Frequently Asked Questions

LorePath does not use the traditional star rating system as others do. There are no five-star crowns for whether a book is “good” or “bad.”

Instead, readers mark the content itself — spice, pacing, horror, and more — so you can sense a book's tone before you begin. Think of each mark as a lantern on a dark winding path: it lights what lies in wait without ruining the plot, not whether the journey deserves high praise or tomato-hurling.

LorePath is a rating platform for books of every genre.

Here you rate books across content themes (pacing, horror, romance, spice, and more), set your preferences in the Preferences Codex, and see Match Scores on books the community has marked — a compass for how well those tomes fit the kind of journey you want. Think of it as an open classroom: the shelves are ready, the candles are lit, and every rating helps fellow wanderers choose their next adventure.

LorePath uses a shared 0–5 scale for each content category. The numbers mean the same idea everywhere: lower scores mean little or none of that element; higher scores mean more of it. Ratings describe what is in the book — not whether the book is “good” or “bad.”

Understanding the 0–5 Scale

• 0None / lowest — the category is absent or at its minimum
• 1Very mild or minor presence
• 2Some presence, still moderate overall
• 3Clear, noticeable presence throughout
• 4Strong or prominent — a major part of the book
• 5Highest — central, intense, or extreme for that category

Category details

Open a category below for how readers typically use each number. Pacing is about tempo; Romance is about love-story focus; Spice Level is about explicitness; the others measure how much of that content appears.

Your Match Score is a friendly percentage that shows how well a book fits the preferences you set in the Preferences Codex. Match Scores appear once a book has community marks and you’ve set your preferences — think of it as a compass for marked tomes: the higher the number, the closer the community's ratings land to what you enjoy, and what you prefer to leave on the shelf.

We compare the community average for each category to your preference settings, score every category from 0–100%, then average those scores into one Match Score. Categories with a comfort ceiling (like Horror or Spice Level) stay at 100% when the book sits at or below your limit, and drop as the book goes over it. Categories with a preferred level (like Pacing) score higher the closer the book lands to the number you chose (Romance works the same way as Pacing).

A high score means the story's tone and content are likely a good fit for you. A lower score is a gentle heads-up that the book may wander outside your comfort zone. Rough guide: around 90%+ is an excellent match, 75%+ is good, 50%+ is moderate, and lower scores mean a weaker fit. During Beta, Match Score is free for every signed-in reader on books the community has marked.

On your Reading Stats page, Your Average Mark is a single number that gathers every content rating you have left across the archives — Spice Level, Romance, Horror, Pacing, LGBTQ+ Representation, Social & Political Themes, and the rest — and averages them into one score on the familiar 0–5 scale.

Think of it as a quick glance at your rating style: are you a gentle marker who tends toward quieter tales, or do your marks often climb toward richer spice, sharper horror, or faster pacing? It does not judge whether a book was “good” or “bad” — it simply reflects the kinds of content you tend to note when you rate.

Use it as a snapshot of your journey so far. For a finer map of where your marks land, look at Marks by category on the same page — that breakdown shows your average in each theme on its own.

During Beta, you are welcome to explore freely. Here is what you can do today:

• Search for stories across the growing LorePath library
• Rate books and leave clear notes on tone, content, and pacing
• View community ratings from other readers
• Set preferences in the Preferences Codex as it grows
• Match Scores on books the community has marked — free during Beta for signed-in readers
• Share feedback that helps guide what we build next

After Beta, we hope to add more tools that make finding the right book easier. Here is what we have planned:

• Advanced preferences and filters
• Multiple saved profiles
• Book recommendations matched to your preferences
• See your reading history in one place
• Wishlist
• Mobile app
• New avatars
• "Surprise Me" Button
• Quick Rate from Browse

We expect the Beta to run for a few months while we polish the experience and grow alongside our community. We will share updates as the journey unfolds, so you will always know when the next chapter begins.

New and recently published titles are added regularly so the catalog stays fresh. Over time, the library continues to grow with both new releases and older works for readers to explore.