My reviews commonly document my first impressions and thoughts while reading the book. When composing the actual review, I make sure to take a holistic approach to round out my more specific comments, looking at the writing quality, plot development, character development and pace of the novel.
Below is a detailed breakdown of my star rating:
| 1 star | 2 stars | 3 stars | 4 stars | 5 stars | |
| Enjoyability | I hate this book. | I’m not impressed at all. The story was a mess and I’m surprised I finished it. | This is a good read for me. It didn’t make an impression but neither was it “bad”. More like, “it’s not you, it’s me,” type thing. | Great. I really liked it. It just wasn’t as compelling as I wished it to be. | Excellent. LOVED it! Made me giddy. Will probably read it again after finishing it. |
| Quality of Writing | So many typos and grammatical errors. Written in a way that confuses the plot and character development. No structure to the story at all. | Enough typos and grammatical errors. The writing style is very basic. Doesn’t communicate the story well. | Quite a bit of typos and grammatical errors. Written in a way that is serviceable to communicate the story. | A few typos and grammatical errors. Draws the reader into the story but remains a bit aloof from total submersion into said story. | Totally captivating, with no typos and grammatical errors. Completely draws you into the story. |
| Plot Development | So many plot holes and there’s really no plot. | The plot idea was good but was not well executed at all. Definition of a missed opportunity. | The plot was permissible with no real “wow” factor nor real “woe” factor. | A dynamic plot that captivated the reader. | Extremely complicated and dynamic plot. |
| Character Development | Characters are very flat and are just there. | I didn’t care about the characters… at all. | The characters were flat and not exceptionally compelling. | The characters were well developed but inconsistent. | Extremely well developed and complex characters. |
| Pace | Doesn’t pace the book at all. | Has a consistent pace throughout the book. | Implements a basic attempt at a dynamic pace: tension during the middle (where the character’s world is challenged) and the end (during the ‘climax’). | Goes further than simply speeding up the book up when tension is created in the story. | Knows when to change up the pace to maximize the impact of the story and best communicate the narrative. |
