The 25 Best BookTok Books That Are Worth Reading
TikTok can be incredibly addictive, but it’s not all bad. From makeup artist hacks to emerging fashion trends, a perfectly curated FYP will expose you to useful products and ideas that can be incorporated into your real life. One prime example: #BookTok. Short for “Book TikTok,” it’s the space on TikTok where people post their latest reads, book reviews, reactions, fan art, theories, and bookish memes. It’s basically the biggest virtual book club in the world, where you can find recommendations for anything that suits your fancy.
The books that blow up on TikTok aren’t just new releases. The platform has contributed to the renewed success of plenty of titles released years ago. It’s safe to say that no other social media platform has had this kind of effect on the publishing industry, and it’s mainly due to the kind of videos people post. I mean, where else will you find people jumping, screaming, crying, or even throwing a copy across a room in a book review?
#BookTok isn’t just concentrated on one genre, either. Sure, you may find plenty of recommendations for romance, fantasy, or erotic novels, but fiction, thriller, mystery, and science-fiction titles have all earned coveted spots in the #BookTok realm, too. Here, we’ve rounded up 25 of the most popular books on TikTok across all genres to add to your reading list. From heartwrenching stories like A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara to fantasy mega-hits like Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses, these are the books on TikTok that readers can’t put down.
‘The Atlas Six’ by Olivie Blake
Genre: Fantasy
Olivie Blake herself has credited #BookTok with paving her successful path into the mainstream literary world, several years after she’d begun self-publishing her novels. The Atlas Six kicks off a dark academia-fantasy trilogy in which six magicians are selected to fight for a spot in a prestigious secret society. After being published in 2020, followed by a broader republication a year later, countless creators have taken to TikTok to make memes about, share fan art of, and defend their love for various characters (yes, even Libby).
‘Book Lovers’ by Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
A rom-com queen, Emily Henry’s books tend to go viral on TikTok with every new release. This 2022 release has a particular hold on #BookTok and, just like the rest of her books, is full of charm and heart. The “book lovers” in question are Nora Stephens, a cutthroat literary agent, and Charlie Lastra, a brooding, high-profile editor. The two have a meeting over an author, which goes horribly, and that’s the last time they think they will meet again. Then Nora plans a month-long trip with her sister to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, to escape the city and maybe get a small-town makeover. But instead of checking off her small-town bucket list, she keeps bumping into Charlie, the last person she thought she would ever see again. It’s a book full of sweet moments, and the witty banter between Charlie and Nora is guaranteed to have you grinning like an idiot.
‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ by Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy
If you have even just a toe dipped into the #BookTok waters, I’m willing to wager you’ve heard about this series. Filled with fan theories, character art, and memes, the hashtag #ACOTAR has over 6 billion views and counting. As someone who has personally read this series cover-to-cover at least four times, I may be a little biased, but these romantasy books are crazy good. The first book of five, A Court of Thorns and Roses, follows 19-year-old Feyre, who’s left to provide for her family after they’ve lost their fortune. After she hunts a faerie disguised as a wolf, a creature demands retribution from Feyre for the death of his kind, and she begrudgingly agrees to live with the creature, Tamlin, as payment. Feelings between the two develop, and Feyre begins to uncover the looming trouble in the faerie land.
‘Crying in H Mart’ by Michelle Zauner
Genre: Memoir
Let the title be a warning: You’re all but guaranteed to sob while reading this book, whether you’re grocery shopping or not. In it, Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner reflects on growing up half-white and half-Korean, paying special attention to her relationship with her mother, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2014. Peppered throughout Zauner’s life story are gorgeous descriptions of the Korean food that she grew up with and which her mother often prepared for her. Zauner sought solace by learning to cook after her mom’s death, prompting the titular teary trips to the Asian supermarket. It’s a powerful exploration of identity and a tear-jerking memoir of a complicated mother-daughter relationship, which has rightfully placed it on so many BookTokers’s recommendation lists ever since its 2021 publication.
‘Fourth Wing’ by Rebecca Yarros
Genre: Fantasy
Think of Fourth Wing—which hasn’t left my FYP since it was published in 2023—as a cross between Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Divergent. 20-year-old Violet dreamed of becoming a scribe, but as the daughter of a commanding general, her mother has other plans. Instead, Violet is now entering school to join the dragon riders, her country’s most elite warriors. Unluckily for Violet, she’s one of the smallest in her cadet class and has a brittle, weak body, meaning every day is a near brush with death. At this school, where you either graduate or die, Violet has to do what she can to survive. Fantasy-romance lovers, this one’s for you.
