How to use this site

See the index pages for a list of titles currently featured.

Book reviews are important. Unfortunately, there are not enough outlets for them.

Many other book review sites exist on the web, but most of them are either very specialised or biased in favour of well-known authors and large publishers. This site aims to redress the balance in favour of small publishers and self-publishers. We feature reviews of books submitted by the latter; reviews are archived occasionally to give everyone a fair crack of the whip.

Why should books be reviewed? Because every author has the right to have his or her work taken seriously, particularly if they have shown enough initiative and enough faith in themselves to publish independently. So often such writers find themselves in a position of uncertainty. Friends and relations tell them, "Your book is the best thing I have ever read." Agents and big publishers tell them, "Your book is just not good enough to be published." The truth lies somewhere in between, and that should be the province of the reviewer.

Another way of helping...

Library sales can give a great fillip to a small publisher's marketing efforts. If you see anything on the review pages that you fancy reading, but you don't want to buy a copy, why not request it from your local library? In the UK, different local authorities have different policies on acquiring new books, but some will allow readers to suggest/request new titles for free or for a nominal charge.

NOTE: We do not acknowledge receipt of books for review except on request, and we do so only by e-mail. If you want to check that we have received your book, the easiest way is to look for it on the "Forthcoming" page. We do not undertake to notify you when the review is posted.

How to get a book reviewed

If you want to see your book reviewed here, you can do one of the following:

Send us the book to review. Address it to Tregolwyn, P.O. Box 11, Cowbridge CF71 7XT
If you want us to acknowledge receipt, include either an e-mail address or an SAE.
We cannot promise to review all books received, but we will do our best.

Alternatively, you can send us an existing review (as long as it hasn't been published elsewhere). Ensure that the title, author and publication details of the book are included, along with the name of the reviewer. Reviews should not exceed 1000 words in length.

The distinction between "independent" and "non-independent" reviews is clearly shown on the site (by the open book and closed book symbols respectively), so that there can be no accusation of misleading the reader.

To qualify for inclusion, the book must have been published, ie. no manuscripts will be accepted, and it should be less than two years old. (We have been known to make exceptions in specific cases.) There is no restriction on genre. We cannot guarantee to include everything sent to us, nor can we guarantee that all reviews will be favourable - though we will not go in for destructive criticism. Priority will be given to "independent" reviews of books by self-publishers or small publishers, but we hope to be able to include as many as possible, if necessary by curtailing the length of time each appears on the site. However, all reviews featured will appear for a minimum of seven days.

Currently averaging 200+ GENUINE hits a day - that's 200 more people than would otherwise see your work!