It’s Friday and once again, welcome to another Let’s Talk Bookish post! This week we’ll be discussing quite a controversial topic, the 5-star read. I used to throw those 5 stars around like it’s nothing, but this changed. Without further ado, let’s take a look into how and why.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted by Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Since April 2022, this meme is hosted by , Aria @ Book Nook Bits and since February 2025, Dini @ DiniPandaReads is the co-host. Let’s Talk Bookish is a meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and share their love by visiting each other’s posts.

Prompts: What makes a book a 5-star read for you? Do you give books 5 stars easily, or are you more selective with them? What are your all-time favourite “can’t-live-can’t-breathe-without-them” 5-star reads? Is there anything that makes a book automatically 5 stars for you? Or the opposite — what makes you drop to 4 stars?

What makes a book a 5-star read for you? Do you give books 5 stars easily, or are you more selective with them?

As I stated in the introductory paragraph of this post, I used to throw 5 stars around like they were nothing. It was so easy to please me. After having read and reviewed a lot over the past eight years, I noticed a shift in my star ratings. Whereas I threw the stars around in the past, I hardly rate books 5 stars these days. This year alone, I only rated one new book 5 stars and that was Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping. Even Rebecca Yarros’ Onyx Storm didn’t get this rating, whereas Fourth Wing easily did. I assume this has to do with several factors such as being more critical of my reading, being able to find more flaws, or even just not vibing with most books lately. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still enjoying being an avid reader, but the rise of social media popularity means that quality is declining. There are new standards for popular and trending books, and they are much lower than they used to be in my opinion. Are there tropes and are the main characters hot love interest? BAM! Another “TikTok made me buy it”. Nope, I’m not taking this anymore. Can you even imagine I gave The Selection by Kiera Cass of all books 5 stars? That was me back in 2016 and I really don’t understand why.

But what makes a book 5 stars for me then? That’s hard to tell. This mainly has to do with the vibes, alongside character growth, a well-balanced pacing, and an intriguing but not so predictable plot. Lately I find myself vibing less and less with most books and I just don’t get the 5-star feeling anymore. It’s hard to describe, because I don’t really understand this myself LOL.

What are your all-time favourite “can’t-live-can’t-breathe-without-them” 5-star reads?

Honestly, it’s not that deep for me. However, I have some favourite series which everyone should know by now because I keep mentioning them, so I won’t repeat myself once again. Sometimes I reread those books, sometimes I don’t.

Is there anything that makes a book automatically 5 stars for you? Or the opposite — what makes you drop to 4 stars?

I’m very selective with my 5 stars, so I automatically assume that a book will be a 4-star read. Do I really, really vibe with it? 5 stars. Is there anything in let’s say plot, characters or writing style I don’t like? 4 stars or less. But, most likely 3 stars. So, getting a 5-star rating from me is quite impossible, because I’m such a critical reader.

How about you? Do you give 5 stars easily?