Five Great Books to Read if You Are on BookTok

Stumbling onto BookTok is like discovering a new place that you never knew existed before, or like discovering said place that everyone has talked about but you've never visited before until now. Ever since the rise of Chinese short video streaming service TikTok in September 2016, creators from all over the world have merged into sub-communities, such as #foodtok, #witchtok, #cottagecore, #planttok #potatotok (yes, a whole sub-community dedicated to delicious potatoes is a thing) and #watertok (yes, a sub-community dedicated to all things water is also very much a thing). As many have risen to prominence, there is one that has very much stayed in the spotlight. And that is BookTok, or better known as #booktok. Covering everything from fantasy, dark academia, dark romance, LGBTQ stories, as well as creating a platform for up-and-coming authors to share their work and reach a wider audience globally, BookTok has become a pop culture phenomenon. And personally, it helped me discover a lot of new books to read over this new year. So I'm now here, both as an avid reader and a newbie author, to provide you with my favourite books to read if you like to tread the waters of BookTok.

No. 1: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Love or hate this series, there is no in between. As a personal fan of the ACOTAR series, the fans on BookTok can be wild. Everything from unpopular opinions that divide whole comment sections to fancasts for the potential ACOTAR TV show being released by Hulu sometime in the next few years - it's a little rollercoaster all by itself. But the series is brilliant. It follows a 19-year-old huntress named Feyre Archeron who kills a faerie wolf and is taken by a lord named Tamlin to a land called Prythian in payment for the faerie's death. It's a good bit of YA fiction if you love female heroines like Katniss Everdeen, and the characters are well-thought out and planned beautifully, all with great character arcs and brilliant backstories. Also, the character pairings are to die for. I'm a diehard shipper of Feysand (Feyre and Rhysand) and Cassian and Nesta (Nessian) and I'm also super partial to Elriel (Azriel and Elain, sorry to the Gwynriel shippers!). Also, Sarah J. Maas is the queen of emotional damage, for anyone looking to throw a book in pure rage one moment, cry the next, and then laugh with joy.

No. 2: Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Whether you're a blushing admirer of Zade Meadows like myself (gotta love the morally grey men), or you're just in it for the true crime stalker vibes, this book is not for the weak. The series follows a young woman named Adeline who moves into her great grandmother's old house and slowly falls in love with her stalker, Zade. I did a review on the series just recently here on Vocal, and it's no joke. I'd highly recommend reading the novella Satan's Affair before you read this series, it gives insight into one of the side characters and introduces us to another POV of a few scenes from Haunting Adeline that features Zade as a little cameo, which is incredibly satisfying. Let me tell you, I was giggling and kicking my feet when Zade was introduced. He's probably my favourite morally grey character other than Rhysand from ACOTAR. As intense as the storyline is, I would highly recommend reading Haunting Adeline and its sequel, Hunting Adeline. Also, feel free to throw this book against a wall too (just not if you have it on your Kindle lol), because it ends on a cliffhanger.

No. 3: Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

I've just gotten into this series, and it's utter chaos. From relationship/situationship drama to elemental powers, epic pranks and dastardly villains (did I mention the Zodiac Academy series is also a bit of a Harry Potter-inspired series?), it's definitely not a series to miss. The series follows the adventures of twins Tory and Darcy Vega (also known as Roxanya and Gwendalina respectively, the long-lost Vega twins of Solaria and the daughters of the late Savage King) as they seek to find their place in the brutal, cutthroat prestigious Zodiac Academy, evading magically-powered bullies and exploring new love interests, as well as mastering their own powers and taking on the challenge of rising up to be Queens of Solaria. It's not perfect by any means; there's some typos in there, way too much filler content, and the relationship drama kind of bogs down the actual story. But it's so good, and it's a series I'd highly recommend.

No. 4: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Magic. Fae. Enemies to lovers. A great main female heroine. This book has it all, truly. The series follows a young female named Jude Duarte, as she accompanies her eldest sister Vivienne and twin sister Taryn to live in the enigmatic world of Elfhame with Vivienne's biological father, Madoc. There we meet the Greenbriar family and Jude encounters her love interest/mortal enemy, Cardan Greenbriar, who is the titular "cruel prince" of this series. What follows next is nothing short of enthralling magic and trickery that brings Jude Duarte through a cascading rollercoaster of adventures.

No. 5: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I read this book for my first trimester of university, for my literature course. The Handmaid's Tale follows the story of June/Offred (Offred is a patronymic meaning "of Fred", as in Commander Fred, who is her master) as she attempts to reclaim her voice and agency in a dystopian American society called Gilead. Gilead is loosely based on the Puritan religion and way of life, which focuses on oppressive control of women under a patriarchal leadership. As controversial as this book is among BookTokers and casual readers alike for its themes and subject matter, it's a brilliant story, and it's very interesting to think about in terms of the world's future.

And that concludes my list! As always, keep liking and subscribing to my Vocal page, and stay tuned for more! Also, keep an eye out for my first book, 2153: Captive, dropping soon on Amazon Kindle, paperback and hardcover! It's not out for pre-order yet as I'm not finished with the final draft, but I promise I'm close to finishing! I'm so excited and I'm projecting for the book to be done and released by the end of the year.