RANKING EVERY POPULAR BOOKTOK BOOK I'VE READ 📚 plus a chat on the perceptions of TikTok books 👀

RANKING EVERY POPULAR BOOKTOK BOOK I'VE READ 📚 plus a chat on the perceptions of TikTok books 👀
🎥 My Patreon: www.patreon.co...
📚 My Manga/Comics/Video Games Channel: / @fullmetaanalysis
🌎 My Collab Channel (for charity!): / @worldhoppers8021
📖 My Book: www.elliotbroo...
📸 My Instagram: / ebnovels
#booktok #tiktokbooks #rankingbooktokbooks

[@ebnovels]

If you'd like to skip over the discussion portion, go to 7:19 :)

[@Ella24-007]

Scorpio Rising by Fibi Marie. Blends both.

[@rem2173]

a book recommendation; The first sister

[@ToriMorrow]

Really appreciate your comments on the perception of TikTok books. Although KZbin is still my main place to create content, I’ve been posting on booktok for a couple years now, and the adult scifi/fantasy community is huge! They’ve read all the booktube staples that we love here but also many underrated and indie published sff. It’s a great community 🥰

[@GetSetGoSami]

The Cruel Prince Trilogy was a ABSOLUTELY AMAZING for meh, I agree the main story doesn't start in the beginning but once you reach THAT scene in the middle....you can't leave the series.

[@lorifrederick2367]

Well, i am new to fantasy genre. I'm 64. I would go into B&N and see tables of BookTok books, a whole table of an author who i really don't like. And tables of "Chick Lit, Summer Beach Reads, etc" I got really tired of all that. Been there, done that. I picked up Fantasy, and i was hooked. And found great KZbin channels, like Elliot's. I have been reading a ton of her recommendations. Thank you, Elliot! 😊

[@ericccky]

Booktube was once labeled as girls who read their silly YA books with no substance and I don’t like that a lot of booktubers are doing the same thing to booktok and I hate when booktubers look down on booktokers. Their hatred towards booktok is unwarranted and for someone who thinks they have a better taste, they sure aren’t acting like one. + they seem to forget that a LOT of booktokers are young creators and most of us liked reading “cringey” or “tropey” books at that time.

[@jensenwahlquist]

One of the reasons why Elliot is my favorite booktubers is because she’s so respectful about whatever she’s talking about

[@holly_gmTwb]

Exactly. Let them read, duscuss, market, and create books. This is good! Who cares if it isn't someone's style or preference? There are so many worse things people could do other than that. The whole pearl clutching over books is so ridiculous. Just as much as the superiority complex is on the other side of that coin. Like calm down. It's just books. 😂

[@laceyisnotreading]

I’m glad you’re having a discussion around the biases around booktok and its readers! Ultimately, there’s a lot of misogyny wrapped up in the way booktube talks about booktok. All it is, is another space to talk about books, and booktube is largely very resistant to admitting that it’s not very different from here. I’ll also argue that booktok generally reads more diversely and has more elaborate discussions around social issues. They call out racist authors, they call out non-inclusive feminism, they get deeply involved in humanitarian movements and don’t try to coddle privileged people who may be made uncomfortable by those things. And I have huge respect for that. So when people reduce the entirety of booktok to vapid women who just wanna read smut, that’s not only a misogynistic implication on its own, but it devalues the community that’s developed. Additionally, let’s look at those communities that do exist. Yes, there is a dark romance and large romance community. It is in no way even close to the full extent of booktok, but it is big. This is a good thing. This exists because of how non-inclusive other spaces can be. They gather there because places like booktube DO turn up their noses at romance, smut, and people who are unafraid to admit that’s their goal when reading. There isn’t anything wrong with that. There’s also this assumption that people who read things like that and people who read Sanderson can’t be the same people? When that’s entirely not true? As though people would only ever read straight up romance by choice because they can’t comprehend anything more complex? And that’s deeply misogynistic, a lot of the bias is rooted in a mass distrust of women’s opinion, and I’m often even hearing these attitudes from people who haven’t even read so-called “booktok” books. Disclaimer, I’m generalizing here while also understanding that this doesn’t apply to everyone by a long shot. I just don’t see that many people talking about booktok and why it exists the way it does very respectfully. It’s crazy too because booktok has plenty of toxicity, I won’t act like it doesn’t, but it doesn’t talk about other platforms like this, which makes booktube and book twitter look mostly jealous? As someone who occupies all of these spaces, I just wish we could stop having the same discussions about the wrong things (“booktok = bad and here’s why” except it’s a whole 40 min video from someone who didn’t do any research and is just riffing their frustrations) and try to be more inclusive. I don’t think people even realize how mean they sound sometimes. I’m not asking like sci-fi authors to become romance people; I’m just suggesting that maybe we stop talking about booktok and the people who occupy it in this way, because it isn’t fair, and it’s mostly a one-sided battle that the other side didn’t even choose to be in. So thank you for this! I love your content and I feel like you’re one of the handful of creators here on booktube who does a great job of reexamining your involvement and experimenting and trying new things, or even just trying to understand them through an empathetic and analytical eye. Thank you!

