Last updated: (January 16, 2024)
This page describes the terms and conditions that govern your use of the Hidden Gems (“us”, “we”, or “our”) website, http://www.hiddengemsbooks.com (the “Site”).
Access to and use of all or any part of the Site is conditional upon your acceptance of and compliance with the following terms.
1. General Rules
1.1 If you choose to use the Site, any of the features of this site, or make purchases via the site, including but not limited to promotional advertising space in one of our marketing campaigns or submit a book to our ARC program (collectively, the “Services”), you will be agreeing to abide by all of the terms and conditions of these Terms of Service.
1.2 We may change, add or remove portions of these Terms of Service at any time, with or without notice, which shall become effective immediately upon posting to this page. It is your responsibility to review these Terms of Service prior to each use of the Site and by continuing to use this Site, you agree to abide by any changes.
1.3 You may not attempt to access or use the Site or the Services to take any action that could harm us or any third party. You may not access parts of the Site or the Services to which you are not authorized. You may not attempt to circumvent any restriction or condition imposed on your use or access, or do anything that could disable or damage the functioning or appearance of the Site, including the display of advertising. Being exposed to advertising is a condition of access to the Site and the Services.
1.4 We may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Site or the Services at any time.
2. Links to Other Third Party Websites
2.1 This Site contains links to other websites that are created and maintained by third parties, including Amazon and sites linked to via targeted advertising. These third parties are solely responsible for the content contained within their respective sites. The operators of such sites may impose their own terms of use in connection with access to and use of their sites. It is your responsibility to inform yourself of and to abide by those terms of use. For more information regarding third-party advertising, please see our Privacy Policy.
2.2 Unless otherwise stated, we have not reviewed the content of any third-party site, and cannot guarantee the quality or the accuracy of the content.
3. Content on the Site
3.1 As part of our Services, we allow authors to submit content related to their books, including, but not limited to, book covers and synopses. Because this content is author-submitted, we do not verify ownership, nor do we guarantee the quality or accuracy of the content.
3.2 By using the Services, You grant Hidden Gems a perpetual, nonexclusive, world-wide, royalty free license to display content you provide (a “Submission”), which includes without limitation the right for Hidden Gems to publicly display, host, index, and cache your Submission, and to create derivative works for sole purpose of promoting your book, the Site, and the Services.
3.3 You are solely responsible for the content of your Submissions. Hidden Gems reserves the right to delete, move, or edit Submissions that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, or otherwise unacceptable. Refunds will not be issued for unacceptable content or for content that is removed from the site.
3.4 Please report any violations of copyright to contact@hiddengemsbooks.com.
4. Using the Site
4.1 You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Site or its Services.
4.2 Book information for our promotional newsletter must be received prior to the date booked. We will make every attempt to acquire the information needed if it is missing, up to and including contacting the author. In the event that information is still missing on the booked date, we reserve the right to remove the book listing from the Site. Refunds will not be issued and slots emptied in this manner may be resold.
4.3 Books that are promoted via our newsletter must be available for the price indicated on the booking (either FREE or $0.99) by the booked date. We will make every attempt to contact the author to resolve the situation, but books that do not comply will be removed and no refunds will be issued. Slots emptied in this manner may be resold.
4.4 Books must be published and live on Amazon.com to be accepted for our promotional newsletter. No pre-orders will be accepted.
4.5 Books supplied to our ARC Service will be charged a non-refundable deposit. The balance minus the deposit is due prior to the booked date, and must be paid prior to your book being sent out. You will be invoiced as soon as we have the number of requested readers signed up for your book, or the afternoon before your booked date, whichever comes first. If you do not get as many readers signed up as you requested, you will only be billed for the number of readers that did sign up (even if your number is below our minimum threshold). For more information on pricing, please see our FAQ.
4.6 We have the right to remove readers from the ARC Program or stop sending books to readers for any reason and without notice, at our sole discretion.
4.7 By using our Services, you consent to having your email address collected. Pursuant to our Privacy Policy, your email address will never be shared with a third party.
4.8 All reviews must comply with Amazon Community guidelines.
5. Hidden Gems Books Points
5.1 Readers can earn HGB points by visiting their dashboards daily and by filling out reader forms. The points have no monetary value, do not constitute currency of any kind, and are not an incentive to readers to allow Hidden Gems to influence their reviews. Points cannot be traded, sold, or exchanged and can only be redeemed for available ARC books.
5.2 Readers are limited in the number of points they are able to bank to reserve books based on their participation in the Hidden Gems Books ARC Program. The more readers participate (and increase their Gem Level), the higher their individual point cap will be. Limits can be changed at any time by Hidden Gems with or without notice.
5.3 Available ARC books will be assigned a point value that a reader must have available in order to make a reservation. Values will be assigned at our sole discretion and can be updated with or without notice.
6. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
6.1 The materials on this web site are provided “as is” and without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, to the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable law.
6.2 We disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. We do not warrant that the web site will operate uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected or that this web site or the hosting server is free of viruses or other harmful components. We do not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the result of the use of the materials on this web site in terms of accuracy, reliability or fitness for any particular purpose. You assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.
6.3 Under no circumstances, shall we be liable for any damages, direct or indirect, special or consequential, that result from the use of, misuse of, or the inability to use our web site, any materials contained thereon, or any Services used.
6.4 We make no guarantee, implied or explicit, regarding the perpetuity of reviewers or review entries on Amazon. Either or both could be removed at any time for reasons including, but not limited to, readers deleting their Amazon accounts and all associated reviews, customers deleting specific individual reviews from their accounts, and Amazon removing readers, reviews, or limiting a reader’s ability to post reviews.
6.5 We make no guarantee, implied or explicit, that using our Services will lead to an increase in sales or visibility if an author’s book appears on our promotional newsletter. In addition, we make no guarantee, implied or explicit, to the quantity or quality of reviews or comments supplied by readers via our ARC service, nor are reviews or comments curated or censored. You agree that Hidden Gems is not liable for any damages, whether perceived or actual, that occur as a result of using our Services.
7. Miscellaneous
7.1 This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and Canada, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law.
7.2 In the event that any of these terms are found to be unenforceable or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalid or unenforceable provision shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any other term or condition herein.
7.3 For questions, please email us at contact@hiddengemsbooks.com.