On the BL Blog I will never recommend anything that I would give less than 3 stars. Some of the titles here are also aimed at adult audiences and contain dark themes, violence, and sexual content. Here is how I assign my ratings, how I calculate ‘the Spice Meter’ and how I go about tags, trigger warnings, and age ratings.
Overall Enjoyment/Character/Plot/World Building
These I measure on a scale of 3-5 stars. 1-2 stars won’t ever make it onto this blog.
5 Stars – A 5 star title BLEW MY MIND! This title has excellent character, plot and world building work and is wonderful and well edited. I was sad to read the last page, and will be rereading it.
4 Stars – This was a great book! Some aspect of character, plot, world building or the editing wasn’t quite there, but it did not detract from my over all enjoyment of the story! I might reread it someday.
3 Stars – This was a good book! It wasn’t all there in terms of character, plot and world building. Maybe something specific bugged me, or just the overall story was not as compelling as it could have been. But, I still had fun reading it.
Disclaimer: Ultimately, this is all just my opinion! I may make a rating call that you disagree with, and usually I’ll stand by my call. But, if you feel I’ve made an egregious error, let me know!
Spice Rating
How sexy is this book? This I rate on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the most spicy and 1 being very mild. Please note: all the titles I rate have romance and some physicality.
1- Mild. Kissing, hand holding, fade to black. This is what I would consider YA at around PG 13.
2 – Medium. Sex, if it is had, is fade to black or heavily veiled. There is some sensuality. This is what I would consider an older teen’s YA novel.
3 – Medium spice. Sex is had, but not in graphic detail. There is obvious sensuality and sexuality.
4 – Spicy! Sex is had, in detail. This is a sexy book, and no one is complaining! It might be non-traditional sex. 18+
5 – EXTRA Spicy! Sex is had often and in detail. It might be non-traditional sex. If I’m giving it a 5, I probably skipped large chunks of these scenes because there were way too many. 18+
Keeping the spice meter in mind, I’d like to make it very clear that not every title is suitable for minors. Please be aware of that when picking out a new read! If it is a 4/5 it is not suitable for an under 18 audience. A 3 is proceed with caution. Please consume content in a way that is safe and healthy!
Tagging and Trigger Warnings
I prefer stories with positive conclusions. But, sometimes getting that good ending takes some suffering. I also really enjoy different tropes. To help you find a title that you’ll enjoy I will do my best to outline any tropes and trigger warnings that the book contains. So, the recommendations look a little something like this:
Dragon Angel: the Sword by Jon. D. Author
Tags: enemies-to-lovers, angels and demons, height difference
Trigger Warnings: Addiction, torture
If while reading something I recommended you feel I missed a trigger warning, please let me know! Sometimes things slip through the cracks.
Age Ratings
Assigning age ratings to titles is very difficult. What is considered safe for a 16 year old to consume varies from person to person. With that in mind, I will not be assigning age ratings beyond what the publisher/creator has assigned. If that information has not been made available through them, then I will not be assigning my own. In that scenario, please heed the spice rating (4/5 is a hard 18+) and any trigger warnings and content tags I place in the recommendations. Sex is not the only adult content that I screen for; the tags should cover other possible triggers.
We are each responsible for what we consume on the internet. If you start something and it does not sit well with you, stop! I leave books half finished all the time.
That is all!
Sember ❤
The BL Blog 