Have you ever finished a really great (or maybe really bad) book and wanted to write an objective fiction book review?
That’s how I felt when I started receiving more ARCs (advanced reader copies). I wanted to really put thought into my review and give it a fair rating. I didn’t have a system, but I tried. My fiction book reviews still weren’t that good. Then, I saw a YouTube video about the CAWPILE system. I was intrigued and looked into it more. The math seemed needlessly complicated.
I wanted something simpler.
I googled and then googled some more and finally came across SPECS. There weren’t many sources for SPECS, so I’ve taken the original method and adjusted it a bit over time. I like SPECS because you divide your total by five to get your star rating, which is great since we use a five-star rating.
What is SPECS?
SPECS stands for Setting, Plot, Engagement, Characters, and Style. I use the questions below to generate a few thoughts for my review.
Setting
Where does the story take place? How good of a job does the author do with world-building or creating lore? Would you want to see this as a TV show or movie?
Plot
What is the story and conflict? How were the hooks or twists? How is the pacing, and did the climax happen at the right time? Was the conflict resolved?
Engagement
Did you enjoy the story? Did the author follow accepted genre tropes? How was the theme?
Characters
Who are the main characters? Do they have depth and personality? Did the characters grow or change? How was their arc?
Style
How was the writing? Did the author use relatable dialogue? How was the narrator or point of view? Did the book flow well?
Once I have answered the questions, I rate each category on a scale of 1 to 5. Below is how I determine what rating each section deserves.
1 – nothing hit well
2 – one or two things were great, but the rest were not
3 – average across the board
4 – most was done well, but something wasn’t quite there
5 – everything hits just right
Once I have all my ratings, I add them up, divide them by five, and have my overall rating! You will still get a fraction most of the time, so I use two rounding scales: Goodreads and Storygraph.
Goodreads
0 – 1.4 1
1.5 – 2.4 2
2.5 – 3.4 3
3.5 – 4.4 4
4.5 – 5 5
Storygraph (using 2 as the starting number for simplicity)
.85 – .14 2.0
.15 – .44 2.25
.45 – .64 2.5
.65 – .84 2.75
.85 – .14 3.0
I find using SPECS and the questions for each category makes it easier for me to be objective and write good fiction book reviews. I put together my rating scale and star ratings to keep them consistent.