Opinions are everywhere in all shapes, sizes, and shades. You can accept them from other people or you can ignore each word that tumbles out of their mouths (or more likely in this society, tumbles out through their fingertips).

This whole Literary Hype thing is a form of me spewing my bookish opinions all over the internet. Love it or hate it, I don’t care. I love a good debate, so bring me your hot takes. I’m here for all of your thoughts on books, characters, writers, and bookish life.

A couple of Literary Hype readers (shoutout to the subscribers!) asked about how I decide what rating to give any given novel. Ratings can be so subjective, so here’s a guide to what you can expect when I throw stars like confetti.

In order to end on a high note, let’s start with the lowest grade: Zero stars. For me, this is something so horrible, I do not want to finish it. This is not reliant on any one particular factor. Just, in general, a book so bad I want to throw it into the nearest fire. ‘Would not recommend to my enemy’ level of hatred. These are to be avoided at all costs.

One star books also fall into the DNF category, but for slightly different reasons. This is for books that I don’t finish more out of boredom than hatred, and don’t plan to try again. It’s not an enjoyable read. Would not recommend.

Two star reads are ones I finished begrudgingly. There are a handful that fall into this category and I promise you, I whined my way through them.

Three star books are just meh. They aren’t bad, but they don’t light a fire under my butt either. No strong feelings either way. Just okay, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Four star books are ones I enjoy quite a lot. They are well-written, entertaining and/or informative in all the best ways. They are the ones I breeze through in a few days and look forward to the next time I get to crack it open.

Five star reads are the ones with which I am obsessed. The ones that keep me up late reading because there is no way on God’s green earth I will be able to sleep until I have answers. It’s the feeling of finishing a great story and being unable to wait to tell someone about it. It’s the books that leave you thinking about the characters or ideas long after you turn the final page and see the word ‘acknowledgements’ staring back at you. Five star reads are the ones I want to read again at some point, if I ever get through my TBR pile (Oh, that sweet dream of an impossible concept.)

Occasionally I use a half star if my gut tells me to. Sometimes things fall right in between categories, because just like in life, opinions can get messy. Occasionally, there’s a site asking for ratings on a 10 star system, and then the whole world bursts into chaos. I do not have a plan for that nonsense. I just make it up as I go in those situations. Rules are meant to be broken and whatnot.

There you have it, friends. How do you rate books? Does this line up with your system or do you do something completely different? Leave a comment and let’s talk our way through developing the most perfect book rating system known to humankind!