My Rating System

A rating dial from sad face to hair face with arrow pointing to happy face on red background

Welcome! In this post I’ll be explaining how I rate books. I use a spreadsheet developed by Book Roast called CAWPILE. Well, my version is CAWPILEN, but more on that later. 😊

CAWPILE is an acronym that stands for 7 attributes that make up a book’s star rating. The attributes are:

Characters: Did you like them? Are they engaging and lovable? Or are they cardboard cutouts? For nonfiction books this becomes Credibility/Research.

Atmosphere: For nonfiction this becomes Authenticity/Uniqueness

Writing: Did it need another editing pass?

Plot: Was the plot engaging? Did it make sense? For nonfiction this becomes Personal Impact.

Intrigue: Does it keep my interest and make my brain cells dance?

Logic: Did the characters make choices that made my eyes roll? Does the magic system make sense?

Enjoyment: ‘Nuff said.

These attributes are each rated on a scale of 0-10 with 0 being awful and 10 being perfection. Then they are averaged to give the CAWPILE Star Rating, also known as the Story Star Rating here on the blog.

For audiobooks, I then rate narration on a scale of 0-5 stars. (Hence, CAWPILEN 😊). To get my rating I ask questions like: did I like the voice? Did it match my vision of the characters? Was it easy to understand and follow who was speaking? Did the narrator enunciate clearly and speak loudly enough? Did they mispronounce words? For manga and graphic novels I rate the art instead. This is the Narration Star Rating.

I then average the CAWPILE/Story and Narration Star Ratings to get the Overall Star Rating. This way audiobook narration or graphic novel art make up 50% of the final score. I think this is fair considering how important narration and art are to the reader experience.

But what does each star rating mean?

⭐️ = I should have DNF’d this book but I hate-read it instead. Expect a lot of saltiness.

⭐️⭐️ = Ho-hum. Not bad but not particularly good either. Probably lost my interest.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ = A good, solid read but not exceptional. Would recommend for specific tastes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = An above average book I’d recommend generally.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️= Everyone should read this book!!! Now!!

Book review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Narrated by Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton

Source: 📚 library via Libby

Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros keeps moving quickly, which is a good thing for an action-heavy novel. There are no slow spots. The world-building is solid without a lot of info-dumping. The dragons are wonderful, though I do wonder about their population health because each color seems to originate with a single dragon and that can’t be good genetically. The politics are present but not overwhelming and drive the plot and action forward instead of turning it into a boring slog. As someone with hypermobility, I appreciate that the heroine, Violet, copes with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The enemies-to-lovers romance between Violet and Xaden is believable and the spicy scenes are well-written.

I’d categorize Fourth Wing as Coming of Age rather than YA because of the amount of sex and cursing, and that the protagonists are college age men and women — a fact it’s hard to remember sometimes. That’s partly because of the characters’ maturity level and partly because the narrators sound younger.

I gave four instead of five stars because there were several times I rolled my eyes at Violet. For such an intelligent girl she was sometimes rather slow on the uptake and really had a hard time adjusting her worldview to fit new facts. The narration emphasized her youth in these moments, adding to my impression that the characters were high schoolers instead of college age.

Speaking of the narration, overall it was good, but some words were terribly mispronounced. I also didn’t really like the male narrator, Teddy Hamilton. He didn’t seem like quite the right fit for Xander. I would have preferred if Rebecca Soler narrated the whole book. But then I’m not usually a fan of multiple narrators.

Overall I’d say Fourth Wing lives up to the hype and is worth a read. I plan to read the sequel, Iron Flame.

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Book Review: Gallant by V. E. Schwab

Gallant by V. E. Schwab audiobook edition cover

Source: library via Libby

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gallant is the first book I’ve read by V. E. Schwab, but it will not be the last! After seeing Schwab’s latest novel on lots of TBRs and all over the BookWeb, I was curious and decided this standalone novel was a good chance to check out a new author—especially since I could get it from the library via Libby.

I’m a little surprised Gallant is marketed as horror. I can see why, but while I’d call it a dark fairytale, I wouldn’t call it horror. I was never truly frightened. The spooky and creepy gothic atmosphere was fabulous, but not horrific. I think that’s a good thing.

