#arc reader

[duckprintspress]

Become an Advance Reader for Duck Prints Press!

Reviews are essential for showing prospective readers that we’re publishing awesome books that they want to buy and read. We’re looking to recruit an active group of people who post reviews of our work, and to do that we need your help! We’re offering Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of one of our projects: A Truth Universally Acknowledged, our most recent anthology, featuring 21 short stories and 20 full-page color artworks inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but made deliciously queer!

How it works: You see this post. You think, oh, I love reading! I love leaving reviews! I want to join the Duck Prints Press Reviewer Program! Then, you go and read the rules for our Reviewer Program. And, if everything there sounds like something you can do, you fill out the form, and – we’ll be in touch! Even better: this program isn’t only for A Truth Universally Acknowledged, and isn’t only for “advance” titles. Our reviewers are encouraged to claim titles that are currently released, too, to help build up a robust collection of reviews of Duck Prints Press titles!

Requirements:

You must be over 18 years old.

You must be prepared to post reviews on Goodreads and/or Storygraph.

You must also post the review on the appropriate listing on the Duck Prints Press webstore (for advance titles, you’ll have to wait ’til we list them there).

Upon acceptance to the program, you must join the Duck Prints Press Book Lover’s Server.

Reviews must be at least 100 words long must and engage with the actual content of the work being reviewed.

Reviews must be left within 6 months of claiming a title, or you will be removed from the program (you’re welcome to rejoin later!).

What isn’t Required:

That the reviews be positive. Reviews are for readers. We require that reviews be honest to your own experience of the work, not that they be glowing.

That you post the reviews to social media. Doing so is definitely a bonus, but you don’t have to.

That you associate yourself publicly with the review-leaving (beyond using a valid Goodreads and/or Storygraph account). As in, you don’t have to say, “I, (your name here), reviewed this book” or link your book website accounts with your existing social media presence or anything like that, nor do we request any demographic information beyond confirmation of your age.

That you purchase anything. Absolutely no purchase necessary!

What You Get:

An e-book copy (ePub and/or PDF) of the work you’re reviewing. We do not provide physical ARCs.

After you post your first review, you’ll get a coupon for 10% off a purchase from the Duck Prints Press webstore!

For every ten reviews you post, you can claim a freebie sticker from among our sticker offerings, if you want. (You’ll have to provide a snail mail address to get this, of course.)

A community of fun book-lovers to hang out with! (You can get that even without joining the ARC program, though – our Book Lover’s Discord is open to everyone.)

We’re accepting applicants for claiming A Truth Universally Acknowledged ARCs through February 21st 2025. On the 23rd, we’ll randomly select 25 of applicants to receive ARC copies of A Truth Universally Acknowledged. Everyone else will still be entirely welcome in the program and invited to start with a different, back-catalog book or story to review.

So… those are the basics. Interested? Go read the full rules, then apply to be a Duck Prints Press ARC reader TODAY!

[lindira]

Wanna read my book for free? I’m looking for ARC Readers!

ARC Applications are open for The Fall Before Flight!

An Advance Reader Copy is a free copy of an upcoming book that the author provides to the reader in exchange for an honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

Looking for fantasy readers who like or would be interested in:

Old school epic fantasies by authors like David Eddings and Robert Jordan.

Characters with disabilities, where the disabilities have an impact on the story.

Ride-or-Die Friendships that are so ride-or-die that it causes Problems (tm).

Immersive world-building and fantasy languages.

Non-spicy *SLOW* burn romances and unrequited love.

Strong female, LGBT+, and POC characters everywhere.

"War" in stories that is more about how characters are affected by the war than about the war itself.

A unique take on dragons/dragon folk.

Magic systems with consequences.

See the application for the blurb and content warnings!

If you're interested, please fill out the application below and I will get back to you soon! I’m taking ARC readers on an ongoing basis throughout June.

ARC Application

(Even if you don’t want to be a reader, please share if you have any fantasy-book-loving followers!)

