How do book ratings even work?

I've been doing (almost) weekly reviews on this blog for around a year now, and I've come to the realization that my rating system is extremely inefficient. Basically, I rate a book on a scale of 1-5 stars, in two different ways. Either:

1) Based off of how strong my emotions are reacting to the story,

OR

2) How well written it is IN SPITE OF how strong my emotions are reacting to the story.

Let me explain. We're going to compare three different examples: November 9 by Colleen Hoover (which I reviewed on Wednesday), Pinch Me by Adena Halpern, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Let's start with the most recent.

I just read November 9. At the time of writing this, I just finished it last night (instead of doing homework lol whoops). If you haven't read my review, I'll summarize it for you: I LOVED IT A CRAPTON. It started out fluffy and cutesy and turned into a soap opera halfway through and I ain't even mad because I loved every second of it! So, obviously, I immediately went on to Goodreads and rated it five stars, because I was on an emotional high that I never wanted to come down from.

Now, despite how much I loved this book, I recognize that it's not perfect. It's got some issues. (And I identify those issues in my review, if you wanted to know what they are.) But I made the conscious decision to forego all that in favour of a five star rating, because that's what I do when I adore a book--I give it an immediate five star rating.

Now, I'm going to hit you with an extremely unpopular opinion that's going to get me kicked off the internet--I don't like Harry Potter. I'm sorry! I tried! I forced myself to read the first book a couple years ago, and I had little to no emotional attachment and/or reaction to the story. Even watching the movies, I'm indifferent. I just don't give a crap about wizards, I guess.

Anyway, my initial reaction (or lack thereof) made me want to give the book a pretty low rating. Like, a two. Or maybe even a one. (Which is unheard of--a one-star book is one that I don't finish, which means that I don't rate it because I feel bad reviewing an unfinished book.) But still, on Goodreads, I gave it a solid three. I question this, given my passionate indifference to it.

But here's the thing--it's actually really well written.

Even though I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters, even if I felt that the plot advanced too slowly in parts and I have 0 intention of ever picking up the second book, I can still acknowledge the fact that it has some great bits. The description is really well written, and the world is one full of imagination and wonder. Even though I, personally, dislike the book, I can see how so many people fall in love with it.

And then there's Pinch Me, an adult fiction book that I read shortly after Harry Potter, and gave it the same rating. HOWEVER. I enjoyed this book a hell of a lot more. I liked the premise better, I liked the writing style better, I liked the characters better. I rated it lower on my scale due to smaller things, like absurdity of some of the plot points, or the overall goofiness of it that just can't be taken too seriously.

Still, though, the more I think about it, the more I'd like to bump it up to four stars.

Actually, I think I'll do that now.

That basically proves my point right there: I have no consistency. Zero! I make it up as I go! I have no system, no protocol to figuring out what I should rate a book. It's just "Eh...sure, we'll go with this." I almost feel like five stars isn't enough--because how can I rate two books that I enjoyed differently the same number of stars? More importantly--do my ratings really mean anything if I just go back and change them later? (Which I do. A lot.)

(If you'd like further discussion on rating books, I recommend this video by Ariel Bissett on YouTube.)

How do you normally go about rating books? Or do you just simplify your life and not even bother?

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: November 9

"I think I've been overlooking the best part of romance novels. Maybe the grand gestures don't matter nearly as much as all the inconsequential things between the two main characters." - Colleen Hoover, November 9

BEHOLD: THE FIRST NEW READ OF THE YEAR THAT I ADORED BEYOND COMPARE!

(On a side note: we're starting in on March and this is only the fourth book I've read?? Shameful.)

Hello, friends! Today we're going to be looking at November 9 by Colleen Hoover, and I'm just gonna dive right into it by saying I loved this book so much.

This wonderful book starts off with Fallon, an 18-year-old actress preparing for her cross-country move from LA to New York. On the day of said move, while in a fight with her dillhole father, she meets Ben--an aspiring novelist, who slides into their restaurant booth and instantly becomes her fake boyfriend, with the sole purpose of defending her against her asshole dad. They spend the rest of the day together, drawn together by this new connection, and all-too aware of the move that's about to tear them apart.

So what do they do? They decide to meet up on the same day every year, with no contact information to satisfy them the other 364. The story follows them over the course of five years, as Fallon follows her ambitions in NYC and Ben writes about their unique relationship, creating the grandest of all romance novels.

Until, you know, everything goes to shit. BECAUSE NOTHING GOOD CAN EVER LAST, APPARENTLY.

This book started out all fluffy, cutesy, and happy, and then about halfway through turned into a major soap opera. But y'know what? I ain't even mad. I soaked it all up. And it's weird, because I'm pretty sure that if someone had explained the plot to me before hand--like, summarized the entire book, the same way I summarized it to my best friend after the fact--I wouldn't have wanted to read it. Not because I don't like being spoiled (because to be honest I spoil 95% of the content I consume, anyway), but because it sounds so ridiculous when told out of context. 

Some people may have problems with the plot in that way, which I totally get, but I loved it. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

This was my first Colleen Hoover book, but damn girl, I am tempted to run out and buy all your other stuff right now. I actually already own one of her other books, Slammed, but I avoided picking it up next because I'm scared that I started with the best of the lot, and everything else is going to pale in comparison. 

Because this girl? She can write. Her sentences are smooth and flawless and my eyes practically FLY across those pages, which is the best and worst thing that any writer could ever do for me, because it makes it both easy to read and impossible to put down. (I had an essay due today, and I spent four damn hours reading this on Monday. It was stressful. I loved it.)

Her humour is great, too. I loved all of references she made to romance books, through insta-love and cheesy romance scenes and the discussion of making a kiss "book-worthy". (I just love reading books that talk about other books, okay?)

And can we just talk about Ben for a second? Because he is both smooth and dorky at the same time, which are two traits that I never thought could coexist simultaneously in one human being. And yet, here we are. The fact that he gave me not one, but TWO incredibly cute airport departure scenes means that I am forever in his debt.

I'm always warry about multiple POVs, but Hoover pulls it off very well. The only complaint I have is that, when telling it from Ben's perspective, she didn't do much alluding to the final twist at the end. (Which you don't want to give away, of course...but some hints would have been nice.) It was just a very personal twist at the end, and there were plenty of opportunities (aside from the punch Kyle gave him) were some hints could have easily been dropped. Just to make it a little less, y'know, out of the blue.

While we're on the topic of complaints, I did find the plot a LITTLE predictable. But not really in an, "omg-I-know-exactly-what's-going-to-happen" way, but more in an "lol-what-if-this-happens-oh-wait-it-just-did-way". Y'know? Like, this was stuff I all thought might happen, but I didn't actually think it would...until it did. So on that front, there were no real shocking twists for me. (But there rarely are, and I don't mind!)

ANYWAY. This book gets five stars. Easy. I loved this book so much and y'all need to go out and read it RIGHT NOW.

What were your thoughts? Let me know!

Until later,

- Justyne