Everyone rates books differently using their own preferences and expectations to judge where a book fits on the scale. For some, there are few 5-star reads to be found, reserved for only the best of the best across years of reading. They may not even give out a 5-star year in a given year because nothing felt perfect enough. For others, 5-star reads litter there feeds and lists (and good on them for doing so), finding perfection in a number of books across the year. But what about rating books across genres? It can be hard enough to judge a read in a genre we are comfortable with, so how do I rate the many books I read across the vast genres that take my interest?

An easy preface to make is that books will be reviewed differently depending on genre constructs, jargon, immersion, and overall feel of the book. There are some genres where these markers won’t make immediate sense, like romance. What jargon and genre-specific language are we talking about with romance? Well, for me, that includes the tropes and cliches of the romance genre. Does that make sense? Just as the sci-fi genre would include references to space things, tech things, and overall complex ideas and structures, I feel that the romance genre brings with it the jargon of meet-cutes, he falls first, and all those other things that make romance what it is.

So, how do I rate my reads across genres? A few notes before I get into the meaty bits of this discussion: my baseline rating for a book will be 4 stars. I do not give ratings lower than 3 stars because I won’t finish the book to give that rating. It will be a DNF with no regrets. A 3-star read won’t be mentioned so much as I won’t be likely to recommend it based on my preferences, and the same will be for a 3.5-star read. They are better suited for others, so I won’t draw attention to them to keep my reviews more on the books I do like. Therefore, the books you will see me post about will likely have somewhere between a 4 and 5-star rating.

Let’s start with fantasy and science fiction as these are more or less one in the same. I personally like complexity and layers to my fantasy and sci-fi reads (though not always, I do appreciate a lighter read every now and then, but then again that still has its own intricacies with it, doesn’t it?). I like the deep world building that goes down to the very roots of the novel, like how the social makeup of a location has impacted the way in which the community grows and treats each other, the normalities that make the story so interesting for the reader that are really quite mundane for these characters, and so on. I also like the personal, introspective look at “humanity”, whether that comes in the form of questioning what it means to be human or how humanity got to where it has. I also am a sucker for unique and well-thought out additions like technology, magic, societal developments and systems that make the story world feel immersive, enchanting, and addictive. When I read these kinds of stories, whether it be “low” or “high” (referring to set on Earth or a new fictional land, or in the sci-fi context if Earth exists or if there are completely other worlds in play), I am looking for a grand established world that sucks me in, and whatever other surprises I get along the way will move my rating from a solid 4-star some degree higher.

Bringing it back to earth on a real-world level, historical fiction stands in a field of its own for me. Unlike romance and contemporary fiction which I will get to next, historical fiction almost feels like it is in a world of its own. It is one of those genres that can feel otherworldly through the distance of time, yet there are elements that feel timeless. Emotions, thoughts, behaviours, wishes, dreams – these are such human qualities and transcend religions, cultures, and language, and when they really shine through in historical ficiton I get chills. I love historical fictions that highlight the universal truths and relatable aspects of everyday life. I love the historical fictions that send you back in time, and upon taking you through the events of the novel, bring you back to real time forever changed. The basics of historical fiction will have me giving a book an easy 4-stars, but that little something special and life-changing will send it towards 5-stars.

Romance and contemporary fiction sit in the realm for me as present era, real-world reading. The themes and settings I expect to be ordinary, yet the smaller details can really make the books come to life. I like my fiction with layers, and that it especially true wih romance. I can’t just get the love story because that is not all there is to life. I need the mundane, the everyday, the ups and the downs, the trials and triumphs, and, most importantly, I need the day and th enight of these characters. No one is always bright and sunny, just as no one is ever always dark and gloomy, and having the chance to read that in a book and see how these characters approach and work through these moments of uncertainty and aloneness is what I crave. I want to see all the angles and layers of a character, and I want to see the most stripped back, raw and vulnerable versions of these characters too. I want to see their most human selves, and it is in those novels that I will almost always give it at least 4.5 stars. I don’t mind a nice, easygoing read every now and then, but those kinds of reads are ultimately forgetable for me, and I would much rather read something with deeper connections that gets more reactions out of me.

The same principles apply for foreign literature and literary fiction as mentioned above, but with the added element of the beauties and horros of everyday life brought through in the storytelling. I know narrative voicesand structure differ regionally, but what I have noticed in a lot of non-Western literature is a focus and appreciation for nature and human existance. I love this and I want to read more of it, so I find foreign litertaure or literary fiction that brings these elements out in the writing gets me engaged in the stories. I need that hook to catch my attention, and then I need the layers and detail to hold me there. I can be a little more critical of these genres, or I suppose the right way to say it is that they can lose me quicker than other genres. Honestly, I will DNF contemproary books more than others for not grabbing my interest soon enough, for not getting into the layers and complexities of life in quick enough time, which is a shame but ultimate shows you where my preferences sit.

Crime fiction, thrillers, and horror books are something a little different. The tropes and cliches really make the books, but I find myself relying more on the tone and atmosphere of the books to keep me immersed and intrigued enough to get to the first tempo change/tension rise. These kinds of books can start to feel the same pretty quick, so I find there is a need for some uniqueness or standout elements to the characters, perspectives, crime elements, etc. As long as the pacing and tension building is locked down and the atmosphere of the read is dark and moody, I will devour these books and be glad I did so. I will note that I can handle more gory, darker elements of a story, so works done well that include a more gruseome or detailed narrative will more likely get a higher rating out of me.

If I have missed a genre, it either fits in with some of the fields I already mentioned or I don’t read enough of those kinds of books to have a decent measure of my rating system for them. I am still expanding my genres and finding more works I wouldn’t mind reading and reviewing more of, so you may see an updated ratings masterlist in the future. What do you think? Do you review things similarly, or are there bigger elements that draw your attention whe it comes to rating a book?