‘The God of the Woods’ by Liz Moore
Genre: Thriller
It takes a truly good mystery-thriller to make it big on #BookTok, and this 2024 novel definitely fits the bill. It’s packed with multiple mysterious disappearances, several POVs and timelines, and plenty of twists, all of which are sure to leave you guessing just who dunit until the very end. You’d be hard-pressed to scroll for even a few minutes on #BookTok without catching sight of a rave review for The God of the Woods, a book club hyping up the book, or, of course, a fancast for the upcoming TV series.
‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ by Holly Jackson
Genre: Mystery
This popular TikTok book has gotten the page-to-screen treatment. In the 2024 first season of the Netflix series, Wednesday star Emma Myers plays Pip Fitz-Amobi, a teen who starts looking into a murder-suicide that occurred at her school five years earlier. Everyone thinks student Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, but Pip isn’t so sure. As she digs further into the case, Pip starts to wonder if the real killer is still out there, and things become even messier when someone starts making desperate attempts to stop Pip and her investigation. #BookTok loves a book with a good twist, which is definitely why this one is so popular.
‘I Have Some Questions for You’ by Rebecca Makkai
Genre: Mystery
Successful film professor and podcaster Bodie Kane is content leaving her past behind. There’s a family tragedy, a miserable four years at a boarding school, and the murder of her roommate Thalia during her senior year. Bodie’s past comes creeping in, however, when she’s offered to teach a course at her old school. With her past all around her again, she begins to wonder if the conviction of the school’s athletic trainer was a rushed job. And, as Bodie dives deeper into this rabbit hole of a case, she realizes she may have had something to do with the murder after all. #BookTokers strongly suggest picking this one up if you’re a fan of true crime podcasts.
‘I Who Have Never Known Men’ by Jacqueline Harpman
Genre: Fiction
This quietly eerie post-apocalyptic novel flew under the radar when it was first published in 1995. However, after it was republished in 2022, it quickly picked up steam on #BookTok and became a literary phenomenon in its own right. The short book, translated from French, follows the disquieting journey of a girl who’s been trapped underground with 39 other women for as long as she can remember. The story will stick with you well after you’ve turned the last page, as many #BookTok-ers can attest: “The girl next to me is reading I Who Have Never Known Men, and how do I tell her her life is about to be ruined,” one creator wondered.
‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ by Jennette McCurdy
Genre: Memoir
In my time on #BookTok, there have been very few moments when I’ve seen celebrity memoirs hit viral status on the app. There was, of course, Prince Harry’s Spare, and while that blew up for all of the wrong reasons, I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy blew up for the right reasons. In her memoir, the Nickelodeon actress details her tumultuous path to child stardom, which included eating disorders, addiction, and a very complicated relationship with her mother. With dry humor and complete honesty, McCurdy’s memoir is hard-hitting and a bit devastating to read, but once you do, you’ll absolutely understand the hype.
‘It Ends With Us’ by Colleen Hoover
Genre: Romance
Although she’s been publishing books since the early 2010s, Colleen Hoover and her novels, especially It Ends With Us, have become even more successful on TikTok in recent years. It follows Lily, a 20-something-year-old woman who has finally found success in her new life in Boston. Then she meets Ryle, a hot neurosurgeon with a “no dating” rule and a soft spot for Lily. Of course, the two end up breaking Ryle’s rule when sparks inevitably fly, but Lily can’t stop thinking about her first love, Atlas, who suddenly crops back up in her life. This romance is far from a sweet read and becomes an exploration of domestic abuse, but readers have remained obsessed—so much so that the book earned a film adaptation starring Blake Lively in 2024.
‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara
Genre: Fiction
TikTok’s consensus about this book is that it will change your life, crush your soul, and/or leave you emotionally reeling for days. Nonetheless, #BookTok loves it, with millions of views on the hashtag, and rightfully so. Told over decades, this story follows four male friends who move to New York to follow their dreams. Relationships deepen and break, while trauma and challenges rise to the surface, changing the lives of these four characters forever. For a better idea of this book, imagine it like a piece of ombré cloth, as Hanya Yanagihara described it to Vulture: bright and full of hope in the beginning, but dark and desolate by the end. There’s no chance you’ll get through this heartwrenching story with dry eyes.
