Review Policy

Thank you for taking the time to check out my review policy. I love to write about all the things I discover in life–I’ve always been the sort of gal who talks about what I love (or dislike) about certain books, products, television shows, movies, music, etc. with everyone I encounter.  How else is anyone going to find out how cool a certain product is, how much I loved a new book or author I recently discovered?

Since I write this blog as a hobby (for free), I only accept books (or products) that I think I will enjoy–however, my acceptance of a review item does not guarantee your item a positive review. If I dislike the product you sent me to review, I promise to do my best to tell my reasons in a fair way, so that my readers will be able to draw their own conclusions about your product.

If you have something you want me to review; a blog tour you want me to participate in; an author (or artist) you want me to interview; or a giveaway you want me to host, please drop me an email with all of the information I need at thegirlfromtheghetto [at] gmail [dot] com.

What I Expect From You:

Sadly, after 4+ years of blogging, I have to list all of these requirements. I know this may seem ridiculous, but if you could read all of my messages, you’d totally understand and appreciate my need for common sense and decency.

• Please do not send me a request via social media. I work hard to track down your email address when I want something, so I expect you to do the same.
• Please do not address your request email to ‘Beatrice’, just because you can’t bear to write my blog name (This is a joke, because I know people spend five seconds searching under my About Me page and see the name Beatrice and decide to run with it). The Girl from the Ghetto, The Ghetto Girl, Ghetto Girl, Girl, TGFTG, Gigi and GG are all acceptable ways to address an email to me. And, if you really do think it is up to my cat, please note that my cat does not have any say in the items I accept.
• Please tell me basic things like your name, who you are, who you represent, and the name of the item (and author) you want reviewed.
• Please do not send me a request to review something that only contains an incomplete sentence with a hidden link.
• Please do not EVER ask me to review (or host a giveaway) for e-books. I loathe them. I’m old school, and appreciate the feel of a book in my hands. I don’t even want to see that word in my email, if it can be helped.
• Please do not send me a request to review a book via PDF or email attachment. I can only read ARCs and books in their traditional form for visual reasons.
• Please do not tell me you are sending me a galley, and then send me 200-500 sheets of loose paper that aren’t bound together. Rubber bands, staples and binder clips do not count in my book.
• Please don’t send me an email beginning with, “I know you don’t accept e-books for review, but …” I’ve got way too many visual problems to list here–I seriously can’t read e-books, nor do I want to.
• Please do not ask me to review something for you if you aren’t able to provide me a review copy.
• Please do not send me multiple review requests in the same week. The more you ask, the less likely I’m going to say yes.
• Please do not ask me to show you my review draft for approval, or for any other reason. Let me remind you that I’m doing this for free.
• Please do not ask me to change my review, once it is written, just because you don’t like what I wrote.
• When asking me to host a giveaway for you, please do not ask me to make it a mandatory requirement that my readers “like” your Facebook page. That is illegal. Please pay attention to contest rules, like I have. I always give my readers the option of liking all forms of your social media, if I can find them.
•  Please do not pretend you are a reader of mine and leave fake comments on my review of your product, especially if I didn’t like it. I pay close attention to IP addresses and user names, and if I smell something fishy, I will tell the world what you’ve done. I have no shame when it comes to exposing shameful acts by others.
• Please do not send me multiple defensive emails from your entire marketing and management team, in the hopes that I’ll change my review due to the pressure. I hate liars, so don’t expect that I want to be one. To me, the whole point of a review is to share my personal opinion with my readers.
• Please do not ask me to lie about my disclosure of receiving a review item. See above for my policy on lying. Plus, I respect my readers and want them to trust my reviews.
• Please make sure to tell me any specific language you require for disclosure purposes at the time you offer me your product.

What You Can Expect From Me:

Books have always been my passion, my salvation, my inspiration, my chance to escape, and my education, so I appreciate the gift you’ve just given me–even if it is an ARC. To me, a book is a book.

