Top Ten Books That I got From BookTok That Actually Paid Off
I’m a very laid back TikTok user and to be very honest I mostly follow BookTok-ers to find stuff out of my norm. Some pushed me to pick up more of the popular things I have been avoiding due to hype while others put things I might not have found on my own. These are the ones I read that stood out to me this year in no real order.
On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.
I wanted to like this more than I did but that being said I still enjoyed it. The writing is incredible and the plot keeps things moving despite the span of time covered. I struggled a bit with the characters, not on their own but whenever they are with each other. The thing that made the on and off again relationship not as annoying as it could be, was the context of the video game. The idea that you can start over and do it “the right way” balanced well with the theme of the book. I don’t know if I can respect it as a relationship model though.
It felt very human. The weight of the relationships and interactions feels very real. I’m a little pissed Ichigo isn’t real. I would play the nonsense out of it.
Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she’s struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can’t seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.
The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre’s Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta’s orbit. But her temper isn’t the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.
Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.
Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other’s arms.
This feels a bit like cheating, since I started the series before I was on TikTok, but I had hit a standstill. I was stuck on A Court of Wings and Ruin and it took a friend getting into it and catching up to me to get me back into it. TikTok got her into it so… I guess this is really more competition inspired than TikTok but by proxy counts.
It was exactly what I thought it was going to be. Except the stairs. Homegirl walked a hundred stairs and couldn’t move anymore. Everyone is built different but I am judging. Just a little.
Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. What’s worse is she can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she’s attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she’s just enough.
Until Frida has a horrible day.
The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida — ones who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that she can live up to the standards set for mothers — that she can learn to be good.
I’ve fallen in the habit of not looking up anything and rocking with vibes when I go for a book. I feel like it’s because I am delusional enough to think I can actually read every book ever. This one the right recommendations and the right lists kept popping up and then my library got it so now here it is on this list. It has major Handmaid’s Tale vibes and it isn’t a happy-go lucky kind of story. I cried. Like angry rage tears. It was intense and it had me up in arms at so many different stages. What’s scary is there is a hint of reality in the events that unfold and it makes that dystopian world feel a little too close for comfort. This was a bit of a surprise how much of an impact this had on me.
Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more…?
Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn’t been too great, but at least he’s not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He’s heard a little about Charlie – the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months – but he’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.
They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner…
I’ve only read the first two so far but good gravy. This is so freaking cute. The art is likeable and adorable. The characters are likeable and adorable. This book is just so likeable and adorable. They have typical relationship ups and downs but I appreciate that the likability isn’t sacrificed for the drama. I like watching them grow and gain confidence. I have to say, Charlie and his self-respect was just so nice to see. I need to go read the rest of these…
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend… and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.
I wrote a review on this one, but it was thanks to TikTok that I picked it up in the first place. There were a good range of BookTok-ers recommending this and with crazy high praise. It was different from what I anticipated but it did make me realize how much I missed reading about characters with good souls. Maia was so much fun to hang out with. It catches some criticism for not being very action packed but the writing is lyrical and lovely and emotional spectrum it handles was fresh and original.
A gruesome curse. A city in upheaval. A monster with unquenchable appetites.
Marlinchen and her two sisters live with their wizard father in a city shifting from magic to industry. As Oblya’s last true witches, she and her sisters are little more than a tourist trap as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and trying to placate her tyrannical, xenophobic father, who keeps his daughters sequestered from the outside world. But at night, Marlinchen and her sisters sneak out to enjoy the city’s amenities and revel in its thrills, particularly the recently established ballet theater, where Marlinchen meets a dancer who quickly captures her heart.
As Marlinchen’s late-night trysts grow more fervent and frequent, so does the threat of her father’s rage and magic. And while Oblya flourishes with culture and bustles with enterprise, a monster lurks in its midst, borne of intolerance and resentment and suffused with old-world power. Caught between history and progress and blood and desire, Marlinchen must draw upon her own magic to keep her city safe and find her place within it.
It was between this and The Wolf and The Woodsman. TikTok convinced me to read Ava Reid in general. This one felt more like a fairy tale to me with the tropes Reid utilizes. It was dark, it was twisted and I just enjoyed it all around. The imagery goes back to the original Grimm’s fairy tales with the benefit of the modern YA storytelling. I need to go check out A Study in Drowning but if it’s anything like her other two novels I’m pretty sure I’m going to enjoy it.
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…
Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?
I loved this concept. I loved the dark academia. After The Poppy War trilogy I was amped to pick this up especially with its focus on linguistics, a major love of mine. TikTok went wild went it came out and I couldn’t wait to get my hand on it. I have to say the ending frustrated me and it probably didn’t help that I read it back to back with The City We Became by N.K. Jemison. They both were phenomenal in writing and in concept but the ends… I don’t want to get super controversial but I felt a way about how the white characters that are meant to be on the good guys side in both books were portrayed. It’s just got me thinking is all. The characters felt a touch stock. Babel was well written and had great attention to detail in worldbuilding with a really well conceived magic system based on languages. Kuang finds a way to introduce etymology in a very digestible way while staying entertaining. The annotations added layers to the world and, though it was a touch more work than usual, I liked the extra facts to bring the history of her world to life although they did feel a bit repetitive after awhile. I do see it as a believable version of alterna-history especially with the way the powers that be see those beneath them. I just wish a better sliver of hope for a unified future was presented as idealistic as that might be.
Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.
Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.
To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
I’m a sucker for mythology and I don’t know much about Chinese mythology (yet) so I was excited to pick this one up after seeing it often on BookTok. The cover is gorgeous and the story was a bit different from my usual reads. It felt more like a TV drama the realms and magic operating on the more mythological scale rather than the realistic. At first it was a touch distracting but I actually appreciated it in the end falling into the vibe. I wrote a review on this one too and I stand by my opinion on the lyrical writing.
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother’s identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.
After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother’s abandoned greatness.
This one popped up a lot with The Poppy Wars and the Daevabad series and I decided to give it a shot while I was taking a road trip. I freaking loved it. The way gender was handled made me think of Nghi Vo and her Singing Hills Cycle. I loved all the characters even when they had to do despicable things. The setting was painfully real and I found myself falling into the world hard. The second one just came out and I can’t wait to read it. That being said the first one hurt me so I’m also scared of what He Who Drowned the World is going to do to me.
Long ago, following a cataclysm called “The Rupture,” the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands. Known now as Arks, each has developed in distinct ways; each seems to possess its own unique relationship to time, such that nowadays vastly different worlds exist, together but apart. And over all of the Arks the spirit of an omnipotent ancestor abides.
Ophelia lives on Anima, an ark where objects have souls. Beneath her worn scarf and thick glasses, the young girl hides the ability to read and communicate with the souls of objects, and the power to travel through mirrors. Her peaceful existence on the Ark of Anima is disrupted when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, from the powerful Dragon clan. Ophelia must leave her family and follow her fiancée to the floating capital on the distant Ark of the Pole. Why has she been chosen? Why must she hide her true identity? Though she doesn’t know it yet, she has become a pawn in a deadly plot.
I fell in love with this series so hard. @stephisfictional recommended this often and I don’t know what it was that made me give it a chance because thinking back there wasn’t a specific detail that stood out to me. It was more her enthusiasm that caught my interest. I get it. I get the enthusiasm. The world is fun and original, the characters are Miyazaki level creative and loveable, and the story is original and engaging. I read the whole quartet in one swoop and I am already considering reading it again.