In Gallant we follow Olivia, a mute young woman who has grown up an orphan. She can also see ghouls and is a remarkable artist. One day she receives a summons from a long lost uncle to come home to the Prior family estate, named Gallant. We learn that gallant means bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. Gallant the house is well named because it and the Prior family stand against a mirror realm of death.

Schwab does a great job with Olivia’s mutism. It adds layers to the character without defining her and the reader is asked to empathize with but not pity Olivia. Her struggles are not played as a maudlin means to tug heart strings, they just are. She also doesn’t dwell overly long on Olivia’s circumstances in the orphanage. We get enough to understand it was awful even though the matrons did the best they could. Schwab doesn’t resort to child abuse to get the point across.

Similarly, Schwab plays masterfully with the gothic atmosphere and creates two eerie but entirely believable worlds. Since Olivia is an artist, Schwab uses the vocabulary of line, color, and medium to juxtapose the two worlds. It’s very effective.

I loved and rooted for the characters. No one made foolish, irrational decisions. I didn’t find myself rolling my eyes. The plot was simple, but I was invested in how it played out.

I will definitely be reading more from this author. I’ve already placed A Darker Shade of Magic on hold at the library.

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Book Review: Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

Narrated by Kristin Atherton

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed Foxglove much more than its predecessor, Belladonna. Foxglove pulled me in from the first with gorgeous, synesthesia-like descriptions of Fate creating and weaving the threads of life. From there it didn’t waste any time becoming a murder mystery. The characters were well fleshed out and their actions were believable. I enjoyed the plot and the ending.

I gave the narration 4 stars because Kristin Atherton speaks very quietly, almost whispering, to make Death and Fate’s voices. While the result is sexy, it’s hard to hear.

Foxglove is the first book I’ve used Book Roast’s CAWPILE system to rate. We’ll see if I stick with it. If you’re unfamiliar with CAWPILE, it’s a spreadsheet that calculates a star rating based on 7 attributes. I’ll explain further and how I’ve modified it in a later post once my friend Ryn finishes some illustrations for me. So far I feel like it calibrates with what I would have rated the book going off gut alone.

Foxglove is also the final book I needed to read for the Year in Aeldia supplement to the Magical Readathon. My character can now summon a spirit fox friend!

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Bookish Bingo Board from Hell 2024

Thanks to the Orilium Discord, today I learned about Lianne of LiteraryDiversions’ Bookish Bingo Board from Hell 2024. I decided to make my own bingo board from Hell, so now I have a ninth goal for 2024: to get blackout! Here’s my board, which you are free to use:

And here are the rules I’ll be playing by:

1. A book only counts for the top left square if I already owned it or it was purchased with my monthly Audible credit, a gift credit, or a reward credit earned by completing a bingo.

2. BIPOC or LGBTQ+ (the left-hand square in the second row) means either the author or characters are BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+.

3. For each bingo and for blackout I will earn a bundle of Audible credits that do not count towards my total money spent on books this year. Books bought with these credits will count as books I already owned.

Join in the fun! Watch Lianne’s video. You’ll find a Google Drive link in the description with all the information and materials you need to participate!

LiteraryDiversions’ Bookish Bingo from Hell 2024 YouTube video

Rosemerry Writes is now Honeycomb’s Hive!

Welcome to our blog’s overhaul! We are now Honeycomb’s Hive, reflecting our DID system name, and we go by Rori instead of Rosemerry. If you find bits of the site this has broken, please let us know using the contact page

My 2024 Reading Goals

I have eight reading goals this coming year:

1. Read 150+ books

I’ll be tracking my progress towards this goal on StoryGraph.

2. Complete Year in Aeldia 2024

In 2023, G of Book Roast made a year-long choose your own adventure style reading quest for Magical Readathon: Orilium participants called A Year in Aeldia. It was easy to complete as you chose only one prompt per month. It was good fun and helped fill the void between readathons. If G makes one for 2024, I will complete it.

