A few words about my "reviewing credo" and star rating system
Since I post most of my reviews on Amazon, it made sense to adopt their Star Rating system of five stars, which goes as follows:
The scale is a bit different on Goodreads, so a score of 4.5 stars (for example) which might be rounded up to 5 stars on Amazon, would probably end up being just 4 stars on Goodreads.
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Reviewing books is, at best, highly subjective and can become very controversial, depending on your viewpoint and tolerance for opinions other than your own. I try to evaluate and rate each book on its own merits. Reviewing is not an Olympic sport, where there can only be one winner. If a book is well written, with developed characters and an interesting storyline, and if it gives me pleasure to read it, I have no problem giving it 5 stars. If I notice some plot holes, flaws or annoyances that affect its enjoyment for me, but might not make a lot of difference for other readers, I rate it 4 stars. A rating of 3 stars is for books that disappointed my initial expectations, with tedious developments, unrealistic characters, or a really terrible ending: a forgettable book.
I rarely use 1 or 2 stars because I invariably read the "Look Inside" (what a terrific idea!) so there shouldn't be too many surprises with regard to writing style, quality and content. However, occasionally I find a promising book that really drags, or veers off into unexpected directions. The temptation is great to stop reading, which would make my review unfair, so I usually plod along hoping for things to improve. I have only stopped reading a book a few times.
I investigate all books I am asked to review because I know what it's like to be rejected out of hand for being an Indie. However, there are books I am simply not interested in. It is no longer possible for me to respond to every request. If you don't hear from me, thank you anyway for your consideration.
I rarely use 1 or 2 stars because I invariably read the "Look Inside" (what a terrific idea!) so there shouldn't be too many surprises with regard to writing style, quality and content. However, occasionally I find a promising book that really drags, or veers off into unexpected directions. The temptation is great to stop reading, which would make my review unfair, so I usually plod along hoping for things to improve. I have only stopped reading a book a few times.
I investigate all books I am asked to review because I know what it's like to be rejected out of hand for being an Indie. However, there are books I am simply not interested in. It is no longer possible for me to respond to every request. If you don't hear from me, thank you anyway for your consideration.