Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

Like many of us here, I've loooved reading books my entire life. I've probably read a book per week for the last 15 years.
I LOVE Goodreads. It's helpful in so many ways, and one of those are the ratings.
I feel like I've read so many duds to get to a good book, that's it's easy to push books aside because of ratings. At this point I won't even try a book unless it's at least 4.00 rating. (Unless someone specifically recommended it to me)
Anyway, feeling like I'm missing out on some good ones because of ratings!

Does anyone else feel this way about ratings? Or does it not matter to you?

Any examples of books you loved but have a low rating?

Ratings are only a starting point for me. Book cover, title, author, story blurb and rating are a package deal for me to consider a book for reading. If I never heard of the author before, I'll skim the reviews (mix of high and low ratings) to get an idea for the story. How people write the review matters to me. I'm not a fan of reviews with a bunch of gifs and meme-photos.

In general, I'd say that 4 star rating is a starting point. For my own rating, I consider 3 stars the average for a good book. What I would consider 3 stars is usually what others place at 4.

I'd say that you need to know what makes you happy when you read a story. See if those aspects are expressed by others in the reviews that you read.

Plus, fake reviews are a real thing. I've come across a lot of fake profiles with little activity and a handful of rating/reviews. People are strange.

For me, I would see what my friends are reading and check out the books they enjoyed. The other easy option is to pick up a story you like now and see what comes up as a recommendation. Usually that will lead to new authors/series that are similar to what you already read.

Right now, I've had a great time exploring recommendations on Audible. Half of them end up being books that I enjoy reading over listening. The other half are styles that totally don't appeal to me in print but are fun to listen to.

For example: Based on Dresden Files
Enjoyed: Vesik series, Alex Versus series, Joe Ledger series

I will admit ratings have turned me away from a few books in the past, but I try to look at more than that...

One thing that I look for is the first page of reviews, the ones with the most likes... if they are predominantly 1-3 stars, regardless of the average rating of the book, that seems like a warning sign and I'll start reading the reviews to see the problem...

I like the similar book recommendations on this site, but they aren't very useful when you already read pretty much every popular UF/PnR series that is considered similar... this is when I dip my toe into the Listopia lists a book is in... but in general, those are a mixed bag, and again you see the same pile of books in many similar lists...

I'm probably one of those people Soo mentioned that rates high... most any book I stick with long enough to rate is going to be 3-4-5 stars... 2-star books tend to be duds in a series I otherwise like... and there's only a handful of books I've finished and given 1 star...

Looking at my shelves, the lowest rated book I've read had an average rating of 3.21... and the lowest rated book that I rated 5-stars was rated 3.49 and was Blood Engines

I really liked the Marla Mason series... I finished the first story arc from books 1-5... there's a 2nd arc books 6-10 that I still need to read, then the series ends... I think reading the prequel novellas helped me appreciate the character more than you might otherwise starting with book 1...

The MC is basically a benevolent villain ruling over her fictional slice of America...

I don't pay attention to ratings. After all, some of my favorite books have received some not-so-stellar reviews. I make buying decisions based on blurbs and sample chapters alone. (Pretty covers are a bonus, but not a deal breaker!)

I used too when I first started reading, and I probably missed out on some great books. I don't feel I can trust reviews anymore, there seems to be a lot of "pleasers" lately.

I'm also a fan of dark romances, which are inclined to get low ratings.

I look at cover, blurb, shelves, in that order.

Veiled

Was a book that had a lower rating but ending up being pretty good, it looks like the ratings have gone up now,

I used to believe all the GR ratings but as I started using GR more and more, I've realized that what I like to read is not always the "popular" choice or vice versa. So I don't tend to believe the ratings. Plus what's a 3-star for me, sometimes is a 5-star to someone else. But hey, we're all different and it's cool that we like different things. :-)

I will say that I do appreciate my GR friends who post reviews that say if the book has certain triggers or not.

I've been stung too many times in the past to be sucked in by the multitude of shiny five star ratings that some books have accumulated.
For me - I need a couple of reviews to take that next step these days - and it doesn't have to be many reviews. I just take a look at a couple of 5 star ratings and then scroll through some 1, 2 or 3 star reviews. As long as they don't mention any of my deal breakers - count me interested.
Deal-breakers? If anyone mentions the h being TSTL. Or crying constantly (I don't mind the occasional angry crying bout, just not the weepy woe-is me kind) I'm certainly not buying if anyone complains how the supposedly kick ass heroine seems to be anything but. And cliff hanger endings also make me wary.

If anything these days I am even more wary of books that have thousands of five star ratings - seemingly overnight in many cases - that's why I instigated my deal breaker rule.