3. Read all the prompts for both Orilium semesters

The Orilium Craftsmage badge. I am currently a Craftsmage apprentice.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, G of Book Roast has created the Magical Readathon: Orilium. In this readathon you pretend to study at a magical university named Orilium. This will be my third year participating and I’m looking forward to it! I will aim to complete the prompts required for my calling, Craftsmage, during the readathon months, but will also complete the rest of the prompts, no matter how long it takes.

4. Read Les Miserables in one year

Cover of the Penguin Classics audiobook edition of *Les Miserables*

I joined a group from the Orilium Discord whose goal is to read the entire, unabridged Les Miserables in 2024. I’m looking forward to this challenge and am already enjoying discussions with the group. I have chosen the Penguin Classics edition translated by Christine Donougher, performed by an ensemble cast including Adeel Akhtar, Adrian Scarborough, Natalie Simpson, Emma Fielding, and John Owen-Jones. I chose this edition because it is noted for the excellence of Donougher’s translation and reviews indicate the narration is faithful to the text and includes footnotes. The audiobook is also divided into chapters which will make it easy for me to read one chapter a day.

5. Do more buddy reads

I recently did my first buddy read outside of a book club. I quite enjoyed it and made a new friend! (Hi, Justé!) I think it’ll be good for my mental health to participate in more buddy reads and meet more bookworms this way. I’ve already signed up to buddy read the Daevabad trilogy and the Throne of Glass series in the new year!

6. Revive my blog and review what I read

And I’m making a good faith start on this goal now by overhauling the blog URL and design and writing this post!

7. Spend less on books

I want to read more of the books I already own and try to get as many other titles as I can through the library or BARD. (BARD is a service provided by the National Library Service. It provides free access to audiobooks to blind and disabled patrons.)

8. Have fun!

The most important goal on this list! If I am not having fun, I will change or even abandon these goals. The goal is not to stress myself out but to add more enjoyment to my life.

What are your reading goals for 2024? Share them in the comments!

Book review: Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho, our second listen for the 2021 Asian Readathon, has earned all 5 stars! We absolutely loved it! Here’s why:

Wanna Skip Ahead?

The Publisher’s Blurb
Why You Should Listen
1. Because Book
1. Because Narrator
A Word to the Wise (Content Warnings)
TL;DR
Get Your Own

The Publisher’s Blurb

A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.

When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she’s moving back to Malaysia with her parents – a country she last saw when she was a toddler.

She soon learns the new voice isn’t even hers, it’s the ghost of her estranged grandmother. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god–and she’s decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not.

Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business, but dealing with her grandmother is just as complicated. Especially when Ah Ma tries to spy on her personal life, threatens to spill her secrets to her family and uses her body to commit felonies. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she’ll also need to regain control of her body and destiny – or the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.

Why You Should Listen

~Because Book~

Couldn’t put this one down! If you’ve even thought in passing of checking this one out, DO IT! Jess moves to Malaysia with her parents, only to wind up possessed by her grandmother’s ghost. Ah Ma was the medium for the god Black Water Sister and is determined to have Jess become the god’s next medium so the god can take revenge on a developer who plans to redevelop her temple. Of course Jess, who spent most of her life in the US, has no idea what she’s agreeing to and quickly gets in over her head. To be fair, she does try to bargain with Ah Ma, but knowing the duplicitous nature of many spirits, we were anticipating betrayal. If only Jess had read the Dresden Files! 😂 Jess must figure out who to trust, while juggling complicated family dynamics, cultural expectations, and a secret lesbian romance. Zen Cho does an excellent job balancing insider and outsider cultural perspectives, making this story accessible to any reader. She keeps the twists coming and the ending is unforeseen, powerful, and satisfying.

~Because Narrator~

Catherine Ho does a brilliant job narrating. So brilliant we’re disappointed she’s not narrating Zen Cho’s upcoming short story collection Spirits Abroad. Emily Woo Zeller, who seems to be Audible’s go-to for female Asian narration, was tapped instead. And Zeller is great. But Catherine Ho really gets the potent combination of emotion, magic, and gritty reality in Black Water Sister and brings it all out for the listener. While she does use accents for some characters, it’s never difficult to understand and all the voices are distinct.

