If you’ve spent any time on TikTok, you’ve probably come across #BookTok, a community where readers share reactions, aesthetic edits, and rapid-fire recommendations for novels. #BookTok’s recommendations vary widely in quality depending on genre, writing style and reader taste. While some books offer strong storytelling and emotional depth, others rely more on popular tropes and viral appeal than on lasting substance.

The community has become one of the most powerful forces in publishing today, and these reviews evaluate whether these trending titles live up to their reputation.

Actually worth the hype

Chloe Walsh’s “Binding 13” is about a girl escaping an abusive home life, who forms a supportive relationship with a rising rugby player while navigating trauma and coming of age.

This angsty, slow-burn Irish sports romance has popular tropes such as found family and hurt/comfort. 

This book stands out for its emotional depth and layered characters, offering more substance than typical viral romances. The book is also the first entry within the “Boys of Tommen” series.

Holly Black’s “The Cruel Prince” follows a human living in the “High Court of Faerie,” who seeks power and belonging while navigating political intrigue, danger and a complex rivalry with a faerie prince.

This high fantasy, slow burn book contains morally grey characters and tropes such as enemies-to-lovers.

This title stands out for its sharp writing and intricate world-building. It is the first book in the “The Folk of the Air” series.

Lynn Painter’s “Better Than the Movies” follows a romantic, film-obsessed teen who asks her childhood rival to help win over her longtime crush, only to find her feelings shifting in unexpected ways.

This popular rom-com includes tropes such as fake dating, boy-next-door and rivals-to-lovers.

This book offers the perfect mix of lighthearted humor and emotional depth with the characters’ witty banter and true feelings. Its use of references to classic romantic comedy films brings the reader in.

Depends on your taste

Two years after the events of the first book, Lynn Painter’s “Nothing Like the Movies” examines her characters from “Better than the Movies” navigating the University of California, Los Angeles, learning that real relationships rarely match romantic fantasies.

This collegiate book includes key tropes such as second-chance romance, forced proximity and miscommunication.

The book depends on the reader’s taste because it appeals to fans of the first book, but it feels less compelling on its own and takes a step back with a relationship that was established in the first book.

Elle Kennedy’s “The Score” follows a college hockey player and music student as their casual relationship develops into something more and they navigate commitment and personal growth.

This sports romance includes tropes such as reformed playboy, “he falls first,” opposites attract and friends-with-benefits to lovers. It is the third title in the “Off-Campus” book series.

This book depends on the reader’s taste because of its cliche romance genre with a multitude of steamy scenes. This book is my guilty pleasure, and is loved for its casual and sometimes immature dialogue and storyline.

“It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover follows a girl who falls into a relationship and confronts her past, struggling to break the cycle of domestic violence.

This emotional book includes tropes such as love triangles and second-chance romance; however, the main premise of the story is not romance.

The book has a lot of intensity, but it heavily depends on reader taste because it blurs the lines between romance and “trauma drama,” dividing readers.

Not worth it

Alex Light’s “The Upside of Falling” follows a book lover and a popular football captain as they fake dating, only to develop genuine feelings while navigating friendship, family pressure and teenage expectations.

This book isn’t worth it because it heavily relies on clichés and offers limited character depth, making it an overall cringey read.

In “Icebreaker,” Hannah Grace writes about a competitive figure skater and college hockey team captain, whose forced proximity leads to an unexpected romance as they balance training, rivalry and personal pressures.

This popular hockey romance includes tropes such as grumpy and sunshine, forced proximity, “he falls first” and rivals-to-lovers.

The only thing holding this book up is its spicy scenes. Other than the smut, the book has a weak plot and lacks, I don’t know … actual skating scenes.

Jenny Han’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” follows a girl caught between two brothers who complicate her annual beach house summer, while she navigates her first love and growing up.

This nostalgic book includes tropes such as love triangles, childhood friends, friends-to-lovers, and coming of age.

The book lacks complexity, and the characters are boring and annoying. The drama television series adaptation is more in-depth and has garnered a lot of attention throughout the years it has been released.