I’ve been delighted to see my latest novel, Daisy, receive some glowing reviews online and many four and five-star ratings. But like all authors, I’ve also had a couple (literally two) one- and two-star ratings on Goodreads. These are merely ratings with no review attached, no explanation for the bad opinion.

I will admit this bothers me, and here’s why: It feels mean. Cruel. A low-star rating tells readers nothing about the book, only that the rater disliked it. In fact, they disliked it a lot, enough to want the world to know in what low esteem they hold the book.

All authors have to deal with critical reviews, however, and I’m not complaining about those. I received one from Publishers Weekly years back for a rom-com of mine where the reviewer took me to task for some plot lines they thought were too madcap to be credible.

I was okay with that. In fact, I nodded my head to that less-than-stellar review. My book wasn’t the reviewer’s cuppa, but they’d done a thoughtful job of explaining why it didn’t work for them, highlighting elements of the story I’d deliberately made incredible. In the process, this “bad” review also gave readers useful information about what kind of book I’d written, and I knew some readers might nod their heads and think that novel sounds like something they’d enjoy.

I’ve bought books after reading similar reviews, where the critic wasn’t a fan but whose thoughtful analysis informed me of elements that I’d find appealing. Book reviews are, after all, opinion pieces, and good reviewers give you a basis for their opinions, allowing you to pass judgment on your own.

One-star ratings (with no review attached) do none of that, and it’s hard for authors not to feel some of those low raters have a personal issue…with the author or the topic of the book or something entirely unrelated to the quality of the novel itself. While review-less five-star ratings feel as if a crowd is joining in applause for a good performance that critics have also praised, one-star ratings feel like a tongue stuck out or a middle finger raised and little more.

Don’t do that, book raters. Those lone-star rankings tell readers nothing about the book you’re rating. They do, however, tell readers a little bit about you, and it’s not very flattering.