The very first sentence was confusing because it ends in a Hokien word. We weren’t expecting that and at first thought we had misheard. Keep going; the word will be explained. This was the only instance where the experience suffered from being audio, simply because we couldn’t tell it was a non-English word and not terrible narration or our hearing by looking at the text.

A Word to the Wise (Content Warnings)

Major: Sexual assault, homophobia, violence, manipulation/gaslighting, religious abuse.

Moderate: Heteronormativity.

Minor: Brief mention of drugs.

TL;DR

This audiobook was an amazing experience and we are looking forward to more from Zen Cho! Do yourself a favor and listen to or read this one!

Get Your Own

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Star rating graphics are by Yasir72.multan and are licensed via CC BY-SA 3.0.

Our picks for the LGBTQ+ Pride Reading Challenge

Our friend Ryn is running a reading challenge for Pride 2021! The focus is on LGBTQ+ #OwnVoices works. Check out the official announcement video:

We’re excited to participate and hope you’ll join in! Here’s our picks:

We’ll be reading The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall for most of the challenge prompts because it’s written by a BIPOC LGBTQ+ author, has an LGBTQ+ main character, is from your favorite genre, and is non-US centric. More importantly, though, it’s a Japanese pirate tale that just happens to have LGBTQ+ characters, which is right up our alley! We nearly read it for the 2021 Asian Readathon and can’t wait to go on this YA adventure!

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For our non-fiction book and the bonus challenge spotlighting lesser-emphasized parts of the LGBTQ+ community, we’re reading Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen. This will be a buddy read with AdventuRyn. Described as “an engaging exploration of what it means to be asexual in a world that’s obsessed with sexual attraction, and what the ace perspective can teach all of us about desire and identity,” we’re hoping it will help us wrap our pansexual brain around asexuality so we can better understand and support our ace friends.

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Since we’ve intended to read The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings by Oscar Wilde for years—and since we suggested the “read a book with an LGBTQ+ focus written before 1950” bonus challenge—we will finally read this classic tale. We both hope it lives up to the hype and that it’s not as creepy as we’ve heard.

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Finally, we will read The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang to fulfill the “read a book with trans/non-binary characters or by a trans/non-binary author” and “read a book by a new-to-you LGBTQ+ author” bonus challenges. Prince Sebastian lives a secret life as fashion icon Lady Crystallia. He’s able to do this because of his friendship with the amazing dressmaker, Frances. But how long will she be able to stand keeping her talent and his identity secret?This graphic novel comes highly recommended by friends and family, so we’re looking forward to it!

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We hope our picks have inspired you to join the fun! We will be following the hashtag #ReadLGBTQpride here and on Instagram, so be sure to let us know which books you choose and what you think of them!

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Honeycomb's Hive

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Book Review: Gallant by V. E. Schwab

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bookish Bingo Board from Hell 2024

And here are the rules I’ll be playing by:

Rosemerry Writes is now Honeycomb’s Hive!

My 2024 Reading Goals

1. Read 150+ books

2. Complete Year in Aeldia 2024

3. Read all the prompts for both Orilium semesters

4. Read Les Miserables in one year

5. Do more buddy reads

6. Revive my blog and review what I read

7. Spend less on books

8. Have fun!

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Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Share this:

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Share this:

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Share this:

And here are the rules I’ll be playing by:

Share this:

Share this:

1. Read 150+ books

2. Complete Year in Aeldia 2024

3. Read all the prompts for both Orilium semesters

4. Read Les Miserables in one year

5. Do more buddy reads

6. Revive my blog and review what I read

7. Spend less on books

8. Have fun!

Share this:

Wanna Skip Ahead?

The Publisher’s Blurb

Why You Should Listen

~Because Book~

~Because Narrator~

A Word to the Wise (Content Warnings)

TL;DR

Get Your Own

Advertising Disclosure: Support local bookstores and our book habit by purchasing through our shop on Bookshop.org

Star rating graphics are by Yasir72.multan and are licensed via CC BY-SA 3.0.

Share this:

Advertising Disclosure: As an Amazon Affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases. You may also support local bookstores and our reading habit through our Bookshop.org store.

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