How Our Reviews Work

Editorial, Not Personal

Our reviews are Editorial Reviews: as unbiased as humanly possible, with no "I" or "we." Each one gives a fair, bird's-eye view of the whole story, with its strong points and weak points. A personal review shows one reader's tastes and whether they liked the book. An Editorial Review looks at how well the story is written.

Star Ratings

Ratings run from CNF (Could Not Finish) to 5 Stars, in half points. A 3 Star book is still a good read, the kind you smile when you close.

Fair, Not Guaranteed

We guarantee an Editorial Review, not a good one. Paid reviews, add-ons, and sponsorships never affect a rating.

Steam Ratings

A 1 Steam book has nothing beyond maybe holding hands and longing looks. A 5 Steam book should make your heart race enough that you won't want to read it in public.

A Second Read

Any book rated 2 Stars or lower is read by another reviewer. If a published review shows less than 2 Stars or a CNF, two or more reviewers read the book and agreed on the rating. In 13 years, we can count those reviews on two hands and maybe half a foot.

Tags and Categories

Every review lists its Star and Steam Ratings, plus tags the author picks, such as Western, Victorian, or Vampire. Search by any of them to find your next read.

What We Review

Romance only. We don't review books that are more than 50% sex scenes, or any book with sexual content involving characters under 18.

See our FAQs for more details.