[@aquaabouttogetfunky]

See, someone gets it.

[@alexisc3658]

this is well said. i ultimately had to get off booktok because tiktok itself was bad for me, but like all internet communities it is a hugely diverse space. While i don't like romance in general, there is so much more to tiktok than just the "popular" books. I found a lot of books on there i would not have read otherwise including a TON of great non-fiction recommendations which i really appreciate. it is all about who you follow and there are some great creators on there.

[@laceyisnotreading]

@@alexisc3658 Exactly! There are creators for everybody. I’d argue even that there are more options because it’s so much harder to build a platform on KZbin than TikTok? So you have a more broad variety of people you can get ideas from. I think I’ve engaged with more classics and nonfiction creators there than anywhere else because the niches go even deeper into sub-niches. I also totally get the needing to step back though, I do a lot too. That’s healthy!

[@nicoleneedschocolate]

I think one reason why the other social media book communities punch down at BookTok is because of its influence (for better or worse) in the publishing industry. If something takes off on BookTok, it seems like agents will snap up every half baked copycat that crosses their desk. And that’s okay, except then it means the market is flooded with the interests of niche BookTok communities while choking out the stories/writers others of us might like to see. BookTok has caused the publishing industry to pivot so hard in some genres and it leaves a lot of us in the dust. It’s not booktok’s fault, but as readers on the outside it can be incredibly frustrating and that frustration misleads people to be rude, condescending, or even abusive towards the other community. 🤷‍♀️

[@lillian.24388]

My favorite fantasy romances that i think are, mostly perfectly balanced would be the Crowns of Nyaxia Duology, the first book being Serpent and the wings of night, and then also Lightlark by Alex aster i LOVE, but as the series goes on the romance gets heavier, for my 3rd fav, it would be Crescent city, the romance is very slow burn, but its THERE. Anyways, those 3 are TOTALLY WORTH looking at, they are my fav fantasy romances!! The Serpent and the wings of Night: Adult Fantasy Romance, Vampires, Trials, Secrets/betrayals. It is about a human girl who lives as the Vampire kings, sort of, "daughter", and he takes care of her and trains her for this "Kejari" in which she has to fight against vampires to win the prize. Lightlark: Trials, Mystery, Danger, More romance leaning, Slight love triangle, just 2 main male interests. This girl Isla crown goes to compete in these trials on the island of light Lark that only appears once every 100 years.All of these leaders of different areas in this world have to go compete in these trials to win a prize. Crescent City, House of earth and blood: Lots of world building, very fantasy action driven, slowburn romance, murder mystery, enemies to lovers. The female main character loses somebody close to her and then embarks on a journey of murder, mystery, and finding out who she really is, she has to team up with the main male character to figure out some sort of mystery. Lots of different characters.

[@henrywayne5724]

Mistborn and Way Of Kings? Those are now booktok books? Omg you learn something new each day. All in all, it's great leverage for Sanderson for those adaptations lol.

[@reminiscentoss681]

I think part of the negative rep booktok gets is partially due to how unavoidable a very certain corner of it is made out to seem. I can't access most bookish areas (my library catalogue, online store fronts, Goodreads, the bookstore, and the bus on one memorable occasion) without having the contemporary romance/romantasy/spicy hits of the season being displayed front and centre. So I think part of it is the overexposure (Hana's Dark Spicy Books and How Purity Culture Took Over Booktok video was a really good look at this). The other is that I think for most people on booktok this is maybe the first time they've really been consumed by the hobby, and they're exploring it and having fun (as they should!) but that leaves a certain disconnect between this newer subgroup of readers, and people who've been doing it for longer, and who have a different set of criteria for what makes a book engaging to them. It's less "this set of readers are lesser" and more that we have a certain corner of booktok that isn't representative of readers as a whole overshadowing all the other corners.

[@nicoleneedschocolate]

I think you’re spot on. A gal I know found acotar through BookTok and she was instantly hooked. She went out and bought the first book for her two closest friends-that’s how seriously she loves them. And since then she’s been delving deeper into fantasy romance. I’m happy for her and I’m glad she’s reading, but I’ve been reading fantasy for decades and the books she wants to read aren’t what I want to read. But she, and many others on TikTok, vote quite loudly with their $$$ so the publishers are more likely to pay heed to their interests. And because our interests on paper overlap just enough, it means I struggle to find anything I like because our criteria are extremely different.

