the ultimate guide to tiktok books 🕮 which ones should you read?

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tiktok books are everywhere nowadays, but which booktok book recommendation should you actually read? I hope to have provided a fun little overview for you all in this video :)
🌼 s o c i a l m e d i a
• goodreads: / leonie-dams
• twitter: @thebookleo
• instagram: @thebookleo
• business enquiries: [e-mail]
🌺 a b o u t m e
Hi! My name is Leonie and I am a 25 year old girl who loves talking about books! From YA to non-fiction to classics, I read it all (although fantasy will always be my fave). I live in the Netherlands and go to university, but make booktube videos in my spare time :)
🌹 m u s i c
🎵 Music : A dim streetlight - vio.dio
✔️ KZbin Link : • Video
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🎵 Music : Dark Hill - vio.dio
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🎵 Music : Last Kingdom - vio.dio
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[@val.daffodils]

I TRY not to judge people based on the books they buy (as a bookseller), but gosh, Colleen Hoover, I SWEAR.

[@tobiokageyama1152]

u r so real for this, colleen hoovers books are just.. bad + her cult like following are all impossible

[@kesleyloy9735]

Not to mention she’s a homophobe.

[@giannaminocha]

UR SO REAL BC SAME

[@sineadcarty7256]

No you are absolutely allowed judge me for buying beloved with one last stop

[@jiyaaaaaaaaa]

@@kesleyloy9735 she is??

[@Cevin.]

“Don’t read sally Rooney if you don’t like characters who don’t know how to communicate with each other” THANK YOU. Ugh, I love so much how honest and thorough you seem with these kinds of videos. Saved me so much time & money

[@sineadcarty7256]

When you find out she's Irish this makes a LOT of sense. It's a whole cultural thing here which sucks

[@yelenskareads]

@@sineadcarty7256 Can you elaboratd? Im curious :)

[@sineadcarty7256]

@@yelenskareads ok ok The shirt answer I that Irish people refuse to communicate The long answer is that between everything we have a MASSIVE culture of bottling everything up to save our lives and not saying our feelings and leaving the other party to mind read our interactions. I unsurprisingly, as an autistic person, HATE THIS SO MUCH AND IT ANNOYS ME MORE THAN A LOT OF THINGS hhhh Obviously though, in trying to wrote what she sees as normal relationships, Rooney is just exposing the rest of the western world to what is a largely Irish thing.

[@hambonefakenamington69]

that's exactly why i despised watching normal people even though i understood why people would enjoy it

[@ginat.8064]

thank you! Also, I just couldnt root for the characters in normal people because they thought so negatively of each other.

[@kenziewilson1245]

I loved song of Achilles not just because of the crying factor bc I partially knew I wasn’t going to cry, but because of the story. Ik it’s not like mythologicaly accurate but it was still such an amazing book that catered to my interests and had some of my favorite tropes

[@24studiosbrm]

👍

[@raphael8383]

I so agree, The Song of Achilles is my favourite book and will forever have its tattoo in my heart because it was just written beautifully, I love Patroclus’ character. The romance is so beautiful and the ending just makes you so sad, the quotes Madeline Miller writes to explain how they feel about certain things omfg it tears your heart out. One of the best books, it’s so aesthetically pleasing too.

[@ggbonnie030]

I guess that didn’t bother me since I don’t know too much about Greek mythology. But I loved The Song of Achilles. It was so well written and emotionally gripping. I couldn’t put it down and I finished it in one night.

[@BunnyandMoon]

I don't consider it a good *romance* book because Achilles... is an awful person. But other than that, it's a good read.

[@daniahhamdan9753]

I didn't cry, I just loved Patroclus' unreliable narration and the way he views Achilles

[@FullNesi]

As someone who tries to avoid booktok...I was amazed to learn that apparently my year in books consisted on TJR and Hot Sad Girls recommendations... and honestly it was an amazing book year 😂

[@24studiosbrm]

😂

[@danijones8314]

Same! I adore TJR. If you don’t mind, do you have any recommendations? My collection needs some new additions & I’m not active on TikTok😂

[@AkshadLahariya]

Exactly I don't even use tiktok and now I know that I am into hot sad girl space 🌌 and I am a boy but honestly I am great TJR fan

[@3choblast3r4]

@@AkshadLahariya Naaahh bro.. this kid is real lol... thanks for the laugh kid.. idk what your youtube channel is about .. but it doesn't really matter I guess

[@luvswinwin]

@@AkshadLahariya Me too. tjr is such an amazing author.

