I get asked often how I determine my rating scale when reviewing books. I see rating as similar to a letter grade scale (probably the college professor in me).
5 Stars
This is equivalent to an A for me. I am very stingy with my 5-star ratings. For me a 5-star book is one which I absolutely loved and would recommend without reservation. Often this involves beautiful writing and a well-developed or well researched story line. The 5-star books I have read often stay with me long after the books have ended.
4 Stars
This is equivalent to a B for me. A 4-star book is one I thoroughly enjoyed reading and would happily recommend. There may have been one or two missing elements for me that meant it wasn’t quite perfect. However, none of these elements were so distracting that it impacted my overall enjoyment of the narrative.
3 Stars
This is equivalent to a C for me. I do not consider 3 stars a bad read. It means that I liked the book but maybe it did not blow me away. In many ways this means that the book was fine just not spectacular. I would still recommend if someone asked about this book.
2 Stars
This is equivalent to a D for me. A 2-star book is one I did not enjoy reading. This rating can be because of major plot holes, problematic dialogue, boring storytelling or my personal pet-peeve when authors don’t do research on the topic they are writing about. I do not recommend 2-star books.
1 Star
This is equivalent to an F. A 1-star rating means I strongly disliked this book. Thankfully my 1-star ratings are even rarer than my 5-star ratings since I think most books have at least some redeeming quality.
Review notes – I do not rate books I do not finish. If I don’t make it all the way through a book, I think is inappropriate to give my opinion of the story. There have been books I actively disliked that I forced myself to finish specifically so that I could leave a rating and a review. Also, I very often give half stars because not all books fit neatly in one star rating or the other for me.
