My Rating System

One thing I have noticed from my many years or reading and reviewing books is that while most people use a five-star system, the meanings behind the rating differ vastly from reader to reader.  One reader may give three stars to a book they didn't like while another may give three stars to a book they enjoyed.  Due to this difference, I have created a chart on how I interpret and use the five-star rating system.  

5 Stars: These are reserved for books that I loved and was blown away by.  They do not have to be a perfect read and can have some faults, but they need to keep me engaged all the way through.  A 5-star book is the one that I cannot put down and has me peeling through it in the matter of hours or days. They are the best of the best in my opinion.  This rating is not used a ton as I save it for my absolute favorite books.  Ex: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, A picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Carnival by Stephanie Garber, and The Book of Ivy by Amy Engal 

4.5 Stars: This rating is used for books that I loved, but maybe we're not quite as engaging.  Often times this rating is given to a book that I thought was really well done but wasn't as faced paced and I may have taken more time in reading.  I still feel that the book was an overall great story but may not quite meet all of my standards for a five-star book.  Ex: Ethan Frome Edith Wharton, Tales of Ancient Egypt Roger Lancelyn Green, The Glass Arrow, by Kristen Simmons The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan.  

4 Stars: The four-star rating for me is a pretty standard one.  They are books I enjoyed and possibly even loved.  I thought they were overall well done, but I wasn't as blown away by them as I  was with the five and four and a half star rated books.  Oftentimes a book can get a four-star rating from me if I am able to call the plot too easily or if the book relies heavily on a trope that I am not a huge fan of.  Ex: Cut by Patricia McCormick, The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows, Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown, The Pledge by Kimberly Derting.  

3.5 Stars: These books fall somewhere in between loving and liking the book.  Usually, books that I rate three and a half stars are a book that I found fun and entertaining but they did not blow me away. I would not tell people they needed to go out of their way to try and read this, but I still enjoyed them and thought they were taking the time to read.  Ex: Stolen: a Letter to my Captor by Lucy Christopher, City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare, Iphigenia in Aulis, Emma by Jane Austin, and Dracula by Bram Stoker.  

3 Stars: This rating is for books that were just good. Not great, not amazing, just good. Some might say they are the average book. I liked them enough to get through them and did think that they were decent books, but I wouldn't reread them.  If It is a series, I may or may not continue with the series Ex: The Wood by Chelsea Bobulski, Forgive my Fins by Tera Lynn Childs,  and The Girl in 6 E by A.R. Torre.   

2.5 Stars: If a book receives below a three-star rating then I did not like the book.  For a book to get a two and a half star rating.  It had to be slow, riddled with flaws, or otherwise unenjoyable for me.  For a book to get a two and a half, there is usually some saving grace to the book.  Often times it might be a really good ending, or it could be that there is one character that I enjoyed.  That being said, I still overall did not enjoy the book.  Ex: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake, 

2 Stars: I did not like it.  For a book to receive this rating.  It either had to really bore me, make me really angry, or just be poorly written.  I more than likely finished the book, but if it is part of a series, it is a safe bet to assume that I will not be reading on.  Ex: One Death, Nine Stories, O! Pioneers by Willa Cather.  

1.5 Stars: It is rare that I would rate something at a one and a half stars.  The book has to be pretty bad for me rate it at this low of a level.  More than likely it is riddled with flaws or is very problematic.  It is safe to assume that I really disliked the book if it is rated at a 1.5.  

1 Star: I absolutely hated it. It is possible that I even DNF'ed (Did Not Finish) the book.  If a one-star rating is on this blog, it means that I must have really disliked it, and felt passionately enough about the book that I wrote a review as to how much I hated it.  I do not write reviews for a book I DNF.  Ex: Catcher and the Rye by J.D Salinger.