I learned a lot about the power of reviews while attending Dragonsteel Nexus 2025. Reviews are how we communicate to each other across a well known spectrum. However, it is important to note that everyone’s five star values are different. Some people like to give 5 stars all around for the effort of books, and others are more critical.
What you will see on my blog is a five star rating scale represented with golden feathers.
How I rate my reviews
I like to give a very unbiased opinion here, but my ratings will always reflect my own opinions.
5 Feathers- One of my favorite books, I will recommend this to anyone looking for this kind of book. Will likely re-read this book.
4 Feathers- Above average, may be cautious to recommend to some readers, but I liked it a lot. I might not re-read or not be able to re-read.
3 Feathers- It was good, nothing truly unique that stands out to me but I appreciated the work it took to make it. Will not re-read.
2 Feathers- I was not a fan, did not find a connection, deeper meaning, or feel hooked by the story. I likely had to push through the book to finish it. Maybe not continue a series, but I am not mad that it exists.
1 Feathers- I barely made it through, or 80% DNF. I am not appreciative of the work, I am not a fan that this is sitting on the shelves for others to read.
No Rating- DNF. Something really turned me off about the book and series.
Half Star Ratings
Sometimes it might not feel like enough to only have a scale of 1-5 without half or quarter ratings. Goodreads does not have a half rating feature, but Fable and Storygraph do. I really like Fable for my half and quarter ratings because it can also open more rating doors to character, plotline, etc.
Half ratings and quarter ratings is a little controversial among others, mainly because we may be going down a line of overcomplicating a review.
10 Star Ratings
You see 10 star ratings a lot in movies and tv shows more than books. The prime example is Rotten Tomato’s rating system. There is likely a reason why this hasn’t taken over on the rating scales for books.
The 10 star rating scale is a more fine discrimination of reviews, but it can make it harder for someone to rate a book, and even more complicated if we involve the half and quarter star ratings. While it is more fine-tuned to the reader and reviewer, it might be less accurate for someone who is reading the review.
It is also likely harder to rate on smartphones than on computer settings due to the size of stars and make it less accessible or convenient to rate books.
A Right and a Wrong Way
There is no right or wrong way to review books. It is all reader dependent and there are multiple apps now that allow us to create a more personalized review.
Everyone should be rating what is the most accurate to them, and I do my best to give the general readers the basic way to review because it’s more broad and up for debate among others.
Influencing A Review
Another hot topic here is how we let ourselves become influenced by others to change our reviews and feelings on a story. Was this really a 5 star, or was it a 4 because my friend mentioned a plot hole I didn’t want to dive deeper into.
I think sitting with a book for a moment isn’t necessary for a review. I think it is important to reflect on our feelings in a book before we rate, just like how we think before we speak. This allows us to properly think about what the point of the story was and did we receive the message it wanted us to receive.
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