Star Rating System

It is LONGGGG overdue that I take some time and write out what my star ratings mean. I am a naturally indecisive person so picking a star rating for a book is more stressful than it should be (it shouldn't be stressful at all).

The wonderful thing about books is that they're completely subjective. One book that wasn't my cup of tea could be someone else's favourite! Or one book that I rave about was a DNF for someone else. I try not to let myself be too swayed by someone else's rating of a book, especially if it's rated low and it's one I really want to read.

Here is the system I generally abide by when rating books:

Five stars: I CANNOT stop thinking about this book. I would recommend it to anyone! I had strong emotions reading this book, whether I cried, laughed out loud, gasped, or threw the book across the room. I do not want to leave this fictional world and the characters are basically my best friends.

Four stars: I really liked this book and would recommend it to almost anyone.

Three stars: This book was okay for me ... it had something (whether it be good characters, good writing, or a need to know what happens at the end) to keep me reading and wanting to finish it.

Two stars: I didn't like this book, likely wouldn't recommend it, I frankly shouldn't have read it.

One star: It is very rare that I give a book one star, because if I'm not liking or feeling a book I will DNF (did not finish) it. But in the off chance I did power through a book I really didn't like... I likely either didn't like the subject matter, characters, or it was a book that was really difficult to read.