[@schneggobart9220]

As a bookseller, this was so helpful. I feel like recommending these books will be sooo much easier now. So thanks for that! 🙇 But, since "Cain's Jawbone" was published, exactly three people have managed to put the pages in the correct order. :)

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

This reminds me that...I wanted to try and solve this book someday, but I forgot what it was called!!!!! 🤣🤣

[@christinaa8531]

I believe the 4th one solved it during quarantine!

[@victorvale1015]

The competition closes soon too

[@ohwell6421]

i remember jack edwards giving it a try, i forgot if he succeeded or not tho xd

[@christinaa8531]

@@ohwell6421 He was unsuccessful. In the first part I think he matched a couple of pages but in general this is extremely difficult to solve and he just did it for fun~ ☺️

[@Sssss-nm3hh]

Top 2 things I need more in books: 1. Fun and relaxed female characters 2. Well written romance between two women

[@twentypaphøniess]

read the priory of the orange tree!! (it has 2, idk about 1 hahah)

[@lachemineepingouin3635]

Sarah Waters is nice for the second. Her books lean on the dark side but are very well written historical fictions. Affinty and Fingersmith are my personal favorites. But it is quite a struggle to find wlw that's not horrid and written for men. If you're okay with bonecrushingly heavy queer undertones and gothic horror I'd also recommend Haunting of Hill House.

[@lavnderam]

@@mushruem personally, i really liked afterlove, the first half of it is about how these 2 teenagers navigate through their relationship while one of them is a woc lesbian who has been used as an experiment before who thus didn't believe the other main character was all that serious in the start, and the second half is about how one of them died (the lesbian woc who's btw the Narrator of the book) (which is actually not a spoiler because that's written on the back lol) and how she can't get back to her gf bc of some afterlife rules but they do get back together and it gets angsty for a bit and stuff haha

[@bananafishsticks3579]

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo pls it’s my favorite ;-;

[@yasminechoerryscherry3701]

@@lee-chan3973 ohhh I have that one on my tbr! I read The falling in love montage last year and I LOVED IT because of how funny and real and honest and also sad it was, like it literally made me cry and laugh at the same time

[@ceciliagundrum9704]

For Song of Achilles I know you didn’t read it but it should have been expanded. Sure, some ppl read it bc of the crying factor but I know a lot of ppl read it bc it was really good. It blew up bc of the crying AND BECAUSE IT WAS SO WELL DONE. One of my favorites, if not my favorite book ever. So well written, beautiful story and romance.

[@desmodeus2866]

@Sofía Jiménez even if you didn't like it, there's no way it's the worst one you ever read lmao

[@priiifrg]

I wanted to love it so bad but couldn't get over how fanfic-y it was, like something they took directly from Wattpad. I DNFed with pain in my heart 🥲 huge disappointment.

[@camicsc7738]

Agreed

[@cupofjohoe]

Also just a general interest in greek mythology

[@jfarmerswatermelon6061]

@@priiifrg Overall i enjoyed it but yeah wasn't big fan of how romance was done imo Circe is way better

[@powerpuff4ever]

It’s kind of hilarious to me because I feel like a lot of Tik Tok books are books that blew up on booktube a few years ago or books that would blow up on booktube if Tik Tok wasn’t a thing. It’s like same stuff, different era/platform yet people avoid one for the other like there’s some huge difference

[@24studiosbrm]

👏

[@allisonfagan3835]

I have been thinking this exact thing and you put it to words THANK YOU

[@24studiosbrm]

@@allisonfagan3835 👍

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

I'm not sure that's true...when it comes to smuttok reccomends tho. I feel like booktube is a whole different vibe, in the spicy department; except when something gets noticed specifically _because_ of its booktok popularity making it into tiktok reposts on yt shorts or whatever. But maybe that's just my own misperception, idkk!! _DEFINITELY know of a few tiktok famous books that were famous on booktube just years earlier tho 🤣_

[@Intothesunset89]

I find this is so true for ACOTAR, like I read that book idk 7/8 years ago and realised it wasn’t for me but booktok are like wow this new series is so good. Haha there’s lots more examples of this but ACOTAR is the one that comes to mind

[@sivolia1317]

Actually Sad Gay Romance is also a theme of my life

[@Lai_ba]

Me same.

[@amber1884]

Saaammeee bestie 💀

[@kookiecream7259]

Samee.

[@flowerinepriv]

mine's just Sad Gay

[@mushruem]

im a sad gay who wants romance so i live vicariously though books and if they hurt even better 🫠

[@rachelmerrie]

Every time you said “I personally hated this” I screamed THANK YOU. I’ve read 90% of these books this year and had very similar perspectives to you.

