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Reviewers of M/M Fiction - List and Profiles Note for site owners: The information below is a collection of my impressions about the review sites. I've tried to verify any factual information, but if I inadvertently misrepresent something, please email me and I will fix any mistakes. Thank you very much. Readers, please check back for updates to this list. 3 A.M. Book Reviews Detailed m/m reviews. See also Rainbow Reviews. Amazon Reviewers - Three I can recommend are R. Parkland who is well-read in m/m erotica and yaoi; Jem who is well-read in m/m erotica and science fiction and fantasy, and Amos Lassen who reviews a lot of gay fiction. See my Saturday Reviewer blog post about these three reviewers on my Obsidian Bookshelf blog here. Bookkeeper, The - Ebook reviews including m/m fiction. Book Utopia Mom This is a Google blog started in June 2007 by an American reviewer who also posts to LiveJournal and contributes as part of the Uniquely Pleasurable review site team. She reviews m/f and m/m romance and erotic romance, and concentrates on ebooks only (no print). Her succinct, thoughtful reviews include an extensive grading system based on a 50-point system. The five subcategories of a story's Readability, Hero #1, Hero #2, Entertainment Value, and World Building each receive a numeric value from 1 to 10, which is the highest rating possible. The subcategory ratings are added up for a total of 50 possible points. Her tone is bracing, no-nonsense, and impartially honest while conveying a sense of respect towards the authors and a love of the genres. Her site has a clean, minimal, cerebral look with very organized information and no images. Her organized label system, which serves as her blog navigation, is a joy to behold. She doesn't actually state anywhere if she accepts review copies from authors, but she does have an email link on her Blogger profile with which you can contact her. See my Saturday Reviewer blog post about Book Utopia Mom on my Obsidian Bookshelf blog here. Cerebral Reviews. Cerebral Reviews is an American review blog launched in May 2009 and published through WordPress. It is run by a group of anonymous reviewers with the user-names Lady Chatterley, Madame DeFarge, Fanny Hill, Edward Rochester, and Lolita. They review m/f and m/m romance, ebook only. Their About page states that their background is in professional editing. Their goals appear to be (1) to review to a more stringent, professional set of criteria than found on most amateur reader-reviewer sites, and (2) to reform the quality-control standards of the e-publishing field from the writing through the book production to the reviewing. Their reviews provide a blurb, the reviewer's overall impression, purchase information, heat-level, and in-depth criticism in whichever technical issues that the reviewer feels most relevant for the particular book: example include pacing, point-of-view switches, overwriting, word choice, punctuation, characterization, and world-building. Note: Just so you know, they also will use the review to address issues beyond the writer's control such as cover art, editing standards, and book production. The book then gets a grade on a scale from 1 to 5 (highest rating) "Brainys". See my Saturday Reviewer blog post about Cerebral Reviews on my Obsidian Bookshelf blog here (link coming soon). Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings This is a LiveJournal review site created in November 2006 by an Italian reviewer living in Italy who writes in English. Elisa Rolle reviews exclusively m/m fiction in all genres on this site. She writes detailed, thoughtful reviews with no grading system. She points out a careful analysis of good points and bad points of each fiction – but she has a unique instinct for identifying the good in everything she reads. Her tone is warm and gracious, and she's very generous about reviewing newcomers. The site itself has three outstanding features: (1) beauty, (2) organization, and (3) variety. First, it's a gorgeous site done on a pale background and decorated with violet, pale blue, and gold. She features full color illustrations and photographs of book covers, movie posters, male models, and travel scenes. Second, it is a very organized site. There are tags and links to help you navigate as well as a wealth of statistics to show you how the site has grown. Third, there is outstanding variety on this site. She offers