I seldom write reviews,. That being said I will rate a book based on the following:
1. Cover
2. Author, previous books read.
3. Story line
4. Price vs. pages ( don't like books that cost over
$3.99 and have only 150 to 200 pages.
5. Recommendations.

Honestly, I only look at reviews if I am on the fence about a title. Nine times out of ten if I like the cover and blurb, I buy the book. If I am not sure, I might look at reviews.
I do often look at reviews if I am starting into a book and it's not as good as I thought. I will use the reviews to judge if the book will likely get better or not.

I look at many things when considering a new read and the final thing I check is an excerpt. Getting a feel for the author's writing style first is a big factor for me.

I've found reviews (even from Goodreads buddies with similar tastes) tend to be too subjective at times. ☺

I usually start from a GR list or my feed. Then, I always look at the ratings and how many are at the extremes. Then I'll check the 1 & 2 star reviews to see why, because it might be one of my deal breakers too. I almost read this highly rated YA/NA book until the low reviews said, "excellent writing, but rape and incest". I'm even more picky because I don’t like cheating (and really want an HEA), though I wouldn't low rate a book that's written well just because I didn't like the content.

It's only a part of my assessment. I look first at the author. If it's an author whose work I've enjoyed before I give that person the benefit of the doubt. I also look at the description of the story and the remarks under the stars. A couple of ones can throw off the curve, and may be simply that the person didn't realize what the genre was about.

To further expand on my previous comments... I think the first book in a series' rating needs to be taken with a grain of salt... since more people try a first book than later books... if there's a sudden dip mid-series, by previous fans and not just a bunch of cold-read ARCs... that could be a bad sign...

There are a couple series I have started and purposely stopped early so I never have to be let down this way... works best if the series doesn't keep hooking you with cliffhangers... those series I tend to stick to stubbornly until I can no longer cope with the disappointment anymore...

I read what I like... often that doesn't match up with others' ratings. I do tend to read comments, more than I pay attention to starred ratings though. I am a reviewer, so I guess words matter more to me than stars? I am required to offer a star rating by my editor, but I usually find that to be one of the harder parts of reviewing.

For personal reading though, I'll often hop through lists or find a comment-er than I appreciate in the moment, and see what they like.

Katie wrote: "Like many of us here, I've loooved reading books my entire life. I've probably read a book per week for the last 15 years.
I LOVE Goodreads. It's helpful in so many ways, and one of those are the ..."

I judge the ratings my friends gave it that actually enjoy the same type of reads. If my friend who hates PNR gives Kresley Cole's latest every one star it doesn't carry the same weight as my friend who usually rates that author's work the same as me. It does give me pause when my friend who usually fangirls over an author, gives the latest book a low rating. I don't pay that much attention to Goodreaders I've never interacted with.

In the beginning I preferred books with higher ratings and thus more popular books. Had I continued my book choice based on those ratings I would have probably missed some very funny and good series. I can't really tell how I decide which book I'am going to read....

But there are two steps: Am I interested enough to download the excerpt at Amazon? And then the final question after having read those 10%, am I invested into the story? Do I want to know how the story continues? It's really rare that I don't finish books that I've once decided to buy and read.

As for the initial first step....first, the cover though I've learned that a pretty cover doesn't count for everything. Best example: the covers of the Kate Daniels Series... everytime I try to convice friends to read this series, I have to say: don't judge it by the cover! The ratings.... they might be an indication, but generally I don't pay too much attention. (please excuse any mistakes... I don't have much "active" vocabulary in English)

Nope, ratings are not a factor for me. Anyone can pay for good ratings.
I've read crappy books with 4+ stars and I've read really good books with only 2 stars.
I prefer to try a sample chapter. If the book draws me in, I'll read it.

I generally dont...I mainly stay with the same author I download a lot of free ebooks also and discover a lot of new series and author that way also

Barb wrote: "I generally dont...I mainly stay with the same author I download a lot of free ebooks also and discover a lot of new series and author that way also"

I have started doing the same thing. I joined bookbub, which is free, and have found many new authors that I have really injoyed.

I care about the ratings from my friends for the most part. But honestly, if a book is rated 2 stars or something by dozens of people, then there is generally a problem with it. I don't trust high star ratings because sometimes you can get authors or fans with sock puppet accounts to increase the ratings and that's not cool.

I don't look at ratings or reviews of any book. I'd rather have my own opinion freely of a book. That way when I read and review it's me and my thoughts not somebody else's in my head. I don't like anyone influencing what I read or don't read and I wouldn't want to do that to anyone else.