[@kartik3719]

As someone who lives in a country where TikTok is banned, I find this whole perception thing very funny

[@GwenCooper-l1b]

I am not sure why we associate popular as bad?

[@NonAnonD]

Whoa this is a different type of Elliot content and i am HERE for it

[@shinumi85]

There's a few Booktok girls who gush about Sanderson in their reels and then gush about Dark Romance, Fantasy Romance, BL, some Robin Hobb in between, they're all over the place... but they have read most of Sanderson's books... and every single spicy dark fairy romance out there as well (I don't like spicy books so I filter the romance out)

[@RoxandWool]

Not magical compainions, but Shady Hollow by Juneau Black is a cozy mystery, but instead of people, they are all forest animals 😊

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

I had no idea sword of Kaigen was considered a booktok book lol 😱

[@S-jw2wv]

I saw "No Longer Human" by Dazai and "I Who Have Never Known Men" by Harmon on several booktok lists recently. I think anything is game to be labeled "booktok" now. Lol.

[@niinaajokatzenborn8445]

Acotar spoiler- My thing with Book is how can the love between Fey & Tamlin be strong& true enough to break a crush but not in the 2nd book. I had the romance change. Why build up Tamlin just to change it to the guy that drugged her under the mountain & pimped her out to piss off Tamlin... while claiming Rhys knew she was his mate at the fire but pimps her out. Cute. Lol. Wtf.

[@RainCraver]

it would have been soooo much more interesting if the 2 love interests were normal and Feyre had an actual hard choice to make. Like if she was in love with Tam, but mates with Rhys... not just character assassinating Tamlin to make the decision obvious 🙄 and that's not going through the crappy things Rhys did and does and the fandom collectively ignores 🤣

[@MissKapanadze]

See I never liked Tamlin in book 1 and liked Rhys the second he showed up in book 1. Something about Feyre’s and Tamlin’s relationship was odd and I was confused about how it was developing and his abusive and possessive tendencies were making me uncomfortable although I couldn’t quite put a finger on what exactly was wrong at the time. And with Rhys it always seemed clear to me that he was putting on a mask and there was something kind underneath. However I do agree that the writing of his character assassination was too heavy handed and unnecessary. I think Rhys’s character would’ve won over even if Tamlin’s writing stayed the same as book 1. He didn’t need to be portrayed as this crazy psycho for Rhys to be a better option.

[@RainCraver]

@@MissKapanadze if they wouldn't have been mates Rhys's actions would have been worse than Tamlin's. He made her agree to a deal to steal her from spring every month 😂 that was soooo unnecessary and he didn't know she was his mate yet, he did it solely to spite Tamlin. The only reason why he didn't bring her to Amaranta and briught the Claire girl... was plot armour and the possibility of her breaking the curse that affected him too. If Feyre hadn't been main character, Rhys would've had no problem sacrificing her too for his ppl in Velaris. but main character never dies I guess.. And the worst offender to me is keeping her in the dark about her pregnancy. I'm sorry, no, i would have been out there the second I found out the truth, truth that did not even come from him 😂 I agree that Feyre and Tamlin just didn't work. but the treatment of Tamlin and his court was atrocious. Feyre lied to them all, she went into Inathe's mind and made her lie to everyone that she had fled for her life from Tamlin and she'll be back to save them... all the while not giving a damn and letting Hibern soldiers raid as they pleased in an disorganized court. it was again very uncalled for, and it drives me insane that she sees herself like some holier than thou saviour 😂 Rhys's court, besides Velaris, is also a joke, part court of nightmares, part mountains where females get their wings clipped. but both Feyre and Rhys are seen are oh so good saviours... while half the court suffers, but, hey, they're buying houses and partying, yay... But Tamlin does the almost exact same shit Rhys did under the mountain, plays double agent against Hybern... to get his almost wife back, wife that NO ONE told him was mated to another 😂🤣 and the (almost) entire fandom calls him Tampon... makes sense... If Feyre and Rhys were better portrayed as morally gray, cunning and ambitious characters, I would like the books more. But as it stands, I hate Feyre, her entitled whiney sisters and wannabe feminist Rhys. I wish the books were in Mor's perspective...

[@RainCraver]

@@MissKapanadze I know this had nothing to do with what you were saying about Rhys and Tamlin, but I remembered how much I hate Feyre as a pov character 🤣🤣 I just gotta rant... Feyre was very worried about the spring court fae when the Tithe started again, but the court of nightmares can continue to suffer and Illyrian women who? 😂 treated as less than their male counterparts and having their wings cut? those don't matter, Rhys will deal with them.. sometime, maybe, it's hard to break tradition... but hey let's destroy Spring from the inside for funsies, teehee 😇 She cares less for the Night court ppl as their freaking High Lady, than she appeared to do for the Spring fae 🤣🤣I think there was a passage where she was complaining about having to answer letters or something to the court fea, and wanting like a secretary or something 😂😂 damn... life as High Lady is so tough, woe is me... these books are so annoying sometimes...

