15 Responses

  1. nicki442
    nicki442 at |

    I think you should absolutely publish all reviews: DNF, 1 star, 2 star included. This isn’t Goodreads where everything is 4+ stars and as unreliable as the weather forecast for next week.

    Maybe have another reviewer read the books rated DNF through 2 stars, just to see if it was simply personal preference, a trigger, or honestly poor writing? It’s always nice to have more than one perspective regardless, and I enjoy when blogs have two (or more) reviewers evaluate the same book. Maybe that could be a new feature for LoveBytes?

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  2. Tanja
    Tanja at |

    Thank you for the star system. It is a good way to have consistent ratings. As a reader I know that all of you rate according to this system. So if a book is rated 5 star I know it is an absolute must read.

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  3. Miranda P
    Miranda P at |

    Star systems are a good guideline so others know why you put that. On my Goodreads page I have one so people know how I rated their books.

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  4. suze294
    suze294 at |

    I like the five heart system, more would just get too confusing!

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  5. Shirley Ann Speakman
    Shirley Ann Speakman at |

    It’s interesting that a lot of sites have different rating systems but I think if a book gets a low mark I’d like to know why and of course a five star read usually goes on my wish list.

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  6. younela
    younela at |

    Thank you for explaining, I only “review” on GR and the Zon and I’m sure you would all think I’m too generous, constantly giving 4 /4.5/5 star ratings, but on the other hand I’m possibly too safe in the books I read.

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  7. waxapplelover
    waxapplelover at |

    I think any reviewing system is difficult. Though I do pay attention to what the reviewer rates, the words of the review are what I truly look at to see how the book affected the reviewer.

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  8. Trix
    Trix at |

    I do like Nicki’s idea of getting a second opinion for a DNF/1-star book. It’s interesting to see everybody’s review system!

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  9. Lisa
    Lisa at |

    I’ll be honest. Most of the time I don’t read reviews of books I haven’t yet read because when I do get to read the book I want my opinion to be completely unbiased. Lots of times I don’t even read the blurb completely.

    That said, ratings are difficult because they are subjective. One person’s trash is another’s treasure. What really blows off one’s socks may suck for another. I’m like Dan, I’m a tough cookie & something has to be really fantastic for me to give it a 5-star rating. It has to really make me laugh or cry or turn my hatred of the characters to love or otherwise move me in some way. The majority of the ratings I give books are 3s or 4s.

    IMO if the heart rating is working then it doesn’t need to be fixed. If there’s a 1 heart or DNF and the reviewer gives a good explanation of why they’ve rated that way, then that should be enough.

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  10. H.B.
    H.B. at |

    Thanks for sharing your review system. It’s interesting how you all differ. I have to follow Lisa on this about reading reviews. Usually i don’t read one unless the blurb doesn’t give me much or is just confusing, then i’ll read one. I find if I read a review before I read a book I end up expecting more of the book and will bias my opinion. If anything I’ll give the first paragraph of a review a read and very rarely read through a whole one.

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  11. Serena S.
    Serena S. at |

    Thanks for the info! Unlike others, I do like the star-system. To me, a book that is near the 3.5 but gets a 4 stars is not the same as an actual book that gets 4 or 4.25.

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  12. dee
    dee at |

    I’m not a big fan of half stars. But since most sites have a five star system I understand that you need to make a distinction, since five is not much to work with, when there are small details that make a book better/worse in comparison to other books.
    Personally I’d prefer sites to have a ten star system. But then again, I might be happy with it, others might not^^

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  13. 16forward
    16forward at |

    I read lots of books and have given 2 star reviews…even on Goodreads. I feel it I read a book and take the time to review it I should be honest with other readers and authors. I always find something good to say about a book…even if it’s just the setting is perfect or they didn’t have any editing errors!

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  14. Purple Reader
    Purple Reader at |

    Thanks for the answers. My having experience in measurement psychology, I’m suspicious of rating inflation on some of these sites and amongst readers, where they just don’t want to rate it too low (how can so many books be “amazing”?). That and a small scale then crowds the upper part of the scale, leaving less ability to make distinctions. Of course the rating is not the whole story, but I’m glad to see that you have inserted .5 into your system (vs. amazon or goodreads). People can indeed and want to make finer distinctions greater than 5 (up to 9 or 10 points is good), and it allows you to spread out the top rated ones more.

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