No star ratings. Ever.
Nobody here scores a book out of five, so there is no average to quote and no number to game. A verdict is one of three words from one named person: yes, no, or it depends.
Same book.
Differentreaders
RNKD is a book review publication written by real readers: people with jobs, library cards, and opinions. When several of them read the same book you get a Roundtable. They don't have to agree, and usually they don't.
One book, several readers, no referee.
Every title below was read by two or more people who wrote before seeing each other's verdict.
Lonesome Dove
2 DEPENDS
6 YES
1 DNF
Pride and Prejudice
9 YES
The Covenant of Water
“That is a meaningful achievement for a novel this large.”
7 YES
2 DEPENDS
The Nightingale
“But if you are willing to accept a book that is sometimes blunt, repetitive, and openly designed to make you cry, there is a lot here that matters.”
7 DEPENDS
2 YES
Theo of Golden
“There is a version of Theo of Golden that I would recommend without hesitation.”
9 DEPENDS
Beard on Tap
“If you want a short book where a competent woman gets desired, needed, and a kitchen of her own after a divorce, this will probably work for you.”
3 DEPENDS
1 YES
3 NO
1 DNF
Kingdom of Thorns
“Because the central relationship actually justifies the time spent on it.”
4 DEPENDS
2 YES
2 NO
The Covenant of Water
“That is a meaningful achievement for a novel this large.”
7 YES
2 DEPENDS
The Nightingale
“But if you are willing to accept a book that is sometimes blunt, repetitive, and openly designed to make you cry, there is a lot here that matters.”
7 DEPENDS
2 YES
Theo of Golden
“There is a version of Theo of Golden that I would recommend without hesitation.”
9 DEPENDS
Beard on Tap
“If you want a short book where a competent woman gets desired, needed, and a kitchen of her own after a divorce, this will probably work for you.”
3 DEPENDS
1 YES
3 NO
1 DNF
Kingdom of Thorns
“Because the central relationship actually justifies the time spent on it.”
4 DEPENDS
2 YES
2 NO
What we will not do.
A review publication is only worth reading if you know what it refuses. All the rules →
No free books.
RNKD accepts no books, no payment, and nothing else from authors or publishers. Every reader bought it, borrowed it, or already owned it.
No invented credentials.
We publish a reader's name, age and photograph, and an address that reaches them. We do not write biographies, because we would be making them up.
No hiding a change.
Corrections are logged with the date, what was wrong, and what changed. Entries are never edited or deleted once written.
No page for a book nobody read.
There is no placeholder page waiting for a review to arrive. If a book is here, somebody finished it, or gave up and told you where.
Read a lot? Have opinions?
RNKD reviewers are ordinary readers. No credentials, no quotas, no pay, and no publisher ever sends you a book. You read what you want and say what you actually thought.