[@MissKapanadze]

@@RainCraver i can definitely see your points and don’t disagree with many of them. I’m not a fan of Feyre and hated how they treated the spring court. I was also really upset with Rhys in Court of Silver Flames and felt like most of the characters were butchered in that book. However, looking at book 1 in isolation, I got uncomfortable gut feelings about Tamlin that i couldn’t quite describe, I didn’t quite get the chemistry and there was something odd there. Then Rhys shows up and I got good vibes about him like he was pretending to be bad but really wasn’t. Something about his first few interactions with Feyre. I’m not saying Rhys made right decisions 100% of the time or that he isn’t flawed, but I immediately liked him better than Tamlin. I never felt like Rhys was going to put Feyre in more danger. I would’ve preferred if book 2 didn’t lay it on thick of how good Rhys is and how bad Tamlin is.

[@violaivy]

I'm so here for what you said at the beginning of the video, looking down on people who "don't read the right kind of books" is one of my least favourite behaviours in any bookish community. I use tiktok and see booktok stuff (among other things) and I get good recommendations specific to my taste. Most of them are not what many people think of when they say booktok books. But that's kinda the problem, many people who hate on booktok, aren't on it and it feels some people just jump on the booktok hate bandwagon for content. I think discussing the booktok phenomenon is interesting and there are good video essays on the topic. But making fun of it is just unnecessary. And a little weird when many booktok books are former or even currently very popular on Booktok.

[@saramm3765]

Fourth Wings writing style was my exact issue with When The Moon Hatched. All. These. Sentences.

[@teddy3809]

I found out about Brandon Sanderson & the cosmere on tiktok! Currently ~300 pgs out from finishing The Way of Kings for the first time :)

[@Wildflower1013]

It may be discussed more in future videos, but I really feel like we can't ignore the misogynistic undertones to the distaste for "booktok books". In the video, it was said as having an image of "that type of reader", but honestly speaking, most people, especially people who turn their nose up at booktok books, picture a young woman (teens, 20s, 30s) who follows trends, doesn't come across as particularly intellectual, and reads romance centered books. How much of that "nose turning up" stems from misogyny related to this image?? Some people can't imagine "that kind of reader" may also be interested in The Way of Kings and thus make it a "booktok book". Some people can't image "that kind of reader" could recognize a book of substance and make it popular. And what about everyone on booktok that doesn't fit that description? Why are we erase them? As Elliot said, the reading community should be welcoming to all, regardless of their chosen books. If a fantasy reader trashes another for liking ACOTAR and says they should read "something better", like Brandon Sanderson, that person isn't going to come out of that negative and rude interaction dying to explore Sanderson's work. They're going to associate it with jerks and stay away!

[@rebeccabielow3176]

Have you read The Roots of Chaos? It's high fantasy with several romances. I loved the writing and the worldbuilding and the romances

[@mikouf9691]

This was eye-opening. I read 6 of the books mentioned in this video. I loved 4 of them while you have them in Nah/Why. The 5th I loved is in your Yeah rank and the one that I would have ranked lowest is in your Yes. And then 2 books I DNFd are in your Yeah/Yes. I have to go think about this. 🤔 P.S. I don't use TikTok and I'm over 50 so I assume I'm older than the average BookTok viewer.

[@susan3009]

I’m 51 and I enjoy some of the booktok recs. But I have been burned, too. 😅

[@lorifrederick2367]

I have been following certain ppl on BookTok. I can't figure out that whole thing. I am 64. I fine-tuned my KZbin and TikTok. I love Elliot. Love the style of reviews and have gotten a lot of her recommendations.

[@arenkai]

I thought I was crazy when I got recommended Fourth Wing, and thought it was middle-school grade writing with smutty edge slathered on top of Eragon while seeing all the amazing reviews it got. I felt like I had just jumped in a parallel dimension or something.

[@motherofdogs593]

As far as fantasy romance that balances plot really well with the romance, Freya Marske's The Last Binding trilogy is in the sweet spot! I was totally in it for the plot, but the romances are very well done and definitely an important aspect. Very spicy, but if that's not a dealbreaker, it ticks all the boxes!

[@bethcole3264]

ACOTAR series is progressively smutty fae (which I love btw) but I disagree with TOG series. The beginning was meh. But the last 3 books in that series I think about daily.

