The Forgotten Stars: The 2- & 3-star books
- Jacqueline Sahlin
- Oct 8, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 23
Because even the mids deserve attention
I’m going to say something that will come as a shock to no one:
The book community is a proud one.
Readers take great pride when they announce how many books they’ve read at the end of the year. Each of them cannot wait to make that social post announcing they stayed up all night feverishly reading the latest big release, and now they know the spoilers.
And of course, the gold star of all accomplishments is the opportunity to recommend a 5-star book that they swear on their life you are going to love.
What some folks won’t admit, but I think we all know, is that as much as readers love to give that 5-star review, there’s also a rush when they bestow the dreaded 1-star rating. Because half the fun is in writing the scathing review that outdoes the reviews that came before it.
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An ecosystem of only the best and worst books
But there is a danger in the showmanship of this ecosystem we, the readers, have built. No matter the platform, whether it be Goodreads, Storygraph, TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, the only books that seem to hold anybody’s interest are those that our peers give a 5- or 1-star.
Now, of course, when people ask for a book recommendation, you’re going to recommend something you love. After all, you wouldn’t want them to judge you for your taste in books.
But by limiting what we read to our own and others’ 5-star recommendations (or 1-star recs because we’re messy), are we not leaving out the books that make this industry?
Statistically, most books in the market can’t be New York Times best sellers.
What do stars even mean?
Let’s not lie to ourselves. These “midlist” books are what fill the bookstores and frankly most of our Kindles. And yet, when a reader checks the Goodreads ratings and those books come up with an average of two or three stars, a significant portion of readers will avoid these books.
Even I can’t say I haven’t skipped a 2-star book.
But what does a 2- or 3-star even mean? How do we even know if my 3-star rating means the same thing as your 3-star rating? Does it warn wary readers to proceed with caution, that their time is best not spent on this novel, or does it mean it’s a good enough time but not something you’re going to think about when it’s over?.
This is the trouble with the star system in general. There’s no way to know (and sometimes the readers themselves don’t know) if their rating is based on the quality of the writing, plot, character development, or if we’re just rating off the vibes.
And I’ll be honest – I don’t want to read the five-paragraph review that has spoilers, and the two-sentence review does nothing for me.
But maybe more important than deciphering stars, is this one question:
So what?
As I mentioned, the majority of books out there are of the midlist variety. As I think back on the nearly 400 books I’ve read over the last 3 years, I can tell you that at least 85% of them were in the 2- to 3-star range.
And you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed them.
Were those books “good” in the traditional sense?
No.
But did I have fun?
Absolutely.
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Quality book versus quality time
For me personally, I’m here for the vibes. Do some of the books have massive plot holes? Sure. Do the dialects of the characters flow more fluidly than the scenes do? Yes. But the vibes are always immaculate.
The characters don’t need to develop in every novel I read. Especially not when my biggest concern is when the main characters are finally going to get together and how explicit the sex scene will be. Most books I read are not revolutionary and do not have the “qualities” of a 5-star book, but in many ways, I enjoy them more. And that’s its own kind of 5-star rating (in my heart).
The average person reads twelve books a year, and when you are reading essentially one book per month, then certainly you want those books to count. But when you’re reading like you’re training for the book Olympics, you have more wiggle room. The expectation to constantly read 5-star books is unrealistic and sets you up for disappointment, because 5-star books aren’t being cranked out in your preferred genre at the rate you read when you’re reading that much.
So while the narrative on social media focused on the books that will rock your world or send you below the ninth ring of Hell, that shouldn’t be and you shouldn’t expect that to be the narrative of your TBR.
The moral of the story?
Enjoy the midlist. Embrace the vibes. And have fun with the forgotten stars.
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With an M.A. in Comparative Literature and a B.A. in Creative Writing, Jac Sahlin is a Californian with Chilean roots who once told her mom “my version is better”—and never stopped writing. Now she’s a Romantasy writer, podcaster, and unapologetic lover of smut.
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