Reading is a golden hobby. The hundreds of words and thousands of letters written on a single page have the ability to make you laugh, cry and everything in between. The reading community is a big one and is constantly growing because of the BookTok community on TikTok. Although sometimes BookTok gets online hate for over-recommending authors and recycling books, I found four of my all-time favorite reads on it.
Archer’s voice by Mia sheridan
This book is a bit different from your average romance read. One of the main characters is mute, so the way the author describes how they communicate is a unique quality of the book. The story features the main character, Bree, who travels to a small town to get away from her everyday life after a tragedy. While there, she meets Archer Hale, who is described as the town’s outcast. I won’t go too much into the details, but the story has separate plot lines and explains why Archer became separated from town and why Bree essentially ran away from her life. This book made me smile and cry and laugh and cry. It was an all-out 10/10 book to experience. If you read this book and hate it, I will 1000% take the blame. But in my mind, this book will always be a top choice.
november 9th by colleen hoover
Colleen Hoover’s books are probably the most debated books I’ve seen on BookTok. People say they hate them, love them, would throw the physical copies in moving traffic or re-read them every other night. This CoHo book was amazing. November 9th is a nontraditional romance read where the main characters agree to meet on one day every year. The characters lead their own lives and only have the promise to see each other on that one day. Reading this book, you’ll see the characters from the other’s point of view. You’ll also see their flaws, fears and everything else that those 364 other days meant to them. This book is a great read, and yes, Colleen Hoover’s books are a little bit out there, but one thing they can promise is an experience.
it ends with us by colleen hoover
I have yet to reread this book, but when I finished it, I had no idea what to read next. The story begins with Lily, who moved from her hometown in Maine and is starting her own business in Boston. She meets a dedicated neurosurgeon but is also reminded of the memories she had with her first love back in Maine. I could talk about this book for hours. It’s really well written and discusses some serious subject matter, so I suggest looking up potential trigger warnings before reading. To me, this story was deeper than the typical romance recommendation. I think the story is an important one as it has a clear message. It is a book I agree with Book Tok for making mainstream. This novel is definitely not for everyone, but if I see it getting hate, I have no other rational choice but to defend it. There’s also a sequel to It Ends With Us called It Starts With Us coming out this month!
The unhoneymooners by christina lauren
I constantly see mixed reviews on this book and I’m here to tell you it’s in fact worth your time. The Unhoneymooners follow Olive and Ethan, who are the siblings of a couple about to get married. At the wedding, everyone gets violently sick, including Ethan’s brother (the groom) and Olive’s sister (the bride). The only people who avoid food poisoning are Olive and Ethan. As a result of the worst wedding reception in fictional history, Olive and Ethan take an all-expense paid honeymoon trip that is, number one, not theirs, and number two, a challenge considering they do not like one another. Or do they? This book was an easy read with an interesting plot, good dialogue and a little humor. Not every single book needs to be an earth-shattering, life-changing read to be considered a good book. Great writing, great characters and a unique plot are always a win in my book, which is why The Unhoneymooners is another I won’t stop defending in the TikTok comments.
All in all, don’t be afraid to give a recommendation from BookTok a chance. I will admit some are cringeworthy and may have you putting down the book 100 pages in. Nonetheless, just because a book isn’t a good match for you, respect the fact that the book meant something to someone else out there for them to recommend it. There are millions of books out there, so getting through one average or less-than-great book will not be so bad. One recommendation could bring you closer to finding a read that will be on your bedside table for the next 5-10 years! No one is telling you to automatically trust every recommendation from a BookTok influencer! That being said, getting through a couple of peculiar book recommendations is all part of the process.
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