A couple of years ago, I stopped giving ratings to books, especially on goodreads. This year, I’m creating my own star rating system for book reviews.
Why I Stopped Giving Ratings
There were several reasons I turned away from the star rating system. I know readers who hesitate to pick up a book that is less than 4 stars. I myself question books that have less than 3 stars.
A 3 star rating signals to me that it’s more of a gamble whether I’ll enjoy the book or not. Depending on what’s going on in my life at that time affects if I’ll take a chance on the book.
Low ratings are sometimes a sign that the book was marketed wrong and due to that didn’t meet audience expectations. This happens often when books are said to be the next Gone Girl or Hunger Games or The Girl On the Train. It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything “wrong” with the book.
There’s also the case that book reviews are completely personal and subjective opinions. Just because a book isn’t for me doesn’t mean it couldn’t be the perfect story for another reader.
On the other hand, there’s a trend among book bloggers, podcasters, and reviewers of simply not discussing a book they didn’t like even if they were excitedly promoting its release. While I know authors put a lot of love and effort into their creation and I’d never want that trashed, I do feel let down when a book gets a ton of hype and doesn’t live up to it.
Are Ratings Necessary?
There’s a point I’ve seen made over and over lately by book reviewers that made me rethink ratings and reviews. Reviews are for other readers not authors! A book review isn’t a critique meant for the author, that’s what editors are for.
Book reviews give other readers insight into whether the book is something they want to read. On some platforms, reviews open up a space for dialogue and discussion among readers.
Reviews are important and implementing a rating system would help in review discussions as well as having a set scale to hold books up to.
I don’t read enough books to only discuss stories I loved. As a reader, my favorite reviews are the ones that fall in the middle. Those are the ones that include what did and also what didn’t work in the story. It gives me insight into whether the things that didn’t work are in line with my tastes or if they aren’t, even more reason to go ahead and pick the book up.
I also tend to read a lot backlist titles, meaning they were published six months to a year ago. I’m not sure that star ratings publicly matter as much for backlist books as those not yet released.
Having a star rating system certainly makes my personal reviews easier to equate. Especially at the end of the year when I’m trying to pick out the best books I read that year. A rating system would help me track and identify them more easily and accurately. Sometimes it’s hard to remember the favorites from the beginning of the year compared to those I’ve just finished.
My Star Rating System
For the foreseeable future, I’m embracing a star rating system again. One star rating would be low and five stars would be the best. Just like on goodreads. It makes it easy to match what I share here with what I have on there and I don’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel.
I’m allowing myself half stars as well! Something loads of reviewers have asked for on goodreads but likely will never be added.
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars – I adored it. It was the perfect book for me and likely to be a new favorite
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars – I loved it
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars – I liked it overall. There may have been some small parts that didn’t work for me.
- ⭐️⭐️ 2 stars – I didn’t like it. The book may have needed further editing or there were problems with the story.
- ⭐️ 1 star – It really was not for me.
I will state it here, three stars is not a bad rating! Like I said above those are often the reviews I find the most helpful when deciding whether or not to read a book because they’re telling on what did and didn’t work with the story for that reviewer’s taste.
I don’t want to jinx my reading life but last year I was very lucky, finding lots of books that would have fallen in the four to five star category. Sometimes that’s a matter of figuring out your reading taste and mood so you find the right books at the right time.
I probably won’t include any 1 star ratings or many 2 star books because I usually do not finish reading them, choosing to DNF instead.
Steam Level Scale
Since I’m reading a lot more romance lately, I’ve debated if I should include a scale for the steam level in the book. Romance novels vary from no sex to closed door to some sex on the page to explicit sex to erotica. There’s variety of language used from no description to mild language to full on naughty words.
Knowing the steam level before you begin reading can help with expectations. If you are new to romance or were not expecting sex to be on the page and read a book with explicit sex scenes it might alter your opinion of the book. On the other hand if you started reading thinking you were getting a steamy story and then there’s no sex or fade to black it could be disappointing.
- 0 – no sex
- 1 – subtle with fade to black, closed door, or mostly sexual tension
- 2 – warm with some sex on the page and mild language
- 3 – hot with more detailed sex scenes
- 4 – scorching with explicit sex scenes and/or naughty language
- 5 – erotica
Do you have a rating system for books? How do you track your reading life? Let me know in the comments below.
