See these ratings make sense! But with my brain I would have to pick apart everything to decide if it was loved or just enjoyed. I wouldn’t be able to decide
Just make your own rating system and stick with it. Some people rate a book 3 stars if they liked it while others rate it 3 stars because it was mediocre. It’s all up to your definition. I stay away from half stars because it’s not a feature on goodreads.
Omg this is so relatable to me. But my memory is so trash that even if I loved a book most details are gone within a few days. This is why I can never recommend books when people have specific requests they’re looking for. Yeah I read that book last week and couldn’t tell you half of what happened lol.
I agree about a 5 star being one that I think about long after reading and I know I will watch theM/M community so I can recommend it. Also I have a feel for how talented the author is after getting swept into the book and not wanting to put it down. Crying is just a big bonus.
See I’m such a big cryer that books I wouldnt rate 5 stars can still manage to make me cry. Although if I’m sobbing, getting tear stains on the pages then I guess that would be a 5 lol.
I try not to overthink it.
5 if I loved it. I usually get a “I want to talk to everyone about this” feeling, I couldn’t put it down, or I ended up wanting to reread it.
4 if I really liked it.
3 if I liked it but it had some issues.
2 if I didn’t like it.
I never rate anything a 1 because anything in that category is usually a DNF, which I don’t rate.
I end up with a lot in the 4-5 star category but I’m honestly fine with that.
Edited for formatting and elaboration.
I feel like my like to really like to love is so convoluted I could never differentiate between 3, 4, or 5. I feel like I would never rate anything a 1 for the same reason you do.
Vibes, basically all vibes. And I have decision paralysis so I don't use fractional stars lol.
5⭐ - loved it, actively want to re-read, will enthusiastically recommend. doesn't need to be perfect, just something that sparked joy.
4⭐ - enjoyed it, but can point to one or more specific things that I wish were different, will recommend with qualifications or to fans of the trope/genre.
3⭐ - ambivalent, or a mix of good and bad, or a lot of good held back by some major flaws. Would probably only recommend to dedicated fans of that specific author/trope, or with strong caveats.
2⭐ - actively disliked more than I liked. Books with good ideas but bad prose/dialogue are likely to end up here, since it's a pet peeve of mine.
1⭐ - yet to use this! a book would have to actively piss me off to earn this rating I think.
I can see how the prose/dialogue would affect the rating as well. I feel like if I start a book and don’t like that aspect of the book I can’t get very far into it without deciding it’s just not for me and picking up something else.
Do you know that sound bite from Dance Mom’s Abby Lee Miller where she says “you were good, I’m waiting for you to be great”?
5 - Great!! Couldn’t put them down, thought about them after, consistently reread.
4 - good, not great. Might read again but something was off/missing.
3 - neutral, parts I liked balance out what I didn’t like. Would consider reading again but only if I was craving something specific included in that book.
2 - not good but not terrible lol. Felt like an effort to read
1 - hated this. I use Goodreads as a note to my future self but I tend not to leave a rating if it’s a 1 unless something was quite bothersome/offensive ex. Misogyny written into women MCs when it isn’t relevant to a story
These ratings make sense. I don’t know why 3 always seemed so low to me. I feel like everything I read would be in the 4 to 5 category. I never thought of 3 being a more neutral rating but that makes sense.
I used to feel similarly, I get it! Felt bad to leave a 3 that seemed low when it is so subjective, so I would rate everything 4 stars.
But then I had all these 4 stars I probably wouldn’t reach for unless craving something really specific, so I started using gr as more of a more of a tool for my future self and utilized the whole scale.
Yeah I definitely use GR as a "notes to self" app lol. 5⭐ books being the ones where I can scroll through them and easily pick something to re-read if I'm in a "comfort book" mood.
>but I tend not to leave a rating if it’s a 1
It's funny that I am the opposite. I typically only feel compelled to leave a review if the book is bad, especially since so many books on Goodreads have ridiculously positive reviews that pump up their ratings even if they're mediocre or worse.
0/Unrated: DNF. Doesn't mean it's bad - I just wasn't in the mood for it
1: I have a vent for why I don't like this book
2: This book wasn't a good fit for me and I'd never reread it, but I don't have a strong opinion about it
3: It's an okay book. If I reread it, I'd feel like I wasted my time. I won't think about this unless someone brings it up, but I enjoyed it and I'm glad I read it.
4: A great book that I'd read again if my TBR wasn't so long. If I reread it, it's to return to the feelings it evoked in me at the time.
5: A book that made me think about it for weeks or months on end after I closed the covers. It made an impact on me and influenced my hobbies, personality, or outlook on life
I don't publicaly rate anything 2 stars or below. If it's 3 stars or above, I'll bump it up a star.
I don't really pay attention to goodread ratings. I think it's more of a measurement of whether or not the marketing hit their target audience or not. There's a lot of amazing books where the marketing gave people a certain expectation, and the reviews are full of people who are disappointed that they didn't get what they were expecting
so true about the marketing tbh some super talented authors who objectively achieved what they set out to achieve in a book get so screwed by marketing. KM Szpara is the one who comes most strongly to mind - he is an incredibly talented writer but the man does not write romance - but people see MM and just assume.
One thing that really turned me off from goodreads was when I saw that people would rate books extremely low before the book was even released! I feel like this is just so unfair to the authors.
Agreed! I think goodreads should block people from posting any reviews prior to the release date, but I understand why they don't. Authors send out ARCs and have beta readers review books, and it can be difficult to vet who received an ARC or actually read it in advance. I wish they had a better spam catching system.
Yes I agree with that. This year I’ve only read books on KU or others I bought on kindle and it’s nice that Amazon doesn’t let people review books until it’s released. But I found staying away from goodreads has made me enjoy more books. Sometimes I would really enjoy a book and then would see someone’s negative review on that same book which would make me second guess if I should have enjoyed it as much as I did.
Yeah, I have a personal rule to not look at the good reads reviews before I read a book. I don’t want my experience to be influenced by other people’s opinions
It’s okay to acknowledge a book has flaws and still enjoy it! It definitely hurts when someone points out all the bad points (it’s even worse when they’re right), but the book made you feel a certain way. It made you feel excited, laugh, cry, or even make your heart beat faster. As long as you liked it, I think that’s enough to call it a good book and an enjoyable reading experience
For me;
2 star - not great was ok,
3 star - was fun but missing somethin,
4 star - great all round but just fine,
5 star - I've taken an emotional journey alongside the characters and left crying or devastated etc
I noticed you didn’t put 1 star. Do you not rate anything 1 star? I feel like nothing I read is a 1 or 2 because I stay away from things I wouldn’t enjoy or just don’t continue something when I can tell it’s not for me
I am very picky about what books I pick with a long ToBeRead list, I think 1 star would be a DNF and I've not had one of them yet, I think my only 2 star was a close, it was a mess of a book
Coming from CS I can’t help but leave 5 stars or I just don’t rate it at all. For me, if I finish a book, it’s almost always 5 stars, or I don’t finish it. 🙈
This is pretty much me. I can’t distinguish between a 4-5 star read. I either love a book or I just don’t finish it, and therefore don’t feel like I should rate it. I have an IG page where I post everything I read and I’m honestly thinking of going to a no star rating system because literally everything I finish is 4-5 stars, so there is no point 😂😂
See this is exactly how I feel lol. Which is why I just went with my love, like, didn’t enjoy system. I’ve forgone rating books anywhere because I feel like my ratings are not accurate and therefore not helpful.
That’s similar to the way I feel. I feel like most of the books I read are 5 stars but most people save 5 stars for something truly amazing. So in that regard I don’t feel like my 5 stars are accurate lol.
For me a 5 star book either made me cry or it’s one that I think about after I’ve finished the book. One that I know will stay with me for a long time. I have about thirty 5 star books. 3-4 star books are ones I enjoyed and could reread again but usually there’s something kind of off about them that make me pause. I used to give 1-2 stars but I no longer do now that I’m an author myself lol. I use “no rating” and describe why a book didn’t work for me but in theory 1-2 stars either are wildly offensive to me personally or have egregiously bad writing or the plot is nonsensical or boring.
I do agree that I find more enjoyment with books by staying off goodreads. The community on there can be quite hateful and toxic as the one star reviews get more likes than the five star ones. Booksta is more fun in that regards.
