Have you found yourself saying “TikTok made me buy it” to justify a book purchase? Are your days and nights spent scouring through TikTok, trying to find your next read? Do you own a TBR pile that basically takes up your whole bookshelf because of this very app? If you answered yes to any of these questions, congratulations, we’re officially best friends and this list of trending BookTok faves was personally curated for you!
From new releases from everybody’s auto-buy authors, Sarah J. Maas and Colleen Hoover, to steamy romances in The Fine Print and The Spanish Love Deception, and must-read YA debuts with Xiran Jay Zhoa’s Iron Widow and Lexi Ryan’s These Hollow Vows, there’s no bad place to start with this list – in fact, do you think reading 8 books at the same time is frowned upon in the book community?
Regardless, here are the 8 books that BookTok is demanding that we read right now! And if you’re just as indecisive as me and can’t pick which one to start with, buy and start them all and to hell with the status quo!
The Atlas Six
by Olivie Blake, with illustrations by Little Chmura
For fans of Ninth House and A Deadly Education, this book is being hailed as the must-read fantasy novel of the year, is set in a secret society of magical academicians and will be adapted into an Amazon series – need I say more?! In what sounds like true One Of Us Is Lying fashion, six of the world’s best young magicians are chosen for initiation into The Alexandrian Society but only five will survive long enough to make it through *cue the cut-throat drama and scheming*. Plus, the sequel is due for release in October!
Buy it here
House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City: Book 2)
by Sarah J. Maas
Sarah J. Maas is back with the second instalment in her devourable Crescent City series! A steamy, action-packed urban fantasy, I think this may be her best work yet (after ACOMAF, of course)! Apart from it being written by one of the book community’s most beloved authors, this series has risen to Booktok fame because of its unforgettable characters, sizzling romance and page-turning suspense – and don’t even get me started on the otter couriers!
Buy it here
Verity
by Colleen Hoover
The queen of emotionally charged love stories (and making us cry like babies) is serving up an unputdownable thriller in her latest release. With many reviewers warning not to start this at night because it is that damn creepy, this dark, disturbing and utterly addictive tale is full of the kind of killer plot twists that will leave you reeling long after the story ends. Touted as a modern-day Rebecca, we follow Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer, who accepts the job offer of a lifetime, only to uncover a horrifying truth about her employer’s wife.
Buy it here
The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires: Book 1)
by Lauren Asher
Time to serve up some spice! The first book in the Dreamland Billionaires series, this is for all my enemies-to-lovers fans and anyone who likes witty, sarcastic banter between two people who high-key want to ruin each other but low-key kind of love each other. Our heroine, Zahra, is fiery and unapologetic – in fact, she ends up working for the most difficult boss ever, Rowan, because she submits a drunk proposal criticising Dreamland’s most expensive ride (we love the audacity!). Rowan, aforementioned infuriating billionaire, decides not to fire Zahra for the proposal but instead offers her the job she’s always coveted, but with one catch – she’ll have to report to him (big UGH). Sure, he’s rude and completely off limits but soon enough Zahra realises his secret and is on a mission to prove to Rowan that money can’t fix everything, especially not them.
Buy it here
The Spanish Love Deception
by Elena Armas
A steamy, slow-burn romance, this enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating comedy is proof that men written by women are top-tier! Swoon-worthy moments, loveable characters and a story with depth, this book handles all the tropes it dips into perfectly, and gifts us with a heroine who is hilarious, smart and unafraid to speak her mind. If you pick this book up get ready for a wedding, a trip to Spain, the most infuriating man ever, and three days of pretending. Oh, and did I mention that it includes a soccer game that is kind of reminiscent of the baseball game from Twilight?
Buy it here
Iron Widow
by Xiran Jay Zhao
Firstly, you need to know that Xiran Jay Zhao is literally the coolest person ever and that you need to check out their youtube channel. Secondly, this is a debut YA sci-fi/alt-history that is hellbent on absolutely ruining misogyny and we are all totally here for it! A reimagining of China’s only female emperor, this book is described as Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale and is truly a love letter to Chinese culture and history. With a main character seeking vengeance for her sister’s death, Zeitan uncovers a shunned and much-feared psychic ability in her plot to assassinate the man responsible, labelling her as an Iron Widow. An Iron Widow is a female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises (giant transforming robots) that battle the mecha aliens beyond the great wall in a world where usually girls are the indispensable ones. Having had a taste of power, Zeitan is now determined to dismantle the misogynistic pilot system and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
Buy it here
Six Crimson Cranes
by Elizabeth Lim
Hands down one of my favourite 2021 reads, this book is a whimsical, dark retelling of the Grimm brothers’ The Six Swans fairytale and literally has all the magic, emotion and detail of a Studio Ghibli film. YA fantasy in its purest form, the fantastical adventure that awaits you is sure to give you all the warm and cosy feels that films like Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service incite. Elizabeth Lim’s vivid and atmospheric writing is so easy to get lost in and the soft understated romance coupled with our main character, Shori’s, love for her brothers will seriously make you melt. Set in an East-Asian inspired world, we follow Shiori’anma (or Shiori for short), the only princess of Kiata and the bearer of a dark secret – forbidden magic runs through her veins. Catching the eye of her evil step-mother, she is banished and her six brothers are turned into cranes. What’s more, for every word she speaks, one of her brothers will die. Unable to tell a soul of the curse, Shiori must find a way to expose her step-mother, save her brothers and her father before it is too late.
Buy it here
These Hollow Vows
by Lexi Ryan
Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and The Folk of the Air series, would this even be a BookTok recommendation list if I didn’t add at least one book including fae magic? With warring faerie courts, dangerously seductive princes and a bargain from hell, Lexi Ryan’s YA breakout is one of those books that will have you second-guessing every character and gasping at all the plot twists (not to mention that ending, thank goodness the sequel is due in July). Coming from the romance genre, it’s clear that Lexi excels in building tension and the complex love triangle at work in this book is no exception! Pick this up if you want to be trapped between two fae courts with your loyalties and heart undecided – truly the perfect way to spend your weekend!
Buy it here
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