Episode 104 - How Do You Rate?

Christian Historical Fiction Talk

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Today discuss your answers to my question on social media. The is what I asked:
When you review a book, what standard do you use for 3, 4, and 5-star reviews? Have you ever written a 1-star review? What would make you only give it 1 star?
Listen to the episode, then tell me what you think? What criteria do you use when you rate a book? How do you determine what makes it only worth one or two stars or worth four or five stars? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Speaking of reviews, here are a few for my next book, What I Would Tell You.
Four stars: What I Would Tell you is a story that dives deep into one of the darkest times in history—the persecution and annihilation of so many Jews during WW2. This story isn’t a bow-tied ribbon; it’s an honest look at what it would be like for a Jew defying Nazi’s through the power of words and what that act of bravery costs. With deep themes of sacrifice, mending family relationships, and bravery, this book is a compelling read.
Five stars: What I Would Tell You is an incredibly heart-gripping novel set in Occupied Greece during WWII. Set in two time periods, then and now, it tells the story of Mathilda Nissim, a Jewish-Greek women living in Greece during WWII and Tessa Payton, a young adult woman living in the United States in present time. Throughout the book, the author, Liz Tolsma, really showcases the depth of a mothers love in various aspects. You get to see motherhood from a variety of stances in this book and each stance is unique and powerful in its own way. Every decision that is made, every conversation that is had and every emotional moment experienced in this novel is written with such a profound skill. The author makes the reader really feel the emotion that each character is experiencing. A mother will move mountains and do whatever it takes to protect her babies and there are so many examples of this in this book.
Here's the one star I talked about in the episode: Dnf it @ 35%. Not what I was expecting.
Get your copy of What I Would Tell You.