About, Info, and Contact
Books are important. We're merely the readers who partake of the magic.
We want to extend a warm welcome to all our book-loving visitors! Books & Benches is author-owned and volunteer reader-operated, and our mission is to support authors by promoting their work and helping readers find the books they love.
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About the Blog
This blog has been around since 2012, and because burnout happens, all involved required a break in 2022. We wanted a change, but also wanted to keep the B&B posts live for all to discover, read, and enjoy. For the benefit of our volunteers, we decided to make it a scaled-back hobby for a time while still sharing books and helping authors, even in a small way.
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Info for Authors and Publishers
​BLOG TOURS and PUBLISHERS
We work with a few blog tour companies and publishers to feature authors and their books. We will feature authors and their books with an excerpt, interview (max 5 questions), or guest post. We will request content information (sex, violence, swearing) if it's not provided on blog tour invites or with publisher review requests.
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REVIEW REQUESTS
We do not accept review requests. Any books reviewed on this site after 2022 are for books we select and choose to share. Reviews posted as of 2024 may be posted under pseudonyms selected by each reviewer who prefers to remain anonymous and/or only shares reviews on this site.
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GENRES
We will accept books for features and review requests from select publishers in the following genres:
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Historical Fiction and Historical Mystery (prior to 1905 for reviews)
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Historical Romance (15th century through 1905; for reviews, we prefer settings in the British Isles, American West or Frontier, and Canada but will consider other settings.)
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Inspirational Romance (15th century through 1905 for reviews; prefer settings in British Isles, American West or Frontier, and Canada.)
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Dual-Time (must include a historical time set prior to 1905; no WW eras)
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Time-Travel Romance (must include a historical time set prior to 1905; no WW eras)​
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Contemporary Romance (if not a small-town setting, will consider on a book-by-book basis)
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Romantic Suspense / Mystery / Thrillers (book-by-book basis; must have romantic elements)
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CONTENT
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We will not feature books with gratuitous sex, violence, or swearing. It's just not our cup of tea. Steamy historical romances and contemporary romances are allowed, but books with over-the-top sex scenes will be rejected. All book reviews and features will include a sexual content rating: Clean, Subtle, Mild, or Steamy.
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To be listed in the Clean Reads section, the book must not have on-the-page sex scenes or swearing (beyond 1-2 uses of hell or damn), and mild violence is acceptable only for historical books where it fits the time period, setting, and circumstances.
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CONTACT
If you need to contact us about something regarding this site, please use the form below. We will not respond to unsolicited promotional requests. ​Thank you.
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SITE OWNERSHIP
This website is privately owned, and we celebrate the written word in all its glory, including our right to read and feature the books of our choosing. We never make reading or other decisions based on anything that falls within any political spectrum. Doing so would interfere with our happy reading goals.
This site is run by volunteers (yep, not paid, so be nice) whose primary goal is to have fun while sharing one of our favorite things—books!
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Content Ratings
Content Codes Deciphered!
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0 Hearts: This book is as squeaky clean as it gets.
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1 Heart: Aww! This is a clean read appropriate for all audiences. May have sweet, clean kisses.
2 Hearts: Our hearts are aflutter. This author knows how to turn up the heat with some passionate kisses. Nothing graphic here!
3 Hearts: Chemistry is a little sweet and little spicy. A touch of detail, but the stuff that makes us blush is behind closed doors.
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4 Hearts: We're getting hot in here! These characters know how to have a good time. Lucky for us, they don't go into too much detail.
5 Hearts: Pull out your fans and grab a glass of ice-cold water because this book is steaming hot! One or more graphic sex scenes.
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**We do not feature or review erotica or erotic romance.**
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Content Ratings (Non-Romance Books)
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N/A: No Sex; No Violence
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PG: Non-Descriptive Sex; No Violence
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PG-13 (1): Non-Descriptive Sex; Some Violence
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PG-13 (2): No Sex; Some Violence
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R (1): Descriptive Sex and Violence
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R (2): No Sex; Graphic Violence
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Avatars (volunteer images) are generated by AI for volunteers who wish to retain online anonymity.