Welcome to Books & Benches. We’re happy to have you here.
Books & Benches is author-owned and run with the help of dedicated volunteer readers. At its heart, the blog exists to support authors by sharing their work and to help readers discover books they’ll genuinely enjoy.
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Still Turning Pages
at Books and Benches
Books & Benches has been sharing book recommendations and author features since 2012. After many active years, we took a gentle step back in 2022 to reflect and reset. We chose to keep our archive available — a growing collection of posts meant to be discovered and enjoyed at any time.
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Looking forward, we’re embracing a more sustainable approach — one that allows us to continue sharing meaningful book recommendations and supporting authors for years to come.
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Working with Authors and Blog Tours
We love sharing great fiction! We partner with a select handful of fiction blog tour companies and publishers to spotlight authors and their books. If your blog tour company isn’t on our list, drop us an email — we’ll happily peek at the books you’re touring and see if they’re a fit for Books & Benches.
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Publisher & Author Requests
Right now, we are not accepting direct requests from individual authors. If that changes, we’ll update this page. Publishers we have worked with previously may send unsolicited requests for reviews, so long as they fall within the genres listed below. New publishers we haven't worked with before are asked to please inquire about our interest before sending requests.
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Book Reviews
All books reviewed on this blog from 2025 onward come from NetGalley, a publisher, or a reviewer’s own bookshelf. We don’t accept outside review requests at the moment, but we always keep our eyes open for new opportunities to share books we love.
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Contact Us
Have a question or just want to say hi? Use our contact form below — we’ll get back to you as soon as we can (we love hearing from fellow book lovers!).
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Our Philosophy & Volunteers
Books & Benches is privately owned and lovingly run by volunteers who just really like books. We feature the stories we love and those that catch our attention, and encourage readers to do the same. Our site is a no-bullying zone — everyone is welcome, and reading should always be fun.
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We never let politics, trends, or drama decide our reading lists. Our goal is simple: share wonderful books, enjoy the journey, and have fun along the way.
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Meet the Volunteers
Books & Benches is run by a small team of book lovers, tea drinkers, and page-turning enthusiasts who volunteer their time because sharing great stories is more fun together.
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Lizzie — Keeper of suspense, mysteries and all things sweet and heartwarming.
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Kathy — Historical adventurer and clean romance cheerleader.
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MK — Blog owner and curator of all things bookish; stops in now and then to share her own thoughts on a book or to find great new reads.
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​Curate book lists
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Host author spotlights
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Review stories that make us laugh, cry, or just smile
We may be volunteers, but our mission is serious: help readers discover books they love and celebrate authors doing what they do best. And yes, we also like to have a little fun along the way!
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Contact Us
Before contacting us, here are answers to the most commonly asked questions.
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How do I subscribe to the blog?
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You can subscribe on the Subscribe page or on individual blog posts. ​
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I am an author; where can I request a feature?
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See the blog tour information above.
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Where can I submit a book review request?
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Please read the Book Reviews section above.​
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Genres
While we’ve featured a wide variety of genres over the years, we are now focusing on the following:
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Accepted Genres
We welcome books for features and review requests in these genres:
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Historical Fiction & Historical Mystery – prior to 1905 preferred; for reviews, no WW-era settings.
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Historical Romance – 15th century through 1905 preferred; settings in the British Isles, American West/Frontier, or Canada are preferred, though other settings will be considered.
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Historical Inspirational Romance – 15th century through 1905 or contemporary; British Isles, American West/Frontier, and Canada preferred.
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Dual-Time – must include a historical timeline prior to 1905.
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Time-Travel/Time-Slip Romance – must include a historical timeline prior to 1905.
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Contemporary Romance & Women’s Fiction – small-town, clean reads only at this time.
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Romantic Suspense - accepted or selected on a book-by-book basis at this time.
Content Guidelines
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We do not feature books with gratuitous sex, violence, or swearing. Steamy books are allowed, but books with over-the-top sexual content will be declined (the reviewer decides what is over-the-top based on blog guidelines).
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Reviewers may note or review books with mild adult content at their discretion.
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Clean Reads must avoid on-the-page sex scenes and swearing beyond 1–2 uses of “hell” or “damn.” Mild violence is acceptable if it fits the time period, setting, and circumstances.
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No erotica or erotic romance will be accepted.
Note
Some genres were previously hosted on the site. The list above reflects the current focus for blog tours, features, and reviews.
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Content Ratings
We use content ratings as a helpful guide to let readers know what kind of material you might encounter in a book.
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Not every post will include a rating, but when a reviewer feels there’s content worth noting, it will be highlighted here. These notes are meant to help you choose books that are the right fit for you.
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As always, we recommend readers confirm book content before reading or purchasing to make sure it’s a good match for your preferences.
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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