the albatross society
My rating system
A huge part of starting this blog was to have a place to keep my book reviews. I post these reviews as a way to remember the stories I've read and a way to share my thoughts and opinions with others. As a way to keep my reviews consistent (for both myself and others) I found it was best to make a structured rating system so its always clear exactly what my ratings mean.
5 Star Rating System
5 Stars seems to be the easiest and most common way to rate books. Here is what I consider each star to mean. Please note that I rate my books based 100% off of vibes. We are answering the question: "Did I enjoy it?" NOT "was it good?" I find this to be the best method because just because a book is well written doesn't mean its entertaining, convrsely a terribly written book can still be entertaining.
That said I will always note in my reviews whether I felt the book was well written or not, but that is not a factor in my star ratings.
I do not review or rate books I didn't finish.
Books that are clearly supporting or encouraging racism, homophobia, transphobia, religious prejudice, or other hateful messages will be an automatic zero stars and any review made is done with the intention of cautioning potential future readers away from the content.
One Star
Terrible. I finished this book only because I'm stubborn and can't let things rest. I would not read this again and I would not recommend it to anyone. Did Not Enjoy.
Two Stars
It was fine. Not great. Not horrible. Just fine. I probably wouldn't read it again, but it might be good for someone just not me.
Three Stars
I enjoyed this book despite its (possibly many) flaws or negative factors. It may have certain things that aren't really for me, or I wasn't overly thrilled with certain aspects but overall I did enjoy the book and would tell my friends about it.
Four Stars
I really enjoyed this book. Its the kind of book I would reach for again and I'll definitely tell my friends about it. If you've read this book we should talk cause I really enjoyed it even if there were a couple things here and there I didn't love.
Five Stars
I LOVED this book, I enjoyed it from start to finish I will tell anyone who listens about it. In my eyes its perfect and I will definitely reread it, possibly soon.
God Tier
God Tier books are five star books that get a special little elevated status because I not only loved the book but firmly believe that everyone should read it. I am OBSESSED with this book and for good reason!
Spice levels🌶️
It seems like everyone has a different way of ranking spice so I thought it would be a good idea to also create a key for how I rank spice.
TO ME spice = open door content.
It is not fade to black, it is explicitly stated content.
If a book as suggestive content but it is fade to black I will not use the chili pepper rating system for it but I will note it in my review. For potentially triggering content there will be a content warning at the beginning of the review.
Suggestive Dialogue (aka dirty talk) and or PG-13 spice but zero full on "spicy" scenes.
Heavy kissing/ touching/ dirty talk but no more
1-2 explicit sex scenes
generally vanilla or generic sex nothing too kinky or "out there"
3-5 explicit sex scenes
and or kinkier or "elevated" spice such as a threesome or other less common action
More than 5 explicit sex scenes.
Probably heavily suggestive dialogue and PG-13 spice
and or more "less common" kinks
One step away from being erotica, yet still could be a book w/o the spice.
Probably has kinkier scenes and/or features potentially dangerous kinks
Will have CW if so