HOW I RATE MY READS

Every reviewer's ratings scales are a little different, and one person's 3 star read could carry the same weight as another's 4.5 star. I use a 5-star rating scale (some books breaking that to earn over a 5-star) and a 1-5 spice scale for any books with romantic elements. I tend to mark any books that have taboo, dark or triggering aspects as well for easy reference. Here is a quick breakdown of my rating system:

STAR RATINGS

Like I wrote above, I rate by reads on a star scale of 1 to 5 and I allow books the capability to earn up to a 6 if they are my holy grail, God-tier, lifetime obsessions (just because I feel like they deserve their own category). Click through the graphics below to view a more comprehensive breakdown of what each rating means to me.

My ratings may straddle somewhere between to solid ranks, for example a book may earn a 4.25 or a 3.75. This is because I create an average overall rating based on my scores for individual considerations - more on that here.

SPICE SCALE

I include a spice scale with my ratings because I feel that it's an important aspect of a book to inform readers about when they are looking for book recs. Spicy scenes aren't everyone's cup of tea, and for some people they make or break a book. I have a scaled spice rating because everyone's palette is different.

LEVEL 0/5 - Books with no spice at all, usually non-romance fiction or non-fiction books, earn a level zero ranking. These books may include some harmless flirting or a kiss here and there, but there are no "heated" feelings, thoughts or happenings present. If the reading level is appropriate, these books would be suitable for children or junior readers.
LEVEL 1/5 - These books have 1 to 2 completely closed-door scenes, meaning that explicit things are eluded to but not expressed in any detail. You can think of this as a PG-13 movie. Characters may convey thoughts of attraction to another, they may comment on how their body feels during these thoughts, and the author may state that they act upon those feelings. These actions, so to speak, however are not detailed or written out, just indirectly mentioned.
LEVEL 2/5 - Books earning a level 2 ranking for spice will have minimal spice, all of it being either fade to black or scarcely detailed. This means that there may be heated flirting, x-rated thoughts, or a little bit of lead-up to what would then be a open-ended or only eluded to explicit happening. These books are still good for those who don't particularly enjoy spicy scenes, but they would not be appropriate for non-adult readers.
LEVEL 3/5 -Level three on the spice scale means that the book houses a few explicit scenes, maybe 1 or 2. These scenes are detailed and most likely had tension written out beforehand. The details of these scenes may not be as X-rated as some books higher on this scale, but there's enough detail to assume that readers should be adults or mature enough to read such a thing. These scenes don't overpower this book, and the romance is still forefront in the plot without it being considered an overall spice-specific type of romance.
LEVEL 4/5 - These books have several highly-detailed explicit scenes and the plot of the book is entangled in these scenes, making them unsuitable for skipping over without losing the storyline. These books are typically classified as spicy romances, usually on the contemporary side. There is still a plot to this book outside of these scenes, however, and sometimes the smuttiness is concentrated to the back half of the book, such as in slow-burn romances.
LEVEL 5/5 - Level five on the spice scale is leaning fully into the smut category, and are NSFW. There is a highly-detailed explicit scene in a majority of these books, maybe every chapter or two. The details in these scenes could be jarring to readers who don't enjoy smut, and there is not a whole lot of plot outside of the explicitness - meaning the storyline is centered around the smut, not the other way around.

FLAGGED ELEMENTS

If a book contains dark, taboo or potentially triggering aspects, I will flag it as well as give it a spice rating. These elements are a sort of gray area, depending on the reader's idea of what could be considered dark or taboo, but if it is something outside of the "social norm" of explicitness, I will flag it just in case. To get more specific details on the components of these books, I suggest searching for a trigger list online before reading. Feel free to send me a private message if you want to know if there is a particular theme in a book I've reviewed and flagged and I will be happy to let you know.

CONSIDERATIONS

When rating a book, I consider a few key concepts in order to calculate my overall rating.

After taking each of the above questions into account, I can confidently come to a solid overall rating that I feel reflects my true feelings on the book.

SYMBOLS

You may have noticed that I use a symbol system for my reviews and wrap-ups both here and on my Instagram. They're pretty self-explanatory, but here's a quick guide on what they all mean for your reference.

DISCLAIMER

No matter what my or any other reviewer's rating of a book is, reading will always be a personal experience unique to each reader. Just because I rate a book a certain way, that doesn't mean you have to or should agree with me. Please read what you want, stand by your opinions and just have fun! That's what the book community is all about.