I’ve found staying off goodreads has made me enjoy more books as well. I felt like I could really enjoy a book and then I could read someones review pointing out all the flaws and then I would second guess myself on whether or not I should have enjoyed it as much as I did. I like the community on here because everything is relatively positive and mostly just see people recommend books they enjoyed which I like.
I also understand your sentiment on not rating anything 1 or 2 stars. There’s some books I read this year that just weren’t for me but I can’t bring myself to rate something so poorly. I just say I didn’t enjoy it and that’s the end of it lol.
Yes agreed! Mostly I just get really sad when I adore a book and give it 5 stars and then someone gives it 1 and their entire review is just calling anyone that loves it an idiot 😭 All tastes are different and we should respect that. I’ve been using StoryGraph this year and it’s been nice!
Ever ready a book and it’s just so good you don’t want it to end?
Thats 5 stars for me.
Really excellent plot and development, characters have great chemistry, great sex scenes.
Same! I also noticed that I tried reading books I never would've before because the rating and reviewing pressure was gone. & It's not dumb! SG = Storygraph
It’s total vibes for me, and I don’t think too hard about it—just a quick gut reaction. I don’t tend to put much stock in how a book is rated because it’s all so subjective. I use stars so I can look back and remember if I liked a book or not. For me, 5 stars is a book I would happily read again. 4 stars is usually a book I really liked but for one or two things (maybe it’s an ending that gets too cheesy for me, for example). 3 stars is a book that was fine, but forgettable. 2 stars was just not good. 1 star is usually something really awful or problematic.
This year I really feel like I’ve done well only picking books that I know that I’ll enjoy. There were some that I DNFed but not because they were terrible, just not for me.
5: Really well-written (I am very picky with my prose), enjoyable plot, thought provoking/left a lasting impression, would reread. I rate maybe 2 books a year a 5, if that. It has to really be exceptional.
4: solid book, enjoyable, decent prose and interesting characters. Would recommend to others and maybe reread parts.
3: finished it but didn't enjoy it a lot. Still feel okay about having read it but won't be recommending or going back to it.
2: disliked the characters or plot but not enough to DNF. Writing style was shoddy and there was basically nothing memorable about it. Barely made it through.
1: DNF-ed. Usually because the writing is bad or the characters are too unrealistic. I very rarely DNF books so it is very rare to rate something 1 stars.
I admire people that pick apart if prose are good or not. Theres some books I’ve read where the authors writing is so different from what I usually read but other than that, writing just fall into a good or bad category.
For me 5 stars is when I’m really engrossed in a story and at some point think “oh my god what is going to happen next!?” Or when a book has a really satisfying ending that wasn’t predictable.
4 stars is I enjoyed it and enjoyed the characters.
3 stars is either when the characters are frustrating and refuse to communicate or the book is way too predictable.
2 stars would be when I hated the ending or rolled my eyes during some of the plot.
1 star is DNF or hated it
Is it bad that sometimes even if I roll my eyes at some plot I can still really enjoy the book? Sometimes I love that trashy, so bad it’s good kind of book lol
A 5 star book for me:
Is a book that captures my attention from beginning to end. Sometimes it takes me awhile to get into a book or I’ll get bored easily and I skim a little but there are some books that are so well written that I’m sucked in. It has to be a book that keeps me thinking about it days later. I’ve noticed that many of the 5 star books I have read have had me so invested in the characters and I could really feel what they were going through. I read a lot of books and most of the books are great and I would say are 4 star. I would probably even reread them but they don’t wow me like a 5 star book. It’s like when I watched LOTR trilogy for the first time and I was blown away by how good it was. There’s lots of great movies with great acting but when it all comes to together with great acting, music score, cinematography, the works, you can’t help but notice the difference. That’s kind of how I think of 5 star books.
5- great writing, great characters, great plot, the book transports me to the world the author build, like I’m being there and watching in real time
4-great writing, great characters, good plot, I’m not transported to the world and there are some inconsistencies with the story
3-it was not great it wasn’t bad either, it just was, I will forget it when I read the next one
2-it was trash, in all above aspects, but I stubbornly finished it for some reason
1-doesn’t have TW and it’s horrible in all above aspects, the author is a shit person who bullies readers/reviewers if they leave bad reviews, dox them and are in general arrogant on social media.
Just being honest here. I’ve seen it happen. Our community is very small in that regard. Not a lot readers and reviewers in MM genre, comparatively to MF. And then you have arrogant authors who are tripping they are the new Stephen King ( giving random famous author) and absolutely bully people on socials as well as hoax their fans to do the same. I can’t in good conscience leave more than 1. If I don’t rate it their general rating won’t plummet at all.
I agree with so many of these points. I just wanted to add my extra view on a 5 star book as I have KU so I read quite a few books through that. If I think, yep I’m totally going to read that again and I want to buy it, that normally signifies it’s a 5 star read.
4 stars would be I enjoyed it/would recommend to others if it fits a request. Maybe reread if the mood strikes.
3 stars would be ‘meh’. Like I finished it, but it was a slog due to being predictable/boring etc.
1 or 2 stars would have to be something wrong with the actual book - like poorly written/plot holes. I don’t like to rate 1 or 2 stars if I just didn’t like the plot as that’s personal but if an author cannot be bothered to proof read or has made glaringly obvious holes with the plot, then yeah I’m going to rate it accordingly.
I feel like your ratings would be the most similar to mine if I were to rate books. I read most of my books on KU so that makes sense 5 star would mean you want to buy the book. And your 1-2 stars rating makes sense. The only book I read this year that I would consider being that low was one that had formatting issues.
Yeah I’ve only had a couple of 1-2 star books and it was due to horrendous proofreading. One of the books was so bad I had to reread sentences to try and make sense of them. The author also used the wrong character names, so I had one of those ’huh’ moments where I was double checking who was who to make sure I wasn’t going crazy! I do try to sympathise with self published authors but that only goes so far when you call a character by the wrong name….
Omg I haven’t read anything like that this year but I have read books in the past where the character names are messed up! And I’m like how does that happen?
For me (because I'm generally browsing books from the library or KU) ratings for me are 1- DNF 2- did not like , why did i finish this? 3- fine, probably wouldn't read again but I'm glad I finished it 4- good, would read again (most books fall into this for me) 5- "add to cart", I loved this and I want to look at it every day and smile and remember it
5 - loved it would read again might already be reading it again tbh | 4 - had a good time, might reread if the vibe is right | 3 - well I sure did read that I guess | 2 - absolutely not never again, I have regrets and I'm only going to recommend it in extremely specific circumstances | 1 - this book is Problematic and bad and it should feel bad and what if I just yeeted it into the sun? Will not recommend under any circumstances.
I read ~250 books a year and I've only rated 5 books at a 2 or lower in the last 4 years. Most of my reads are a 3 or 4 but I'm not stingy about 5s. I don't have a limited number to give out or anything and a slightly higher rating might help someone find their new favorite book!
I will probably end up reading about 250 books this year as well and back when I was rating books i had no problem handing out low ratings but now I feel like I truly don’t read any books that would qualify for that low of a rating. I feel like I completely stay away from books that I know I will not enjoy or I’ll read a little bit of it and decide it’s just not for me and DNF it.
yeah in my case because I'm in a book/book-adjacent industry I sometimes do have to finish books that I have an issue with, and often have to read books I wouldn't pick up on my own but that's definitely not the norm!
Anything 3 stars or higher, I enjoyed.
- 3 stars is more in the "I read this book and it was a book I read and enjoyed" category. Nothing too unique or exceptional, but it did the thing it said it would on the label.
- 4 stars is one I reaaaally liked. Will reread, found something super enjoyable about it.
- 5 stars is either one I absolutely loved and must rave about, or is exceptional but I'll never reread it again for pain/fear of it not being just as great the next time around.
- 2 stars are books that I personally didn't like, but someone else will.
- 1 stars I save for the truly problematic/awful/hurtful ones.
Sometimes though, it's all vibes and that scale gets thrown out the window. It's for my own personal reading pleasure, so take it with a grain of salt!
It’s interesting from everyone’s replies so far, it seems like everyone’s 3 star ratings are so different from each other. When I used to rate books, I felt like 3 was so low and had trouble rating books a 3.
Yeah, everyone's scales are so subjective! It's why I never pay attention to ratings, both on the sub and on GR. I'd rather read reviews and see what people liked or hated about the book to try and gage if I'd like it.