‘Mexican Gothic’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Genre: Horror
Regularly making the rounds on horror #Booktok is Mexican Gothic, a slow-burn with a twist on the traditional haunted house story. Our main character is Noemí Taboada, a glamorous debutante who rushes to her cousin’s side in the Mexican countryside after receiving a frantic letter. As Noemí roams the High Place estate, she uncovers that her cousin’s new husband has a dark family past, with nearly every family member having stories of violence and madness themselves. If you think this story is creepy right off the bat, wait until you reach the last 50 pages.
‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’ by Ottessa Moshfegh
Genre: Fiction
Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2018 book went viral on #BookTok largely due to how perfectly it slots into a very specific aesthetic. The story of a young woman living in N.Y.C. in the early aughts who’s on a quest to sleep for an entire year, its pink-accented cover and nihilistic vibes earned it a spot in montages designed to curate a devil-may-care, “cool girl who reads” image and in lists of other “toxic sad girl syndrome” books. In keeping with that overall vibe, it should come as no surprise that well-known “cool girl who reads” Suki Waterhouse took to TikTok to share her love for the book in 2022.
‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney
Genre: Fiction
Irish author Sally Rooney caught the attention of critics and readers everywhere when she published her debut novel Conversations with Friends in 2017, and she drew even more praise with her sophomore effort, Normal People, a year later. Normal People made plenty of “best of the decade” lists and was also longlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize; its well-deserved hype is still going strong on social media to this day. That’s certainly thanks in part to a successful Hulu adaptation that introduced the world to Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, but it’s also, of course, due to the book itself. It portrays the constantly shifting relationship between Marianne and Connell, who we follow from high school to college, and who can never seem to communicate with one another, no matter how much they each want to make things work. It makes for a thoughtful study of class differences from self-described Marxist Rooney.
‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ by Casey McQuiston
Genre: Romance
If this title seems familiar, that’s because it probably is. The book has gotten the Hollywood treatment with a film adaptation now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, no doubt thanks at least in part to the book’s huge popularity on TikTok. While the general discourse is polarizing (you either love it or hate it), fans of Red, White & Royal Blue adore it for its sugary-sweet romance and spice. It follows longtime rivals U.S. First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz and the U.K.’s Prince Henry, who cause a stir in the White House and British Royal Family after photos of a tense confrontation between them leaks. Hoping to patch public opinion up, Alex and Henry put on a fake friendship for the media, and I’m sure you can guess what happens next.
‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt
Genre: Thriller
Donna Tartt’s novel—about a tight-knit group of friends at a small liberal arts college who commit a terrible crime, glimpsed at the beginning and then unwound throughout the book—was well-received when it was first published in 1992. But over 30 years later, it found a whole new life on #BookTok, as a new generation of readers searched for “dark academia” vibes. The platform is now full of video after video of viewers romanticizing the debaucherous friend group, fancasting a (nonexistent) film adaptation, and generally wondering, “How did I only just read this?”
‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Historical fiction
Taylor Jenkins Reid has an uncanny ability to drop you right into the settings of her books, and in this one, readers are taken for a ride through Old Hollywood. Star of the story, Evelyn Hugo, is a Hollywood icon now ready to tell her glamorous life story, and she handpicks unknown magazine writer Monique Grant to serve as her scribe. Monique listens to Evelyn’s entire life story, from when she began her career in show business in the 1950s to when she decided to leave the industry in the ‘80s, with details of her seven marriages thrown in between. Though Monique originally believes her earning the job was a random fluke, soon she starts to wonder if she’s more deeply connected to the Hollywood icon than she thought. You may think this book is about Evelyn’s husbands, but the real spotlight shines on Evelyn and all of her complexities, as thousands and thousands of its beloved fans on TikTok can attest.
