I absolutely love finding new fanfictions/authors, reading and reviewing fanfiction; however, reviews are fickle things. My reviews reflect my own personal experiences and opinions of the work at this moment in my life. I recognize that writing fanfiction is a labour of love, and that many emotions can be tangled up around a work. I mean no ill-intent to the stories/authors that I negatively review and am careful in making sure that the stories I choose to review are the ‘right fit’ for me to avoid having negative reviews.
I write three- to eight-paragraphs of review of the fanfiction that I’ve read in the past 1-4 weeks. What I focus on differs by story, but my reviews highlight the aspects of the story that jumped out to me. I try to write honest reviews, and only rarely upload a review without praising something about the work.
I rate stories on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with half points given. I consider 4 major categories while I read a story:
1. Plot: Is the plot original, appropriately paced, interesting? How are tropes utilized?
2. Writing: Is it immersive? Do their words set up an atmosphere? Does it work with/against their genre? How is the world-building?
3. Characters: Are they relatable? Do their actions make sense? Do they have a distinct voice? How do they portray character relationships? Are they memorable?
4. Other factors: Do I enjoy this story? Am I the intended audience? Are there tropes I like/dislike? How does the story compare to other similar stories?
Each story is different, and affect how these four categories work together to form a rating. This is why the same rating can mean a completely different thing for different fanfiction.
1 star. A work that is such drivel that I question what possessed the author to publish it. You will never see me post a review of this story on my blog.
1.5 stars. A story that I didn’t enjoy but had one redeeming characteristic that let me keep reading. May also have niche tropes like harems, mpreg or insta-LUV, which I don’t like.
*This is the lowest rating that I’ll give to a fanfiction work on this blog.*
2 stars. A story with an interesting synopsis but poor execution or a story that may have an established fan base for niche tropes. Most often, the stories that I quit due to lack of engagement with the story or main characters.
2.5 stars. Either a work with potential that missed the mark for me or a well-written story where I am not the target audience. It’s not the story for me, but others might enjoy it. Recommend (to the target audience).
3 stars. These are works that were interesting but fell short of my expectations or a story intended to be fluffy, fun, guilty pleasures with little reread value. Recommend.
3.5 stars. An enjoyable read where I can see what the author is trying to do, but the story never quite gets there. I didn’t love it, but I did think it was better than average. Recommend.
4 stars. A story that’s entertaining and enjoyable, but just didn’t blow me away for some reason or another. Recommend.
4.5 stars. A story that bowled me over by the strength of its writing, engaging plot and believable characters. Any possible issues with the work are not big enough to detract from the overall story. Recommend.
5 stars. A story that’s not only well-written and compelling but has exceptional qualities that make me think about the story long after I’ve finished it. These are the stories I love to re-read to see all the details I missed the first time. Recommend.
And there you have it! That’s all the things running through my head when I go to write my reviews. What do you consider when you read a story? Do my explanations match up with what you thought when you read my reviews/ratings?
