Reviewers

Rating system for  Awesome Indies reviews

1 star – unacceptable craftsmanship. It will include some, but not necessarily all, of the following; unacceptable number of copy- editing errors, poor plot, shallow characters, info dumps, structural defects, clumsy expression, grammatical errors etc. It should never have been published in this state. (We won’t finish reading a book like this.)

2 stars – substandard craftsmanship. The faults may be simply less in number than those in the first category, or they may be more subtle in nature, eg all expositional or passive writing (eg over-use of variations of the ‘to be’ verb), major point of view confusion (eg chronic head-hopping), major plot holes, limited character development, clumsy expression, too many copy-editing mistakes etc. Or it may simply be a major structural problem , very poor pacing and/or excessive scenes.

3 stars – worth buying. A three star book will generally have no major structural defects, though it could have minor ones and may have pacing issues. The prose may need some improvement but the story has sufficient good qualities for them not to be a major issue. For example it may, or may not, have minor P.O.V problems, mild plot holes or passive writing. Alternatively, it may be well crafted but lack imagination or originality or have excellent prose but a poor plot.

4 stars – a well-crafted and enjoyable book, or an exceptionally well-crafted book that didn’t inspire us enough to add one more star.

5  stars – an exceptionally well-crafted and enjoyable book, or a well-crafted book that had that extra spark that really excites us

Site evaluations
Editor Rebecca Keys  does not write reviews, but she will evaluate your book’s suitability for the site, and her evaluation can be used if you apply for the Seal of Approval.  Rebecca does not read sci-fi or  thrillers, but you can submit anything else. Contact Rebecca  here.

Reviews on this site
If any of the reviewers listed below accept your book for review, they will be totally honest in their appraisal. Generally, we will not publish a review on this site if the book doesn’t merit inclusion in the listing (ie 4 or 5 stars), though we may publish the occasional three star review. As a service to the buying public, our reviewers are encouraged to publish lower rated reviews on Goodreads & Amazon, but individual reviewers have their own policy on this. Books are evaluated for acceptance onto this list in accordance with the book ’Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King’

Requesting an Awesome Indie Review
Please contact our reviewers directly, using the links on their names below, but don’t apply if you haven’t had your book professionally edited. If your book merits 4 or 5 stars you can use as a recommendation for the site by filling in the form on the Submissions page.  PLEASE NOTE THAT REVIEWERS NO LONGER MAKE THE SUBMISSIONS FOR YOU.

Please keep a record of the link for the review you used in your submission in case you want to apply for an Awesome Indies Seal of Approval. Where a reviewer is unsure as to your book’s suitability for the listing, they will request a second (and if necessary, third) opinion from our back up readers. If we aren’t accepting review requests at the moment it’s probably because we’re focusing on writing our own books. If you know of anyone with the right kind of qualifications who would be interested in reviewing for us, please let us know.

Awesome Indies Reviewers.
These people publish reviews on this site. The review may or may not also be published on other sites.

  • Annie Evett will be joining us soon
  • Clive S Johnson prefers not to read: Vampire/Zombie/Werewolf,            Children’s Fiction, Romance/Erotic Presently not accepting review requests.
  • David Morese - positive science fiction and humorous or satirical fantasy.  Contact him here.   - contemporary urban fiction and poetry. Requests closed  until June 15th.
  • Elizabeth Jasper – everything except erotica or sci fi. Presently not accepting review requests.
  • Elizabeth Matter - open to anything but is partial to contemporary fiction and magical realism.
  • Evie Woolmore – historical fiction, magical realism, metaphysical fiction, mystery  
  • Helena Halme at Helena’s London Life. - contemporary fiction, women’s fiction (not chick lit), suspense, crime and psychological thrillers, but no horror, scifi, fantasy, or YA
  • Jan Needle - Mystery, thrillers & horror. Presently not accepting review requests
  • Jen Blood - mystery, suspense and thriller reviews; no horror. Presently not accepting review requests.
  • Karen Victoria Smith everything except  young adult or high fantasy
  • Kate Policani - everything except horror, erotica or manuals
  •  Kathy Furber: Contemporary fiction, historical fiction, crime and short stories.
  • Kevin Berry  - YA and more. Presently not accepting review requests.
  • Maggie Walker -  I prefer not to read shoot-’em-ups and/or gory books.  My preference leans toward the romance/mystery
  • Margie Riley:  favourite genres are short stories, YA, children’s, mystery, thrillers, etc (is interested in but unfamiliar with sci/fi, fantasy and metaphysical) Contact her  here.
  • Mary Maddox: enjoys fantasy, mysteries, thrillers, literary fiction. Contact here here.
  • Micheal O’Gara -Anything  except chic lit, children’s fiction, erotica, dark fantasy, gay and lesbian, horror, or young adult. Contact here.
  • Mirella Patzer also http://historyandwomen.com - Historical fiction only
  • Pavarti K. Tyler  - only takes paper copies . You can contact her here.  Requests closed at present
  • P.D.R Lindsay-Salmon - enjoys historical fiction (but not historical romance), literary and contemporary fiction, thrillers and mysteries. Does not read romance or fantasy. Contact here.
  • Tahlia Newland - does not read children’s fiction,   horror  or thrillers. No short stories at present please and nothing too dark or violent. Tahlia is also available for  pre-publication evaluations. Request a review here. Please read the policy carefully before you fill in the form.
  • Tony McFadden – mystery, suspense, thrillers

Other sites whose reviews can be used as recommendation for the Awesome Indies list.
Reviews by the following reviewers can be used to gain admission to the Awesome Indies list.  their reviews will not be published on this site. Authors will need to fill in the form on the submissions page & provide a link to a 4 or 5 star review written by one of these, or other reviewers with the relevant qualifications. They will also need to provide the email address for the reviewer for confirmation.

Reviews by the following reviewers may also be used as reference.
Catherine L Holmes
Clare Morrall
Donna Kai Wilson
Donna Fox
Elsa Watson
Jasmine Schwartz
James Anderson
Janis McKay 
Laura La Tulipe
M.J. Jerome
Mark Eyre
Mike Duran
Molly Ringle (Molly Winter)
Rachel Lintheoc
Richard Adin
Roxane Gay
Sherwood Smith (author)
Sue Harrison