Explanation of Ratings:

Action: This rating is based on the traditional action aspects of the book. This can include sword fights, magic battles, cross-world treks, etc. Not really an indicator of how much I liked the book, just how much action was in it. If something gets a four or a five, then it must also be well written action. If you like a lot of action in your books, use this as an indicator.

Romance: Related to how much romance there is in the book, my comments will also cover how believable it was. In order to get a four or five there has to be romance at the center of the story (but that does not have to be the only focus) and the romance must be well developed and displayed in a realistic way.

Action and Romance are both gauges for the reader to use when looking at their own reading tastes. Neither is a reflection on the book overall, and a book with a low score in one of these two categories means, typically, that the element is not central to the plot. For example, Artemis Fowl is one of my favorite books, but it would get a zero in Romance or simply a NA (Not Applicable), because there simply isn’t any. On the other hand, it would receive at least a four in action. Take a look at your own reading preferences, and see how these indicators work for you.

Characters: Taking a look at how developed the characters in the book appear to be, this score goes into the depth and motivations of the characters. A book would only get a five if the all the characters seemed to be highly developed, from main to secondary. Books scoring four most likely have a well developed main character and moderately developed side characters. Three or under means that only the main characters received development, and the others are there as decoration and plot devices.

Overall: Simply how much I like the book overall. Would it be the first one I would recommend to a friend? How often might I reread it? Did I finish with a smile on my face and a satisfied feeling? Those are the kind of questions I ask myself when doing the overall score. Notes that I give for the other categories might come into play, but books will not be penalized for not featuring much action or romance. They will only be penalized if they feature bad action or romance.