I do peek at ratings, but I'm usually more interested in the blurb & cover because I can see a lot at a glance. If I'm interested in a book and it has a lot of low ratings, I'll scan the headlines of the reviews. If they talk about terrible writing or grammar, I then look at the first chapter & make my decision from there!

For me the fist thing is the comments. I think the best way to choose something is to check the books that people with similar taste as mine rate as a 4 or 5 star. I really don't care about the cover AT ALL!! However i check the general rating and unfortunately sometimes i choose which book to read next based on it. If you have any recommendations with low rating please share!!

Elizabeth wrote: "Barb wrote: "I generally dont...I mainly stay with the same author I download a lot of free ebooks also and discover a lot of new series and author that way also"

I have started doing the same thi..."

freebooksy.com is good too.

If it's an author I'm not familiar with, I read the blurb and check out the reviews. Mostly I look at the bad ones. Sometimes people don't like the book for very valid reasons.
Then I decide.

Rating, Blurb and reviews all factor into if I decide to read a book or not.

Blurbs factor in the most. If a book sounds really interesting i'll want to check it out regardless. Then i'll skim some reviews and see what others are saying specifically. Sometimes it's just a matter of taste. Sometimes people rate books 1 star that they haven't even read and get all their friends to do the same because of one thing or another. Sometimes i'll see a book rated highly but then see all the top reviews are horrible and that generally appears to be a warning sign. Also if a book has bad ratings but someone I trust recommends it to me i'll check it out.

So I try to use a few factors but if I really want to check a book out, i'm going to do it.

When I check the ratings I aways look at how many people have given them. I believe ratings when they are from thousands of people , otherwise it could be just fans of the author giving 5 stars. There are books that havent even come out with 5🌟. For me the most important are the 💗QUOTES💗, I mean you get a sort of trailer for the book with them. And I fowoll people with similar taste in books. I skip reviews that are from people who were given the book for free. For me the more informal reviews with gifs and quotes are the more real.

Like some others have said, I take into account first and foremost whether the plotline is something that engages me and interests me. But sometimes those can be very deceptive or bare bones or they don't include things that are interesting about the book. I've looked through lists before for tropes(Mars Needs Women, Human Pets, Sexy Alpha Males, etc.) that don't show up in the little blurb or summary for the book. So, next, I look at reviews.

I love essay-length reviews and I'm not one of those people you can "spoil"; I'm here for the journey and your little plot reveals are meaningless to me without context(or, as most often happens, once I start reading, I completely forget about the spoilers I was given). So, I really research it. My favorite thing to do is go through bad reviews of a book and see if the things they complain about are things that I can tolerate. Some folks get real uptight and petty and pretentious about their frickin' romance fiction(I do too in different ways; we all have standards) and I look for those that say things or complain about things being in the book that I like.

That's how I discovered Darkfever by KMM, heh. Some gal went off on Mac with a three star review and talked off on the "abusive, toxic male lead" Barrons. I like hyper masculine men in my fiction who are just a lil rough, so, I gave it a shot. It's my favorite series! I love it so much!

So, now, I do that with all the books I'm interested in. I just check out a few of the less than 3 star reviews and see if they complain about stuff I like. I don't think I actually pay attention to review numbers or rating numbers. Like, some authors, like Dean Koontz or Christine Feehan are extremely popular but I can't stand them. They're just not for me. I'd rather read reviews than look at a number anyway;_if I'm going to get "research" on a book, then I'm not gonna half-ass it. A number doesn't tell me anything truly relevant about taste and compatibility.

I do look at reviews and am definitely swayed by a high number (100s) of 4s & 5s. 1-Stars—particularly here, where no comments are required— won’t deter me. I’ll take a closer look at the positive and negative review comments.

Covers have a subliminal impact that can’t be ignored. A striking image will pull me in to take a closer look. However, unless a low quality cover screams “This Book sucks”, I’ll look further into the story.

The blurb and sample read are what get me excited enough to click buy now. once, a sample fooled me. I still marvel over how the tantalizing excerpt came from a total crap novella. In general, the sample will tell me if the writers voice appeals. Typos in the sample—or grammar blunders—will keep me shopping. I have a low tolerance for poor editing.

Interesting topic. Excuse in advance my rambling...!

Firstly, I've now read enough books to be good at knowing what content (genres, tropes etc) I like and dislike and I think I'm quite open-minded in some ways but not in others. When I get let down by a book it's generally the execution rather than the actual story that is the problem, not always, but mostly. And that's because for me, the most important factor is the blurb/synopsis. Does it appeal to me? No amount of popularity, hype, 5 star ratings etc will make me pick up a book that just doesn't interest me, and I never blindly follow another person opinion as so often seems to happen also.

