The 5 Most Popular Books Recommended by Booktok 2021.

Either I have 20 new books on my Kindle or nothing to read. There’s honestly no in between. But, where do I get all those book recommendations?

I haven’t been to the library in so long, and as wonderful as Goodreads is, it’s rare that I get a book recommendation(rec) from there that I actually read.

This, my dear friends, is where booktok comes in. What’s booktok, you may ask? It’s a TikTok/reels(?) community that’s all about books. And if you think that’s boring, well I got some news for you. It’s not. You literally have every book fandom on there, ranging from Percy Jackson to ACOTAR.

The creators I’ve discovered on there are amazing. A few whose content I really enjoy on Instagram are:

• @the_bookaddict
• @abbysreading
• @court_of_stars_
• @caitsbooks

If you know any more, tell me in the comments!

So, if you’re trying to remember that book, somebody on booktok recommended or you’re scrolling through your saved posts to find it. Even if you just want a book recommendation, that you can pick up and read right now. I got you. Here are 5 books/series that I’ve seen the most on booktok.

(All of these links are affiliate links, more on that above.)

ACOTAR By Sarah J. Mass

ACOTAR stands for A Court of Thorns and Roses, which is the first book in the ACOTAR series. Believe it or not, I didn’t know about Acotar before booktok. But let me tell you, booktok is absolutely in love with pretty much everything Mass publishes.

I read the first book, and it honestly didn’t live up to my expectations. I guess I expected too much because of all the recommendations, but it was a solid 3.5 for me. However, I’m a big believer in don’t judge an author on a single book, so I’m planning on finishing the second book this weekend. I’ll update y’all on my thoughts about it, in my next post. You can always follow me on Twitter for more updates.

One of the reasons I didn’t like acotar was some parts seemed too rushed, compared to the rest. But I’ll let you guys form your own opinion, let me know them in the comments down below.

Anyways, here’s a short summary of Acotar from Goodreads.

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator, and killing something so precious comes at a price …

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jeweled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever

So, by far that’s the most popular book series I’ve seen on Booktok. Here’s the (aff)link again.

Six of Crows Duology By Leigh Bardugo

I’ve read literally all of Bardugo’s books, and I’m planning on rereading them because it’s been some time since I’ve first read them.

This is the second most common book I saw on booktok, and for good reason.

Kaz is the literal meaning of the sarcastic, brooding, dark-haired male MC. If you tend to fall for fictional characters(ahem, me), than I can 100% guarantee you, that Kaz will own your heart. If you don’t believe me, give it a read.

Here’s a synopsis of Six of Crows:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price―and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . . Kaz’s crew of six is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction―if they don’t kill each other first.

– Amazon

Come on, you can’t tell me that you’re not at least slightly interested. Try it out, and let me know in the comments what you think!

Here’s a link to the (aff)book again.

Grisha Trilogy By Leigh Bardugo

This book series isn’t as popular as the Six of Crows duology, but it’s still on booktok. I actually read this series before the duology. And if you’re wondering which series to read first, it doesn’t matter. They’re not linked, but if you want to read Bardugo’s other series like Nikolai Lanstov’s then I would read Grishaverse first.

A rule of thumb I usually use for scenarios like this is to read by the author’s publishing date. In this case, the Grishaverse series was released first. Here’s are the dates for the rest of her books:

• Grishaverse: 2012
• Six of Crows Duology: 2015
• Alex Stern: 2019
• King of Scars(Nikolai): 2019

These are a few of my favorite quotes from the Grishaverse series.

I have wayyy too many favorite quotes by Bardugo so, I’ll leave it at this haha. If you want to read more, here’s a link to all her quotes.

I read the Grishaverse series about 2 years ago, so scrolling through those quotes brought back a lot of memories. Here’s a short synopsis about the Grisha trilogy:

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha.