‘The Silent Patient’ by Alex Michaelides
Genre: Thriller
Take a quick scroll through #TheSilentPatient on TikTok, and you’ll find lots of readers with shocked expressions and hands covering their mouths. Of course, we won’t tell you why readers are losing their minds over this book, but know that there’s a twist you won’t see coming. Perfect for mystery and thriller lovers, the titular “silent patient” is Alicia Berenson, a famous painter who seemingly had a perfect life, up until she shot her husband and refused to speak another word. After she’s sent to a criminal ward, psychotherapist Theo Faber becomes obsessed with getting Alicia to talk and uncovering her story. Full of twists and turns, it’s easy to see why so many readers call this book “unputdownable.”
‘Silver Elite’ by Dani Francis
Genre: Romance
Silver Elite’s #BookTok-fueled bestseller status hasn’t been completely smooth sailing. The #BookTok community is very discerning, so it’s only to be expected that among the mass hype for this 2025 book, there would also be a vocal group of critics who have taken issue with its dystopian setting, its world-building, and the author’s use of a pen name. Despite all that, it’s still a fun read: Fast-paced and steamy, this post-apocalyptic romance centers on Wren, a secretly psychic rebel who accidentally finds herself behind enemy lines and decides to make the best of it (in more ways than one).
‘The Song of Achilles’ by Madeline Miller
Genre: Fiction
TikToker Chris Olsen succinctly summed up all of our feelings while reading this mythological retelling. “I have never felt so much emotional pain in my life,” he said through sobs. So, be warned: This book may cue the waterworks (it certainly did for me). In this re-rendering of the Trojan War, a young, awkward prince named Patroclus is exiled from his homeland and soon befriends the warrior Achilles. While training under the centaur Chiron, the two develop an even deeper relationship while growing up to become skilled in war, fighting, and medicine. Then, suddenly, war erupts in Troy, and while Achilles sees it as his path to gaining legendary status and fame, Patroclus, torn between fear and love for his friend, is forced to follow behind Achilles, knowing the Fates are at work.
‘Things We Never Got Over’ by Lucy Score
Genre: Romance
#BookTok seems to especially love the romance genre when it fits the “grumpy guy, sunshine girl” trope and has a decent amount of smut—check and check in this book. It follows runaway bride Naomi, who rushes to her estranged twin’s side in a rough-around-the-edges town in Virginia. Naomi is at a loss, though, when her twin suddenly leaves town, dumping her 11-year-old daughter on Naomi to care for. With nowhere to go, she finds herself at the whim of bad-boy barber Knox, who gives her a place to stay…and a bit more than that, too.
‘Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow’ by Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Fiction
This novel was widely recognized as one of the best books of 2022, and countless #BookTokers seem to agree. On the surface, the premise may not sound like much (especially if you’re not a gamer): Childhood friends Sadie Green and Sam Masur reconnect as college students and build a successful video game company together. But Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is so much more than a book about gaming. It’s about friendship, grief, love in every form, and the often-sacred act of creative collaboration. Make sure to keep a box of tissues handy, and share it with your best friend when you’re done.
‘Transcendent Kingdom’ by Yaa Gyasi
Genre: Fiction
The intersection between science and religion is complicated, to say the least, and this book tackles the subject with tons of emotion. It follows the family of Ghanaian immigrants in Alabama, centering on Gifty, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at Stanford, desperately looking for answers to depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, recently died of an overdose after an injury left him addicted to OxyContin, while Gifty’s mother is riddled with depression and living in her bed. Gyasi paints a portrait of an immigrant family struggling through racism, grief, and mental illness, yet she’s able to show the beauty through it all. Fair warning, this book is heavy on discussions on grief and is definitely not a light read, but, as the bookworms of TikTok will tell you, if you need to feel something, pick this gut-punch of a novel up.
‘Verity’ by Colleen Hoover
Genre: Thriller
I know what you’re thinking. Two Colleen Hoover books? Yes, both books majorly blew up on TikTok, albeit for different reasons. Verity is unlike anything else in Hoover’s wheelhouse and is absolutely a must-read if you prefer thrillers over romance. It follows struggling writer Lowen, who’s hired by Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, to finish the series his injured wife is no longer able to. While living at the Crawford home, Lowen uncovers one of Verity’s unfinished manuscripts, which reveals horrifying details about her and her family. As her feelings for Jeremy grow, Lowen must decide whether to share the manuscript with Jeremy or keep it to herself, as both could have devastating consequences. The ending of this tense thriller has sparked quite the debate on TikTok, as you’re left to decide whether you’re team letter or team manuscript (IYKYK).
