“BookTok” has become more and more popular in recent years, with a growing trend towards the romantic and the spicy. Many have seen a plethora of recommendations or reactions to certain series, but hardly ever do we get full reviews and opinions on them. So here are my honest reviews of popular TikTok romance novels:
- Haunting Adeline
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I ADORED these books! I’m sure a lot of people would know that these books are no joke, and definitely put the dark in dark romance. If you’ve heard of the infamous “gun scene”, you’ll know what I’m talking about. However, the author does an amazing job of keeping that perfect balance between dark and spicy to where the dark parts aren’t too much for the reader and you get enough of the spice and positive encounters for it to balance out and compliment each other nicely. However, this does NOT mean that this couple is all cheesy wholesome romance in the day and a little naughty at night. It is still very much a wicked and immoral love story with two people who were definitely made for each other. This stalker romance follows the dual POV’s of Adeline, the sassy, impulsive, and feisty freelance writer with a thing for the dark and creepy, and Zade, the obsessed, powerful, predator with a secret company tracking down and “eliminating” human traffickers.
- Plot: 9/10
- Spice: 10/10
- Characters: 9/10
- Dark romance, stalker, creepy, prey, cat and mouse, touch her, you die (literally), dual POV
- Guild
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This is one of my absolute FAVORITE series. Ever. But you must trust the process. If you’re here just for the spice and the romance, you have to get through the first book first, but trust me the wait is SOOO worth it! This series takes inspiration from the classic “King Midas” story but with a twist. It follows Auren and her incredible, inspiring, witty, sarcastic, and tragic story of finding her own sense of self and confidence. If you’re looking for the perfect “feminine rage”, satisfying revenge, and relatable aspects of a story, you’re DEFINITELY in the right place. But the best part is that she isn’t the damsel in distress who gets saved. She takes control of her own story and succeeds for the most part on her own. But she finds support, devotion, loyalty, and assistance in her own love story, and is shown that she is so much more than she allows herself to be. This series is still ongoing with the fifth book being released just recently and one more on the way, and feels very much like A Court of Thorns and Roses, but with a lot more depth: Her first love interest is a tantrum-throwing blonde in charge until she upgrades to the dark fae who isn’t what he seems.
- Plot: 10/10
- Spice: 10/10
- Characters: 10/10
- Creative retelling, feminine rage, self-discovery, self-empowerment, touch her, you die, goddess energy, goddess treatment, hurt/comfort, “us against the world”, working through trauma, found family, dual POV
- A Soul to keep
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This one’s for all my weirdos looking for something different. if you’ve seen the cover, you know this isn’t just your average cheesy love story. Although it certainly isn’t for everyone, I personally adore the love story between the two main characters. This book follows the story of Reia, an outcasted, sarcastic, smart, and fearless character who is offered as a sacrifice to Orpheous, a monster who, in exchange for a sacrifice, offers protection to the village from demons and other monsters who prey on humanity. This story has a lot more of the sweet, adorable undertones than the rest of these books, and feels a lot like a spin-off of the Beauty and the Beast story: A big monster who turns out to be just a big softie who wants love!
- Plot: 8/10
- Spice: 9/10
- Characters: 9/10
- Beauty and the Beast, “looks like he could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll”, comfort in each other, obsessive, possessive, protective, folklore, woodsy, forced proximity, dual POV
- twisted love
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Ahhhh, the classic grumpy x sunshine trope…This story follows Ana, the optimistic, always positive and always smiling sunshine character, and Alex, the closed-off, intimidating, and possessive grump. He is a man on a mission and is in it for the long game. He’s been plotting his revenge for years and has always relied on his cold and cruel outlook. But when he promises his friend to watch over his sister Ana while he’s gone, he starts to melt and realizes he hasn’t felt this way for anyone else before. As he is dealing with his trauma and seeking revenge, Ana deals with her own forgotten traumas as well, and he helps her face her fears right by her side.
Honestly, not my favorite book of all time, but definitely not a bad one! The main character didn’t have as much of a “backbone” as I would have liked, but that’s also a preference thing. I love my strong, heavily sarcastic, “I do what I want” female characters! However, I felt that the love interest became a bit problematic towards the end, and there wasn’t much evidence or proof that he deserved his “redemption arc”, and “winning the girl back” storyline. However, before that their relationship had me invested, and I had a hard time putting the book down
- Plot: 6/10
- Spice: 8/10
- Characters: 6/10
- Grumpy x sunshine, rich CEO, hurt/comfort, working through trauma, possessive, protective, dual POV