[@evildoesnotsleep-x2b]

could you do a tier ranking for biographies you've read? that would be interesting to see. i'm currently reading Christine Blasey Ford's one and it's exceptional

[@mgregor7029]

I wasn’t the biggest fan of ACOTAR but the discussions online was what made me keep reading the other books. I wanted to know why it had everyone in a chokehold…So anyway, I ended up reading the whole Maasverse and have absolutely no regrets 😂. Can they be dumb at times? Sure. But I like the worlds and the characters.

[@Mad.E]

As someone who has never downloaded tiktok, all my info about it (and its trends) is secondhand, so that'll already skew the judgment into a certain direction What I will say though is that the books on your list that I've heard positive things or at least mixed reviews about I perceived to be generally popular no matter where you look, while the books on your list that I've heard more negative reviews about I've only ever seen on lists or in contexts that name them as something that's popular on tiktok specifically Don't entirely know what to make of this though

[@horonin]

I have a few of these on my TBR, but have only read ACOTAR so far. I am on the last book, Silver Flame (my wife, sister in law, and I have been reading them together), and I did really enjoy books 2 and 3, but if I had judged the series on the first book and not made the commitment to read it with my family I never would have made it to book 2. I didn't hate book 1, but I felt like I was wasting time I could have spent reading something great.

[@jensenwahlquist]

I was ready to throw my hat if throne of glass got ranked below acotar, even though yes I know this is personal opinion 😅 I’m satisfied to see them ranked on the same level and feel like it’s fair, even though I love throne of glass way more than acotar I can also acknowledge that there’s much better stuff out there I’m ready to explore and leave both those series behind :)

[@estack24]

I am not on Booktok but I usually borrow books from Libby based on popularity (which might or might not be because of Booktok). One book I was very surprised about was The Shadows Between Us. I had similar feelings as you did, I might have enjoyed it a little more. I had no idea it was a Booktok book though. 😅 Although after reading it, that doesn't surprise me.

[@arenkai]

I thought I was crazy when I got recommended Fourth Wing and thought it was middle-school grade writing with smutty edge slathered on top of Eragon while seeing all the amazing reviews it got. I felt like I had just jumped in a parallel dimension or something.

[@august3777]

I find all romances are fantasies. Just not high fantasies.

[@rvaishalee]

I would literally DIE if Appa and syl got a cute show/comic/book. OMG

[@camila1925]

That’s actually a very good and honest tier, I disagree about some books on the list but since it’s such a subjective list I really enjoyed seeing your thought process

[@mc_flurry_01]

Omgg loved this video also could u do a video where u could recommend books similar to the famous booktook books😊

[@morganjones2744]

Sword of Kaigen surprised me, but knowing how popular The Way of Kings and Mistborn are just in general, I'm not surprised its gained popularity on booktok where there are SO many different kinds of readers; people who read fantasy, people who read romance, those who read romantasy, historical fiction, literary fiction, etc. I've passed by many different readers who post stuff on tiktok, but a lot of the people who have a lot of views and followers tend to be spicy-romance/dark-romance/romantasy lovers. I have a lot of thoughts on why, and its very fascinating, and in some ways, a bit sad. But yeah, this was a great video, thanks for talking about it!

[@M_D2]

I would have thought Tress or Yumi would be on the list before Way of Kings

[@arenkai]

Especially Yumi since it's bascially Your Name in a deeper fantasy universe. And TikTok loves Your Name

[@TamilaSushkova]

I thought that both Sword of Kaigen and Blood over Bright Haven were picked up by a traditional publisher? I know that Indigo (Canadian chain bookstore) has like an exclusive edition of Sword of Kaigen which I have. I know that Blood over Bright Haven releases traditionally later this year (July, I believe?)

[@coffee_cookies_books]

Love the video. And just want to mention, your hair looks great today. :) I always enjoy seeing what you do with it.

[@Alder-Helga]

I'm also surprised about Sanderson! But he's just a unique author😊

[@bysarahalexander4426]

Have you read Daughter of No Worlds yet? I think that would be your type of Romantasy where the world building and larger plot play a larger role in the story.

[@motivateinspire1]

Sorry, what program are you using for organizing these books?? It looks like the perfect system for me to use as an everyday resource. And I’ve seen so many people using this visual method but nobody talks about what they use.

[@TheVioletWolf]

Soooo many people have recommended ACOTAR to me, so i tried it. Im more like you as in i want a better balance. Ididnt research it and i didnt ask my friends the genre, THEY said it was fantasy, so i was really excited tocstart something new. Its more romance heavy than i wanted it tocbe, amd the first half of the book was slow, ididnt enjoy the character or the prose, but as thinfs picked up, the prose even got better... Its like as soon as she brought the steam on, her qriting itseof blossomed. Since its not a genre i usually read, im tryong to giventhe series a chance. Currently in the middle of the second book of the ACOTAR series, but im feeling i need to supplement my desire for a more traditional fantasy story.

