Recently a friend of mine from university reached out to me on GR and she thanked me for my reviews which she found very helpful for someone like her who is new to GR and doesn't have much time to search for new titles. I was overwhelmed and I remember my first steps in actively reviewing books 2 years ago - how I struggled with GR initially, what it took me to understand the workings of NetGalley, Edelweiss, other book blogs. As usually, I was acting stubborn and didn't ask for help and tried to figure it all out by myself. 

For an international reader like me, it is even more difficult to find your place in the book blogging/reading (online) world. So, to cut a long story short, I decided that I could share some of my insights with the hope that could be helpful for some new readers out there. I know there are a lot of resources already available but still, I will add my two cents to this topic. I will try to make it a series of short article/posts with advice directed mostly to new readers/reviewers. Feel free to add your comments and suggestions any time. 

My first post will focus on the ways we can get free book (either just to read, or to read and review).

How to Get Free Books

Most of us are hard pressed for money and as a compulsive reader my budget for books regularly goes overboard. So, I'm always on the lookout for great deals and sources of free books.

- Many of the Goodreads groups have topics for books sales and freebies. Find the groups which reflect your reading interests and then search for the right topic and subscribe to it. This source works bets for me.

- There is a number of sites offering daily newesletters with book sales and freebies. I'd suggest that you try out different newsletter to see which one works bets for you. Many deals repeat along the site but there are also some appearing on one place only. I have cut down the newsletters I receive to just two, since I don't really have the time to go through too many daily emails - SweetFeedBooks and BookBub

- Check the bestsellers list (free books) on Amazon - I don't do this very regularly, but you can find some awesome jems there sometimes.

- Another way to get free books even before their official release is provided by sites like NetGalley and Edelweiss - where you can request books for review. You need to provide feedback on the books you've read and there is always a chance that your request may be denied. I'll be introducing this services in more detail in my next post

- You can also get books in exchange of review in several groups on Goodreads. This is a great way to read new books for free if you are willing to try new authors, especially ones that publish their works independantly (indies) - Making Connections, New Adult Book Club

Other free reads (short stories, deleted chapters, prequels, epilogues, etc.)