[@micalyiareads8490]

"Don't judge booktok by its algorithm friendly books" 100% There are so many pockets of creators who are creating content and speaking about more diverse books.

[@via1598]

I absolutely love Taylor Jenkins Reid as an author, not just for a specific book of hers and I'm so glad you mentioned her and agreed!

[@EvySversa]

It's just.. her books are really forgetable for me.. But to each their own !

[@randomone532]

@@EvySversa her books are good but not "AMAZING" soo..

[@tramya183]

its always something in her books that makes me mad. like in in the evelyn hugo book with her wanting men for sex, but cecelia for love. in daisy jones it’s the daisy/billy/camilla love triangle!! hate it, hate it, hate it!!!!

[@random7607]

As someone who read The Song of Achilles, long before it blew up on tiktok, I hate that it's got this tag attached of being popular because of the crying factor, because IT'S NOT TRUE. Like, yes, it made me cry, but it's also one of the most beautiful books I've ever read, and it's so much more. The writing is so beautiful I literally used to cry because of it 😭 But if you guys are hesitant to try the book because it's a "booktok" book, I still think you should try, because it's been years since I read it, and nothing tops this book for me.

[@singulariteas]

same, i read the book way before this tiktok boom ever happened and like yeah it made me cry obviously, but i was much more enthralled by how gorgeous madeline miller’s prose is. it might not be the most completely accurate book when it comes to the mythology but it’s definitely worth reading and not just because it has a sad ending 😭

[@mariaadelaidapineda9802]

The Song of Achilles may be not that historically/mythologically accurate, but it's one of the best books I've ever read, the scenarios and characters are so well built and that's why it is so "devastating" in some sort of way.

[@danijones8314]

TJR consistently creates masterpieces and that is a hill I will die on!!! She writes complex, nuanced characters so well. I also love how she explores different styles/storytelling tools; a biography in Evelyn Hugo, oral history in Daisy Jones & The Six, time jumps in Malibu Rising. I read each of the novels above in less that 3 days and plan on re-reading them once I finish Carrie Soto Is Back. I’m not active on TikTok but I’m so glad TJR popular on there! If you love the dichotomy of good and evil existing in one person, characters who fuck up and hurt other people but still make you feel for them, her novels are for you.

[@Sarah-ss6fr]

I thought exactly like you abt TJR until she let me down with Carrie Soto 😅 but Malibu rising is one of my fav book

[@danijones8314]

@@Sarah-ss6fr Oh no😭 I just ordered Carrie Soto & haven’t started reading it yet, that’s a bummer but hopefully I’ll like it. I agree Malibu Rising is incredible though. I’ve never been to Malibu but the descriptions are so vivid I feel like I can imagine it well.

[@jenniferv5148]

@@danijones8314 I read Carrie Soto in about 2 or 3 days. I think it’s more predictable than Evelyn Hugo but I really enjoyed it. Carrie is a character who knows what she wants and would be absolutely not likeable in real life. Also there is romance but it’s not the focus of the story.

[@danijones8314]

@@jenniferv5148 That’s my favorite kind of character haha so thank you for the info🙏🏻 I read malibu rising at a similar speed, I think her writing style just makes it easy to keep reading lol

[@CeCeBookworm07]

I honestly hated Daisy Jones. The whole interview format made me feel disconnected from the characters because she was trying to use WAY to many characters at once so I never felt like I was connected to any of them (which was why I loved Evelyn Hugo, in spite of that also being similarly formatted like an interview). Also I just hated Daisy and Billy, Daisy never felt as nuanced as Evelyn and more or less got whatever she wanted with no growth or consequences and Billy was just kind of the worst. I do understand why people like it though, I just personally didn’t.

[@mizzbrwneyez89]

A CREATOR WHO IS THIS THOROUGH IS *THE* GOAT !

[@LunaWho47]

So excited to see "S." on here! It came out about 8 years ago, and I got it for Christmas that year and I read it through 3 times in 4 days. To this day, I still think about it constantly and the prose from that novel and some of the statements the two characters have in the annotations in the margins plays through my mind. That book is just SO creative and I'm glad to see booktok is highlighting it to readers even now.

[@najawin8348]

Have you read any other ergodic literature?

[@aneya1517]

Same same ❤️

[@zephyr2266]

It's called "S. The Ship of Theseus" apparently

[@najawin8348]

@@zephyr2266 I don't think it is? Depends on what database you're using. Amazon just says _S._ _Ship of Theseus_ is the book within the book.

[@MsGloomyLamp]

Same!! S is still one of my absolute favourites!

