What Are Booktok Books

So, like, I was just casually scrolling through TikTok at like 2 AM—you know, the usual “I’ll go to bed after this one last video” lie we all tell ourselves—and I kept seeing people crying, laughing, and freaking out over these books. That’s when I found out about BookTok. Basically, it’s this side of TikTok totally obsessed with books. And not just any books—BookTok books are the ones that go viral, blow up, and suddenly everyone’s reading them. Think of it like this: if TikTok is your go-to for the latest songs, dances, and trends, then BookTok is your plug for books that are gonna wreck your soul or make you fall in love with fictional characters.

BookTok books aren’t a genre—they’re more like a vibe. One day it's a fantasy romance with dragons, the next it’s a gut-wrenching contemporary tearjerker. But they all have one thing in common: emotion. You feel something. Usually a lot. Like, “I finished this book at 3:47 AM and now I’m just staring at the wall” kind of feelings. Some examples? The Song of Achilles, It Ends With Us, A Court of Thorns and Roses, They Both Die at the End, and Fourth Wing—those names keep showing up everywhere.

Also, these books become more than just reads—they’re trends. You get aesthetic edits, character fancasts, memes, fan theories, and those iconic “if you liked this, you’ll love this” recommendation videos. The community’s wild (in a good way). There’s drama, but also so much love for reading. It honestly makes you want to pick up a book just to be part of it.

And authors? Some of them owe BookTok their careers. Books that were published years ago suddenly hit the bestseller lists again. It’s like TikTok resurrects them.

So yeah, BookTok books are the stories that TikTok can’t stop talking about, feeling over, and turning into whole fandoms. And if you’ve never read one, prepare for your emotional stability to be challenged.

When you hear the term BookTok books, it’s referring to a popular trend on the social media app TikTok. There, a vibrant community of readers—many of them young adults—share book reviews, recommendations, reactions, and emotional responses to the books they love. BookTok, short for “Book TikTok,” has become one of the most influential forces in the publishing world today.

Books that go viral on BookTok often see a massive spike in sales, regardless of when they were originally published. Some of these books are recent releases, while others are years old but find new life due to being featured in emotional or dramatic videos. Viewers trust the opinions of BookTok creators because their content feels genuine, passionate, and deeply personal.

The kinds of books that gain popularity on BookTok tend to evoke strong emotional reactions—whether that’s joy, heartbreak, excitement, or shock. You’ll frequently see genres like romance, fantasy, and young adult fiction, although thrillers and memoirs occasionally make waves too. Titles such as Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us and Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles are examples of books that exploded in popularity through BookTok.

What’s truly exciting is that this trend is inspiring young people to read more, visit bookstores, and participate in discussions about literature in a way that feels modern and relatable. As a librarian, I often hear from students or patrons asking for “that book I saw on TikTok,” and I’m more than happy to help them explore it.

In essence, BookTok books are not a specific genre or category, but rather the titles that resonate deeply with the BookTok community and become widely shared, recommended, and emotionally impactful within that space.

Okay, so you know how you’re always seeing those emotional TikToks where someone’s sobbing over a book or hugging it like it’s their soulmate? That’s BookTok. And BookTok books are basically the ones that blow up on that part of TikTok.

They’re not, like, a certain genre or anything. Some are fantasy, some are romance, others are sad contemporary stories. But the main thing is—they hit you in the feels. HARD. Like, we’re talking “I stayed up all night reading this and now I’m emotionally unstable” kind of vibes.

Books like Verity, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and Throne of Glass went super viral because people couldn’t stop posting about their twists, characters, or how badly they needed therapy after reading them.

And once one of these books gets big on BookTok, it spreads fast. Everyone’s reading it, talking about it, and making those aesthetic “what this book feels like” edits. Even bookstores have whole “As Seen on BookTok” tables now.

So yeah, BookTok books are just those really emotional, gripping reads that TikTok turned into cultural moments. Once you read one, you’ll totally get the hype.

What are BookTok books? 📚
They're the reads TikTok won’t shut up about.
Think: tears, gasps, plot twists, ✨ fictional crushes ✨.
They hit hard, make you feel everything, and suddenly you’re 300 pages deep at 2AM.
Not a genre, more like a feeling.
Colleen Hoover? BookTok.
Sarah J. Maas? BookTok.
“Why is everyone crying over this Greek mythology book?” Oh yeah—BookTok.
Basically, if TikTok made it famous and your heart isn’t ready for the emotional damage... that’s a BookTok book.
You’ve been warned. 😅💔🔥