ARCs

The term ARC refers to an advanced reader copy of a book. These are usually books at the finished or closed-to-it phase in the writing process and are released to a handful of advanced readers interested in being the first to check it out. They take on the responsibility of being the book’s earliest audience and, in doing so, are asked to leave honest reviews of the book to help support the author as they begin to market it to a wider audience.

This is a service that I offer for free because, as an author, I understand how tough it is to market your book on your own with little to no budget. So if you’d like me to read your book and leave a review/promote it, I’m happy to do so. Below are a few things that you should know.

I only leave HONEST reviews – This doesn’t mean that I’m going to be rude. If I didn’t anticipate there being some good stuff in your book I would not agree to read it. This does mean that if it drags on with no action I’m going to mention it. If you didn’t have it edited and the grammar makes it a chore to read, I’m going to mention it. If it becomes confusing, I’m going to mention it. Conversely, it means that when you nail it I’m going to sing your praises! I’m obviously biased but I don’t feel like I’m very hard to please. My average Goodreads rating is 4.5 stars. So, there you go.

Physical copies are king – You want me to read your book so that you rack up those sweet, sweet reviews but you also want to encourage others to read it too! It’s much easier for me to share your book with others when I can take a picture of myself holding a physical copy in my hand or create a fun TikTok about reading it. That becomes difficult when I only have access to the digital version. I know it costs money to send out physical copies so I guarantee that if I agree to read your book – I will. Digital formats may also be an option but it helps me help you to have a physical copy if possible.

Timelines may vary – Paying the bills comes first, so my writing and editing projects will always take precedence over ARC projects. It won’t take me six months to get around to reading your book and I try to provide an honest estimate of how long it may take me. I just ask for your flexibility and understanding.

Bonus points for stuff I like – I am always interested in broadening the scope of what I read but if a book sounds immediately interesting to me it will certainly prompt me to jump on it. With that in mind, physical copies of literary fiction, horror, mystery, thriller, and speculative genres tend to tempt me.

Use my contact page to get in touch with me about reading your next project! In your email make sure to include the title of your book, genre you feel fits it best, a brief synopsis, and whether or not you can provide a physical copy. Below I’ve included two of my Goodreads reviews for ARCs I read in 2024.

I’ve never had such a turnaround on a book before. I received an ARC of this book and almost did not finish it. Out the gate you need to know that it’s going to be a challenge. First, it’s not typical horror, it’s literary fiction horror so it’s much more character-focused. And you can’t get much more character-focused than stream-of-consciousness style writing. Prepare for giant blocks of text and some challenging vocabulary at times. This is all on purpose. I don’t like to give too much away in my GR reviews, but assume that everything Cassidy does is intentional, because it is.

With that out of the way – this was a fascinating look inside the mind of a troubled young man. He’s in that 17-25 year age range we see typical of many young men who commit heinous acts of violence. You know, the kind you see on the news and think holy hell, what was he thinking? Here’s your chance to know. Follow along with Schroeder on his day-long bike ride of violence. Cassidy puts you right up close and personal with the monster then expertly drops the ultimate Uno reverse card and asks you what YOU could have done to prevent this.

4/5 stars – Highly recommend!

This was the second ARC of a book that I’ve received and I massively enjoyed it. I can hardcore relate to Sammy’s character as I’m a person who experienced a loss and found myself seeking out disturbing content online as a coping mechanism that I had a lot of trouble explaining to others. At its heart, this is the story of a person who has no idea HOW to grieve. His family culture and traumatic childhood experiences have left him with the inability to process his losses so he goes to incredibly dark lengths to try and teach himself how to navigate this very human experience.

Gonzalez does an incredible job of making my heart ache for someone who does truly awful shit throughout the book. He also carefully weaves in several mini-twists throughout the course of the story so that I could NOT put it down.

I was prepared to give it five stars because I was enthralled the entire time, but I found the end to be slightly unsatisfying. That’s more of a personal thing for me, I still found the book an incredible read and would recommend to anyone.

4/5 stars – Great read!