See my Saturday Reviewer blog post about Elisa on my Obsidian Bookshelf blog here. Erotic Horizon - Reviews of m/f and m/m romance Genre Reviews Anything genre (SF/F, romance, horror, mystery). Some m/m romance. I Love Books M/M reviews from her extensive library of ebooks! Joyfully Reviewed This is an American site that reviews m/f and m/m romance and was created in August 2005 by avid readers, Joy and Melissa. Its roughly 30 reviewers each have a biographical paragraph where several have detailed what they look for in a book. The site also features author interviews, contests, and scheduled chats through their yahoo group. There is no rating system other than the best books getting a "Joyfully Reviewed" icon added to the review as well as placement on the Recommended Reads list. The reviews, averaging 400 words or less, summarize the plot and then give the reviewer's overall reaction. This site reviews print, ebooks, and self-published work and has an overall positive tone of appreciation for the genre. See my Saturday Reviewer blog post about Joyfully Reviewed on my Obsidian Bookshelf blog here. Literary Nymphs Literary Nymphs is an American blog at Google Blogspot started in January 2007. It's a fast-loading site with an appealingly uncluttered look to its basic Google template. It's run by a group of reviewers who name themselves various types of Nymphs and Minxes. They review m/f and m/m romance fiction at a ratio of maybe 90% ebooks and 10% print books. It's unclear if they review self-published fiction. The reviews themselves use a rating system on a scale of one- to five-nymphs (highest rating) and tend to average between 200 and 500 words each. The tone of the review varies depending upon the reviewer. Typically it will give an overall summary of the book's premise and the reviewer's succinct reaction. The very best books get an icon in the review ("The Literary Nymphs Golden Blush Recommended Read") and placement on a Recommended Reads list that site visitors can access through the sidebar. See my Saturday Reviewer blog post about Literary Nymphs here. Rainbow Reviews This is an American site that reviews fiction and nonfiction in gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and pansexual categories. Created in August 2007, it is run by writers J.M. Snyder and Emily Moore (see Enigmatically Emily). It receives input from a group of reviewers including Kassa (see 3AM Book Reviews). The site accepts primarily ebooks over print and grades on a 1-star to 5-star scale with 5 stars being the highest possible rating. Site resources include detailed instructions for authors on what types of writing they review and exactly how to submit it to the reviewers. Because of the high volume of review requests, authors will need to fill out a request form and wait to be contacted according to the reviewers' schedules before sending in their material. The overall tone of the reviews is unpretentious and accessible and varies according to the individual reviewer; have a look for yourself at the site to get familiar with each reviewer's style. I don't know if it's possible to request a specific reviewer, but it doesn't hurt to ask. The site has a clean, soothing look on a pale background and is easy to navigate. In only a short period of time, Rainbow Reviews has published an enormous number of reviews in a lot of underrepresented categories, and I think it could be of great interest to Gender Studies scholars as well as everyday book buyers. See my Saturday Reviewer blog post about Rainbow Reviews on my Obsidian Bookshelf blog here. Rain on the Roof Detailed m/m reviews Reviews by Jessewave M/M reviews with a focus on paranormal and contemporary. Speak Its Name This is a WordPress blog started in August 2007 by British author Erastes. It is completely dedicated to reviewing gay historical fiction and some lesbian historical fiction with in-depth evaluations and a star-rating system from one star to five stars (highest rating). The review team headed by Erastes includes several m/m historical fiction authors such as Tamara Allen, Alex Beecroft, Lee Benoit, Charlie Cochrane, Fiona Glass, Mark R. Probst, and Hayden Thorne. They review fiction and nonfiction, paper books and ebooks, and even textbooks and graphic novels. The tone of the reviews varies depending upon who is reviewing; read through the site to get a feel for it. The name of the site comes from the phrase, "The love that dare not speak its name," which is a reference to homosexuality made famous during Oscar Wilde's trial. Speak Its Name is a nice-looking site that organizes a lot of resources for readers of gay historical fiction. It loads fast and is easy to navigate. See my Saturday Reviewer blog post about Speak Its Name on my Obsidian Bookshelf blog here.
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