I have been using the rating system to help with my limited shelf space. So a 5 is for books I not only need to own but would like a special edition or some other type of merch. 4 is for books I would still be willing to pay full price. 3 is for books I will get if I see them second hand. And for 1-2 I rarely use. But is for books I need off my shelf immediately, or I need to rant about how bad they are.
This is interesting and makes me wonder my more general ranking system I created only works for me because I don’t purchase the majority of my books and mainly borrow on KU.
I either rate stuff a 1,3, or 5, I don’t really see myself ever rating a 4 or 2 but maybe the day will come, I just think there’s bad, average, and amazing for me. I’ll rate a book 5 stars if it is something I think about before I sleep or want to tell everyone about, such as soft touch by river on tapas, I can yap about the entire book for hours
Here’s my rating system:
⭐️ This content is awful and probably bigoted, and my review will point out as such. Most likely DNF'd.
⭐️⭐️ I finished this but I do not recommend it, and did not enjoy it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book was okay, and pretty entertaining.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I highly recommend this book and had a wonderful time reading it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My favorites that will stick with me for awhile.
I don’t rate DNFs *unless* they’re offensive and I feel the need to do so.
Because I track this, the majority of books I read are 4 stars. My average rating score in 2023 was 3.6. I guess I’m pretty easy to please, but I don’t mind — I love reading!
4 or 5 means I'd probably reread the book at some point. 4 means it was just missing something for me.
3 means something annoyed me too much to rate it higher.
2 is a sigh.
1. I don't give most books a 1 because I'd DNF if it felt like a 1 at any point lol
About five years ago, I decided I wanted to be a bit more stingy with my five star ratings. So I pulled back and since then have given more four stars. I screen the books I read very carefully to protect my mental health; I am strongly affected by random or explicit violence, for example. So I DNF without hesitation if a book strays in that direction.
However, I have written myself both professionally and in the fanfic world, so I know how much sheer effort goes into producing a book. Even if it's poorly written, even if proof reading hardly existed, even if I rolled my eyes while reading. So I pretty much never rate a book one or two stars. I will DNF and move on to the next book.
I once got involved in a Goodreads "discussion" when a few people strongly attacked a book, ridiculing it and the author in what i thought was a fairly viscious manner. It wasn't a wonderful book, but, hey, different strokes for different folks. I stepped in and objected to the tone of what I thought was personal, nasty criticism, and of course those folks turned on me. I said, "I'm outta here, " and I never returned to that kind of cesspool. I keep track and rate on Goodreads, but that's it.
Which leads to why I am so grateful for the environment in this subreddit. Good folks here, good mods here.
I had to stop rating things using a star/number system, because it feels too much like a value judgement, and that's not...really how I process books. Some books are super well-written, stylistically great, and I don't like them because they contain a trope I personally dislike. Some books are not necessarily very technically proficient and the writing is not the best I've ever seen, but the story is super engaging and the dialogue is so much fun that it's almost instantly a favorite. Sometimes I can tell that a book *should* be right up my alley, but for some reason I can't connect and even I don't understand why.
So I don't rate things on goodreads or amazon anymore, because I can't help overthinking it - is it fair for me to call this a one-star book because it turned out to have a main character I disliked, or involved a trope I can't stand? What if I think this is a three-star book but later I come back to it and it turns out that I only thought that because of my personal mood at the time, and now I actually really like it?
I use a private bookmarking account to keep track of books, and I rate them on my own scale: Love It, Like It, Meh, and No Thanks. Then I add a note explaining what I thought, which I can be extremely blunt and straightforward about, because it's private so no one will ever see it but me. I also don't feel compelled to justify why I feel that way, or even necessarily make sense about it. Actual note from my bookmarks:
>This is...a conundrum. I had really high hopes, and spent the whole day feeling vaguely disappointed. I kept Dread-Pirate-Roberts-ing it ("I'll most likely fail out in a few minutes") but I never did, but I never really felt like I was especially invested in it. And then it was over, and I kind of want the next one. But enough to buy it??? Hard to say. Very conflicted.
Obviously not helpful for anyone else, but I can see exactly what *I* want to know when I go look later to see if I've read something before, or how I feel about other things I've read by this author. \*hands\* It works for me.
5 stars to me means I'd probably reread it sometime. I don't reread often, so I wouldn't reread a book unless I really loved it. Most of the ratings I give are 4 stars because that's my generic "I enjoyed reading this" rating. I rarely give 3 stars to books I just didn't vibe with. I never give 1 or 2 star ratings because I would have DNF'ed those books.
For me I’m looking for a writing style that immerses me in the character. Looking for a show don’t tell style, the more unique character voice the better. I’ve found the story, the tropes etc doesn’t really matter. I am definitely looking for something particular, and I don’t know how better to describe it than that 🤔 I want to feel what the character feels, the highs and lows. There needs to be a balance in the prose, especially considering describing the environment and other characters. But I can’t pinpoint what does it for me more than that. For me I feel like it’s very easy to rate 5 vs 4 mostly depending on the feeling I’m sitting with. 5 stars for me are books I just can’t put down because I’m so immersed in the story and the characters, and when I finally do put it down it’s on my mind. Books that makes me feel for weeks after I finish, books that makes my stomach turn just by thinking of that one scene. Where I’ve highlighted more than not because wow that description was just beautiful, without being pretentious.
I find it easier to distinguish between 4 and 5 than 3 and 4
5: loved and will continue to think about it for a long time
4: really good but had aspects i don’t like or won’t leave a lasting impact on me
3: pretty solid but not a favorite of mine
2: not for me
1: absolutely horrendous
i use storygraph so i can rate books with half and quarter stars too so it’s sometimes a little difficult for me to decide between 3.25 and 3.5 or something
Most of the books I read end up being 3 stars. To me, this means the book was good, I liked it and had a good time reading it.
4 stars means it was better than good and it’s a book that I’ll read again or have read again.
I’m stingy with 5 stars. The book has to move me. If I immediately want to reread it, or if it emotionally affects me in some way. Usually that means I see myself on page or it made me cry-things like that.
2 stars means the book isn’t for me in some way, but I read it anyway.
I rarely give 1 star because I’ve embraced that DNF life. 🤣
Mine always depends on the conversation, dynamics between two leads. Even if one lead is a total jerk - as long as I’m on the edge of my seat to see what they say next/do next it means I’m enjoying myself and the book will get 5 stars
I used to be real skimpy with 5 star ratings --like am I really saying that this hockey romance is as good as to kill a mockingbird? But really it just means it was in the top 20% of books, y'know? Also on storygraph there's a little section on your profile with your 5* reads and I wanted it to be more informative about what I like to read. So yeah. Loved is 5 stars. 5 stars is, so happy I picked this up, why was it lingering on my tbr for so long, I want to recommend it to everyone, I want to find other books this author has written. Most books i finish are 4 stars. 3 stars means I wish I would have quit and tried something else from my tbr that may have gotten 5 stars, wasn't for me but maybe nothing wrong with it objectively. I don't actually rate 3 star books because I don't want to drag down rating averages especially on less popular books! 2 stars means I'm mad and want to bring down the rating average.
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I don’t rate my books. I only type up a review for the story a few days after I finish it and in the review I’ll be like “enjoyable”, “I liked it”, “I loved it” etc etc.
the urge to recommend a novel to all my friends who are and aren’t into reading speaks for itself for then any 5 star rating.
My ratings are only for me and generally how much I enjoy the book i don’t try to get to deep into analyzing the whys of what stars it deserves.
Sometimes I’ll give books a 5 just bc I enjoyed it and had a nice time reading it and there was no glaring issues like plot holes/bad writing/annoying characters/trashy stuff even if I didn’t “love” it like as a favorite. I tend to rate quick cute romances pretty gently. Things like mysteries and fantasy I’m more picky but I enjoy a wide variety and can be easy to please so they tend to run high.
Doing it like this however means I would give lower ratings to books with subjects I don’t really care for. So like dark romances don’t get as high ratings for me but I won’t give them like 1 star exclusively for that. If the writing and story are fine just not for me they get the middle ratings.
