A Beginner's Thoughts on NetGalley

So, I got my very first Netgalley account in July and started requesting books.

I saw a tweet about someone complaining it was hard to keep your rating high. I didn't understand at the time. I do now. It's easy to request and wish for books you think sound good - so many of them do! But there's a point to which you have to make yourself stop. Mine was when I had 7 acceptances and I just needed to start reading them before I requested more.

The one thing I did learn pretty quickly though was that the ones that sounded amazing tended to be looking for more advanced bloggers, who had more views and reach. Hence why my first three experiences were very varied, both in quality but also in my rating. So here are the first three books I reviewed on Netgalley:

1. Plastic Sucks! You Can Make A Difference by Dougie Poynter

While I wasn't the target audience for this book (children), I requested it because the recent publication of environmentally friendly books makes me excited. And I wanted to get involved. This was a great introduction for kids: colourful and informative. As a non-child myself, I have to say there was no new information in there but if I put my child hat on, it was a pretty good read. However, there were pages that held clumps of text that, as a young reader, I don't think I'd find as attractive. This can also be said for the interviews contained in the book. The same format is given for each interview, meaning I got bored of the same questions after a while. Overall, a solid 3* from me. I'd definitely start reading non-fiction books about this topic. Probably one aimed at adults next.

2. Slumber by Becky Bird

I'm a sucker for a good fairy-tale retelling, and that's why I requested this one. Written from the point of view of the Prince in Sleeping Beauty, it definitely offered a retelling, and a twist on the concept of 'true love's kiss'. But I did rate this one quite low at 2* because quite a lot irked me. In fact, I probably would have DNF'd the book if I hadn't received a free copy from Netgalley. To summarise: - The Prince isn't likeable. At. All. Half of the narrative is told from his perspective and it's honestly hard to read anything he has to say when his wording is so derogatory about everyone and everything. His redemption is sprung randomly on us when he has his first decent thought and, though you could see it coming from the first page, it wasn't well written. - The other half of the perspective is from Lucy, a run-away orphan girl who defies all stereotypes. Except there is nothing to her apart from her disliking everything people expect her to do (i.e., everything 'girly'). She is just as judgemental as the Prince. - Then there is the evil guy, who's perspective randomly intercepts the other two. I'm serious: there will be a lone paragraph amidst a scene about Lucy that is from the Cardinal's perspective halfway across the kingdom (and it isn't signalled - it just randomly appears).

3. The Dating Charade

I requested this book because it sounded like a quick and fun read. And it definitely was! It alternates between Cassie and Jett as they start to date. Both admitting they don't want children on their first date, the plot quickly becomes hilarious as Jett becomes the unlikely guardian for his three nieces/nephews and Cassie become the unlikely guardian for three sisters she knows from her childcare work. Obviously, neither have parenting experience and decide to hide the children from each other. It reminded me of the film Life As We Know It.

There's a few more titles that excite me in my Netgalley shelf and I can't wait to get to them. I think I've learned to be more picky about what titles I choose - quality and audience does matter, even if you're receiving the copy for free. I've also learned that I enjoy a chick flick more than I remember. It's a refreshing read in between the heavy and detailed fantasy genres I read.

I've momentary taken a break from requesting books on Netgalley so I can catch up, hoping to get a better acceptance rate when my read-review rate is higher. I also think I was checking it so often that I got bored of seeing the same titles come up on my dashboard after a while, so hopefully next time I look it will look entirely different and full of new releases.

To end on a positive, through Netgalley, I've gotten to review 3 books all before their release date. I've also been contacted by a publisher and received a physical copy of a book I wished for that I was super excited about. In turn, this gave me the confidence to request more physical copies from publishers, resulting in my second book post.

Do you have any more advice for me when using Netgalley in the future?

Happy reading :)