If you have been following me for a while, you may be wondering why I review the way I do. After all, my reviews don’t follow the typical star rating. I seldom review books I don’t like. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of giving an honest review? In my opinion, no. Let me explain.
Star ratings are entirely subjective, and the scale is always determined by the writer of the review.
There are no universal criteria for how stars are given out. Some reviewers will publish their star rating system on their website. Unless you are going directly to their website for the information, you’re likely reading their review on social media or a book purchasing site like Amazon, Apple books, Barnes & Noble, etc. How many people do you think will take the time to track down that information if it is not readily available to them? Probably not very many.
This leaves the rating system entirely in the hands of the reviewer. We are left to guess why they may have rated a book the way they did unless they explain their rating system directly in the review. I have seen books rated three or four stars, where the reviewer has raved about the book, but they put in their review that they rarely give out five-star reviews.
I’ve also seen the reverse to be true. I’ve taken out books with Kindle Unlimited that were full of five-star reviews, only to find that they are poorly edited, have major plot holes, or contain any number of problematic elements. Maybe the five-star reviewers connected with the subject matter on a deep emotional level and could ignore the glaring flaws. Maybe they were friends or family of the author. The point is, their rating was completely subjective to their own whims and preferences.
Negative reviews are often subjective as well.
Maybe you’ve had this happen before: you pick up a book that is loaded with five-star reviews, and you find it terrible. You can’t understand what all of those five-star reviewers were thinking. Or maybe the reverse is true. You pick up a book and LOVE it, only to find out later that it is basically a flop.
We all have our own tastes and preferences. If a book isn’t my cup of tea, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. It just means that it wasn’t for me. There might be plenty of people who love the book. Rather than detracting from an author’s pool of potential readers by calling a book bad when I simply didn’t like it, I choose to not review. I feel this is more courteous to the author.
What I try to do in my reviews.
If you notice, in my extended reviews I usually give a brief summary of the book followed by what I liked about it and, occasionally, what I didn’t like about it. I also include information regarding Christian elements in the book. If there are problematic issues in the book, such as language or elements some may find offensive, I will include that as well. I almost always include a recommendation as to who may enjoy that particular book.
In my shorter social media reviews, I skip the summary and may give one line on what the book is about. I usually talk more about how a book made me feel. I try to make my readers aware if there are Christain elements in the book, since I predominantly read Christian fiction. I also disclose if there are any problematic issues such as swearing.
My job as a reviewer.
I believe my job as a reviewer is to share books I enjoy with others so they can enjoy them too. I give information that will help you determine whether a book may be of interest to you. I do not want to influence you one way or another, as your reading taste may be different than mine. I gravitate more toward sweet Christian romances. Maybe you enjoy something with more drama and angst. Or maybe you don’t prefer romance at all!
God has created each of us to be unique individuals with unique likes and dislikes. In fairness to the authors who work so hard to create their stories, I try to be as objective as I can when critiquing their work. As the saying goes…one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This can be true for books as well.
You can view my extended reviews here. You can also find my short reviews on Facebook and Instagram.
