A Guide to the Books Actually Worth the Hype

In recent years, TikTok has emerged as a digital book club for literary enthusiasts, where users can engage in lively book discussions, share reviews and recommend their favorite reads. A standout trend on the platform is the emergence of "BookTok" - typically fiction books that have garnered widespread popularity through TikTok's marketing. In fact, TikTok videos featuring the #BookTok hashtag have accumulated over 77 billion views, a testament to the power of this literary phenomenon.

While this trend has certainly helped to revive the fiction book industry, it can be challenging to navigate the vast selection of BookTok books and determine which ones are truly worth your time. To help you, we've compiled a list of the top five books that have made waves on the app:

1. "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller: A retelling of the Trojan War, told from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles' closest companion and lover. The book explores themes of love, loyalty, and fate, and has captured the hearts of many readers with its poetic language and emotional depth.

1. 1. "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller:

A retelling of the Trojan War, told from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles' closest companion and lover. The book explores themes of love, loyalty, and fate, and has captured the hearts of many readers with its poetic language and emotional depth.

2. "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid:

A historical fiction novel that follows the life of Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo, as she recounts her rise to fame and the secrets she's kept hidden for decades. The book explores themes of love, loss, and identity, and has been praised for its diversity of characters.

3.  "Mexican Gothic" by Mexican Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia:

There’s no doubt why this chilling fiction won the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Horror in 2020. A gothic horror novel set in 1950s Mexico, following socialite Noemí Taboada as she investigates the eerie happenings in her cousin's isolated mansion. The book has been immensely praised for its unsettling atmosphere and its iconic female protagonist, Taboada.

4. "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig:

Another unsurprising 2020 award winner by Goodreads for best fiction, this philosophical novel follows a woman named Nora Seed. Seed finds herself in a library between life and death, with the opportunity to try out different versions of her life through the books on the shelves. The book is extremely hard-hitting, with themes of regret, second chances, and the meaning of life. It won’t leave your mind for weeks.

5. "It Ends With Us" by Colleen Hoover:

A heart-wrenching contemporary romance novel that tells the story of Lily and her relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle. As their relationship becomes increasingly tumultuous, Lily is forced to confront painful memories from her past and make difficult decisions about her future. With engaging writing and powerful themes of love and abuse, this novel is a must-read for anyone looking for an emotional and thought-provoking story.