12 Best Booktok books to spend those holiday gift cards on now

4 days ago 4

Whatever your opinion is on TikTok as a social media platform, it works really well when it comes to pinpointing the things you like—the algorithm definitely works as intended. If you’re a bookworm like me, you’ve likely got stuck on BookTok at least once.

All it takes is sticking around on a book review for a little too long, or visiting a BookTok profile, and you’ll find your For You Page (FYP) throwing endless book recommendations in your direction. It can be hard to tell what’s truly worth the hype, with some books falling short of expectations, but as someone who is absolutely in no way easily influenced whatsoever (that’s a lie), I can help.

In my many hours of scrolling TikTok and ordering books that seem interesting, I’ve come across some true gems that I wouldn’t have found if it wasn’t for BookTok. Here are 12 of the best that I’ve read thanks to BookTok.

Verity by Colleen Hoover

I’m willing to bet that you likely clicked on this article knowing full well that Ms. Hoover would make an appearance at least once, but you’ll be glad to know that I’m keeping her entries here in the singular.

Colleen Hoover is a master of romance and mystery, dragging you into the world she creates within the pages of her books and getting you all invested in the lives of her characters. If you’ve never given her a chance, or you’re avoiding it because you’re wondering whether she’s worth the hype, then I highly suggest starting with Verity.

Even I, a complete book nerd, had low expectations for Verity thanks to what seems like a massive amount of hype, but I was pleasantly surprised and you probably will be too.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Maybe I’m more prone to loving books that have a heavy focus on historical events, but The Song of Achilles left me wanting so much more, and viewing the Trojan War through the eyes of Patroclus is definitely a memorable experience.

There’s love, death, betrayal, murder, humor, and everything else you could possibly imagine within the pages of Miller’s story, and you could never say that the Romans were boring. At a base level, The Song of Achilles is a story of friendship and perseverance through hardship, but there’s so much more to it that I couldn’t even begin to explain here. You’ll just have to give it a go yourself.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

This has all the ingredients for a classic will-they-won’t-they rom-com that will stick with you for a long time. Olive doesn’t believe in relationships, but she needs to convince her friend that she’s in one. Rather than thinking about it even a little bit logically, she smooches the first man she sees and it causes utter chaos in her life.

It’s not all that deep, but there’s definitely a connection between the reader and the characters in The Love Hypothesis, as well as between the characters themselves, that doesn’t leave you as soon as you finish the last page. There’s even some science thrown in for good measure, but to be honest, science can’t begin to explain the madness you’ll experience while reading.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

For a little while, I couldn’t open TikTok without seeing at least five posts on my FYP about A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, and that was before it was turned into a series by the BBC and got picked up by Netflix before the entire social media app seemed to implode with love for the story.

Anyway, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder focuses on Pip, who takes it upon herself to re-investigate a murder-suicide that happened five years prior in her town. Her snooping takes her down a dark path, which ends up turning the town upside down and making people question whether they actually knew what really happened all along.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

It’s a weird sensation, to go into reading a book knowing that both of the characters you’re about to get to know will be dead before you reach the final page, but They Both Die at the End is unforgivably heartwarming despite the bizarre concept.

Two total strangers learn that they’re going to die within 24 hours, and both decide that rather than go out quietly, they want to have one last adventure. Through an app, they meet on their final day of life, resulting in something that will undoubtedly make you cry (make sure to have some tissues at hand) and inspire you to simply do more at the same time. Life is short, and Adam Silvera is really good at reminding you to make the most of it.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably watched the movie adaptation of The Hating Game without even knowing that it was based on a rather funny book by Sally Thorne. It takes a lot to make me outwardly giggle while reading a book, and Thorne manages to do that in The Hating Game.

Two colleagues who apparently despise each other are competing for the same high-paying job at the office, and their interactions are filled with sarcasm, bickering, and outright hate. However, hate and love are very similar emotions if you really think about it, and it’s just not possible to think about someone that much without being intrinsically connected to them.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Red, White & Royal Blue is an LGBTQ+ romance novel that won’t fail to utterly sweep you away in the romance between the son of an American politician and a member of the British royal family. It all begins with them both falling into a cake, which results in them having to pretend to be friends and develops into something a lot deeper. This ends up being revealed to the world before anyone is ready.

Obviously this is a very alternative reality kind of story, with a very different royal family to the one we’re all familiar with, and America’s first female president hailing from Texas, but it’s definitely worth reading if you’re a fan of romance, drama, or inter-continental relationship stories.

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

I make this recommendation with a heavy warning: Do not read this book if you’re particularly squeamish about blood, death, or graphic depictions of cannibalism. All feature heavily in this incredible alternate-future story of a dystopian world where animal meat will kill those who eat it, so humans begin being farmed for consumption instead.

Told you it was heavy.

Admittedly, Tender is the Flesh is massively different from every other book on this list, and it’s definitely a book you should start reading lightheartedly. However, I first read this book a long time ago and I still find myself thinking about it at random moments. I will always recommend this book to anyone who thinks they have the stomach for it.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing is what you might get if you take the magical concept of Harry Potter and slap an R rating on it. It’s considered a romantic fantasy (Or “romantasy”, if you will), and is the first installment in the Empyrean series.

Violet is 20 years old and canonically suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, although this is never explicitly stated in the book itself, Yarros has confirmed it to be true and suffers from the condition herself, using the books as a way to raise awareness about the symptoms. Violet has trained for years to be a Scribe, but her mother pushes her to be a Dragon Rider. Her condition makes it hard, but Fourth Wing is all about perseverance and overcoming adversity.

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

If you’ve ever spent even 10 minutes on BookTok, I can guarantee you’ve seen this book at least once and thought “Well, that seems a bit harsh”, but I urge you to give this memoir a chance. Being the daughter of an abusive mother is an incredibly isolating, lonely existence, and reading Jennette’s words is absolutely soul-soothing for anyone who has gone through a similar experience.

You’ll probably know Jennette from her time as Sam Puckett in Nickelodeon’s iCarly, and the book goes into some detail about her experience working alongside an unnamed producer at Nickelodeon described only as “The Creator”. It’s speculated by those who have read I’m Glad My Mom Died to sound very much like the now-shamed Dan Schneider, but there is no confirmation of that from Jennette.

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley

Another example of “Harry Potter with an R rating”, but this one absolutely stole my heart and kept me reading until the early hours of the morning because I just couldn’t put it down. It all starts with an exploding chicken in Mariel’s kitchen, but ends with an accidentally summoned demon who is burdened with a soul and—wait for it—feelings.

With Mariel being understandably attached to her own soul and unwilling to strike a bargain with her now immovable demon, the two are stuck together, and we all know how that’s going to end. It’s a bumpy road, filled with hiding his horns and convincing her friends that maybe he isn’t out to ruin her life, even though he spends all of his time trying to convince himself that that’s exactly what he wants to do.

And, if you fall in love with A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon like I did, there are two other books in the Glimmer Falls series that bring back familiar characters.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

If there was ever a BookTok book that I desperately want to see turned into a movie or series, it’s The Silent Patient. I love a good thriller, and it doesn’t come more thrilling than a seemingly perfect marriage destroyed when the wife shoots her husband five times in the face and then never talks again. Your first question will undoubtedly be “why?” but you’re going to have many more as you read through this masterpiece.

What The Silent Patient turns into is a story of obsession and deep secrets. It’s filled with twists and turns that you probably won’t see coming, but even if you do, that doesn’t take away from how clever they actually are. I cannot recommend The Silent Patient enough, you won’t regret curling up to read it, and you’re unlikely to ever forget it.

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