I have been a member of Netgalley for over a year now. Since I joined the site, I have received over a hundred ARCs (167 to be exact). I have read many amazing books through the site and discovered new authors. I have also been auto-approved by publishers which still feels surreal.
However, not all my requests have been approved. Quite a high number have been rejected for various reasons. So I got the idea for this post from Zuky, the Book Bum and decided to do a post about the rejections that I am saddest about.
Book Rejections that I am saddest About
Declined requests elicit different reactions. Sometime, I don’t feel too bad because I can’t even recall why I had requested a title in the first place. Other times, a declined request brings some relief because of the overwhelming number of pending ARCs. However, there are declined requests that totally sting.
Understandably, publisher can’t approve all requests due to various reasons such as copyright restrictions, sometimes it is because they have reached their maximum number of approvals or as some say, ‘It’s not personal at all, it’s only because we have to be selective about sending out these advances.’
Nevertheless, declines don’t always feel great (who am I kidding, lol). Below are my top ten recent (hard to accept), saddest declined requests:
Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica
I have read all previous titles by Kubica. I love her books especially Pretty Baby. I really wanted this ARC but I guess I will have to wait just a bit longer until it is locally available for purchase.
The Treatment by C. L Taylor
I loved The Escape by C.L Taylor. Unfortunately, my request for this book was rejected…TWICE! I am now waiting to read a few reviews before deciding whether or not to get the book.
Copy Cat by Alex Lake
I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed the author’s previous title, After Anna. Unfortunately, the ARC didn’t come through.
The following are books that I wanted to read after reading great reviews about them. I tried to get Marsh King’s Daughter twice and failed… twice.
The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne
I first saw this book on NetGalley and immediately requested it. They said No. Then after a while, I saw it again under a different publisher and again, my request was declined.
After reading a couple of reviews, its one book that I am keen on reading and definitely plan on grabbing a copy as soon as I can.
Becoming Bonnie by Jenni Walsh
My blogging friend, Annie, wrote a superb review about this book. You know that excitement that you get when your friend loves a book so much and you know for sure that you will love it too? Yeah, I got that feeling but NetGalley said no.
The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
This is one book that I feel like everyone got apart from me. I just wasn’t so lucky.
The following three books are also recent rejections. They are all popular books that I am still keen on reading someday.
Best Intentions by Erika Raskin
The Honeymoon by Tina Seskis
I See You by Claire Mackintosh
So these are my saddest, recent rejections. Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?
Which are your saddest NetGalley rejections? Do you buy the titles that you are declined immediately(pre-order) or wait until you read some reviews?
A Haven for Book Lovers 
Rejections are like a punch in the gut!
Yes they are especially when you get rejection for a book that you have been waiting for.
Yep I’ve been declined numerous times as well, I’ll do a rejection post in a few weeks to show off mine :-). I’m very happy you’re not giving up on The Marsh King’s Daughter! I haven’t requested any of these myself but I like all of these titles so it could have happened to me too had I requested them. I have read The Honeymoon but I wasn’t over the moon about that one so no loss there ;-).
haha phew, happy to hear that Honeymoon wasn’t all that. I think what attracted me to the title was the setting. It sounded really interesting especially with the island in the background. I am definitely on the hunt for Marsh King. Your review is one of those that convinced me to get it.
I look forward to your post 🙂
Rejections can be horrible. I’ve been rejected a couple of times for sequels even though I read and reviewed the previous books. That’s especially infuriating.😒
That is worse than being rejected for a standalone. I imagine with the anticipation that comes with sequels, a rejections would totally sting.That is frustrating.
ughhhh, rejections are the worse! lol, I have 1 or 2 publishers that have never said yes to me so much so that now I don’t even look their way haha! but like you I also have those rejections that feel like a relief cuz of the already rib crushing ARC tbr lol.
I totally get you. I also have publishers who automatically say No to me. I used to request books without checking the publisher but with time, I had to take note of my rejections and also stay away from certain publishers.And yeah, sometimes rejections bring relief:-)
I’ve had rejections and I didn’t understand why you post is encouraging. At least I know I’m not the only person who’s gone through it.
I think every blogger has been rejected for some titles especially because of copyright restrictions so we are all in this together 🙂
Great post Diana! I agree completely with everything you said about approvals and rejections. I also don’t know why I even request some of the titles I was rejected for and I was glad to receive the rejections. However, yes, rejections for the one I really want to read stings. I love I See You and Copycat, maybe I See You more. I’m sorry you didn’t get to read them. Sometimes NetGalley post books already published on “read now”, like Girl Online, not a thriller, but it was already published years ago. So good to watch out for your favorite titles on there. 🙂
That is true about the Read Now section though I hadn’t realized that those titles are usually already published. I will be checking them out more. I was surprised when I once got rejected for a title by the publisher but then ended getting the same book through Read Me and it was a really interesting read. I need to get a copy of I See You. I have seen mixed reviews of Copy Cat so I might skip that.
Thanks for stopping by Jasmine.
The author of I See You is coming out with another book called Let Me Lie. I can’t wait to read it. Make sure you are watching out for it if you plan on reading. After reading I See You, I got a little paranoid haha.. but I got over it after reading a romantic comedy 🙂 Maybe not all the Read Now titles are already published, perhaps just some. 🙂
I try not to let the rejections bother me too much since there are so many out there to choose from but these days they don’t even seem to bother to reject and just leave them hanging in the pending list. I actually find having the books just sit on that side for months without word a lot more frustrating than if I had just been rejected, the only good side is on rare occasion I do get one approved that I’d long given up on.
Your comment has made me check my pending requests and I just realized that I still have one book that has been pending since March 29th and the title was published in February. I think they might have forgotten my request lol. Yeah, I have been approved for titles that I don’t even remember requesting 🙂
I have also realized that some requests were rejected without any notification. I just found them under the declined list. NetGalley is interesting but I am so grateful for all the titles that it has brought my way 🙂
They switched over the way requests are removed at some point making them fall off the pending and go to declines a month after the book is archived. It seems to me that since that changed publishers have been more likely to just leave them sitting. The ones you find on your decline list without a mail were probably archived and moved over on their own.
I hate Netgalley rejections smh
haha I do too especially when I get declined for books that I really really want.
Ohh I hope you get to read all of these and especially Becoming Bonnie ❤
I hope I will. Thank you 🙂
I don’t request books anymore. I am on one auto-approval list, and two different agents for publishing houses are always sending me widgets to download the books, so I’m OK with it…now. At first I wasn’t – I’d get upset.
I have been blogging for a little over a year now and I have been wanting to join NetGalley but I have this huge fear of rejection so I have just been postponing
Don’t fear the rejections.Netgalley is such a great way to get ARCs and you don’t need to request all of them. Some of them are under Read Now section so they are ready for download. Give the site a try 🙂
When real life slows down ill give it a shot
I have been rejected but normally I don’t really care, but I have just experienced a rejection I am so sad about! I totally get it now.
I’m sorry to hear that Marti. It has also happened to me recently with a book that is quite popular. I felt like the only blogger who didn’t get it so that stung a little bit. I hope that you will get a copy of the book you wanted elsewhere. You can keep checking NetGalley too since some titles tend to re-appear under different publishers or even on the Read Now section closer to publication day.
Yeah but oh well, the book is still going to come out sooner or later right? THank you so much! I will try that! 🙂