To be honest, this summary isn’t the best and makes the series sound a bit dull. But I promise the Grishaverse series is amazing and absolutely worth a read. You can buy the first book here(aff) on Bookshop. I’ve actually noticed books on Bookshop are cheaper than the ones on Amazon. And buying books on Bookshop through my link supports me and my blog! So all purchases are very much appreciated. 🙂

The Folk Of The Air Series By Holly Black

This is the third most common book, I’ve seen on booktok so far. The first book in the series; (aff)’ The Cruel Prince‘ may be the one you’re the most familiar one. I haven’t read any of them, but I bought the first book a few weeks back. All of these books are a mixture of romance, mystery/violence, and some comedy here and there. Based on the reviews of this series, it’s more fantasy and violence and less romance.

Here’s a synopsis on the first book.

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

– Goodreads

You can buy the first book here(aff) on Bookshop. All support is appreciated, and another way to support this blog is to share it! There are icons on the left side for desktop and at the bottom for mobile users. Thank you!

If you’re looking for a gift for the reader in your life, this post is for you! ⤵

20+ Perfect Book Themed Gifts that any reader is guaranteed to love.

Heartless By Marissa Meyers

Heartless is one of the two standalone mentioned in this post. It’s by Marissa Meyers, who’s also the author of the Lunar Chronicles series. A few of my friends were absolutely obsessed with the Lunar Chronicles, but I didn’t read it. It gave me Twilight vibes and didn’t interest me all that much.

Anyways, I saw (aff)Heartless on Booktok enough that I finally looked it up, and added it to my Goodreads tbr list.

Heartless is based on Alice in Wonderland, the following is the synopsis.

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

– Goodreads

Here’s the link to the (aff)book again, let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these books I’ve mentioned so far.

Shatter Me Series By Tahereh Mafi

Okay, so.

Looking at the reviews of the books on Goodreads, people aren’t exactly a big fan of the first book. BUT.

Readers love the second book and the rest of em, even on Booktok people stressed that the second book was where it started getting better. I can’t really have an opinion on this since I never read it, but there’s gotta be a reason why so many booktokers(is that even correct terminology??) recommend it. It also has more than 100k ratings on each book.

I’m not sure when I’m going to read this one, since I have enough books to read. School and a bunch of other stuff have made life pretty hectic, so I’m sticking to finishing one book every weekend. Last weekend, I finished (aff)One of Us Is Lying, and the starting was kind of boring, but then it got so good. If you’re into mystery, murder, and some light romance, this book is for you! There’s a sequel, but the first book didn’t really have a cliffhanger so I don’t have an urge to read the second one.

I also just found out that there are 10 books in the Shatter Me series. TEN. And they’re all published, if you’re looking for a long read, this one is for you.

Anyway, here’s a synopsis of the first Shatter Me book.

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I’m more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war—and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

– Goodreads

Okay, you gotta admit, that was an extremely intriguing synopsis. Get your copy of the first (aff)book here.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

This book wasn’t mentioned on booktok as much as the other ones, but this tiktok I found on Pinterest was very, very, persuasive.

It sounds like an amazing read, and it’s also a standalone if you’re looking for a no-strings-attached read.

I should also mention that most of these series are finished(the last book of Acotar was just released), so you won’t have to wait a painstakingly long time for the next book.

Here’s a synopsis of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue:

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed 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.

– Goodreads

I mean, how can you not be interested? Here’s the (aff)link to buy it.

Conclude

I know I only mentioned 5 series/books but we’re at 2,345 words so far so uh…

I think this is one of the longest posts I’ve written other than this one. To be honest, however, the synopsis did make quite a lot of this post. But let’s move on haha.

If you’re looking for more book recommendations, check out my 2021 booklist. I’m also planning on changing my blog publishing date to every Saturday, so let’s see how that goes.

(PS. More recent book recommendations wanted? Read this: My 8 top favorite books of 2022.)

If you’re struggling with reading procrastination, I got just the thing for you! If you sign up below, you get a FREE, “How To Beat Reading Procrastination.” checklist.

take care!