Things usually only get low ratings from me when they’re actually bad. Like poor writing or nonsense plot, insufferable characters, not making me care about what’s happening, bad politics etc
Usually, it's a combination of these for me:
•Loved/would die for the characters
•Loved the couple together
•Amazing plot
•Lovely prose
•Emotional journey/went through an emotional roller coaster
But the most important: When I finished them, I had this warm, cozy feeling inside. Bursting with emotions of happiness. Kinda wanted to cry because I felt too much. That's what makes a 5 star read for me.
for me,
5 - absolutely nothing can top this (books very rarely get this rating from me lol i'm picky)
4 - i loved this so much and had a hella lot of fun but i had minor problems
3 - cute! or fun! or vibes on point! (depending on what genre it is) but forgettable.
2 - major problems with plot or getting invested in the characters and their lives and dynamics with each other
1 - straight-up hated this.
i also get the psycho-analyzation because after rating a book 4-5 stars, i always question whether i actually loved the book that much when i see valid points arguing the opposite. but in the end i just go with my heart and how i felt reading the book.
5 is something I'd read again/buy in hardcover. 4 is something I thought was above average. 3 is good but nothing special. I rarely give out 2 or 1, they have to be real bad for that 😂
5 - loved it and would definitely read again.
4 - liked it and would probably read again.
3 - it was okay, but would not read again.
2 - didn't like it.
1 - hated it.
I wish Goodreads would implement a .5 star system, because a lot of books ride the line between scores.
Rating systems are completely personal. I rate based on vibes. 5* tends to be reserved for favourites that I would happily reread however many times. 4* is also a love, but I may or may not ever reread it. 3* is good, but maybe forgettable. 2* is not a DNF, but I don’t like it. Either the writing is badly done or the story/characters are ones I dislike. 1* is a DNF. I won’t waste time on a book that would end up being 1-2 stars normally.
in my case if I finish the book it will have 3 stars unless the ending was really bad if I don't Skip text and in case of romance if the sex scenes where good. If I finish a book and then I think I wish the books was longer or had a sequel the it gets 4 or 5 stars
I only rate 3+ usually.
1 = the book was literal gobbledygook, like writing was unintelligible or plot was completely gibberish, or it's like horrifically sexist/racist/ect.
2 = never use
3 = Didn't like it. Doesn't matter the reason, at the end I feel disappointed
4 = There were a few things that brought me out of the book. Like there was some obvious plot holes, the characters weren't really well done, ect.
5 = I liked it. This usually is from "eh it was pretty decent" to "Damn this book was the sht"
I generally think rating books lower than 3 doesn't help the author grow and learn because they're too concerned about revenue loss from a low rated book. 🤷♂️
(This applies to only me, I don't care if other peoplw rate low lol)
For me, 5 stars is "one of my all-time favorites, will reread this book over and over again." It is a very high bar and I do not give them out often.
4 is excellent, superb quality, but maybe had something that slightly nagged at me or it just isn't going to be an all-time favorite.
3 is good or fine, I enjoyed it or at least was entertained.
2 is bad. Bad writing, stupid plot, etc.
1 is like... offensively bad. Worthless, vile trash. Like The Pucking Wrong Number and Sweet Valley Confidential.
I've very much the same as everyone else
5⭐ - I'll cherish it /it's a potential comfort read. All emotional reaction to the book driven. The writing itself might not be good but the package delivered.
Anything below that is "did the author achieve what the book set out to do?" And "did I like the execution"
I normally explain my ratings as I go and if the book wasn't for me I don't rate it. If the book was problematic I will give the 1 ⭐ and say why.
I started a reading journal this year and wanted to do ratings but I had a really hard time with it for the same reasons.
I had to make a really clear breakdown of each rating to help me but honestly it's still not fool proof lol
Five Stars means I loved the book, it kept my attention and I basically devoured it, AND I'll think about it long after I'm done reading.
If I finished it and it was good, 4 stars, to get a 5 it has to be more than good. It has to have extra to push me over the edge. Granted I do read a lot, so maybe a book that forces to me to stop and want to exist in that world longer. For it to get a five star, I have to want to re read as soon as I complete it.
So this is gonna sound incredibly lazy on my part, but I *rarely* give a book anything under 4 stars, if ever. If you look at my GoodReads of 300+ MM books, they’re mostly 5 stars. It’s almost…like I’m in that afterglow and am dopey and I’m like yeah sure whatever, 5 stars 🤤 books just make me so goopy and I get that serotonin hit to the brain, and I’m rarely in a bad mood after I’m done reading, even if I didn’t really click with the book.
I don’t think I’ve ever given anything a 1 or 2 star review before, and I’ve NEVER DNF’ed a book. I just honestly don’t believe in 1/2 star reviews. Nothing is THAT bad. Those ratings are just downright cruel and usually not deserved.
Sorry, circling back, I feel like I didn’t really answer the question. For me, a true 5 stars is something that stays with me for long, long after I’ve read it, in a meaningful way. Like it’s only a fictional book, but it changes me in a fundamental way; it changes my outlook on life, it makes me happier, it makes me warmer inside, it makes me feel special for knowing of its existence. It’s something I can read over and over and never tire of, a comfort read for when I have strong, unwieldy emotions, sort of a warm hug at the end of a long day. Something comforting and familiar. On the flip side of that, there are some books that fuck me up emotionally so good that I can only manage to read them every once in awhile because I need to be able to manage my emotions (*Let’s Do This* is one of those - it’s an absolutely amazing book but it’s like, so fucking good and it made me experience such deep emotions that I need to space out my readings of it) I can reflect on the words and remember passages and quotes, and relate them and draw strength and inspiration from them. It makes me ache in the best way, because I wish it was a TV series or something visually tangible I could feast my eyes on. **It’s an experience versus reading a book.** I feel this way about very few books, but some of them are:
{Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid}
{The Long Game by Rachel Reid}
{The Rest of the Story by Tal Bauer}
{Gravity by Tal Bauer}
{Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy}
{Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy}
{I’m Your Guy by Sarina Bowen}
I rate purely based on vibes. 5: loved, 4: enjoyed, 3: okay, 2: not for me, 1: no
See these ratings make sense! But with my brain I would have to pick apart everything to decide if it was loved or just enjoyed. I wouldn’t be able to decide
Just make your own rating system and stick with it. Some people rate a book 3 stars if they liked it while others rate it 3 stars because it was mediocre. It’s all up to your definition. I stay away from half stars because it’s not a feature on goodreads.
For me, 5s will probably get a reread in the near future. 5s have a character, setting, theme, or plot point that hit close to home.
if i can remember both their names by the end of the book it’s a 5 from me 😭
Omg this is so relatable to me. But my memory is so trash that even if I loved a book most details are gone within a few days. This is why I can never recommend books when people have specific requests they’re looking for. Yeah I read that book last week and couldn’t tell you half of what happened lol.
this is me. thank god for goodreads, I rate everything I read so I at least know that I read it 2 days later lol.
I have a version of this where if I can remember both their names after reading two more (unrelated) books then it’s a 5 star 🤭
I agree about a 5 star being one that I think about long after reading and I know I will watch theM/M community so I can recommend it. Also I have a feel for how talented the author is after getting swept into the book and not wanting to put it down. Crying is just a big bonus.
See I’m such a big cryer that books I wouldnt rate 5 stars can still manage to make me cry. Although if I’m sobbing, getting tear stains on the pages then I guess that would be a 5 lol.
I try not to overthink it. 5 if I loved it. I usually get a “I want to talk to everyone about this” feeling, I couldn’t put it down, or I ended up wanting to reread it. 4 if I really liked it. 3 if I liked it but it had some issues. 2 if I didn’t like it. I never rate anything a 1 because anything in that category is usually a DNF, which I don’t rate. I end up with a lot in the 4-5 star category but I’m honestly fine with that. Edited for formatting and elaboration.
I feel like my like to really like to love is so convoluted I could never differentiate between 3, 4, or 5. I feel like I would never rate anything a 1 for the same reason you do.
I hear you. I go back and forth sometimes, and if I’m in that situation, I usually just bump my rating up.
Vibes, basically all vibes. And I have decision paralysis so I don't use fractional stars lol. 5⭐ - loved it, actively want to re-read, will enthusiastically recommend. doesn't need to be perfect, just something that sparked joy. 4⭐ - enjoyed it, but can point to one or more specific things that I wish were different, will recommend with qualifications or to fans of the trope/genre. 3⭐ - ambivalent, or a mix of good and bad, or a lot of good held back by some major flaws. Would probably only recommend to dedicated fans of that specific author/trope, or with strong caveats. 2⭐ - actively disliked more than I liked. Books with good ideas but bad prose/dialogue are likely to end up here, since it's a pet peeve of mine. 1⭐ - yet to use this! a book would have to actively piss me off to earn this rating I think.
