So, if you’re in the reading and writing social media space, I’m sure you’ve heard the ongoing conversation about authors in readers’ spaces and vice versa. In case you haven’t, I’ll sum it up for you.

The reading community at large seems to feel that authors should not be in Book Bloggers’, Bookstagrammers, Booktok’ers, DMs, comments, etc. so that readers can feel free and safe to be honest about their opinions in their book reviews and book discussions.

Similarly, many authors request that Book Bloggers’, Bookstagrammers, and Booktok’ers do not tag them in book reviews that contain criticism, so they can choose not to read book reviews to preserve the balance of their peace of mind.

In a similar vein, there is also continual discourse about what counts as a “positive review.” Some say that a 5-star review on Amazon is standard. Some say that Goodreads defines a 3-star review as “I liked it.” Some say that a 5-star review can still be negative depending on what the reviews say. Some say if you DNF (do not finish) a book, that’s a one star, while some say that means you shouldn’t rate it all. Some say authors shouldn’t read reviews at all because reviews are for readers, while others complain when the author doesn’t interact with their posted review.

I could go on. Obviously, the range of opinions is limitless, and everyone is more than free to have their own.

Where it gets tricky for me is that I’m both an author and a book reviewer.

Personally, as an indie author, I’ve always been thrilled when a reader takes the time to read, rate, and/or review my books. So, I’ve always meant it or thought of it as a positive contribution when I read, rate, and review other authors’ books. As it became increasingly apparent that “three stars” were largely considered negative instead of Goodreads’ “I liked it,” I stopped posting three stars, and erased my Goodreads ratings of those books.

Now, the convention seems to be leaning toward the fact that four stars are also considered unacceptable from one author to another.

To be super clear, I am always incredibly thrilled to get 4 and 5 star reviews of my own books. In fact, the first review I ever received on my debut novel was a glowing 4-star that I absolute treasure. Heck, I will *happily* take your honest three star as well. On the other hand, I do feel the increasing pressure not to leave 4 star reviews, and have even received criticism for leaving a 4.5 (rounded to 5) rating.

So, from here on out, while I’ll still post reviews of books that I enjoyed, I will only put a star rating for 5-star books (And 6 stars, when a book truly stands out) and ARCs (advance review copies), in which case, I feel obligated to leave a star rating. I have all kinds of mixed feelings on this, especially since, and I do want to reiterate this, I’m always so incredibly grateful when readers leave ratings/reviews with their honest opinions.

However, I also would truly not want to (even unintentionally) hurt another author.

So, my reviews will remain honest, but if you do not see a star rating on many of my reviews anymore, this is why. As I DNF books very frequently on my search for 5 and 6-star books, if I finished it and it doesn’t have a star rating, you can safely assume it’s somewhere in the 4-star range.

Hopefully, my mini-reviews will continue to lead you and other readers to good books, and as always, thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!