Editorial policy

Our job is to make a useful choice for a real reader, not to reward the loudest campaign or reproduce a bestseller list. This policy explains how we protect that judgment.

How recommendations are chosen

We use the reader’s answers to form a brief covering mood, attention, emotional limits and appetite for familiarity or surprise. A recommendation must answer that brief and be explainable in human terms. Genre, sales rank and similarity to past reading can inform a choice; none is decisive on its own.

Eligibility and submissions

Traditionally published, independently published and backlist fiction can all be considered. A submission is an invitation to review a book, not a promise of coverage. Payment cannot buy a recommendation, a favourable assessment or inclusion in a guide.

Editorial guides

Guides must answer a distinct reader question, add something more useful than a list of titles, and connect naturally to the service. We favour concrete observations, practical tests and original frameworks over padded introductions or manufactured certainty. Search demand may help us choose which genuine question to answer next; it does not determine the answer.

Sources and claims

When a guide relies on research, data or another creator’s framework, we identify and link to the source. Interpretive advice is presented as judgment, not scientific fact. We do not use invented quotations, testimonials or reading results.

Production tools

Research, drafting and design tools may assist with analysis and production. Published material is reviewed for relevance, accuracy and consistency with this policy, and responsibility for it remains with Best Book Recommendations.

Corrections and updates

We correct factual mistakes when they are found and revise guides when their usefulness has materially changed. Substantive revisions carry an updated date. Readers can reply to an email from the service to flag a concern.

Privacy and commercial relationships

Recommendations are delivered privately. We do not publish a reader’s answers or sell personal information. Any future affiliate or commercial relationship that could affect how a page is understood will be disclosed where it appears. See the privacy policy for data handling details.

Last updated: 4 September 2026