After that, I do look at the ratings but purely as a gauge to its popularity. In general, I pay more attention to the content of reviews as these are what give me information about whether a book will include themes, tropes, content etc that interest me or turn me off. Sometimes negative reviews have highlighted things that the blurb doesn't that increases my interest in the book.

Also, I read a lot of indie and self pubbed books with very low R&R counts so that has to be taken into account too. I have read some truly dreadful books that have clearly had ZERO editing with near 5-star ave ratings because only a few people have read them and they have all loved them. At the same time, I did read a particular 5-star book with an overall low rating because some readers found it boring and depressing whereas I found it wonderfully introspective and character driven!

But ultimately, if the blurb doesn't interest me, or what people say the book is about doesn't interest me then I'll move on. I'll never read a popular or highly rated book just for that reason alone, and I'll never ignore a book that sounds really interesting just because of it's lack of popularity or lower ratings.

Definitely, I won't usually read a book that has a rating below 4 stars, might read a book with a really high 3.(6-9) stars only if it has really good reviews that I can trust. I will always read the reviews of a book and usually first read reviews from friends and any reviews with 4-5 stars and then read reviews of 1-2 stars just to see how bad the book can truly get and get an idea as to why it's not a 5 star rating. Unless I believe that reading a spoiler review would would entirely ruin the plot of a book, especially one that I know would contain a lot of twists that change the entire plot if a book, then I'd read spoilers. I would never read spoiler reviews if any books written by my favourite authors whom I trust wouldn't make me hate the characters (an author who wouldn't make the hero/heroin a real bitch or a person who allows people to walk all over them and especially not a cheater).

I definitely do judge books by their rating, but not just by the number of stars they have received. It also very much depends on what the reviewers are saying about the book. I have starting reading several books that had great ratings that I couldn’t stand and had to stop reading. Usually in this case the book had many spelling and/or grammatical errors, the writing was too juvenile, or the characters had little development or were annoying. This doesn’t happen often but it’s happened enough that I check the bad reviews as well as the good. If a lot of the bad reviews mention any of the reasons I stated above as reasons they didn’t like the book, I may choose not to read it. I don’t like to stop reading a book I’ve started so I try to be somewhat picky. Obviously the premise of the book has to be something that sounds appealing too.

Katie wrote: "Like many of us here, I've loooved reading books my entire life. I've probably read a book per week for the last 15 years.
I LOVE Goodreads. It's helpful in so many ways, and one of those are the ..."

I used to, but then I've sometimes found a book can have good ratings, and even be in a genre I prefer, and still not be my cup of tea due to the writing style of the author. Now, I'll read a few of the lowest reviews, even for a four star+, to see what some of the existing complaints are in case there's another reader out there who has similar quirks.

Now that I no longer have access to Kindle Unlimited and pay full price for a lot of books, I tend to be much more discerning unless I'm reading something on Scribd.

I do look at ratings, but only to a point. When I read a review, I'm looking for information about the book that is often not in the Kindle description.

I value other's opinions, but I want facts. What is the genre? Is it full-length or a novella? Is it a stand-alone or part of a series? If it is a series, is there some closure in the plot by the end of the book, or is it the ever-dreaded cliff-hanger? Or worse, a serial that just ends and I have to buy 12 more books to see what happens!

I do agree, that in the best of circumstances, I realize a reviewer's opinion may or may not align with my way of thinking or my tastes. Funny, I suppose. Since that's also the type of writing work I've done for years. But truly, a group of people of equivalent intellect and similar tastes, still boasts different experiences and levels of understanding of certain things.. and that means we all interpret and respond just a little differently.

Beyond that, and I was literally just kind of complaining about this recently.. while it's really neat that so many more have access to sharing their thoughts on releases now.. with quantity.. quality has dropped as a whole, imo. I find many people 5-starring titles that to me.. are nowhere near deserving of more than 1 or 2. I don't know if all that is lack of experience with better writers.. really low expectations.. or something more along the lines of being afraid of hurting feelings/saying anything negative.

That being said, I've always read based more on instinct and assignment than anything. And the few opinions I might pay attention to.. come from those who've established a history of credibility with me.. or with my personal tastes.

Good points, Inkslinger.

I also find that some people base their reviews on author loyality, and will continue to give 5 star ratings even if the subsequent books in a series fail to have the same quality as the previous ones.

Outlander, by Diana Gabalon, comes to mind. I loved the first seven books in the series, but the eighth was a disaster. Nevertheless, loyal fans gave her a great rating, some said they were a bit disappointed but still loved it, and a brave few said it was awful even though they felt bad about saying so.