[baphomimi]

ADVANCE READER SIGN UP: OPEN

SIGN UP HERE // BOOK PREVIEW // LINKS

Ten years ago, a masked cult known as The Worthy of Absence was entirely destroyed in an act of self-sacrifice. Trent is one of few survivors. He now works with Chris– an utterly intolerable true crime fan who is obsessed with the cult and has no idea that Trent is a part of it. When a chance encounter pulls Chris into what remains of the cult's activities, Trent reluctantly starts to get closer to him, setting them onto a path of violence, death, and worst of all– romance. 100k words • 290+ pages • m/m horror romance

MY FRIENDS THE TIME HAS COME!!

Did you watch Scream or Reanimator or Saw and think 'man this would be so much better if they kissed'? I HAVE TAKEN MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS and written an entire book about it.

I'm looking for some lovely people to read the final draft of The Absence is a Cat and provide some basic feedback ahead of publishing online! All I ask is that you are 18+ (there's spicy scenes) and are willing to answer some questions afterwards via a google form.

If you are at all interested in finding out more you can sign up here!

If you aren't interested but know someone that might be, it would make my day if you could spread the word! This book was written out of frustration that there's not more like it, so I would love to find some other people that feel the same :)

Feel free to comment/DM any questions!

[laurasauras]

Want to read my book early and for free?

I'm releasing my debut novel on the 12th of July. I'm fucking stoked!

I've been calling The Fool a romantasy even though I think it's more accurately a fantasy romance. The queer romance is essential to the plot, but it isn't the plot. (It's also got a fade to black level of spice, which isn't the assumption with romance books these days.) It's got more politics and murder and stuff going on.

Really though, it's about family. How hard it can be to try and live up to their expectations. How it feels to love them. How it feels to hate them. How it would be so much easier if you could just feel one thing about them.

Also, the fool is just a silly little guy! God I love a good jester.

In order to build some hype, I'd love to give it to you in exchange for an honest review in the lead up to the release. It'll probably be on Goodreads etc on the 21st of June, when I put it on Amazon etc for preorder.

There's no obligation to like it, but if you hated it I'd ask you to hold off on reviewing until after it's released.

If you're interested, you can fill out this form or just DM me and I'll send a copy to your email address. I'm in the final stages of proofreading so there may be minor changes between now and publication, but it's very polished.

I'd really appreciate if you shared this post! This book is so important to me, I've spent 5 years writing it and I think it's the best thing I've written.

Happy pride! I hope you'll love these idiots as much as I do.

[bookish-crow]

[cherchezlafatfemme]

I GET TO BE AN ARC READER FOR THE FIRST PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL GRAPHIC NOVEL I AM LOSING MY SHIT

[erinsstillreading]

booktok refugee

hi guys :)

my secret dream has always been to have a blog. ive always been better in words than talking, so it's kind of the ideal situation.

i grew up on tumblr when i was younger, but had nothing to say. now that i'm older, i do, yet i find i have no one to tell. i found that community in booktok, but quickly lost it due to the ban.

so here i am starting all over, trying not to lose the desire to find community.

my name is erin, and i've read fantasy books my whole life. a recent favorite of mine that shook up my world was Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang.

if you have similar taste in books, or even if you don't, maybe we can be friends :)

[theboarsbride]

ARC reader applications now open!!💕🐺

[soundlessroom]

HEYA!

Calling all bookworms and reviewers!

I’m looking for passionate readers to join my ARC team for Soundweavers (A dark fantasy romance Novel)

Your honest reviews will mean the world to me ♥

You can sign up here

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Review: All Shall Mourn by Ellie Marney Rating: 4/5

Simon Gutmunsson is on the run and he's taken his sister with him. To lure him back to the US, the FBI need Emma Lewis, the only other person Simon seems to care about, and her partner, Travis Bell. Lewis and Bell said they were done with the FBI. But Simon Gutmunsson cannot be the one that got away... It's been a long time since I followed a series as it was released. I've become the kind of person who buys the books as they come out and then reads them when they're all done. But None Shall Sleep was the bright spot in a very long COVID lockdown and as soon as I finished it I knew I wanted more.

Emma Lewis remains one of my favourite female characters of all time. She's tenacious and caring and self-sufficient and it's been an absolute pleasure to get to know her during this series. But I feel like this book was more about Travis, whom I also love, but am slightly less invested in. I just struggled to connect with his personal journey.