[@vladabalinsky7276]

The Secret History feels like an old friend to me every time I think about it because of how long I sat reading it and being immersed in its world. I was quite sad when I finished the book because it was as if I was parting with my friend.. also I read it in digital format so I didn't even notice like 700 pages go by.

[@edithspieler]

Loved this comment because I felt exactly the same after finishing "The Goldfinch", also by Donna Tartt. It was the first lenghty book I read in years and I got so cozy in it that the plot really became secondary to me. Can't way to start reading "The Secret History".

[@Piriah5678]

One of my absolute favourite book ever, I really wish there was more books like it

[@thewolfandherbooks]

First it was Twilight, next it was Fifty Shades of Gray, now it's Colleen Hoover + SJM. Every few years, a new generation of readers rises up and has questionable taste in books. I say let them have their trashy "romance" novels. (This isn't directed at you, btw. I'm just on a soapbox lol)

[@AP-uc7oz]

No no you’re right, SJM sucks. 50 shades was an older Gen though, and twilight and SJM are the mostly the same generation

[@wabi-sabi5621]

There is After too. I read that idk why 😭😭.

[@OkamiRose]

All of them display abuse in some form or another. But it’s really about the authors, since you don’t seem to know. At least Stephenie Meyer didn’t intentionally lie or misdirect the truth about abuse in her books like EL James, or try to give herself a pass with it while letting her own child potentially abuse someone like Colleen Hoover. It’s no longer just ‘we hate fiction that women enjoy’, it’s a ‘critically think about the fiction and its authors before narrow-mindedly defending them’ like said author’s audiences do. Esp where it concerns kids being told about 2/3 of these books/series bare minimum.

[@tm67724]

What's SJM?

[@tayler2957]

@@tm67724 I think they’re talking about Sarah J Maas but I could be wrong

[@bragny]

It's always a bit weird to me to see books that used to be popular on booktumblr years ago to now have a resurgence on tik tok 😂 I've already moved on, the book is a thing of the past etc. and suddenly it's being talked about again. Just recently for example a friend commented on my Aristotle and Dante Discover The secrets of the universe copy on my bookshelf and how she saw it on tik tok, meanwhile it was my favourite book as a teenager and I'm now 27 and it's been a decade since I've last read the book. (I get that in this particular instance it's partially because the sequel was released just a year ago, but I've had similar experiences with other books as well.)

[@ayesha36]

Essentially, it seems like teens on Tik Tok who weren't big readers are discovering the major hits of the 2010s and rehashing them.

[@anonyme4659]

Haha I almost had no idea Aristotle and Dante were popular. I just randomly saw it at my middle schools library in 7th grade and thought it looked like a good book and then realized my sister had it so i readed it and it became one of my favourite book ever and really helps me with teenage struggles

[@aromanticfranziskavonkarma]

I still need to finish Aristotle and Dante, I bought it for my birthday one or two years ago and I ended up crying like 50 pages in so I've been procrastinating on picking it back up lmao

[@hassanammar8797]

@@aromanticfranziskavonkarma I LOVED this book! At the time of reading it, I remember it having such an impact on my life and was one of the integral books that helped me in coming out. While I don’t read much YA these days, I always think back of that book of having a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart. And tbh I Completely forgot that it was recommended from my Tumblr days.

[@ElinWinblad]

Every generation rediscovers everything 😂

[@thelivichronicles]

i am obsessed with how much effort and detail you put into these, please keep producing

[@to_be_consumed]

A note on SOA as someone who loves the book: It is not sad all the way through. It can be a bit melancholy at times, but it's mostly just sad at the end. If you don't get super sad, it's not gonna make you cry. It didn't make me cry and I still love it. If you get bored easily, you probably won't like it. If you need tons of drama and action to drive you forward, you probably won't like it. If you don't like endings that are happy but also not, you probably won't like it. Hope this helps

[@She_Wonders]

So glad you shouted out The Priory of the Orange Tree!! It's fantastic.

[@DaraS652]

The (accurate) comparison of the 4 horsemen has me rolling 😂💀

[@thesmellof_cinnamon2521]

There is no such thing as a good Sunday without Your video 🌿

[@24studiosbrm]

Well said

[@jilianh]

As someone without TikTok but constantly getting Booktok recommendations from friends, THANK YOU!

