TikToks have immense power over the sales of books, as exemplified by the spike in sales for novels like Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End or Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles. When a video goes viral, something wholly unexpected and unplannable, people pay attention. They listen. They buy. So much so that Barnes & Nobles across the country have entire displays dedicated to books popular on the app. And the romance community is no different. I was curious, then, to see what romance books, tropes, and authors are popular on BookTok right now. I set out to find out. In order to deep dive, I scrolled through around 100 videos tagged #RomanceBooks, #RomanceTok, and the general #BookTok or #BookRecs and #BookRecommendations videos to get a better picture of what people were talking about. I tallied books that were mentioned across the 100 videos for comparison’s sake. I wound up with a list of 50+ books of the most popular romantic reads on TikTok, which I have narrowed down to the top 20 or so. I’ve divided them up by the trope or genre they were recommended under so you can pick through to find what you might be interested in. Make sense? Great, let’s get into it.
Authors
The first trend that became apparent quite quickly is the way romance BookTok latches on to specific authors. Multiple “favorite romance books” videos listed authors in the rankings rather than a specific novel. Here are a few of the ones who appeared most often.
Colleen Hoover
Colleen Hoover was by far the most popular author talked about on romance TikTok. Her first novel to go viral last year, Verity, started this obsession with her, and it has only grown from there. In the one hundred videos I watched, It Ends with Us was mentioned 20 times. It was by and large the most popular book in the community. Viewers raved about how “heartbreaking” and “heavy” and “important” this story is, with many mentions to check the trigger warnings before diving in. Two other frequent recommendations for Hoover included November 9, mentioned, fittingly, nine times; and Ugly Love, recommended eight times. With both of these, much like It Ends with Us, TikTokers almost always advised viewers to check trigger warnings before picking these up.
Emily Henry
Emily Henry was the second-most talked about author in my time on romance TikTok. Readers talked extensively about her writing style, the “spicy” nature of her novels, and the “enemies to lovers” or “childhood friends” tropes she uses in her two recent releases. People We Meet on Vacation was the second-most mentioned book, with 15 videos making mention of it or its characters. “Slow burn” and “second chance romance” were frequent phrases used to describe this summer-vacation-romp. Henry’s other novel, Beach Read, was also a frequent recommendation, with seven mentions many of which focused on the “enemies to lovers” trope between the two rival authors the novel focuses on.
Talia Hibbert
All three of Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters Series novels were mentioned by at least five or six videos each. Her novels are described as “witty” and “sexy” in equal measure, with readers gushing about their favorite pairing of the three. The other two novels in the series, Take a Hint, Dani Brown and Act Your Age, Eve Brown were equally raved about for their sweetness and their heat. TikTok says you can’t go wrong diving into this series nor Hibbert’s other work.
Tropes
BookTok in general is obsessed with tropes. You can’t scroll far before you’ll get videos dedicated to “books that make you cry” or “love at first sight” or “second chance romance.” Whatever trope you love, you’re sure to find at least one video with recommendations on what to read next. Romance TikTok is no different.
Enemies to Lovers
BookTok loves the “enemies to lovers” trope, seemingly more than any other. At least ten of the one hundred I reviewed made some mention, if not was dedicated completely, to novels that used that dynamic.
Second Chance Romance
Everyone loves a second chance, and TikTok is no different. The romance side of TikTok loves an opportunity to try again. Maybe circumstances were different the first time. Maybe the couple needed to grow up a little bit. Whatever the reason, second chance romances are some of the most popular romance books on TikTok.
Retellings
Whether it’s pop-culture favorites or mythology based, TikTok loves retellings. And, the more romantic, the better.
Fake Dating
There’s nothing like the tension and drama of fake dating. There’s nothing better than the promises the characters make to keep feelings out of the equation, and how quickly they break as pretend touches become too real.
“Spicy”
You can’t scroll long before you’ll find a video talking about the “spiciness” of a novel. Referring to how sexy or steamy a novel is, many TikTokers developed their own rating system for their viewers. No matter what spiciness level you’re looking for, TikTok will deliver.
Throwbacks
For some reason, TikTok loves books from the early 2000 and 2010s. The Song of Achilles, The Hunger Games, and They Both Die at the End are just a few examples of the way TikTok likes to look back. Whether it’s for nostalgic reasons or these books are wholly new to the younger generations, you’re sure to encounter a throwback or two while scrolling. Hopefully you enjoyed this deep dive into the most popular romance books on TikTok! If you want to read more about the book world in the app we’re all obsessed with, check out this general breakdown of books that are popular on TikTok, or this list of authors to follow! Or take this quiz based on your FYP and get a book recommendation! Or, if you want personalized recommendations and your FYP isn’t cutting it, Book Riot’s TBR is here to help! When you sign up, you’ll get paired with one of our expert bibliologists who will match you with your next perfect read, romance or otherwise! All you have to do is tell them what you like (and what you don’t) and, like magic, recommendations will show up in your inbox, or in your mailbox, depending on what you prefer!