I also really struggled with how much travel there was in the story. So much time was spent hopping from one place to the other, always with new background characters to introduce, and I feel that really took away from the pace and the opportunity to dig deeper into the characters' emotional states. I also would've really loved to keep seeing Simon and Kristin's point of view like we had in the first few chapters.

Because Simon and Kristin. Oh, my dears. You clever, horrible creatures, you. I always had certain inklings about these two, especially Kristin, and it was thrilling to have some of those inklings finally confirmed. But again, the repercussions of those confirmations were never quite dug into enough for my taste.

But as series finales go, All Shall Mourn was just the ticket. It's a fast-paced cat-and-mouse thriller that shows the characters, both good and evil, at their very best and brings the story to a satisfying conclusion.

If you want a YA mystery series that will drop your jaw and turn your stomach, All Shall Mourn releases in paperback February 5th 2025 and is available for ebook preorder now.

I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[authoralexharvey]

A Sharper, More Lasting Call for ARC Readers

Do you like dark academia? How about fantasy? How about stories set on a magic college campus? How about tragic tales? Monsters? Mind-melding drugs? Toxic best friends that can't live without each other?

All of this and more is found within my debut novel, which is currently open for ARC Readers!

After their girlfriend’s best friend is wounded in a monster attack, Simone Allard stumbles across a plot much deeper than they anticipated. As they work to find a cure to their own forming illness and find out the truth, one question remains: how was Nadia involved in this?

Nadia DuPont doesn’t know how much time she has or even what is ailing her, but it all gets more complex after meeting Simone on a field trip. As they both work to find a cure to her ailment, all Nadia is certain of is she's on the path to ruin.

Basics

Dual-POV third person present tense

Roughly 71,000 words

For fans of Ninth House, A Deadly Education, and Strixhaven

Content warnings include: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Sexual content (including mild kink), Suicidal ideation, Terminal illness, and Violence

Representation includes: nonbinary main character, black main character, main characters of color, gay main character, sapphic main character, mentions of polyamory, a main character with chronic illness/terminal illness, neurodivergent main character, side characters of color, plus-sized main character, disabled side character, queernormative society

ARC Readers will be accepted and contacted by July 1st

Completion expected by October 10th, 2024 (ASMLP's release date!)

All ARCs are digital at this time, so an email will be required.

This ARC is prior to final edits, so there may be some changes upon publication.

Links

ARC sign up form

Add ASMLP on Goodreads!

ASMLP Tag List (Ask to be added!): @magic-is-something-we-create , @wildswrites , @chishiio , @broodparasitism , @writeblrsupport , @original-writing , @artcoffeecats , @asterhaze , @linaket , @ryns-ramblings , @stesierra

[a-bi-between-pages]

ARC Review of “Theseus and the Sky Labyrinth” by Gwenhyver

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Theseus and the Sky Labyrinth” is the second story I’ve read by Gwenhyver, and I’m already eager for more. Huge thanks to her for the opportunity to read this book ahead of its August 7th release!

“Emotions are like a maze; hard to navigate and easy to get lost in.”

Where do I even begin? I was completely hooked by “Theseus and the Sky Labyrinth”! The action, the adventure, the swoon-worthy moments (even though monster hunters do not swoon, thank you), the myth-inspired plot, the underlying mystery—every element had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

Our main character, Theseus, is a battle-focused, maze-bound monster hunter heading to her next mission: entering the Sky Labyrinth just outside of the planet Minos and hunting down the beast inside — you guessed it, the infamous Minotaur. She expects danger, of course, but what she doesn’t expect is everything else the maze has in store for her (especially the “renegade arsonist chicken”)!

“She laughs even harder, then, because she’s faced down monsters in masks and multiheaded beasts, but she is undeniably afraid of this one chicken.”

I thoroughly enjoy Gwenhyver’s writing style. She has a true gift for transporting readers into her world — whether it’s through atmospheric descriptions, unique cultures, or believable magic systems. Her writing strikes the perfect balance between showing and telling, giving just enough detail to spark your imagination. Without giving too much away, the story features multiple points of view, and I absolutely loved the way Gwenhyver executed them. You really get to see the story from all angles!