[@yapdog]

Hey, Elle! I've been missing your videos; my head's been buried so deep in code that my Black a$$ being crushed to diamond😳 Anyway, just checking in to say that I think it's great that your channel has grown so much, and it's fantastic to see that you're still going strong. I'll be back to show my support after I can dig myself out. Who knows... maybe I'll get around to actually reading--ick--Scythe? 😅 Keep up the greatness😁

[@KristaDrummond-g1n]

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith is my epitome of fantasy romance with 60% fantasy story and 40% romance you can't get enjoy of.

[@Srbthmlnsmth]

I learned about sword of kaigen recently from you and a few other creators I follow so I’m gonna check it out for sure!! This is an interesting and unusual video from you!!

[@jaymperr94]

The Kindred Saga is a fantasy book that happens to have a romance. The first is Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole

[@notnicci3689]

For fantasy romance recs, I'd recommend the Saints of Steel series! I've only read the first 2, but the world-building and romance story go hand in hand very well. Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries is also a good fantasy with a touch of romance.

[@MistbornPrincess]

Elliot, have you read the Jessica Day George “Princess of the Midnight Ball” trilogy?

[@majorsnail]

honestly the first tiktoks i saw from book lovers were mostly popular litfic so like yellowface, my year of rest and relaxation, the secret history, normal people etc (not sure if they ever actually said "booktok" explicitly but wouldn't be surprised as it's just a logical shortening of two words lol) and so when i saw "booktok" i assumed that was what it meant, until at some point i was startled to find that tiktokers were using it to mean "fairy smut" instead

[@heatherm561]

I had to share that just when I started choking on a bite of pancake (no joke), you mentioned you were going to talk about Yellowface. 😂 Obviously, I am okay now. 😊 Thank you for the video.

[@aldaron1021]

A few years back I watched an Elliot video regarding fantasy books and there was a book about a blood tree that was dying and there were some elves etc. I cannot find what was the name of the book. Can someone help.

[@ninamckinley]

I just recently finished Funny Story from Emily Henry (my first book from her) and I really loved it.

[@violaivy]

I also REALLY hated Achilles! I think some of it is intentional but I don't think we're supposed to loathe him lol. I read Circe and loved it. On the whole I prefer it as a book, but not being so frustrated with a major character helped.

[@GetSetGoSami]

For ACOTAR, I am with you, everything you said was absolute truth. I actually don't find it preety realistic too, i got into reading slump fue to her writing and well it was fantasy in Romance book rather then the opposite.

[@claudialandry3792]

You summed up so well how I felt about Fourth Wing! I want more of it but just the dragons please!!!

[@mariasofiasantos3895]

I despise ACOTAR because I was told it was one of the best things fantasy had to offer. My hopes for it were waaaay high. I found everything about it very basic and all characters are annoying. Then SJM fans told me that the second book was the best thing ever. I push through it and it was slightly more interesting BUT still so effing boring and basic. I also read the third book and when they spent half the book waiting for a meeting... I knew I couldn't stand anothrt SJM book ever again. Her writing is so bad and her stories lack any nuance or complexity. I completely agree with you regarding A Song of Achilles. Achilles was unbearable. Great writing but everything else was a disappointment 😢

[@Mad.E]

ohh I love finding someone else who didn't vibe with the romance/relationship in The Song of Achilles

[@mimasan85]

The perception about Booktok depends on the content you watch. My Booktok algorithm only shows me Fantasy booktokers and a few Fantasy Romance ones. On KZbin I pretty much watch 50/50. So in my case the perception about Booktok being mostly romance leaning doesn't apply.

[@laceyisnotreading]

THIS! The TikTok algorithm is very specific. It plays around sometimes, but it’s largely very good at picking up what you engage with. If you hate-watch a bunch of fantasy-romance content, it’s going to show you fantasy-romance. And when it does show you things outside of your norm, it’s pretty easy to correct it if you search exactly what you’re looking for and engage with the right videos.

[@Sophia-ss8gr]

On booktok, as on booktube, bookstagram, ecc. you simply have to find your type of content creators. I tend to read mostly fantasy, thrillers and historical fiction therefore I look for creators who read the same genres. I know I won't find anything in common with someone who mainly reads horrors, sci-fi, contemporary romance, ecc. and it's up to me to find my corner of the bookish internet.

[@abbeyevangelou]

Hi as someone who hasnt read all of these books, in future videos could you give a quick synopses of them before talking about or ranking them! x

[@quirkylcsw]

I’m not surprised about any of the books you mentioned! When I think of BookTok, I think of anyone sharing about books on TikTok. There’s corners for all genres of TT! Your FYP is in your control (mostly) based on the content you consume.