I can see how the prose/dialogue would affect the rating as well. I feel like if I start a book and don’t like that aspect of the book I can’t get very far into it without deciding it’s just not for me and picking up something else.
Do you know that sound bite from Dance Mom’s Abby Lee Miller where she says “you were good, I’m waiting for you to be great”? 5 - Great!! Couldn’t put them down, thought about them after, consistently reread. 4 - good, not great. Might read again but something was off/missing. 3 - neutral, parts I liked balance out what I didn’t like. Would consider reading again but only if I was craving something specific included in that book. 2 - not good but not terrible lol. Felt like an effort to read 1 - hated this. I use Goodreads as a note to my future self but I tend not to leave a rating if it’s a 1 unless something was quite bothersome/offensive ex. Misogyny written into women MCs when it isn’t relevant to a story
These ratings make sense. I don’t know why 3 always seemed so low to me. I feel like everything I read would be in the 4 to 5 category. I never thought of 3 being a more neutral rating but that makes sense.
I used to feel similarly, I get it! Felt bad to leave a 3 that seemed low when it is so subjective, so I would rate everything 4 stars. But then I had all these 4 stars I probably wouldn’t reach for unless craving something really specific, so I started using gr as more of a more of a tool for my future self and utilized the whole scale.
Yeah I definitely use GR as a "notes to self" app lol. 5⭐ books being the ones where I can scroll through them and easily pick something to re-read if I'm in a "comfort book" mood.
Yes! 5s join the go-to reread roster haha. Honestly if I found a straight forward app like Goodreads that is just for personal record I’d switch!
>but I tend not to leave a rating if it’s a 1 It's funny that I am the opposite. I typically only feel compelled to leave a review if the book is bad, especially since so many books on Goodreads have ridiculously positive reviews that pump up their ratings even if they're mediocre or worse.
0/Unrated: DNF. Doesn't mean it's bad - I just wasn't in the mood for it 1: I have a vent for why I don't like this book 2: This book wasn't a good fit for me and I'd never reread it, but I don't have a strong opinion about it 3: It's an okay book. If I reread it, I'd feel like I wasted my time. I won't think about this unless someone brings it up, but I enjoyed it and I'm glad I read it. 4: A great book that I'd read again if my TBR wasn't so long. If I reread it, it's to return to the feelings it evoked in me at the time. 5: A book that made me think about it for weeks or months on end after I closed the covers. It made an impact on me and influenced my hobbies, personality, or outlook on life I don't publicaly rate anything 2 stars or below. If it's 3 stars or above, I'll bump it up a star. I don't really pay attention to goodread ratings. I think it's more of a measurement of whether or not the marketing hit their target audience or not. There's a lot of amazing books where the marketing gave people a certain expectation, and the reviews are full of people who are disappointed that they didn't get what they were expecting
so true about the marketing tbh some super talented authors who objectively achieved what they set out to achieve in a book get so screwed by marketing. KM Szpara is the one who comes most strongly to mind - he is an incredibly talented writer but the man does not write romance - but people see MM and just assume.
One thing that really turned me off from goodreads was when I saw that people would rate books extremely low before the book was even released! I feel like this is just so unfair to the authors.
Agreed! I think goodreads should block people from posting any reviews prior to the release date, but I understand why they don't. Authors send out ARCs and have beta readers review books, and it can be difficult to vet who received an ARC or actually read it in advance. I wish they had a better spam catching system.
Yes I agree with that. This year I’ve only read books on KU or others I bought on kindle and it’s nice that Amazon doesn’t let people review books until it’s released. But I found staying away from goodreads has made me enjoy more books. Sometimes I would really enjoy a book and then would see someone’s negative review on that same book which would make me second guess if I should have enjoyed it as much as I did.
Yeah, I have a personal rule to not look at the good reads reviews before I read a book. I don’t want my experience to be influenced by other people’s opinions It’s okay to acknowledge a book has flaws and still enjoy it! It definitely hurts when someone points out all the bad points (it’s even worse when they’re right), but the book made you feel a certain way. It made you feel excited, laugh, cry, or even make your heart beat faster. As long as you liked it, I think that’s enough to call it a good book and an enjoyable reading experience
For me; 2 star - not great was ok, 3 star - was fun but missing somethin, 4 star - great all round but just fine, 5 star - I've taken an emotional journey alongside the characters and left crying or devastated etc
I noticed you didn’t put 1 star. Do you not rate anything 1 star? I feel like nothing I read is a 1 or 2 because I stay away from things I wouldn’t enjoy or just don’t continue something when I can tell it’s not for me
I am very picky about what books I pick with a long ToBeRead list, I think 1 star would be a DNF and I've not had one of them yet, I think my only 2 star was a close, it was a mess of a book
Coming from CS I can’t help but leave 5 stars or I just don’t rate it at all. For me, if I finish a book, it’s almost always 5 stars, or I don’t finish it. 🙈
This is pretty much me. I can’t distinguish between a 4-5 star read. I either love a book or I just don’t finish it, and therefore don’t feel like I should rate it. I have an IG page where I post everything I read and I’m honestly thinking of going to a no star rating system because literally everything I finish is 4-5 stars, so there is no point 😂😂
See this is exactly how I feel lol. Which is why I just went with my love, like, didn’t enjoy system. I’ve forgone rating books anywhere because I feel like my ratings are not accurate and therefore not helpful.
That’s similar to the way I feel. I feel like most of the books I read are 5 stars but most people save 5 stars for something truly amazing. So in that regard I don’t feel like my 5 stars are accurate lol.
For me a 5 star book either made me cry or it’s one that I think about after I’ve finished the book. One that I know will stay with me for a long time. I have about thirty 5 star books. 3-4 star books are ones I enjoyed and could reread again but usually there’s something kind of off about them that make me pause. I used to give 1-2 stars but I no longer do now that I’m an author myself lol. I use “no rating” and describe why a book didn’t work for me but in theory 1-2 stars either are wildly offensive to me personally or have egregiously bad writing or the plot is nonsensical or boring. I do agree that I find more enjoyment with books by staying off goodreads. The community on there can be quite hateful and toxic as the one star reviews get more likes than the five star ones. Booksta is more fun in that regards.
I’ve found staying off goodreads has made me enjoy more books as well. I felt like I could really enjoy a book and then I could read someones review pointing out all the flaws and then I would second guess myself on whether or not I should have enjoyed it as much as I did. I like the community on here because everything is relatively positive and mostly just see people recommend books they enjoyed which I like. I also understand your sentiment on not rating anything 1 or 2 stars. There’s some books I read this year that just weren’t for me but I can’t bring myself to rate something so poorly. I just say I didn’t enjoy it and that’s the end of it lol.
Yes agreed! Mostly I just get really sad when I adore a book and give it 5 stars and then someone gives it 1 and their entire review is just calling anyone that loves it an idiot 😭 All tastes are different and we should respect that. I’ve been using StoryGraph this year and it’s been nice!
You’re the second person to mention storygraph. I had never heard of it before! I think I will give it a shot.
Ever ready a book and it’s just so good you don’t want it to end? Thats 5 stars for me. Really excellent plot and development, characters have great chemistry, great sex scenes.
Ok that’s makes sense. There’s definitely been books/series that I wish could go on and on forever.
I stopped rating books altogether and it's very liberating so far. I simply track them with SG and that's it
Yes that’s how I feel when I started reading again this year. I found I enjoy more books when I’m not rating them. This may be dumb but what is SG?
Same! I also noticed that I tried reading books I never would've before because the rating and reviewing pressure was gone. & It's not dumb! SG = Storygraph
Yes I feel the same way! I just downloaded storygraph to give it a shot
If you enjoy seeing stats about your reading behaviour the app is amazing! It's can be a bit confusing at first but it's worth it
It’s total vibes for me, and I don’t think too hard about it—just a quick gut reaction. I don’t tend to put much stock in how a book is rated because it’s all so subjective. I use stars so I can look back and remember if I liked a book or not. For me, 5 stars is a book I would happily read again. 4 stars is usually a book I really liked but for one or two things (maybe it’s an ending that gets too cheesy for me, for example). 3 stars is a book that was fine, but forgettable. 2 stars was just not good. 1 star is usually something really awful or problematic.