Whenever I write a review, I promote it via social media, as well as a variety of other websites.

I will not sell the review items you have sent to me. I either keep them for personal use, pass them on to family, or donate them to nonprofit organizations. In 2011, I donated over 250 books to homeless and other needy individuals. At least 30 of those books were autographed first edition hardcovers that I had collected during my years at BookExpo.

I do my best to review books before, on, or shortly after their publication dates. All other products I receive are reviewed in the order which they are received. If you have a specific date requirement, I’d appreciate it if you ask me when you first make contact with me.

I try to respond to every query e-mail as quickly as I can, but often times I have several hundred emails a day to weed through. I may not ever reply, but don’t take it personally. If I don’t respond to your query, or I refuse to accept your item for review, please feel free to contact me about other items you may have to offer in the future.

The Types of Books You Should Pitch Me: 

I read a variety of books in most genres, but my favorites are memoirs, historical fiction, classic literature, humor, pop culture, literary fiction, autobiographies and biographies. That doesn’t mean I won’t review a book of short stories, or read books about history, science, psychology, travel, photography, politics, religion, science fiction, how-to, horror or cookbooks. I’m even up for reading Y.A. and children’s books every once in a while.

All I can say with certainty at this point in my life is that I don’t read romance novels or books about vampires. I rarely read mysteries, suspense, fantasy, poetry, thrillers, westerns, and books about mommies, mainly because I don’t want to, or I’ve burnt myself out on the genres.

Here is a short list of my favorite books - The Diary of a Young Girl, Pride and Prejudice, A Prayer For Owen Meany, Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret?, Bridget Jones Diary, Running with Scissors, The Prince of Tides, A Girl Named Zippy, The Historian, The Silence of the Lambs, Temple of Gold, Naked, High Fidelity, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Jane Eyre, It, Romeo and Juliet, Remarkable Creatures, and The Help. To see a larger list of the types of books I’ve read or would like to read, visit my Goodread’s profile page here.

Product Reviews I’m Most-Likely To Say Yes To:

CD’s. I’m a huge fan of classic rock, but I do enjoy pop music, rock, alternative, techno, punk, disco, reggae, folk but especially singers and songwriters, easy listening, dance, metal, rap, hip hop, classical, and blues. A little jazz, a little country. I’m a huge fan of movie soundtracks and musicals; I own over 300 cd’s in that category alone.

DVD’s - I love all types of tv shows and movies. I used to go to the movies three times a week. I even managed a movie theatre in my youth and majored in Telecommunications (for a while) at Michigan State University. If you have free movie passes and want me to review new films, just email me, I’m there. I do accept media via email for tv show and movie recaps. And, I’ll review any type of DVD release, as I love every type of film and television show.

Local Events & Restaurants- Got a comedian coming to the Detroit area, or a play or musical appearing locally and want me to promote it? I’m a huge fan of concerts, comedy shows, musicals, plays, restaurants, and other types of cultural events and festivals, etc. I’d love to attend your event and talk all about here.

Health & Fitness Products – For those who promote these items, I have many readers who love to read about my multiple health issues and how I deal with them. I receive emails daily from many people all over the world who share my medical conditions and ask for tips and referrals.

Cooking/Baking/Kitchen/Glassware/Cook Books – I’m Italian, and I love to cook and bake. More importantly, I love to eat and blog about yummy meals I’ve made or experienced.  I don’t have enough of the tools I need to make the fabulous creations I should be making. I make fantastic appetizers and a killer lasagna and meatloaf that is to die for, but I don’t even have a mixer.

Home Goods- I’m always up for products that will make my home look nicer.

Fashion, Jewelry & Beauty Products – I’m a total girly-girl and love to try out new products in these areas.

Toys & Collectibles – Yep, I play with toys, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I love everything from Star Wars to the Smurfs to Breyer Horses to Barbie’s to my miniatures. I have a cool collection of travel knickknacks. I also love lunch boxes, anything with The Beatles on it, and I also collect post cards and magnets.