Our Rating System

Our rating system is the standard 5 star rating system:

  1. 5 = exceptional
  2. 4 = excellent
  3. 3 = good
  4. 2 = fair
  5. 1 = poor
  6. Half star ratings are included.
  7. Could Not Finish

Please understand if your book receives a 3 star rating, that signifies it is a good book! There will not be a lot of books that rate 5 stars as that is an almost perfect book. Any book that receives a 3 1/2 star rating or higher is considered a very positive rating in our magazine.

Those books receiving a 4.5 or a 5 star review will also be awarded the "Crowned Heart" for excellence. This symbol will be seen beside the the review in the magazine.

Since we focus on both small and self-published works, there really is no set standard by which to judge what submissions are acceptable. “Vanity Press” is a moniker that, while an unfair stereotype in most instances, came about for a reason. Anyone can self-publish whether talented or not. For this reason we have added a “Could Not Finish” category to our rating system. If a reviewer starts to read a book that, for whatever reason, he/she just cannot get through, the reviewer is instructed to return it. The book will then be given to another reviewer to read. If the second reviewer is also unable to finish the book, the book will then be listed at the bottom of our review page under the “Could Not Finish” category with both reviewers listed. In this way those who have not taken the time or effort to produce a quality story will be encouraged to re-consider before submitting sub-standard work and our reviewers will be saved from wasting their time reading sub-standard work. Once that rating has been placed, it will stay through the regular review cycle with all the other reviews and cannot be re-worked or retracted.

We also rate the "Steam" or sex factor so readers can enjoy whatever level they are most comfortable with. The criteria is as follows:

1 Steam Kettle = Nothing but kisses
2 Steam Kettles = Passionate kissing,
3 Steam Kettles = Sex but the door is closed
4 Steam Kettles = Slightly steamy sex with some description
5 Steam Kettles = Steamy sex with somewhat graphic description