please feel free to reach out if you believe we’re a good match.

For genres I would love to work with, please see the genres I enjoy above, and if you want to gauge whether my type of feedback works for you, please read some of my reviews.

Regarding editing specifically, I am open to developmental edits (e.g. helping you figure out the plot, plot holes, the romance aspect of your novel, whether the book as a whole works, etc.), since this is the area I feel like I could contribute to best. Of course, since I am an editor by profession (you can see my LinkedIn profile on my About Me page), I will likely leave notes for line edits and any prose/writing style tips.

My edits usually include a detailed, several-page long document providing feedback and ideas overall, as well as in-line comments where necessary. My beta-reading input works in a similar way, but with less hands-on involvement.

Guest Posts

I accept guest posts. There is no charge for this, but I am very selective in what content I display on my blog. Authors wanting to share their thoughts, industry professionals, other bloggers, or anyone who would like their bookish thoughts featured on Bookish Delights is very welcome! Please reach out via email with your inquiry (do not send finished posts unsolicited, those emails always end up in spam).

Content mills and SEO agencies are not welcome. Businesses can refer to the Sponsored Content section above.

Keep in mind that I retain the right not to publish or take down guest posts at any point for any reason without notice.