Advance readers

Lost Island VIPs

Read our books before anyone else. VIPs get digital advance copies (ARCs) in exchange for honest reviews.

How it works

  1. ApplyFill in the application at the end of this page. We read every one by hand.
  2. Get an inviteWhen the next ARC is ready, you’ll be invited via email to read and review it.
  3. Post a reviewShare at least one review that gives your opinion, not just a star rating.

What counts as a review

Any one of these.

YouTube video1+ minute
Goodreads, Fable, or Pagebound review5+ sentences
Instagram post5+ sentences
Instagram or TikTok video30+ seconds, or 5+ sentences in the caption
Blog post5+ sentences
Podcast episode1+ minute

Your review can be part of a bigger post or video, like “5 Fantasy Books I Read This Summer,” as long as the part about our book meets the minimum.

Questions

Yes, we love welcoming new reviewers! It helps to have one review posted before you apply, so we can see how you write. Even a short one on Goodreads is a great start.

Not everyone, but most “no” answers are easy to avoid. We can only say yes when we have enough to go on. The usual problems are a broken link to your Goodreads page, missing information, or an account that’s private so we can’t see it. Fill everything in correctly, with a public profile, and you have a very good shot.

Yes, it’s best practice. You can copy this:

I received a free copy from Lost Island Press in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon doesn’t allow reviews given in exchange for free books, even honest ones. You’re welcome to review there voluntarily, but leave out “in exchange for.” You can copy this:

I received a free copy from Lost Island Press, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

No. You’re invited to every one, but you only take the ones you want. If you download one and don’t like it, our reminder emails have a link to opt out (DNF).

Usually 1 to 3 months. If you get busy, our reminder emails have a link to ask for more time.

Apply to join

Tell us a little about yourself. We read every application by hand.

Goodreads
Log in at goodreads.com and click your profile picture, then Profile. Copy the address in your browser’s address bar. It looks like goodreads.com/user/show/12345678-yourname. In the app: Profile, tap the Share icon, then Copy link. Please don’t paste just goodreads.com, which only goes to the home page.

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube
Open your profile, tap Share, then Copy link. It looks like instagram.com/yourname, tiktok.com/@yourname or youtube.com/@yourname.

StoryGraph, Fable, Pagebound
Open your profile and copy the address from your browser.

Blog or podcast
The web address of your site.

Your profiles must be public, so we can see them. If you can open the link in a private browser window, so can we.