This post goes over how I do my reviews, what I’ll review, and anything else you may need to know if you’d like me to talk about something on my blog. Please read through this in full before making a request. It will let you know if we are the right fit or not!

My Personal Policy on Reviews

• I always give my honest opinions on any piece of media I decide to share my thoughts on. I will always share issues I had and things I enjoyed in a critical manner, and I aim to be as balanced as I can, to allow my readers to make informed decisions without being nasty towards authors or those who worked on the book.
• I will not review media from anybody I cannot guarantee impartiality towards, most notably friends and family. Though I am happy to feature their work in other ways. I am not paid to do this, this is a hobby for me. That said, I do use affiliate links and have links to my wishlist and my Ko-Fi account readily available. These links are not hidden or attempting to coerce anybody, and I cannot be paid off to put forth a positive review of something.
• I cannot guarantee a review for everything that comes my way. I do my best but a lot of time goes into reading/watching/listening to/playing a piece of media and writing a review. 
• I withhold the right to stop reading/watching/listening to/playing a piece of media if I discover it’s not my cup of tea, or to share short-form thoughts in a manner alternative to a regular review if I don’t have too much to say about it.
• I cannot work to a timeline due to my personal situation, however, if you’d like a review by a certain time please mention it upfront so that I can let you know if I’m unable to do it, or make sure to prioritise it as I’m able.

What I’ll Review

Books:

I’m primarily a speculative fiction reader in the UK and will consider interesting titles, particularly within the following genres: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Urban & Contemporary Fantasy, Historical Fiction (pre-1600s preferred), Magical Realism.

My favourite genres are Horror (of all kinds), Grimdark, Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Contemporary Fantasy, and Science Fiction. I love other worlds, strong 3-dimensional characters, creepiness, and magic. I’m very interested in books from female and non-male identifying authors, black, Asian and minority ethnicity authors, authors within the LGBTQIA+ community, disabled authors, and stories that feature diversity. And bonus points for dragons and/or creepiness! I’m also a sucker for myth and folklore, magic schools, witches, wizards, vampires, haunted places, necromancy, and anything weird and unusual.

While I do primarily prefer adult fiction, I will consider books intended for middle-grade (9+) or young adult audiences, though very rarely. I’m in my mid-thirties and find myself less interested in coming of age tales and young adult themes these days.

I prefer physical books, but I can also do Kindle ebooks (epub format) and audiobooks. I’m good for novels, novellas, graphic novels, and anthologies. 

Please include the blurb and a short excerpt (if there is a snippet available on Amazon, that will do fine) so that I can get a feel for the kind of book you want me to review. This is very important as it is how I decide if a book is worth my time and I’m less likely to go looking if this is not included. If you’d like me to review a book that is a part of a series, I would appreciate if you could please send the previous books in the series as I won’t read out of order. All books must be available in English.

Games:

I’ve been an avid MMORPG player for years, these days I often prefer simulation games, narrative games (adventure, visual novel, point and click), RPGs. I love indie games that have clearly been made with love and anything with a unique setting. As for settings, I love fantasy, sci-fi, history, horror, urban fantasy, mythology. 

I am not interested in platformers, metroidvania, battle royale, or survival crafting games. 

Other:

• I’m a frequent cross stitcher
• I love colouring books
• I’m a tarot and oracle reader.
• I am a dungeon master for Dungeons & Dragons 5e and sometimes a player.

If you would like to reach out to me for anything in these areas, I’m open to it. Please No:

• Overt Sexual Content or Erotica – Fade to black and some mild stuff is fine so long as it fits into the story, otherwise, it’s just going to make me uncomfortable as an asexual person which is not ok.
• Christian fiction or non-fiction – It’s not my thing. Though I don’t mind its existence in historical fiction.
• Contemporary Military fiction – In contemporary fiction and urban fantasy books, themes of war and the military make me uncomfortable. I don’t mind sci-fi and fantasy with this theme quite so much, but there needs to be a separation from reality. I’m particularly uninterested in reading about 20th century wars.

And please ensure you include serious content warnings, especially for sexual assault, depression, self-harm, and suicide.

Non-Review Content

I would love to feature guest content, giveaways, interviews, blog tours, and the like on Dragons and Whimsy. However, I must be able to ensure that whatever is being promoted is something that I approve of and something that I feel I would enjoy and want to share with my readers. 

As for paid content… as above, it must be something that I like and approve of. I will not do paid reviews. Anything of this nature must be in compliance with FTC guidelines.

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