Last updated: July 2026
The short version
Some links to books on this site are affiliate links. If you buy a book through one of them, we may earn a small commission. You pay exactly the same price either way.
The longer version
ThoughtsOnShelf participates in affiliate programmes operated by online booksellers. When we link to a book, that link may carry a tracking code that credits us with a commission if you go on to buy.
This costs you nothing. The price you pay is identical whether you use our link, search for the book yourself, or buy it in a shop.
Why this doesn’t affect our reviews
The obvious worry with affiliate revenue is that it pushes a site toward positive reviews, since a glowing review sells more books than a critical one. Three things keep that in check here:
- Commission rates are flat. We earn the same percentage on every book, regardless of publisher, price tier, or how we rated it. There is no book we get paid more to recommend.
- We link to books we tell you to skip. Our one- and two-star reviews carry the same links as our five-star ones. If you want to read a book we disliked and judge for yourself, we’re not going to hide it from you.
- Ratings are decided before links are added. Affiliate links are inserted at publishing, after the review and rating are written.
If you’d rather not use our links, that’s completely fine — searching the title at any bookseller gets you to the same place, and the review is just as useful either way.
Review copies
Separately from affiliate links, we sometimes receive free review copies from publishers or authors. Any review of a book received this way discloses it in the review itself. See How We Review for our full policy.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you think we’ve failed to disclose something we should have, contact us.
This disclosure is provided in line with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, and equivalent requirements elsewhere.