Book Review Rating System

I’m someone who likes to rate stuff. I rate everything, and so I also give star ratings to the books I read. However, as much as I try to be objective, there is always the matter of personal taste and preference to consider. Whenever you do see a rating from me, please keep in mind that your personal preferences might be very different to mine so you might enjoy a book I hated or dislike a book I loved.

Here are the explanations of what the ratings I give mean for me.

5 stars

I’ve enjoyed a book I’ve given 5/5 stars a lot. It was fun and engaging, the writing was good and I would read it again. It’s a recommendation for anyone who reads in this genre.

Sometimes, I might give 5 stars to wildly different books, and that means I’ve enjoyed them equally. A 5 star review might not make its way to my favorites every time, but I’ll always do my best to let you know why a book got 5 stars (or any other rating, to be honest).

4 stars

I loved this book, but there was something that made it not quite for me. This is still a highly recommended book, and chances are it’s just me personal preference getting in the way of it getting that last star.

3 stars

I liked this book, but only grudgingly and I thought there could be improvements to it. There was something about the characters or the world that didn’t quite work for me. It is still well written and a worthwhile read, but I’d hesitate to recommend it if I didn’t know someone’s reading taste well.

2 stars

I did not like this, and there are major issues. There was something about the plot or the world building or the characters that was very flawed and broke my immersion. I would not recommend this book.

1 star

I really disliked this book, and I might not even publish the review unless there is a very, very good reason to publish it. I would not recommend it – I would, in fact, recommend you stay away.

What if I do not finish a book?

If there is a book I end up DNF-ing, I will probably not post a review.

That being said, if a book was sent to me for a review, I will always finish it and post a review, disclosing information on where I got the book and my honest thoughts about it.