Tiktok is a treasure trove of book recommendations, thanks to all the bookworms creating content (aptly named BookToks) dedicated to reviewing their latest reads and showing off their collection. We took a look at the many titles that quickly became best-sellers because of these BookToks and rounded up the best ones to read this Summer. Here they are:
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Goodreads rating: 4.48 (1.3 million+ ratings)
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life, and chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and great forbidden love.
Originally published in June 2017, “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” will soon be getting a Netflix adaptation.
“It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover
Goodreads rating: 4.41 (1.34 million+ ratings)
“It Ends With Us” focuses on Lily Bloom, a young college graduate who moves to Boston and opens her own floral business. She develops feelings for surgeon Ryle Kincaid, who is initially reluctant toward having a serious relationship with her. As their relationship blossoms, Lily has a sudden encounter with her first love Atlas Corrigan. This reintroduction of Atlas threatens her relationship with Ryle and forces her to come to terms with the trauma of her past and present. Lily is forced to make a difficult decision between her two loves and what is the best for her life. In the novel’s conclusion, Lily ends up with Atlas after Ryle abuses her like her father abused her mother.
“The Cruel Prince” by Holly Black
Goodreads rating: 4.09 (665K+ ratings)
The first book of Holly Black’s young adult fantasy series “The Folk of the Air,” “The Cruel Prince” follows Jude Duarte, a mortal girl living in Elfhame, a faerie world. Swept against her will to Elfhame, Jude must adapt to living alongside powerful creatures with a deep disdain for humans and a penchant for violent delights while also figuring out her feelings for faerie prince Cardan Greenbriar.
The book has received various awards since its publishing in January 2018.
“Red, White & Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston
Goodreads rating: 4.17 (564K+ ratings)
When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.
Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper and more dangerous than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations.
“Red, White & Royal Blue,” published in May 2019, won a 2020 Alex Award and the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romance and Best Debut. A film adaptation by Amazon Studios is currently in the works.
“The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig
Goodreads rating: 4.04 (1.03 million+ ratings)
“The Midnight Library” follows a young woman named Nora Seed who is unhappy with her choices in life. During the night, she tries to kill herself but ends up in a library managed by her school librarian, Mrs. Elm. The library is between life and death with millions of books filled with stories of her life had she made some decisions differently. In this library, she then tries to find the life in which she’s most content.
Published in August 2020, “The Midnight Library” has been hailed as a bestseller by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post. It was then adapted for radio and broadcast over 10 episodes on BBC Radio 4.
“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson
Goodreads rating: 4.37 (313K+ ratings)
The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.
But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?
“They Both Die at the End” by Adam Silvera
Goodreads rating: 3.87 (474K+ ratings)
On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.
Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.
“They Both Die at the End,” published in September 2017, went on to become a New York Times and IndieBound bestseller and has earned positive reviews from different publications, particularly for its depiction of LGBTQ+ teens of color.
“Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley
Goodreads rating: 4.38 (79K+ ratings)
As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in—both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When her family is struck by tragedy, Daunis puts her dreams on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team.
After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she’s ever known?
“Firekeeper’s Daughter,” published in March 2021, went on to become a New York Times and IndieBound bestseller and was named by Time magazine as one of the “100 Best YA Books of All Time.”
“The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller
Goodreads rating: 4.39 (871K+ ratings)
Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.
They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.
“The Song of Achilles” which was first published in September 2011 has now sold 2 million copies across formats as of July 2022.
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab
Goodreads rating: 4.23 (638K+ ratings)
This fantasy novel follows a young French woman in 1714 making a bargain with the devil that makes her immortal but curses her to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” went on to be heavily praised and nominated for the 2020 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.
“Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
Goodreads rating: 4.45 (1.9 million+ ratings)
Abandoned as a girl, Kya raised herself in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the marsh girl haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, she opens herself to a new and startling world. However, when one of them is found dead, Kya immediately becomes the main suspect. As the case unfolds, the verdict as to what happened becomes increasingly unclear, threatening to reveal many secrets. As of January 2022, “Where the Crawdads Sing” has sold 12 million copies and has a film adaptation by Olivia Newman that was released on July 15, 2022.
“Before the Coffee Gets Cold” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Goodreads rating: 3.75 (114K+ ratings)
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold.
This 2015 novel was adapted into a Japanese film titled “Café Funiculi Funicula” and will soon be adapted into a television series SK Global and The Jackal Group.
(ALSO READ: LOOK: “Harry Potter” Book Series Gets New Covers)
Which of these BookTok recommendations have you read and which are still on your to-read list? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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