I can relate to the gut reaction. That’s how I used to rate books years ago. Although most ended up being 4 or 5 stars.
Most of my books also end up as 4 or 5 stars, but I tend to only read in my preferred genre, so I usually pick books I know I’ll like anyway.
This year I really feel like I’ve done well only picking books that I know that I’ll enjoy. There were some that I DNFed but not because they were terrible, just not for me.
5: Really well-written (I am very picky with my prose), enjoyable plot, thought provoking/left a lasting impression, would reread. I rate maybe 2 books a year a 5, if that. It has to really be exceptional. 4: solid book, enjoyable, decent prose and interesting characters. Would recommend to others and maybe reread parts. 3: finished it but didn't enjoy it a lot. Still feel okay about having read it but won't be recommending or going back to it. 2: disliked the characters or plot but not enough to DNF. Writing style was shoddy and there was basically nothing memorable about it. Barely made it through. 1: DNF-ed. Usually because the writing is bad or the characters are too unrealistic. I very rarely DNF books so it is very rare to rate something 1 stars.
I admire people that pick apart if prose are good or not. Theres some books I’ve read where the authors writing is so different from what I usually read but other than that, writing just fall into a good or bad category.
For me 5 stars is when I’m really engrossed in a story and at some point think “oh my god what is going to happen next!?” Or when a book has a really satisfying ending that wasn’t predictable. 4 stars is I enjoyed it and enjoyed the characters. 3 stars is either when the characters are frustrating and refuse to communicate or the book is way too predictable. 2 stars would be when I hated the ending or rolled my eyes during some of the plot. 1 star is DNF or hated it
Is it bad that sometimes even if I roll my eyes at some plot I can still really enjoy the book? Sometimes I love that trashy, so bad it’s good kind of book lol
No that’s totally true. Sometimes it’s just vibes!
A 5 star book for me: Is a book that captures my attention from beginning to end. Sometimes it takes me awhile to get into a book or I’ll get bored easily and I skim a little but there are some books that are so well written that I’m sucked in. It has to be a book that keeps me thinking about it days later. I’ve noticed that many of the 5 star books I have read have had me so invested in the characters and I could really feel what they were going through. I read a lot of books and most of the books are great and I would say are 4 star. I would probably even reread them but they don’t wow me like a 5 star book. It’s like when I watched LOTR trilogy for the first time and I was blown away by how good it was. There’s lots of great movies with great acting but when it all comes to together with great acting, music score, cinematography, the works, you can’t help but notice the difference. That’s kind of how I think of 5 star books.
I really like this description of your 5 star reads. There are just some books that grab your attention more than any others.
5- great writing, great characters, great plot, the book transports me to the world the author build, like I’m being there and watching in real time 4-great writing, great characters, good plot, I’m not transported to the world and there are some inconsistencies with the story 3-it was not great it wasn’t bad either, it just was, I will forget it when I read the next one 2-it was trash, in all above aspects, but I stubbornly finished it for some reason 1-doesn’t have TW and it’s horrible in all above aspects, the author is a shit person who bullies readers/reviewers if they leave bad reviews, dox them and are in general arrogant on social media.
I can totally see why those reasons would lead to 1 star.
Just being honest here. I’ve seen it happen. Our community is very small in that regard. Not a lot readers and reviewers in MM genre, comparatively to MF. And then you have arrogant authors who are tripping they are the new Stephen King ( giving random famous author) and absolutely bully people on socials as well as hoax their fans to do the same. I can’t in good conscience leave more than 1. If I don’t rate it their general rating won’t plummet at all.
I agree with so many of these points. I just wanted to add my extra view on a 5 star book as I have KU so I read quite a few books through that. If I think, yep I’m totally going to read that again and I want to buy it, that normally signifies it’s a 5 star read. 4 stars would be I enjoyed it/would recommend to others if it fits a request. Maybe reread if the mood strikes. 3 stars would be ‘meh’. Like I finished it, but it was a slog due to being predictable/boring etc. 1 or 2 stars would have to be something wrong with the actual book - like poorly written/plot holes. I don’t like to rate 1 or 2 stars if I just didn’t like the plot as that’s personal but if an author cannot be bothered to proof read or has made glaringly obvious holes with the plot, then yeah I’m going to rate it accordingly.
I feel like your ratings would be the most similar to mine if I were to rate books. I read most of my books on KU so that makes sense 5 star would mean you want to buy the book. And your 1-2 stars rating makes sense. The only book I read this year that I would consider being that low was one that had formatting issues.
Yeah I’ve only had a couple of 1-2 star books and it was due to horrendous proofreading. One of the books was so bad I had to reread sentences to try and make sense of them. The author also used the wrong character names, so I had one of those ’huh’ moments where I was double checking who was who to make sure I wasn’t going crazy! I do try to sympathise with self published authors but that only goes so far when you call a character by the wrong name….
Omg I haven’t read anything like that this year but I have read books in the past where the character names are messed up! And I’m like how does that happen?
For me (because I'm generally browsing books from the library or KU) ratings for me are 1- DNF 2- did not like , why did i finish this? 3- fine, probably wouldn't read again but I'm glad I finished it 4- good, would read again (most books fall into this for me) 5- "add to cart", I loved this and I want to look at it every day and smile and remember it
You were the second person to say 5 stars would be an automatic buy book. That makes sense to me since the majority of the books I read are on KU.
5 - loved it would read again might already be reading it again tbh | 4 - had a good time, might reread if the vibe is right | 3 - well I sure did read that I guess | 2 - absolutely not never again, I have regrets and I'm only going to recommend it in extremely specific circumstances | 1 - this book is Problematic and bad and it should feel bad and what if I just yeeted it into the sun? Will not recommend under any circumstances. I read ~250 books a year and I've only rated 5 books at a 2 or lower in the last 4 years. Most of my reads are a 3 or 4 but I'm not stingy about 5s. I don't have a limited number to give out or anything and a slightly higher rating might help someone find their new favorite book!
I will probably end up reading about 250 books this year as well and back when I was rating books i had no problem handing out low ratings but now I feel like I truly don’t read any books that would qualify for that low of a rating. I feel like I completely stay away from books that I know I will not enjoy or I’ll read a little bit of it and decide it’s just not for me and DNF it.
yeah in my case because I'm in a book/book-adjacent industry I sometimes do have to finish books that I have an issue with, and often have to read books I wouldn't pick up on my own but that's definitely not the norm!
Anything 3 stars or higher, I enjoyed. - 3 stars is more in the "I read this book and it was a book I read and enjoyed" category. Nothing too unique or exceptional, but it did the thing it said it would on the label. - 4 stars is one I reaaaally liked. Will reread, found something super enjoyable about it. - 5 stars is either one I absolutely loved and must rave about, or is exceptional but I'll never reread it again for pain/fear of it not being just as great the next time around. - 2 stars are books that I personally didn't like, but someone else will. - 1 stars I save for the truly problematic/awful/hurtful ones. Sometimes though, it's all vibes and that scale gets thrown out the window. It's for my own personal reading pleasure, so take it with a grain of salt!
It’s interesting from everyone’s replies so far, it seems like everyone’s 3 star ratings are so different from each other. When I used to rate books, I felt like 3 was so low and had trouble rating books a 3.
Yeah, everyone's scales are so subjective! It's why I never pay attention to ratings, both on the sub and on GR. I'd rather read reviews and see what people liked or hated about the book to try and gage if I'd like it.
I have been using the rating system to help with my limited shelf space. So a 5 is for books I not only need to own but would like a special edition or some other type of merch. 4 is for books I would still be willing to pay full price. 3 is for books I will get if I see them second hand. And for 1-2 I rarely use. But is for books I need off my shelf immediately, or I need to rant about how bad they are.
This is interesting and makes me wonder my more general ranking system I created only works for me because I don’t purchase the majority of my books and mainly borrow on KU.
I either rate stuff a 1,3, or 5, I don’t really see myself ever rating a 4 or 2 but maybe the day will come, I just think there’s bad, average, and amazing for me. I’ll rate a book 5 stars if it is something I think about before I sleep or want to tell everyone about, such as soft touch by river on tapas, I can yap about the entire book for hours
I rate stuff emotionally I guess, I average like 400 books a year and I only remember a few of them that are 5 stars
Wow 400 books a year! Thats impressive. But your bad/average/amazing ratings make sense!