[@mastersal4644]

I have no real perception of booktok as I don’t frequent the platform. However based in KZbin videos I do think there is a conflation of booktok with romance. And romance being crapped on is an age old issue. We have just modernized it to a new tech platform. And romance being the best selling genre in North America - it would make sense that on average those book pop up more.

[@amyw973]

If you want fantasy with romance i loved raymond e feist and janny wurts - daughter of the empire. A mix of feudal japan and the magician world. Mainly epic political story with minimal magic but it has a sprinkle of romance that feels real. I havent read any more than the first magician book but didnt stop me from enjoying this. Could be one to try.

[@tinyprettymoon]

Out of this selection of BookTok books, I’ve only read two (Cruel Prince trilogy which isn’t my favorite Holly Black, but I did enjoy it, and Six of Crows duology, which is supposed to have a third at some point) and tried to read Babel but I had to dnf. But SoC is one of the things I read last year that was so bad, imo, and I still think about it from time to time. Hated it, but the ending made me intrigued enough to read Crooked Kingdom… which was even worse.

[@priiifrg]

Wow imagine saying Six of Crows is bad with this much confidence. But I guess everyone is entitled to an opinion, even if it's a wrong and/or dumb opinion :)

[@ddelmazo]

I agree with you on Song of Achilles. It was meh for me due to Achilles personality. Achilles had no growth or attributes I found sympathetic. I just couldn’t click with it.

[@thebookaura]

The Shadows between Us was so fun. Ridiculous and fun and it's like reading about bad people doing bad things.

[@sbu_englishclub]

Glad you liked Babel-I just picked it up not knowing much about it and was worried it’s secretly awful

[@lizhart81]

I'm not on tiktok, but I do see some of the content as KZbin shorts. If I see a "Booktok made me buy it!" tag attached to a book in a bookshop or online, I tend to assume it's either YA or new adult, and probably not aimed at me. I also tend to assume that if the publisher is relying on that tag to sell the book, then either the plot, the writing, or both will not be the strongest 🤷‍♀️. I was surprised to see some older high fantasy and classical retellings mixed in with the YA, contemporary romance and romantasy I was expecting. Edit: I completely agree about Achilles in Song of Achilles - I know that canonically he's a bit of a shit, but I was somehow vainly hoping he'd be a bit less of a total dickhead in this 😂. I respect Madeline Miller for sticking with the source material, and I love her writing, but at the same time, I enjoyed this book much less than Circe.

[@carriegarlock9194]

The only reason I will keep up with the Fourth Wing series is for the dragons. I don't care about the humans at all I just want to know the story of the dragons

[@melanie6759]

I didn’t realize it was unpopular to like Yellowface more than Babel, because that’s my opinion too 😋 I was thoroughly captivated by Yellowface and couldn’t put it down. I really liked Babel too but not *as much as* Yellowface

[@kimdaniel4539]

Another great video. Love the new hair style

[@dianamanana]

Great video! Thank you!

[@amberjackson101]

I have the same exact opinion on The Cruel Prince trilogy!

[@clareisakson]

So glad to hear Six of Crows is good because i really liked the tv series

[@lizzyp1414]

100% agree with the Nah tier, although I also would've added Legends & Lattes to Nah as well. I agree with most of the rankings actually. But Divine Rivals does deserve to be in the top tier. 😄

[@somethingbig3797]

As someone who has read all of the Stormlight Archives, Mistborn, and ACOTAR, I felt like SA was okay but lacked good romance. Sorry, I did not like Shallan and Adolin's romance scenes. I did visibly cringe while reading it. Navani and Dalinar did nothing for me as well (even though Navani would end up being my favorite character by the end of Rhythm of War). ACOTAR was just too much meandering and too many pointless romantic subplots. I really feel like that book should have been half as long. I did like the romance better though. The one book I read this year that really had a great balance of romance and fantasy was and indie book called The Varcross Key. It was recommended to me because it's gay and has the sweetest relationship. When I started reading it, I thought for sure that this was NOT going to be the book for me, but it ended up being the best story I've read so far this year. I honestly couldn't believe it. Some of these indie books are just wild. I hope that book takes off because wow. I am definitely going to read The Sword of Kaigen. I'm surprised you were meh on Song of Achilles. I thought it was decent. It was a 4 star to me. The other book I read this year that I adored was In The Life of Puppets. It was another book I expected to hate but ended up loving!

[@morganjones2744]

oh, where is your community tab?

[@OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels]

I'm a bit shocked I've actually read 7 of these (Sanderson, Kuang, Klune, Wang, Baldree). Interesting stuff.

