Review Policy

Update: I am currently not accepting books to review on Magic Bean Review, but may accept to review books from authors which I have already read and enjoyed and/or reviewed.

I generally read young adult books, but I also read some middle grade as well. I prefer to read contemporary, dystopian, and fantasy, but I read anything but horror. If a book is non-fiction, it depends on the subject topic if I would like to read it.

I accept YA and MG books, as well as graphic novels and manga.
I accept Advanced Reader Copies and finished copies (paperback or hardback). I do not accept e-books.
If your book is in a series, I would prefer it if I have already read the books prior, otherwise I cannot give a fair review.

Please allow at least one to two months for me to review the book. However, sometimes I am unable to get into or enjoy the book, so I may choose not to review it.
If you need a review for a book posted on a specific date, or near to the publication date, please include that in your email.

Blog Tours, Interviews and Guest Posts

I love to help authors promote their books, and taking part in blog tours is so much fun! If you would like to take part in an interview with me, please let me know and I can think of appropriate questions. If you would like to write a guest post, we can definitely discuss the sort of topic you would like to talk about.

Contact me at magicbeanreview AT gmail DOT com

What can you expect in my review of your book?

My reviews contain my honest opinion on the given book. I will never pretend to like a book when I believe it to be otherwise. In my review, I will first list the title, author, when it was first published, format [which I read it in], number of pages, RRP and age range which is what I deem as appropriate. The first thing I include is the publisher’s synopsis of the book, as I am not that great at summarising a plot (just ask my First Year English teacher about my 7 page book review!). The review will contain my thoughts on the author’s writing, writing style, the descriptions of the setting and characters, development of the plot and characters, accuracy (if set in real time), and more. At the end of the review I will use my rating system, with a few sentences with why it was given those marks. There is then an overall percentage for the book given.

The foundation of a rating is shown below:

Plot: /10

If there was one, then great! If not, bad. I comment on whether the plot was interesting, etc.

Writing Quality: /10

How well the author wrote.

Originality: /10

If the actual story was different to others written in that genre.

Characters: /10

How well the characters were developed. Comment on personality, likeness, realisticness etc.

Descriptions: /10

How well I could imagine the book due to the descriptions in the writing.

Other comments:

Anything else to comment on outside those above criteria.

/50 = ?? %

Add up the marks, and get the overall percentage!

Thank you for reading my review policy!

If you are interested, use the below email, or fill in the form below.

One Response to Review Policy

Brian Lux | January 29, 2011 at 11:53 pm | Reply

I have just seen your review blog via facebook and Helen Hollick, whom I know, as we both have the same publisher,Callio Press (formerly Discovered Authors). Although mine, Court of Foxes, is not new, it is soon to be launched in the USA with a new cover. I would be happy to send you one of my author copies to read, and if you decide it is not your ‘cup of tea,’ then I understand. Can you please give a postal address. Thank You.