This is a highly subjective metric based on how much I enjoyed the story and how deep an impression it left on me. You will best understand my opinion by reading the "What I liked" and "What I didn't like" sections. Take it as a general guideline and with a grain of salt. After all, it's always best to form your own opinion! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

5 sparkling stars: Absolute top tier, definitely must-reads. This kind of book is what got me into Danmei and what keeps me here. It is inspiring, takes away my ability to sleep, work and function in general and makes me want to talk about it to everyone around me (whether they like it or not) ₍₍⚞(˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶)⚟⁾⁾

4 sparkling stars: Great story, nice characters and generally not much to criticize. Very memorable even though the story didn't go that last step to make it to the top ranking but still absolutely worth your time and strong recommendation from my side.

3 sparkling stars: Nice story, average good and worth reading if the vibe is what you're looking for. Has some flaws in terms of story and characters but still an enjoyable experience. 

2 sparkling stars: The story has its own strong suits and appealing points but also some serious issues with pacing and consistency. I would generally not recommend this unless there is a specific reason you want to read this.

1 sparkling star: I would be surprised to ever give this ranking (but it's not impossible). There isn't much good to say about the story, so it's generally not worth your time if you have anything else available that will give you a better experience.

This rating should tell you, how intensely the characters interact with each other (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

Ok, now being serious: Some don't like it spicy and some do while others like it sometimes depending on their mood. This is supposed to be a guideline of how much spice/explicitness you can expect in a story.

5 flaming hot chili peppers: Extremely horny. The story is laced with erotic tension and contains many long and very detailed explicit scenes. Looking for a sex scene spanning several chapters? This is the place for you! ╰(🔥ᗝ🔥)╯

4 flaming hot chili peppers: Very horny. The story contains a decent amount of erotic tension and longing with frequent explicit scenes that are still fairy detailed but less so and also not as long as in the 5 chilies case.

3 flaming hot chili peppers: moderately horny. The story is mostly focused on the romantic aspect of the character's relationship. However, there are still some passionate scenes that mostly don't go as far as describing things in a super detailed way but still get the point across.

2 flaming hot chili peppers: Not very horny. Kissing and hand-holding occur. If anything more happens in the story, the author will only hint at it and leave the rest to your imagination.

1 flaming hot chili pepper: They might hold hands and kiss after 5 volumes. Slow burn, romantic tension but nothing really in the way of explicit intimacy.