Review Policy

Hi! Thanks for visiting my book blog and for your interest in having your book featured in my blog (that is why you are on this page, right? :) ).

Update (February 3, 2013): I am currently not accepting any books for review right now, except for local/Filipino books. I’m a bit busy with life right now, so some of my readings are taking a back seat, so I’m sorry if I haven’t replied to any of review request emails. I will update this page as soon as I am open to accepting books again. Thank you!

I will be very happy to accept review copies from authors and publishers to be featured on this blog. I am also open to blog tours, contests and author interviews. I’d like to think I’m a very wide reader, but my preferred genres are the following:

  • young adult
  • chick lit / contemporary women’s fiction
  • speculative fiction (fantasy, sci fi, dystopian)

Books in series are also accepted, but I would prefer starting with the first book in the series so I can give a proper review of the book. I have a lot of books in my TBR pile, but I try to review every book I read. If you have a certain deadline for a review to be up, especially in the case of ARCs, please let me know so I can bump the book up on my list. If there is no specific deadline, it would depend on how busy I am to get the review/feature up, but rest assure that I will post about the books I have accepted.

Since I am a Filipino and a devout Roman Catholic Christian, I would give priority over books written by Filipinos, set in the Philippines or have Filipino characters, as well as books with Christian/Catholic themes. It does not have to be both Filipino and Catholic/Christian, but I would like to read something like that too. That being said, I reserve the right not to accept books if they are not within my reading preferences, or if they contain materials against my nationality or my faith.

I welcome both print and ebook versions of books. Please note that I live in the Philippines so shipping might be a bit expensive, so if you have an ebook version, it would be welcome. I use a Kindle to read ebooks, but if the format is not available for Kindle, I use my iPod Touch (Stanza or Bluefire app).

I do not guarantee a positive review for every book but I can promise an honest and fair review of the book. All book reviews will be posted here and in my Goodreads account. If you need the review to be posted on Amazon or any other book retail websites, kindly include it in your email.

You can contact me through the email form or through hello [at] tinamats.com for requests (please include a synopsis of your book if sending a request) and other book-related things. Please note that because of my sometimes busy schedule, it might take a while for me to reply or read the book if I accept it for review.

DISCLOSURE:

The books reviewed in this blog, unless otherwise stated, are books purchased with my own money, borrowed, or given by friends. Review copies from authors and publishers will be noted in their respective reviews. I used to be affiliated with The Philippine Online Chronicles, where I review certain books in the Pinoy Pop feature and get paid to for those reviews, but the books I have reviewed there were books that I have bought with my own money. Any books given to me for reviews, particularly ARCs, will not be sold.

ABOUT THE RATING SYSTEM:

I’m no book critic, but I do have opinions on the books I read. I’ve been writing reviews since 2008, and I’ve formed a little rating system of my own for the books I’ve read, and here’s the explanation of my rating system.

  • [rating=5] – 5 stars – Love the book. Everything about it, and I cannot recommend this enough.
  • [rating=4] – 4 stars – I liked the book very much. I don’t love it, but I think it’s a very, very good read.
  • [rating=3] – 3 stars – I liked the book. Not really awesome, but it’s a pretty good read and it wasn’t a waste of time.
  • [rating=2] – 2 stars – It’s okay…but maybe it’s not for me.
  • [rating=1] – 1 star – In a word: disappointing.

Please note that my review is subjective, and that my opinion may be different from yours (it will almost always be the case). So please respect my opinion and I will also respect yours. :)

Last updated: 02/03/2013