Ink_rat commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
I've been thinking about this after looking at my ratings for a few years and seeing that I give very, very few 5 star ratings.
I know what the reason is. Books that have a significant impact on me, on how I think about life, literature, art, and the like...books that I am still thinking about long after I turn the last page...those get 5 stars from me. They're at the top. It makes a certain sense, then, that books that don't reach that level of impact but that I nevertheless enjoyed (sometimes a great deal) can only be 4 or 4.5 (depending on whether the site allows half stars) or lower.
Of course, not every book is meant to impact me in the way described above. Some books are meant just to entertain, to be light, and I enjoy those books a lot. I've thought about adjusting my rating system such that each book is rated in the context of what that book is trying to achieve. But star ratings don't allow for any granularity, so I still lean more toward the system I've been using (where 3 and above is a good rating).
What do you all do? If a life-changing work of art gets a 5 from you, does something that falls short of that automatically come in below 5 stars or might a gripping thriller that you loved but won't remember in a year also qualify for a 5 based on the fun you had?
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I was so ready to love this, it ticked all my boxes â YA fantasy â unique magic system â strong female MC Also loved the way grief was written, and having a black MC - the author writing about her experiences, and the white colonial history that's tied into such institutions and clubs đ
But overall, it just didn't quite hit the spot đ Main issues: ⨠The timeline, pretty much everything was squashed into like 1 week?? Why not let her settle into EC and have some classes first đ I get that it's imminent danger but I think there could have been a better balance ⨠Briana's age. Absolutely no need for her to be 16?? The love interest felt icky, she's a child. They also sneak her into a bar and buy her drinks!? In the UK still weird but at least the age of drinking is 18, not 21!!! And finally being Legendborn is a huge life change/commitment...what 16 year old should be forced into that kind of choice đ I just tried to imagine her as at least 20 đ ⨠Plot, sometimes it felt like there was just a bit too much crammed in. A book like this easily could have the intricate magic system and one defined villain, esp when you add in the family mystery, her uncovering her past, etc. The ending was a huge let down đ I did see someone talking about you need to like OP MC but this was absolutely ridiculous. Felt like the plot was just twisted to fit this big showy ending and it just derailed the entire thing for me â ď¸
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Legendborn
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Ink_rat commented on nenlindale's review of Interview with the Vampire
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