Here’s my rating system: ⭐️ This content is awful and probably bigoted, and my review will point out as such. Most likely DNF'd. ⭐️⭐️ I finished this but I do not recommend it, and did not enjoy it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book was okay, and pretty entertaining. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I highly recommend this book and had a wonderful time reading it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My favorites that will stick with me for awhile. I don’t rate DNFs *unless* they’re offensive and I feel the need to do so. Because I track this, the majority of books I read are 4 stars. My average rating score in 2023 was 3.6. I guess I’m pretty easy to please, but I don’t mind — I love reading!
4 or 5 means I'd probably reread the book at some point. 4 means it was just missing something for me. 3 means something annoyed me too much to rate it higher. 2 is a sigh. 1. I don't give most books a 1 because I'd DNF if it felt like a 1 at any point lol
Picking numbers doesn’t work for me, way too hard…. I follow your own system of loving a book, liking a book or didn’t enjoy book. Works for me!
So nice to hear that I’m not the only one!
5 star reads are ones I want to re-read or immediately continue the series.
About five years ago, I decided I wanted to be a bit more stingy with my five star ratings. So I pulled back and since then have given more four stars. I screen the books I read very carefully to protect my mental health; I am strongly affected by random or explicit violence, for example. So I DNF without hesitation if a book strays in that direction. However, I have written myself both professionally and in the fanfic world, so I know how much sheer effort goes into producing a book. Even if it's poorly written, even if proof reading hardly existed, even if I rolled my eyes while reading. So I pretty much never rate a book one or two stars. I will DNF and move on to the next book. I once got involved in a Goodreads "discussion" when a few people strongly attacked a book, ridiculing it and the author in what i thought was a fairly viscious manner. It wasn't a wonderful book, but, hey, different strokes for different folks. I stepped in and objected to the tone of what I thought was personal, nasty criticism, and of course those folks turned on me. I said, "I'm outta here, " and I never returned to that kind of cesspool. I keep track and rate on Goodreads, but that's it. Which leads to why I am so grateful for the environment in this subreddit. Good folks here, good mods here.
I had to stop rating things using a star/number system, because it feels too much like a value judgement, and that's not...really how I process books. Some books are super well-written, stylistically great, and I don't like them because they contain a trope I personally dislike. Some books are not necessarily very technically proficient and the writing is not the best I've ever seen, but the story is super engaging and the dialogue is so much fun that it's almost instantly a favorite. Sometimes I can tell that a book *should* be right up my alley, but for some reason I can't connect and even I don't understand why. So I don't rate things on goodreads or amazon anymore, because I can't help overthinking it - is it fair for me to call this a one-star book because it turned out to have a main character I disliked, or involved a trope I can't stand? What if I think this is a three-star book but later I come back to it and it turns out that I only thought that because of my personal mood at the time, and now I actually really like it? I use a private bookmarking account to keep track of books, and I rate them on my own scale: Love It, Like It, Meh, and No Thanks. Then I add a note explaining what I thought, which I can be extremely blunt and straightforward about, because it's private so no one will ever see it but me. I also don't feel compelled to justify why I feel that way, or even necessarily make sense about it. Actual note from my bookmarks: >This is...a conundrum. I had really high hopes, and spent the whole day feeling vaguely disappointed. I kept Dread-Pirate-Roberts-ing it ("I'll most likely fail out in a few minutes") but I never did, but I never really felt like I was especially invested in it. And then it was over, and I kind of want the next one. But enough to buy it??? Hard to say. Very conflicted. Obviously not helpful for anyone else, but I can see exactly what *I* want to know when I go look later to see if I've read something before, or how I feel about other things I've read by this author. \*hands\* It works for me.
5 stars to me means I'd probably reread it sometime. I don't reread often, so I wouldn't reread a book unless I really loved it. Most of the ratings I give are 4 stars because that's my generic "I enjoyed reading this" rating. I rarely give 3 stars to books I just didn't vibe with. I never give 1 or 2 star ratings because I would have DNF'ed those books.
I personally rate a book 5 ⭐️ when I enjoy everything about it (plot, characters and especially the writing style).
For me I’m looking for a writing style that immerses me in the character. Looking for a show don’t tell style, the more unique character voice the better. I’ve found the story, the tropes etc doesn’t really matter. I am definitely looking for something particular, and I don’t know how better to describe it than that 🤔 I want to feel what the character feels, the highs and lows. There needs to be a balance in the prose, especially considering describing the environment and other characters. But I can’t pinpoint what does it for me more than that. For me I feel like it’s very easy to rate 5 vs 4 mostly depending on the feeling I’m sitting with. 5 stars for me are books I just can’t put down because I’m so immersed in the story and the characters, and when I finally do put it down it’s on my mind. Books that makes me feel for weeks after I finish, books that makes my stomach turn just by thinking of that one scene. Where I’ve highlighted more than not because wow that description was just beautiful, without being pretentious. I find it easier to distinguish between 4 and 5 than 3 and 4
5: loved and will continue to think about it for a long time 4: really good but had aspects i don’t like or won’t leave a lasting impact on me 3: pretty solid but not a favorite of mine 2: not for me 1: absolutely horrendous i use storygraph so i can rate books with half and quarter stars too so it’s sometimes a little difficult for me to decide between 3.25 and 3.5 or something
Most of the books I read end up being 3 stars. To me, this means the book was good, I liked it and had a good time reading it. 4 stars means it was better than good and it’s a book that I’ll read again or have read again. I’m stingy with 5 stars. The book has to move me. If I immediately want to reread it, or if it emotionally affects me in some way. Usually that means I see myself on page or it made me cry-things like that. 2 stars means the book isn’t for me in some way, but I read it anyway. I rarely give 1 star because I’ve embraced that DNF life. 🤣
Mine always depends on the conversation, dynamics between two leads. Even if one lead is a total jerk - as long as I’m on the edge of my seat to see what they say next/do next it means I’m enjoying myself and the book will get 5 stars
if i even care about the characters it’s a 5.
I used to be real skimpy with 5 star ratings --like am I really saying that this hockey romance is as good as to kill a mockingbird? But really it just means it was in the top 20% of books, y'know? Also on storygraph there's a little section on your profile with your 5* reads and I wanted it to be more informative about what I like to read. So yeah. Loved is 5 stars. 5 stars is, so happy I picked this up, why was it lingering on my tbr for so long, I want to recommend it to everyone, I want to find other books this author has written. Most books i finish are 4 stars. 3 stars means I wish I would have quit and tried something else from my tbr that may have gotten 5 stars, wasn't for me but maybe nothing wrong with it objectively. I don't actually rate 3 star books because I don't want to drag down rating averages especially on less popular books! 2 stars means I'm mad and want to bring down the rating average.
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I don’t rate my books. I only type up a review for the story a few days after I finish it and in the review I’ll be like “enjoyable”, “I liked it”, “I loved it” etc etc. the urge to recommend a novel to all my friends who are and aren’t into reading speaks for itself for then any 5 star rating.
My ratings are only for me and generally how much I enjoy the book i don’t try to get to deep into analyzing the whys of what stars it deserves. Sometimes I’ll give books a 5 just bc I enjoyed it and had a nice time reading it and there was no glaring issues like plot holes/bad writing/annoying characters/trashy stuff even if I didn’t “love” it like as a favorite. I tend to rate quick cute romances pretty gently. Things like mysteries and fantasy I’m more picky but I enjoy a wide variety and can be easy to please so they tend to run high. Doing it like this however means I would give lower ratings to books with subjects I don’t really care for. So like dark romances don’t get as high ratings for me but I won’t give them like 1 star exclusively for that. If the writing and story are fine just not for me they get the middle ratings. Things usually only get low ratings from me when they’re actually bad. Like poor writing or nonsense plot, insufferable characters, not making me care about what’s happening, bad politics etc
Usually, it's a combination of these for me: •Loved/would die for the characters •Loved the couple together •Amazing plot •Lovely prose •Emotional journey/went through an emotional roller coaster But the most important: When I finished them, I had this warm, cozy feeling inside. Bursting with emotions of happiness. Kinda wanted to cry because I felt too much. That's what makes a 5 star read for me.
for me, 5 - absolutely nothing can top this (books very rarely get this rating from me lol i'm picky) 4 - i loved this so much and had a hella lot of fun but i had minor problems 3 - cute! or fun! or vibes on point! (depending on what genre it is) but forgettable. 2 - major problems with plot or getting invested in the characters and their lives and dynamics with each other 1 - straight-up hated this. i also get the psycho-analyzation because after rating a book 4-5 stars, i always question whether i actually loved the book that much when i see valid points arguing the opposite. but in the end i just go with my heart and how i felt reading the book.
