Discussion the power of novel rating/reviews

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by msbwhy, Oct 18, 2021.

  1. msbwhy

    msbwhy Well-Known Member

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    Ok so, question: do ratings/reviews affect ur interest on reading a novel?
    Because for me, it's most likely 70~90% YES.
    Like for example, you're scrolling through recommendations/series finder, u found something interesting, but then u scrolled down and the first thing u saw is: 1 star review. And there were maybe 2/3 1~3 star reviews in a row, and also some 5 star reviews but my interest already dropped quite a lot :blob_teary:
    This also happened vice versa when I found a novel with quite a lot of 4~5 star reviews, and tried reading it, but it turned out meh for me :blobconfounded:
    I know that unlike online shopping reviews where the comments are pretty important, sometimes u don't have to take novel reviews too seriously bcs people have different taste.
    But after searching through recommendations to find what I like but ended up disappointed, then sure, I can just stop reading the novel but sometimes it's kinda tiring?? idk maybe I should take a break from reading novels? but it's one of my main source of pleasure :blobsneeze:
     
  2. darkzerus

    darkzerus Active Member

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    yes but i mostly search in the reviews for thing i dont like in a novel and make me drop it, like i dont like the nationalism in cn, or when the mc cant refuse anything from a beautiful girl just because she is beautiful
     
  3. That One Average Fellow

    That One Average Fellow Well-Known Member

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    For me they do.
    If the rating's mostly ones, I probably won't read the novel regardless of the reviews.
    If the ratings are mixed, I'd look at the reviews to see why and decide based on my preference.
    If the rating's mostly positive, I'd actively look for negative reviews and see if the cons are dismissible.
     
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  4. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

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    I wrote this the other day:
    What goes for the 5 rating is also largely true for the 1 rating. So the range of 2 to 4s are more useful for judging purposes. Still, I'd say it's more useful to just ignore the ratings altogether.

    This is a sign that these reviews aren't useful for you.
     
  5. Xian Piete

    Xian Piete Author of many mediocre stories

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    I read reviews. The rating to me is useless. People give one-star ratings for stupid reasons like "I think this novel's rating is too high." "I don't like harems." "BL is gay". "CN novels suck." etc. They also give 5-star ratings as if all ratings have to be 5 stars if you enjoyed it.
     
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  6. Lissi

    Lissi 『Queen of Lissidom』『Holy Chibi』『Western Birdy』『⚓』

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    Yup. 1* & 2* novels = 0% interest for me~
     
  7. Bad Storm

    Bad Storm no thought, head empty

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    We're same about ratings but for reviews I mostly look for a positive but long and well-liked reviews. Most of that kind of reviews still list off some cons despite being overall positive. That doesn't diminish my interest. A lot of negative reviews just write in a way that makes me have qualms to try the novel.
     
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  8. Cosmic_

    Cosmic_ [Novel Addict] [Lazy Writer] [Meh Editor]

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    Reviews and ratings definitely affect my interest in reading a novel. I read a lot but I want to make sure I'm not wasting my time on a novel I'll dislike or lose interest in so I make sure to check the rating at least. This hopefully decreases the number of novels I'll have to comb through and drop before finding my latest fix/binge/obsession. I know ratings don't always reflect the quality of a novel or how much I'll like it, but if there's enough people who have read it, I'll at least know it's worth giving a shot and that at least there's enough interest by others which increase the likelihood of the novel not being dropped or going on hiatus right after I've caught up.

    For reviews though, I typically look at the 3-5 stars especially the most liked to get an idea of the general assessment. I really like those that are comprehensive and break things down into pros and cons or grade each aspects of the story. There are a few reviewers I've come to notice and will put more weight to their reviews when I see them.

    Reading reviews can also be a bad thing though cause sometimes the reviews are shit or don't really reflect the story. There's also cases where the translation quality or genre/tags skews the review/rating. Plus, sometimes there's critics or spoilers that ruin my enjoyment. Sometimes it makes me overly conscious or critical of a flaw, getting it stuck at the back of my mind as I read when I'd normally not notice or care.

    I've also noticed that some people have shit reading comprehension. I'll see a review criticizing aspects of a novel, but after reading the novel realize that the reviewer just did not understand the story, characters, or themes at all. Or just misunderstand certain details or straight up miss critical details and answers to their questions/gripes. Seriously, some people's critics are just wrong or untrue.

    Now I tend to browse through recommendations list that share my tastes. I've found that to be a better way to find new novels I'll enjoy.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2021