What a Star Really Says

A low rating or two has shown up on Lira lately with no words attached, and I keep finding myself wondering about them.

Let me say this first: every rating is welcome. I mean that. If Lira didn't work for you, you're entitled to say so, and a low score is just as honest as a high one. I'm not writing this to anyone in particular, and I'm not wounded. I'm just curious.

On its own, a star doesn't say much. Did the pacing drag? Was the story too quiet, or not quiet enough? Were you expecting something else and got an immortal bookseller in York and the man who remembers her? Was it simply not your kind of book? Any of those is a fair reason. I'd just love to know which one it was.

I've gotten into the habit of explaining my own ratings, and now that I'm on the other side, I understand why it matters. When I gave Shadow Casters: Journey to Torcia four stars, I said why: I'd give The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings four stars too. From me, four stars means a book I'd happily hand to a friend. Without that line, someone could read my four as a shrug.

That's what a few honest words do. They help the next reader decide whether a book is for them, and they help a new author like me see what's landing and what isn't. "Not my genre" is useful. "The middle dragged" is useful. Even "I wanted more dragons" tells me something.

So if you've read Lira, or any book really, and you have a moment, leave a line or two with your stars. High or low, it helps more than you'd guess.

Thank you for reading, and for rating.

Ashley