The New Craze That’s Got Everyone Off Their Phones

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There’s a new craze that has us turning away from our phones, and ironically this viral trend is being driven by TikTok. #BookTok has a growing community of influencers who discuss and review their favourite book finds on the online video sharing platform.

Young adults in particular are getting on board with the trend, with almost two thirds of 16 to 25 year olds saying that #BookTok has helped them discover a passion for reading. #BookTok is also, unsurprisingly, influencing the reading choices of Gen Z book converts, with 55% of survey respondents saying they turn to the platform for book recommendations.

The top book picks cover a range of genres, but as you might expect, the most popular tend to be young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, and romance, although self development is also on the rise. And the #BookTok phenomenon is growing, with #booktok spreading to other social media platforms such as Instagram. 

A word of warning if this trend has your teen swapping scrolling for reading: many of these books contain adult themes, some with trigger warnings of mature content.

 

 

So, What’s Trending Right Now?

Here’s a list of the top 30 recommendations that came up with our #booktok search.

 

1. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

From the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us, a heart-wrenching love story that proves attraction at first sight can be messy.  When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn't think it's love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realise they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her. Find out more...

2. The Deal by Elle Kennedy

A sexy standalone novel from New York Times and international bestselling author Elle Kennedy. Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date. Find out more...

3. Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Now a major BBC TV series, this is a hilariously honest memoir about British journalist Dolly Alderton's experiences of love and life throughout her 20s. Find out more...

4.  Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

A heartbreaking, triumphant, funny and hopeful story of one girl's battle with self harm. A deeply moving portrait of a girl in a world that owes her nothing, and has taken so much, and the journey she undergoes to put herself back together. Kathleen Glasgow's debut is heartbreakingly real and unflinchingly honest. It's a story you won't be able to look away from. Find out more...

5.  The Way I Used To Be by Amber Smith

The book known as 'The TikTok sensation everyone is taking about'. All Eden wants is to rewind the clock. To live that day again. She would do everything differently. Not laugh at his jokes or ignore the way he was looking at her that night. And she would definitely lock her bedroom door. A story of trauma and survival. Find out more...

6.  How It Feels To Float by Helena Fox

Biz knows how to float. She has her people, her posse, her mom and the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, who loves her so hard, and who shouldn't be here but is. So Biz doesn't tell anyone anything. Not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And she doesn't tell anyone about her dad. Because her dad died when she was six. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface - normal okay regular fine. Find out more...

7.  If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

A New York Times Bestseller. An achingly authentic and raw portrait of love, regret, and the life-altering impact of the relationships we hold closest to us, this YA bestseller is perfect for fans of Kasie West, All the Bright Places, and Dear Evan Hansen. Find out more...

8. Verity by Colleen Hoover

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. (NB. 18+ with various trigger warnings of mature content) Find out more...

9.  A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole

Two hearts. One love story. An ending you will never forget... Rune Kristiansen and Poppy Litchfield met as children and swore to be friends forever. As teenagers, their friendship grew into a love that promised to last a lifetime. But their worlds were shattered when Rune was sent home to his native Norway. Two years later, Rune is back, and Poppy is ready for their happy ever after to begin. But the boy who returns is not the Rune she remembers. Find out more...

10. Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh

Set in Cork, Ireland, and filled with fresh-faced Irish characters, the Boys of Tommen series is based around the lives of Johnny Kavanagh, Shannon Lynch, the lovable Gibsie, and their friends as they navigate their way through their prestigious private school, Tommen College and prepare for adulthood. Full of humor and heartache, rugby and romance, the 'boys of Tommen' are sure to capture your heart. Binding 13 is the first in the series. Find out more...

11. Twisted Games by Ana Huang

Twisted Games is a contemporary royal bodyguard romance. Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever. He has never once been tempted to break those rules…until her. 
Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak, she is everything he never knew he needed. This is book two of the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone. (NB. This book contains a possessive alpha hero, explicit sexual content, and profanity.) Find out more...

12. Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Hoover returns with the spellbinding story of two young people with devastating pasts who embark on a passionate, intriguing journey to discover the lessons of life, love, trust—and above all, the healing power that only truth can bring. Find out more...

13. Love And Other Words by Christina Lauren

Love, loss, friendship, and the betrayals of the past all collide in this first fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren. Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more. As adults, they have become strangers to one another a chance reunion brings them back together again. Find out more...

14. Atomic Habits by James Clear

People think that when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions: doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call. Transform your life with tiny changes in behaviour, starting now. Find out more...

15. The Chateau by Tiffany Reisz

This erotic thriller is part of a series by besteselling author Tiffany Reisz. French military intelligence officer Kingsley Boissonneault is tasked with brining his commanding officer's nephew home from a sex cult, where woman reign and men are their willing slaves. But are they willing? It's Kingsley's mission to find out. Find out more...

16. You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow

From the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a modern story of a town, the secret lives of people living there.  And the story of a girl, figuring out life in all its pain and beauty and struggle and joy. Find out more...

17. The Serpent And The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in a series of heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue. Human or vampire, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield and always guard your heart. This one is for fans of swords and sorcery fantasy. Find out more... 

18. Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover

You may have noticed that BookTok sensation Colleen Hoover is dominating this list! This moving and passionate novel follows two young adults from completely different backgrounds embarking on a tentative romance, unaware of what the future holds.  Find out more...

19. Saint by Sierra Simone

This is the third book in Simone's steamy 'Priest' series, but it can be read as a stand alone erotic romance about the intersections of faith, duty, sex and love. Find out more...

20. Alone With You In The Ether by Alexene Farole Follmuth

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes an intimate and contemporary study of time, space, and the nature of love. Alone with You in the Ether explores what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you're not broken. Find out more...

21. Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid

This gothic horror re-telling of The Juniper Tree, one of the Brothers Grimm's darker and more mature fairy tales, is set in another time and place within the world of The Wolf and the Woodsman, where a young witch seeks to discover her identity and escape the domination of her wizard father.Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson and Catherynne M. Valente. Find out more...

22. Part Of Your World by Abby Jimenez

The New York Times bestselling author of Life's Too Short delivers a refreshingly modern fairy tale perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Emily Henry. After a wild bet, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who's ten years younger than her and as casual as they come - the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable. Find out more...

23. Flawless by Elsie Silver

Elsie Silver is a Canadian author of sassy, sexy, small town romance who loves a good book boyfriend and the strong heroines who bring them to their knees. This is the first book in her 'Chestnut Springs' series. Find out more...

24. November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Hoover delivers an unforgettable love story between aspiring novelist Ben, and his unexpected muse Fallon. But can Ben’s relationship with Fallon - and simultaneously his novel - be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak? Find out more...

25. A Room Of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

This title may be an unexpected entry on the list, but it has become a TikTok sensation. A Room of One's Own is an extended essay based on Woolf's conception that, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction". The essay is seen as a feminist text, exploring women both as writers and characters in fiction. Find out more...

26. Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark

Brutal Prince is the explosive first act in the epic 'Brutal Birthright' series. It’s a stand-alone dark mafia romance, containing blazing hot bedroom scenes - for mature readers only. Find out more...

27. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

Discover a timely mystery about the loss of every day existence by one of Japan's greatest writers that featured in the Entertainment Weekly ‘Quarantine Book Club’. Find out more...

28. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

A 'haunting, compelling, and brilliant' (The Times) novel about a group of students who, under the influence of their professor find their lives changed forever, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch. Find out more...

29. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices. Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived. Find out more...

30. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Now a film starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, globally bestselling author Sally Thorne's hilarious workplace comedy is all about the fine line between love and hate. Find out more...

 

Share your #booktok recommendations with us over on social.

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