I was approached by a promotion company found here: https://www.thebookaracircle.org/spotlight
Good morning. I have a very important story to share.
Please read all the way to the end.
I asked several questions of them that they avoided, offered discounts instead of answering and basically blew me off.
I asked Casey Mathews of Web Friendly Help to check them out thoroughly for me.
That’s part of what he does and he does it well.
Here are his findings.
OK, first off the home page for the group is:
What The Bookara Circle appears to be
The Bookara Circle website describes itself as a “global community” where readers discover books, post reviews, connect with authors, participate in live sessions and Q&As, and receive book recommendations. It presents itself more like a Goodreads-style reading community combined with an author-promotion platform than a traditional local book club. (The Bookara Circle)
The site currently features mainstream authors such as Freida McFadden, Colleen Hoover, Alex Michaelides and Lucy Score, along with less widely known authors including Caroline Maguire, Diana Kemp and David W. Donner. (The Bookara Circle)
There is at least some evidence that it has actually interacted with authors. Caroline Maguire publicly thanked Bookara Circle for having her on to discuss her book, Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults. That appears on her own Instagram and Facebook presence, which is considerably stronger evidence than Bookara Circle merely claiming the interview happened. (Instagram)
There is also an article on USA Wire referring readers to an audio interview with Maguire through Bookara Circle’s “Author Spotlight.” (USA Wire)
Who is behind it
This part is much less clear.
The site gives a contact telephone number of +1 601-391-8139 and an email address of info. (The Bookara Circle)
I also found a Facebook profile for a Michael Kent that explicitly says, “I am Michael Kent, a representative from The Bookara Circle.” (Facebook)
However, I have not found a clearly identified founder, executive team, physical headquarters, corporate entity, nonprofit registration, board of directors, or established organizational profile in the independent search results I checked.
I would therefore not describe it as a verified nonprofit. In fact, the Bookara Circle website itself appears to call itself a “platform” or “community,” not a charity or nonprofit organization. (The Bookara Circle)
There are some things that give me pause
There are several inconsistencies on the website that I would want explained before paying them money or entering into any substantial author-promotion arrangement.
The most striking one is the membership claims. The homepage displays counters reading “0+ Readers,” “0+ Books Reviewed” and “0+ Authors,” yet farther down the same page it says readers come from “60+ countries” and says, “Thousands of readers are waiting.” Those claims don’t fit together very well. (The Bookara Circle)
The events section is also stale. As of today, August 11, 2026, the homepage still labels events from April 26, April 30, July 12 and July 25, 2026 as “Upcoming Events.” It includes things such as a “Literary Gala Night” in London, an “African Literature Festival” in Lagos, and virtual book events. (The Bookara Circle)
I haven’t yet found independent evidence that those particular Bookara Circle events actually occurred.
There is another oddity in the book ratings. The site gives numerical ratings such as 4.7 for The Housemaid, 4.6 for Verity, 4.9 for Maguire’s book and 5.0 for some of the lesser-known titles, but the page I found does not identify the source of those ratings or show how many Bookara Circle members rated them. (The Bookara Circle)
That doesn’t prove anything improper, but for a site whose stated purpose includes reviews, I’d expect more transparency about where a rating came from.
How established is it?
Its independent web footprint currently appears quite small.
Searching specifically for the organization produced its own website, Michael Kent’s Facebook presence and material relating primarily to Caroline Maguire. I did not find the sort of broad footprint I’d expect from a genuinely large international reader community, despite the website’s claims about thousands of readers and participation from more than 60 countries. (Instagram)
That distinction matters. It may be a legitimate new operation that is still building its audience. But based on what I can independently establish right now, I would characterize it as a small, relatively new-looking author/book promotional platform with limited independently verifiable history, not yet as a major global literary organization.
One genuinely positive sign
The Caroline Maguire connection is meaningful. She didn’t simply appear on Bookara Circle’s own page. She publicly acknowledged the organization and thanked them for interviewing her. (Instagram)
So I would not dismiss the site as completely fabricated. There is evidence of at least one genuine author relationship.
Casey Mathews,
I sent this report to them and asked the lady I was speaking with to answer these concerns.
To which the customer service representative which is all these people are, because this is a clearing house of callers and emailers waiting to take your money.
Been here, done this before.
They’re trained to say certain things and if you take them out of their script they do not know what to do. That’s how you find out if they’re real.
I’ve watched people throw good money after bad at these things to get nowhere and receive no return.
Please, always check out your it’s too good to be true offers before using them.
You might get something good to begin with here, but then they’re going to start stacking $$$ on top of $$$ and you end up with nothing.
I lost a sponsor over a company similar to this because I kept trying to steer them away.
Big dreams are nice. All of us at one time or another have had them but real success comes from hard work, submitting and submitting again and if a company contacts you make sure they’re good before you do anything with them.
Patty L. Fletcher – Author and Content Promoter.
About Patty L. Fletcher
Updated November 2024
Patty L. Fletcher is a woman of passion and exploration.
She studies the art of manifestation and is a seeker of knowledge and the wisdom to know what to do with it when it’s learned.
To learn more visit: https://pattysworlds.com/about/
If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, you may have a fresh start from any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.
Mary Pickford