I am overgenerous with my reviews, I think. I just don't think it's worth shorting a book a star if I can't think of anything I didn't like about it.

So:

5* - Favourites. Have stayed with me in some way and may be frequently reread or never read again (if it broke me) 5 - Loved. Completely enjoyed this and would read again. 4 - Liked. Really enjoyed this, but there were a few niggles that stopped it from being a five - perhaps I didn't like a prominent side character or didn't think the magic system was explained as well as it could be. 3 - It was OK. I didn't hate reading it, but it didn't blow me away either. Probably wouldn't read again. 2 - Did not like, but has potential for others. Usually used for ones that I've not liked because the genre isn't for me or where I've not been the intended audience, but younger me might have been. 1 - Hated but was able to stick out because I wanted to know if I was right about a plot twist or because I was reading for a challenge. Rarely used, this is for books that have annoyed me. DNF - As said, didn't finish it and wasn't far enough along to give it a rating, but usually it would be a 1.

Then I have .5 stars, which I use for books where there was one element that I think should be in the above bracket. For example, a four star book with a fantastic world but where the plot and characters didn't win me over might get a 4.5. Or a book I hated but had queer rep that wasn't offensive might get a 1.5.

I think everyone has their own rating system and that makes it hard to judge, so I treat mine as just for me. That said, I can usually judge whether a person's tastes are similar by what they've rated high.