OUR DEFINITION OF A 5 STAR READ

Do you give every good book a 5 star rating or do you tend to hold out for the truly spectacular reads? Here’s what we consider 5 star worthy.

For me, a 5 star read is a book I’m pretty much obsessed with. It’s hooked me from the very beginning. I can’t stop myself from reading regardless of how late it is and how little sleep I may get despite the fact that I have a busy day coming. A 5 star read is a book I beg my sisters to read. I want to talk about it with anyone, and everyone (but mostly my sisters). A book that makes me cry? Automatic 5 stars. A 5 star read is a new favorite. A book I could read again and again. I want to buy all the merch. T shirts, stickers, bookmarks… When I see it in the wild (store, library, someone else reading it) I can’t help but freak out a little. It’s like I’ve spotted a celebrity. I wouldn’t say I’m stingy with my 5 star ratings, but it requires more than just enjoying the book. It’s something special. For me, a 4 star rating is still a really great book. 

I love me a thriller book. In order for that thriller to get a 5 star rating, I am looking for multiple moments where I straight up gasp while reading and an unpredictable ending. Bonus points if the story is told from the perspective of the villain. I love that.

If a book makes me cry. Not just a single tear sliding down my face, we are talking tears–multiple. Enough to need a tissue to manage or at least a shirt sleeve. Automatic 5 stars!

For me, another big factor on a 5 star book is whether or not I am still thinking about said book a month later. And thinking about it in a good way. Not in a, ‘that was so stupid’, way.

For me to give a book 5 stars it has to be pretty awesome. I have to be completely caught up in it while I’m reading, and I have to not be able to stop thinking about it for a long time after. I have to love the characters and the story. I’m probably adding it to my list of favorite books I’ve ever read. I’m a re-reader, so I’ll probably read it again—multiple times. I probably consider it a work of art.