[@MichelleMM11]

Have you read The Witcher series? I think it’s a pretty good mix

[@Laf631]

I recently tried a SJM book, and I didn't hate it. It read to me like a less good Sanderson. The prose was just a bit more clunky, the characters were a bit thinner, but there was an attempt to build out an interesting world that felt complex with an interesting magic element, but she didn't seem to know quite how to do those pieces, and there were a lot of parts that were just "this magic exists now because the plot demands it." I think if I had come to her at 16 rather than as an adult, I would have connected to it more.

[@SvrakaMagpie]

The pain I feel at seeing Song of Achilles on the same tier as ACOTAR is... I understand your reasoning but..... Owie

[@littlebookbin]

Girl you should continue acotar then. I found that the next two books were much more balanced. I mean the second one has like 1 and a half sex scenes in almost 700 pages

[@SaveLockwoodNCo]

If you want a great book series you should check out Lockwood and Co by Jonathan Stroud.

[@kueri440]

hey Elliot . I love your new hair style.

[@giantcupofcoffee]

I think internet spaces in general elevate things that align with fandoms. Like there’s no dialed-in Ann Patchett fandom. I also think it’s going to skew young because that’s just who’s online, and because tiktok is actually hostile to people over 30. Ugh I hate Song Of Achilles. An author who changes Achilles manner of death is missing the point. And humanizing Achilles is also a misstep; he’s not human. In this book he’s just a guy named Achilles. Andddd jeez Babel lol. It felt like being lectured by a 21-year-old at a house party about stuff I already agree with. And it just came off like Kuang thought she had something to say to older academics and she’s just not old or experienced enough yet. Mostly she needs to sit down until she admits that Babel contains translation errors.

[@Tessa_Ru]

ngl i definitely have a biased against booktok books now. I didn't at first, I was originally really excited that there seemed to be some cooler romance-leaning stories. But so far all the "romantasy" style books people raved about and told me I NEEDED to read seem written for illiterates easily taken in by mediocre pronography, or books that are mostly written for people who listen to books, and don't actually like reading them (I like audio books btw, they're amazing for commutes, or when my eyes are hurting - the curse of reading too much in my younger years lol. BUT there is a certain selection of poorly written books that really rely on a narrator's skill to give them any emotion or uniqueness. THESE books are terrible and seem to get really popular with younger social-media goers, and I'm so tired of them getting recommended to me all the time. T_T ). I'm working on getting over that bias, because you're right, there's a few books popping up that don't fit into the same "author turned their reylo fanfic into a story for easy money," and I don't think it's really fair I shove them all into that category at first glance lmao.

[@holly_gmTwb]

I was burned by a terrible romantasy that had a lot of hype. I was going to DNF it, but continued so my SO could enjoy the comedic aspects of the situation. Now, I always get a sample on my Kindle before I buy the print book itself. Just started Ascendant, by Miller this way. Like it so far. It will grace my shelves till I keel over. That other book, though 😂

[@Laf631]

Totally on the same page with you about House in the Cerulean Sea. The more I thought about it, the more it didn't work for me, and I prefer books that you can linger and comb over and find something better there.

[@niinaajokatzenborn8445]

Sticker help- use your hair dryer on low & slow peel

[@Srbthmlnsmth]

My comment didn’t show up :( adding a new one here for the algo ❤️ always love ur content

[@Thedorkyreader]

I'm so glad you disliked Fourthwing. I would have doubted every review henceforth, had you chosen to up this book lol. I couldn't finish this book.. it was a strong DNF and I almost never do that. The hype on this book is Crazy..

[@lissavanhouten6628]

Achilles was still sort of a bad guy in the Greek myth.

[@flawlessorca75]

TOG on Nah... oof lol and cruel prince above it..........

[@Nasser851000]

Does Elliot use Tik Tok?

[@haakonts]

I could not even finish Sword of Kaigan. I don't understand what is good about it? The world makes no sense, the characters are mostly incredibly dumb. The only redeeming character is the mother, even though her choices makes no sense. DNF. On the other hand Babel is top notch.

[@AnastasiaWyrmberg]

I feel alone in liking yellowface as well

[@starlasell5698]

❤📚📚♥️

[@lunarbookling2139]

the first ACOTAR is definitely NOT the book you should judge the series for! If you haven't, pleaaaase read the next two books. especially the third is so political and action packed. I wish I could spoil you but.. Well.. Tamlin is ..mmhh.. we don't like him lets put it that way.

[@beyondtheradio]

I cannot stand TJ Klune's writing. As an MM romance writer, he kind of gives us a bad name. Really hope someone besides him and the RWRB get some notoriety in this subgenre.

[@chrisalluna6733]

why don't YOU write "That" book!!!?🤨

[@niinaajokatzenborn8445]

She did dummy. She has books out, do research before commenting how uneducated you are.

[@niinaajokatzenborn8445]

It's in description- lol Jesus christ you need a job dude.