I've also read reviews that said, "5 stars! I haven't read it yet, but I just know I'm going to love it!". Author loyalty is one thing. Predicting the future is another!

Many times, I ignore the ratings, if it’s a book I’m really interested in reading, as at times, I read the book, and disagree with the rating.

Oh you're so right. Author loyalty is a big one.. and I do have a bit of that myself.. but typically it's either for authors that are imo.. extraordinary writers/storytellers.. or because of some personal draw. In those cases, I try to separate those feelings.

I just finished a novel by one of my absolute favorites. It was great.. but not his best. There were a couple of things that stood out to me.. things I wasn't quite happy about.. but because it's him.. and they're small things indeed.. it's totally forgivable.

True. If I like an author, I'll overlook a few "meh" moments and a couple of "what the heck is that about's?!", and continue to buy their books, especially if they're character driven.

I know authors think of their characters as theirs, but when I buy a book and become invested in a story, they become mine as well. If a character says or does something that goes completely against their personality as I've come to know it, then I have to question the authors and their intentions. If they're going to change things up, they best have a good reason for it.

And if someone is going to review a book by a favorite author, I hope they'd be honest about it. "Not his/her best, but still..." is perfectly fine by me.

Same. I absolutely agree with that sentiment. Especially when they label certain behaviors based on medical terms or.. certain personal histories. To suddenly have one of them do something that is.. not only completely out of the proverbial left field.. but also happens to be diametrically opposed to everything they stand for.. drives me crazy.

A couple of my favorite more recent authors.. do this now and then.. and even though I like them, it irritates me. I can see the purpose for it in the way it's written. It's always something necessary to drive the story in the direction they want it to go.. but to me it's lack of skill or laziness. And.. I feel like it's disrespectful to the character they've spent (in some cases) years.. building.. as well as to the reader.. as if we'd never notice.

Exactly. We notice! Sometimes I have to laugh because a character has short cropped hair in one chapter, and in the next chapter, she's brushing her hair out of her face. Unless we're in a time warp, that's just not going to happen!

I must say though, I do give anybody who has the courage to write a book a lot of credit. I have a hard time keeping track of what I did last week, never mind a dozen characters, their friends and relatives, where they live, what century they're in, and whether the have a cat, dog, or talking parrot.

Indeed. Especially for characters that they continue to work with over several books. I've reached a point even in long lasting projects, where I pretty much need files on those things. lol

Files? I'd have to have full names including middle initial and any suffixes or titles, last 3 home addresses, up-to-date work resumes, social security numbers, credit histories, medical reports, high school and/or college transcripts, political leanings, religious affiliations, name of their first pet, and favorite aunt!

hahaha.. fair enough..

:D

I'm wondering if we should start a thread about Things in Books That Seriously Annoy Us. What do you think?

I think that's going to be a long list.. lol.. But why not?

Done and done!

No I don't judge a book by its rating, I rather judge it by the number of ratings. Very rarely have I found a book with less than 1000 ratings to be pleasant. On the other side of the coin if more than 15k-20k people are rating a book, rarely is it bad.

I don't give ratings any credit; anyone can buy them.

I can't help the draw of a cover, but I try to focus on the blurb--a lot of indies can't afford amazing covers, but that doesn't mean they're not writing a good book. The blurb is my #1 factor. And I definitely read long, winding reviews and give them a lot of credit because you can tell how much time and energy someone invested in the book, and it will give you a genuine idea of the book's qualities--both good and bad. Sometimes your bad is my good, yanno?

I don't actually like ratings very much; they used to be a useful short-hand but now I think of them as a way for authors to bribe their way to the top of amazon's algorithms at the expense of higher quality books. They're a marketing and social media tool, not really useful for finding good books (in my jaded opinion, as a writer but primarily as a reader). And I can't stand a DNF 1 star; 1 stars are only useful to me if they indicate a book is chock-full of triggers they didn't bother to warn people about or grammatical errors they weren't respectful enough to correct.

I don't know. I'm willing to overlook triggers, though I'm with you on situations where the errors/editing issues are just far too much to bear. I'll typically finish reading anyway.. because I want to be able to explain why I didn't like something.. and that yes.. I really did give it a chance. Even to myself.

If I DNF something it's either because it was really so bad.. so boring.. I couldn't trudge through it. Integrity is everything. Plenty of books get tons of positive reviews without 'buying' them (or negative.. obviously sans cost lol), and those reviews are still often skewed based on who's doing the reviewing (what their experience is/biases/etc).

Like you, I'm not a big fan of ratings as a whole. But someone who has established themselves with me as a reader, will earn some consideration.