[@imsoooboredjaehyun]

Same i only look for books on insta and utube

[@mariane5395]

I loved this video, especially the shoutout to more diverse books at the end, AND I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOUR DECEMBER CONTENT 😍😍❄️❄️

[@24studiosbrm]

🙂

[@reina4284]

It’s nice to hear someone who isn’t a fan of CoHo talk about her books without bringing down people who do enjoy them. At the end of the day, people will read what they want to read. Don’t worry about being judged, you read for YOU, not for others. 💜

[@jessica.isabell.m]

BookTok can be so overwhelming but this is actually a really helpful guide and overview, well done 😊

[@saturn6563]

Here are the popular booktok books: we were liars, it ends with us, verity, six of crows, song of Achilles, a good girls guide to murder, the secret history, acotar, seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and anything by Emily Henry

[@julesnar1175]

Do I know all of the popular booktok books? Yes. Am I still going to watch the whole thing? Also yes.

[@IgnacioTornosSerrano]

I cannot express how much i love your sweater and how it looks with your eyes. That's art right there

[@juliettelamarr6010]

that sweater & collar combo is spectacular. i'm obsessed

[@yinyinbun]

This is a SUPER well done video! What a creative and easy way to break down the massive genre of tiktok books

[@leighbarrios7725]

I’m a science minded person, and I find the format of this video to be extremely interesting and unique. I love the chart!!

[@veronicac.3393]

The black book with the "S" is called "S. La nave di Teseo" in italian (The Theseus ship, don't know if the title is different in english) and I've been eyeing it ofr like two years now, didn't know it was famous on TikTok!

[@24studiosbrm]

Story within a story

[@Aigra]

Same in English: Ship of Theseus. I have been tempted to buy this a couple of times, but it's kind of expensive and I remember how long it took me to finish House of Leaves.

[@najawin8348]

@@Aigra /Laughs in _The Book of the War_ / Apparently Danielewski's _Familiar_ series is quite good but was canceled after people stopped buying it?

[@alien777]

I bought it the time it was released, do not need tiktok to choose a book. Still like the video

[@jenniferkerry3778]

This is such a helpful and unbiased video! Thank you for giving an objective description of all of these books - even the ones you didn’t love!

[@keightperry]

hi. i found you through your gothikana review and loved you immediately. my new year’s resolution for next year is to get back into reading by reading a book every month, and i’m loving your reviews. cant wait to binge watch all of your content!

[@imo.o]

The way you structured this video is so good like the way you moved between the genres!

[@niks961]

I'd say pretty much everything else is pretty on-point except I do think The Song of Achilles genuinely is just a good book too. Sure it got a lot of kick out of making people cry, but that's only because of the absolutely stunning writing. I think you'll love the book too! Anyway, I love your videos and I love the vibe you've been giving the past few months!

[@luiiiandmovieee]

I just could watch your videos for hours. I love the cozy vibe and how much effort you put into your videos

[@Mossheart1129]

S and Cain's Jawbone being listed as TikTok books made me laugh because they were both discussed in my college classes as being really unique and new takes on books that should be explored more and I went "wow, where are my classmates finding such cool books like this?!"

[@UrMissingSock]

Everyone’s always like “Oh I don’t ever read booktok books they’re not even that good!” Well in my opinion I love most booktok books and I am in the majority and I have loved almost all the booktok books I’ve read!

[@Aylin_Niazai]

I have a feeling like more and more people are reading, like the youth loves reading again. When I was younger, I was one of the few who loved reading in my school and friend group. It's cool that it's changing!!

[@foxsyd555]

we were liars is one of mt favorite books ever. i have memory issues, especially around the time i read the book, but i remember my reaction at the end. i was in class and i started crying. this reminds me i really need to reread it. it's been probably over a decade now but it had such a strong impact on me and it's awesome to see you mention it

[@noyram2831]

I read The Cruel Prince because I liked Jude and Cardan dynamic that booktok gave off and I discovered I actually like fantasy books !

[@lunarialoonatic]

Me too. Came for the romance, stayed for the political conflict

[@TMyers-rq9xs]

I have apparently read a lot of Booktok booms without doing TikTok at all. Every time you said "I loved this book" it turns out Inloved it so I definitely have to listen to you. Love these breakdown videos and the dry erase board. More please!

[@Book1ov3r222]

Ahh I love you! About to read the secret history and currently reading priory of the orange tree, I loveee your videos!!!❤

[@booknerd369]

I started reading The Secret History and then got like 7 library books at once lol so I had to put it on the back burner

[@rebekahmenn2118]

I love these videos from you! I love how comprehensive you are. I would watch a hundred more Dark Academia and Cottage Core videos from you.