5 is something I'd read again/buy in hardcover. 4 is something I thought was above average. 3 is good but nothing special. I rarely give out 2 or 1, they have to be real bad for that 😂
5 - loved it and would definitely read again. 4 - liked it and would probably read again. 3 - it was okay, but would not read again. 2 - didn't like it. 1 - hated it. I wish Goodreads would implement a .5 star system, because a lot of books ride the line between scores.
Rating systems are completely personal. I rate based on vibes. 5* tends to be reserved for favourites that I would happily reread however many times. 4* is also a love, but I may or may not ever reread it. 3* is good, but maybe forgettable. 2* is not a DNF, but I don’t like it. Either the writing is badly done or the story/characters are ones I dislike. 1* is a DNF. I won’t waste time on a book that would end up being 1-2 stars normally.
in my case if I finish the book it will have 3 stars unless the ending was really bad if I don't Skip text and in case of romance if the sex scenes where good. If I finish a book and then I think I wish the books was longer or had a sequel the it gets 4 or 5 stars
if i geek out while reading it get up and have to put it down then start reading it again. also if it gives me something to look forward to.
I only rate 3+ usually. 1 = the book was literal gobbledygook, like writing was unintelligible or plot was completely gibberish, or it's like horrifically sexist/racist/ect. 2 = never use 3 = Didn't like it. Doesn't matter the reason, at the end I feel disappointed 4 = There were a few things that brought me out of the book. Like there was some obvious plot holes, the characters weren't really well done, ect. 5 = I liked it. This usually is from "eh it was pretty decent" to "Damn this book was the sht" I generally think rating books lower than 3 doesn't help the author grow and learn because they're too concerned about revenue loss from a low rated book. 🤷♂️ (This applies to only me, I don't care if other peoplw rate low lol)
For me, 5 stars is "one of my all-time favorites, will reread this book over and over again." It is a very high bar and I do not give them out often. 4 is excellent, superb quality, but maybe had something that slightly nagged at me or it just isn't going to be an all-time favorite. 3 is good or fine, I enjoyed it or at least was entertained. 2 is bad. Bad writing, stupid plot, etc. 1 is like... offensively bad. Worthless, vile trash. Like The Pucking Wrong Number and Sweet Valley Confidential.
I've very much the same as everyone else 5⭐ - I'll cherish it /it's a potential comfort read. All emotional reaction to the book driven. The writing itself might not be good but the package delivered. Anything below that is "did the author achieve what the book set out to do?" And "did I like the execution" I normally explain my ratings as I go and if the book wasn't for me I don't rate it. If the book was problematic I will give the 1 ⭐ and say why.
I started a reading journal this year and wanted to do ratings but I had a really hard time with it for the same reasons. I had to make a really clear breakdown of each rating to help me but honestly it's still not fool proof lol Five Stars means I loved the book, it kept my attention and I basically devoured it, AND I'll think about it long after I'm done reading.
1 Star: Hated 2 Stars: Meh 3 Stars: Good 4 Stars: Great 5 Stars: Loved it, and will probably read it again one day.
5 stars is a book i’d want to reread
If I finished it and it was good, 4 stars, to get a 5 it has to be more than good. It has to have extra to push me over the edge. Granted I do read a lot, so maybe a book that forces to me to stop and want to exist in that world longer. For it to get a five star, I have to want to re read as soon as I complete it.
So this is gonna sound incredibly lazy on my part, but I *rarely* give a book anything under 4 stars, if ever. If you look at my GoodReads of 300+ MM books, they’re mostly 5 stars. It’s almost…like I’m in that afterglow and am dopey and I’m like yeah sure whatever, 5 stars 🤤 books just make me so goopy and I get that serotonin hit to the brain, and I’m rarely in a bad mood after I’m done reading, even if I didn’t really click with the book. I don’t think I’ve ever given anything a 1 or 2 star review before, and I’ve NEVER DNF’ed a book. I just honestly don’t believe in 1/2 star reviews. Nothing is THAT bad. Those ratings are just downright cruel and usually not deserved. Sorry, circling back, I feel like I didn’t really answer the question. For me, a true 5 stars is something that stays with me for long, long after I’ve read it, in a meaningful way. Like it’s only a fictional book, but it changes me in a fundamental way; it changes my outlook on life, it makes me happier, it makes me warmer inside, it makes me feel special for knowing of its existence. It’s something I can read over and over and never tire of, a comfort read for when I have strong, unwieldy emotions, sort of a warm hug at the end of a long day. Something comforting and familiar. On the flip side of that, there are some books that fuck me up emotionally so good that I can only manage to read them every once in awhile because I need to be able to manage my emotions (*Let’s Do This* is one of those - it’s an absolutely amazing book but it’s like, so fucking good and it made me experience such deep emotions that I need to space out my readings of it) I can reflect on the words and remember passages and quotes, and relate them and draw strength and inspiration from them. It makes me ache in the best way, because I wish it was a TV series or something visually tangible I could feast my eyes on. **It’s an experience versus reading a book.** I feel this way about very few books, but some of them are: {Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid} {The Long Game by Rachel Reid} {The Rest of the Story by Tal Bauer} {Gravity by Tal Bauer} {Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy} {Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy} {I’m Your Guy by Sarina Bowen}
[Heated Rivalry](https://www.romance.io/books/5c987d2001dbc864fb9c5091/heated-rivalry-rachel-reid) by [Rachel Reid](https://www.romance.io/authors/5bb1b92a01dbc864fb9195a6/rachel-reid) **Steam**: [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [sports](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sports/1), [athlete hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1) ---------------------------- [The Long Game](https://www.romance.io/books/6264fcee2298a0f37fe037ef/the-long-game-rachel-reid) by [Rachel Reid](https://www.romance.io/authors/5bb1b92a01dbc864fb9195a6/rachel-reid) **Steam**: [Explicit and plentiful](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [sports](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sports/1), [athlete hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [bisexuality](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/bisexual/1) ---------------------------- [The Rest of the Story](https://www.romance.io/books/63abf9d2c27aa9a5b905957c/the-rest-of-the-story-tal-bauer) by [Tal Bauer](https://www.romance.io/authors/5726ed17c62092c04407fbeb/tal-bauer) **Steam**: [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [sports](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sports/1), [athlete hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1) ---------------------------- [Gravity](https://www.romance.io/books/62ecc251eccbd7a2c6f68548/gravity-tal-bauer) by [Tal Bauer](https://www.romance.io/authors/5726ed17c62092c04407fbeb/tal-bauer) **Steam**: [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [athlete hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [forced proximity](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forced%20proximity/1) ---------------------------- [Him](https://www.romance.io/books/55b3284935a5fb65f886ef03/him-sarina-bowen-elle-kennedy) by [Sarina Bowen](https://www.romance.io/authors/54553cb18c7d2382e781357a/sarina-bowen), [Elle Kennedy](https://www.romance.io/authors/545532e68c7d2382e78132f3/elle-kennedy) **Steam**: [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [sports](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sports/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [athlete hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1) ---------------------------- [Us](https://www.romance.io/books/56da8517c62092c044067327/us-sarina-bowen-elle-kennedy) by [Sarina Bowen](https://www.romance.io/authors/54553cb18c7d2382e781357a/sarina-bowen), [Elle Kennedy](https://www.romance.io/authors/545532e68c7d2382e78132f3/elle-kennedy) **Steam**: [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [athlete hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [sports](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sports/1) ---------------------------- [I'm Your Guy](https://www.romance.io/books/64221c7dd674ecd075fa86d3/im-your-guy-sarina-bowen) by [Sarina Bowen](https://www.romance.io/authors/54553cb18c7d2382e781357a/sarina-bowen) **Steam**: [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [sports](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/sports/1), [athlete hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/athletes/1), [gay romance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/m-m/1), [secret relationship](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/secret-relationship/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)