If you’re a fan of sci-fi/fantasy with high-stakes action, epic adventures, journeys of self-discovery, slow-burn sapphic romance, enemies-to-lovers tension and swooning (So. Much. Swooning.), myth retellings, and strong women—literally and figuratively—“Theseus and the Sky Labyrinth” is an absolute must-read!

[lindira]

ARC Readers Wanted!

The Fall Before Flight is an epic fantasy novel with rich world-building, a unique magic system, and LGBTQ+ and disabled main characters. And I’m looking for a few more readers for my ARC team!

Advance Reader Copies are free copies of an upcoming book that authors provide to readers in exchange for an honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

The book launches July 30th, so I would like to have reviews posted by then.

Please sign up here!

(Sign-ups will close on the 13th to give readers plenty of time to read and review. If you know anyone who might be interested in a free epic fantasy book, please signal boost!)

[elliereadstoomuch]

hi. i’m ellie. i’m 15 and currently reading my way through a 200-book goal like it’s some sort of coping mechanism (maybe it is. maybe it works.)

i like:

– books that make you feel too much

– poetic writing that reads like a bruise

– every genre but especially literary fiction, fantasy, dark academia, and non fiction.

– annotating books like i’m in love with them

– pretending i live in a coming-of-age novel

you’ll probably find:

– ✍️ emotional book reviews (sometimes unhinged)

– 📖 favorite quotes that live in my brain

– 📚l book recs

– ☕ reading updates and the occasional existential spiral

Some of my favorite books:

-A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara

-The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

-Fairytale, Stephen King

-On Earth we’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong

Books: 104/250 (as of 7/07/25)

currently reading: The Nightingale Kristin Hannah

“Because freedom, I am told, is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey”

– ocean vuong

[jailedmoonshine]

**spoilers**

a small snippet of the chapter list of my new novel, restless endless memories, a flipside romance novel featuring a girl named caila attempting to live her life after the death of her ex-girlfriend, struggling with the fact that every night her dreams about her ex become more vivid and realistic.

if you'd like to beta read this story, join my discord!! there is no obligation to read anything by joining it, but I'd love to start building a little book club/reading community if anyone could like a chance to read this novel for free in exchange for a small amount of feedback! send me a message or reply if you're interested and i'll share the link!

love y'all! ♡

-lexi

[desertmousy]

Howdy ✦ A lot of you know me from my Dune fanfic but I'm here to tell you about the original space opera I've been working on since March 2024. Well, I finished it late last year [!!!!] and it's coming out this spring and I'm offering advanced reader copies to people interested in reading and reviewing an achillean science fiction romance [summary and trope list under the cut] ↴

⟡ you can get on the list for an early copy here ⟡

Two centuries ago, House Henly of Aurethia and House Volkov of Griea penned an engagement, promising a ​u​nion between rival houses and their respective homeworlds.

Elio Henly has been preparing for marriage his entire life. As the Henly heir, and future steward of Aurethia, he will inherit great power, including control of a lucrative trade route and ownership of the most precious substance in the greater universe — Avara. The mysterious blue crystal native to Aurethia is the sole treatment for parsec sickness, an epidemic ravaging space travelers within the Greater Universe. But when he meets Cael Volkov, the charming heir of the outfitted military planet, Griea, everything he thought he knew about his homeworld, his family, and his heart is turned upside down.

Cael Volkov has been raised to conquer. Champion in the Griean Tupinaire, commander of the Royal Reserve, and son to the mighty Legatus, Cael knows his mission is simple: gain the Aurethian heir’s trust, learn everything he can about the forest moon, and prepare to take it by force. But the longer he spends with Elio Henly — the quiet, brilliant Aurethian prince — the more he questions everything he was taught and begins to push back against the duty seeded in him by a lust for vengeance.

➵ if you like Captive Prince but want it in space

➵ if you like the swordfighting in Dune but want more romantic tension

➵ if you like Endor and Hoth but want more Padme and Anakin

➵ if you like romantasy but want more science fiction

➵ if you like arranged marriage but want it to be queer

I would not have written this 155k fever dream of a book without the Dune fandom [especially my feydpaul brethren; this book is a feydpaul ripoff]. You'll will always have my sword [and my heart] ✹

p.s. artwork by akito [@/akkito_ on ig]