[@viivi4196]

I really appreciate you noting that most of those books were straight and white people centric and shouting out some more diverse ones, and actually some of those diverse ones are my favorites! and all in all really just wanna say I appreciate the effort you put into your videos

[@Vidhi-fb1fv]

can we take a second to appreate leonis gorgeous earing!!! (I'm literally obsessed)

[@LC-fx2lo]

Awesome video! I love the way you mapped everything out into categories and what to expect. Your descriptions were a lot better than most videos like this, and I liked that you didn’t base it off of your opinions and instead just gave us the facts, and didn’t condescend us so we could decide. There was no judgment on your part, and I really like that. ❤

[@Kay_Anni]

I loved watching this as a book seller! I’m personally a big Fantasy fan and naturally fall in the Fantasy side of Tiktok, and smut haha. One of my favorite authors is Sarah J Maas. I absolutely adore her. She got me out of my reading slump and it’s just interesting to see all the books I have and what categories they are in.

[@lavendergore]

honestly so impressed by your whiteboard/charlie-day-style-mood-board skills 😘👌🏻

[@mamoru1836]

Leonie! I think you're gonna love Witch Hat Atelier! The magic system in this manga is amazing and the art is so beautiful!!!

[@Belladonna_Q]

I don't even use tik tok, but I always enjoy your videos! I've found a book and thought of you - so I'm just going to drop the title: Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. Disclaimer: I haven't actually read it yet, but the description sounded like something you would like.

[@LindaThao]

Definitely taking notes because there’s so many books to read but not enough time 💗😭

[@LC-fx2lo]

I love books with beautiful covers (those sprayed edges really get me going) but what I’ve come to realize is the more beautiful cover, the worse the books is. If the cover is crap, and something you wouldn’t even want on your bookshelf, it’s most likely a masterpiece.

[@jdmarple18]

Not only was this the best lecture I’ve ever watched where I feel like I should be taking notes 😂 but all of your outfits are always perfect , love the sweaters and collars ❤

[@tributedistrict7]

the only book I bought after seeing it in tiktok was On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong and honestly... I'm glad I did, it's now one of my favorite books ❤️❤️

[@lightwoodalec5037]

I don't know about tiktok but This channel needs to blow up on KZbin cuz the content is immaculate..... And the minute leonie starts mapping and whiteboarding U know it's gonna be à great time.... Just last week I recommended your previous video to a friend of mine... And she practically found you to be 100% relatable... 😍😍😍😍

[@helenaspr4652]

This is such an well-researched video, you actually summarised booktok perfectly

[@leilanibaby3975]

since im never home Sundays and don't get home until late on Mondays, your videos are always so relaxing to wind down with. I have a tea and maybe a biscuit and I watch. :) thanks Leonie

[@aaroncarell2019]

The 'S' book is called the ship of Theseus, my mom read it years before tiktok was even a thing and really enjoyed it, truly a woman ahead of her time

[@meenakshisrinivasan9933]

You give me English teacher vibes- in the best way possible☺️

[@nikolasversteeg]

I do have to note that while she kind of breezed past She Who Became The Sun, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it definitely ranks among my top books. Not only is the prose beautiful, but the character grows SO MUCH throughout the book. It also has an incredibly rich take on gender and sexuality. All of this is mixed in with awesome asian fantasy that really just blew me out of the water. It was glossed over in a few seconds in this video, but as the (literally only book I've read in this whole list) I HIGHLY recommend it.

[@mirrorballmusings]

This video is a gift! Really appreciate the absolute dedication to this deep dive! 😁

[@ameliaretter8120]

The "S" book is just called "S." but the fictional book at the centre of the story (and the name printed on the actual book you get) is called the Ship of Theseus. I really enjoyed it!

[@vanessacaecilia]

I don't have tiktok so this was so interesting to watch! I haven't read most of these books tbh but from the ones I've read and that you mentioned I loved Six of Crows the most! (and the ones you shouted out at the very end). Love your honesty and how you always say who would like and who would dislike these books cause it all comes down to personal taste most of the times :3

[@khushbooprasad6519]

I used to think I read whatever but the only one out of your collection that I've read is Six of Crows and I loved it. Your review of the Emily writer books makes me want to read them and even hyped my opinions of The Cruel Prince.

[@simpleton3781]

Okay but I’ve read the ENTIRE Ice Planet Barbarian series PLUS the spin off continuation of Icehome and so I have a through critique of it. I started the series as a joke and I’m serious I wanted to make fun of it. I check out the first two books from my local library and before I knew it, I was hooked. It’s the world building. It truly reflects the thorough planning of the author Ruby Dixon. I think what I like is that yes there is lots of sex but it’s honestly a subplot and she doesn’t rely on it as much. The sex scenes aren’t cringy (the first ones were bc I think she was finding her groove but I can understand that). But each character is flushed out. The characters of color are written like people and not like stereotypes. Not everything goes well like each character has a struggle that doesn’t feel overplayed. Each book offers a new layout and it’s very interesting. I do understand the criticism that people believe “it is a infantilization of native culture and using it as a sed only plot device and it is also dumbing native culture down” some native people have made these criticisms and regular people in general. I’m not native, nor do I want to be disrespectful and dismiss others concerns and opinions. I myself fail to understand the criticisms in their entirety bc as someone who has read and analyzed each book I don’t see it. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think the subtext does exist. Either way the entire world as a whole on the planet really is interesting and what started as a joke ended in me genuinely enjoying over 30+ something odd books + novellas (each book is barely 250 pgs it’s a really quick read I swear). Just my insight from a person who read. What I great video! Also I, I read song of Achilles bc how many ppl cried over it and we very interested in it. I annotated it and analyzed it and came to the conclusion that I did not like it, I would add why but this comment is already long enough 😭 let’s just say I feel like it had some short comings due to the limited narration of the novel

[@ItsFerreiras]

i'm very curious about ice planet, but its has so many books i'm lost. where to start? i also found one called ''Corsairs: Adiron [Corsair Brothers Series, Book 1] by Ruby Dixon'' is this a spin off?

[@breeisbooked]

I don’t know if you’ve read any of her other series but her Aspect and Anchor series to me is even better!!

[@simpleton3781]

@@breeisbooked I haven’t yet. I’m on the last Icehome book for now and then I planned on reading more by her when I get the chance to but once my done with miss Ruby Dixon I have 3 other books I need to finish up

[@AllGreenPark]

Im new to reading and really fancied fantasy, TikTok introduced me to SJM and honestly as a first time fantasy reader ACOTAR was amazing! I’m now doing throne of glass and hope to do priory of the orange tree next!

[@Ellie_Art]

Books that I highly recommend: -Children of Blood and Bone -Shadow and Bone -An Ember in the Ashes -Legendborn -Ash Princess

[@AkshadLahariya]

I need to admit TJR books are genuinely great and they deserve all the hype on booktok especially The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo. ( And yes I am a boy and now I know that I am into hot sad girls space 😂😂😂 )

[@randomone532]

Maybe there's a hot sad boys space for you lol😂

[@Pokjhbvcf]

I’m with you brother 🫡

[@nyasachauhan1118]

"a published one direction fan fiction" I CAN'T 💀💀😭

[@jennychasteen]

Really interesting breakdown! I'm not on TikTok, but based on what I've heard, this explains a lot.

[@notanothertrilogy9162]

I think another aesthetic book that I would have included would be the Crave series? The publishers would send the books to tiktokers and the unboxing was an experience

[@obscur_artiste]

This is an apt explanation of the bestsellers on Amazon, etc. I had no idea who any of these writers are, and it also explains why there is no market for my pangenre literary fiction. My work couldn’t be farther from the market trends.

[@anjah8249]

Such a fun video! I really like that you explain who might enjoy a certain book and who probably won't.

[@lnel]

Hello!! I just wanted to thank you for this video! I've always struggled to understand a lot of the broad aspects of "booktok" and the recommendations they give, and how you gave suggestions/summaries was so incredibly helpful. Can't wait to see what other videos you put out :D

[@kier2621]

id definitely say feyre (acotar) is WAYYY more of a mary sue than celaena (tog). celaena goes through a LOT of character change and her ptsd is shockingly well written in the later books. the later books are also pretty adult, seasoned fantasy

[@maryh2996]

Books mentioned : (I don’t mean for this to be a reason to skip the video, just if you forget titles really easily like me) Crying: - Song of Achilles - They Both Die at the End - A Little Life Shocking: - We Were Liars CoHo: - It Ends with Us - Verity Sarah J. Maas - Throne of Glass - A Court of Thorns and Roses - The House of Earth and Blood Smut: - A Den of Vipers - Ugly Love - The Fine Print - Ice Planet Barbarians Fantasy: - Six of Crows - The Cruel Prince - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - The Atlas Six - These Violent Delights Romance: Emily Henry: - Beach Read - People We Meet on Vacation - Book Lovers General Romance: - The Love Hypothesis - The Spanish Love Deception - Red White & Royal Blue Taylor Jenkins Reid: - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Hot Sad Girl: - My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Normal People - Everything I know about Love - The Secret History Aesthetics: - The Octunnumi - S - Cain’s Jawbone More Diverse: - Legendborn - The Priority of the Orange Tree - Heartstopper - She Who Became the Sun - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Girl, Woman, Other

[@jujudisasters]

I'm an avid reader and audiobook (Libby) listener but I've never even heard of Colleen Hoover, that definitely has to be related to the fact I don't use tiktok Honestly my year of audiobooks and reading has been 96% based off seeing random people I follow talk about books on twitter (and I mean random, not book reviewer types any time I saw any book title mentioned I looked it up), one list of recommendations from a news website, randomly searching my library catalogue under categories, and a few "you might also like based on this book you just read" moments

[@elliehartinger]

im OBSESSED with your shirt and jumper... where did u get them?? your style is impeccable

[@fujismoke]

Your analysis bookish videos are always so good and interesting 💙

[@bberry]

the amount of work that went into this, with all the covers...such a fun watch, THANK YOU!

[@sophie3miranda]

I block all tiktokers that recomends Collen Hoover, ive read Maybe someday years ago, i never hated so much a book.

[@dante.nathanael]

S. (Ship of Theseus) is absolutely amazing, and it's really great as a puzzle for a community to solve. Even if you aren't interested in solving the whole mess, it's a great story (2). Another one that's similar in structure is House of Leaves.

[@clareholland8216]

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong, in my honest opinion, is not any more “juvenile” than most YA books on TikTok. It explores imperialism (whitewashing in general), gang violence, trauma, and sacrifice while also giving you a fascinating monsters & magic mystery. Not to mention, the setting and time period are unique and the characters are super lovable while ALSO being obviously flawed. I’ve read all 3 of her books in her TVD universe and they are absolutely stunning!!

[@pleiadesh.4828]

I was thinking the same! The storyline is pretty heavy to me. ((I’ve never felt so called out reading such book as I’m a Chinese heritage waaaaa. I kin Juliette sm😭🫶))

[@aphrodite8287]

Same with six of Crows imo

[@RobertDPore]

I saw the four horsemen reference coming, but I still love just how far you went with it!

[@MrsMiddleAtlantic]

Adam Silveras first book “more happy than not” is grossly underrated and also falls into actually sad gay romance. I sobbed for a good hour straight. I’m tearing up thinking about it. Ugh 😩

[@MiauMichigan]

The Night Circus is one of my favorite books so thank you for the recommendation 😊

[@pendragon2012]

You're a hero, Leonie! Have a great week!

[@Kaffee_auf_ex]

What an accurate overview! When you were talking about the 4 horsemen I stopped the video to think about who sou mean. I got all of them right except for SJM because that's sooo not not in my bubble😅

[@hallem1792]

four horsemen analogy is 🔥🔥🔥

[@yam288]

thank u so much for putting this together! it was so well thought out and i loved seeing all the popular books and how they relate to each other, i never thought about it before but it totally makes sense. also the shout out to poc authors at the end 🤌🤌

[@atadbitahistory9660]

As much as there are flaws in booktok, I do need to say that I think it can be pretty great. Quite often books get recommended because people genuinely like them, it's introduced a lot of people into reading and generally speaking, a lot of decent books that without booktok, probably would've gone unnoticed. Of course, we have the painfully over-hyped books, like 'it ends with us' which actually caused a lot of people to be underwhelmed by it- But I still got to surprisingly enjoy it because I was borrowing it off of somebody who hated it.

[@sarab2726]

As someone who doesn't really use TikTok I appreciate the summary! Some of these have been suggested to me and your map makes a lot of sense. S was by J.J.Abrams who is a big name in mysterious TV/movies (Fringe, Lost, Cloverfield), so it might also be his notoriety pushing that one in addition to the aesthetics.

[@p3anutbutt3rtoast11]

Books have always been something I’ve struggled with, mostly finding something that truly interests me. Literally the only books I’ll read have to be (heavily) fantasy, LGBTQ+ romance, and smutless or little to no smut. Not very easy to find haha Ofc I’m open to more books, and varying stories, but for some reason for me romance is really hard to read?? Unless it’s LGBTQ+ or not set in our reality so. Which sucks because it’s the genre I most enjoy. Not the best taste my brain decided to have lmao So thank you for this video

[@oliviabridges8908]

What’s the smuttok mafia one again? 😂 Also I love how brutally honest and open you are with your thoughts and opinions! I also like your organization of the different booktok books! I agree with TSAO that tho it wasn’t “accurate” to mythology it did consist of a lot of the factors and also catered to the romanticle,soul crushing,needs of a reader! Definitely my favorite book!

[@AnneleenRoesems]

The research that goes into your videos is amazing 😊

[@24studiosbrm]

👏