The world of BookTok, a side of TikTok that devotes itself to the promotion of young adult fiction and new adult fiction, is currently obsessed with these 6 novels. “The Priory of the Orange Tree,” “A Winter’s Promise,” “The Song of Achilles,” “A Darker Shade of Magic,” “My Sister, the Serial Killer” and “The Gilded Wolves” will have you wishing that quarantine will never end.
- “The Priory of the Orange Tree”
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A must-have in the world of Booktok, “The Priory of the Orange Tree,” plot rests on a world divided; a queendom lost without an heir, a spy who practices forbidden magic and a dragon rider tasked with an impossible decision. In “The Priory of the Orange Tree,” the powerful House of Berechnet has ruled Inys for thousands of years. Their ruler, Queen Sabran the Ninth, is still unwed and must conceive a daughter to protect her kingdom from inhalation. However, time is running out, and assassins plague her door. The only thing standing between Sabran and death is Ead Duryan, a spy that is loyal to a secret society of mages who protects her with forbidden magic. On the other side of the world, Tané, a dragon rider, is forced to make an impossible choice that could cause her life to turn upside down.
- “A Winter’s Promise”
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Originally written in French, “A Winter’s Promise” is BookTok’s go-to novel. Fans of “Game of Thrones” and “Pride and Prejudice” will be enthralled by Dabos’ world-building, character development and a captivating plot. “A Winter’s Promise” is set after a catastrophic event called the Rupture that has shattered Earth into different pieces or islands called arks. Ophelia, a reserved young girl, lives on an ark, called Anima. There she is able to communicate with objects when she touches them. However, her idyllic life on Anima is cut short when she is promised to Thorn, a powerful member of a distant clan. Ophelia’s betrothal thrusts her into a world of treachery and intrigue, where she is forced to find a way to survive.
- “The Song of Achilles”
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A popular recommendation by BookTok, “The Song of Achilles,” has stolen hearts and minds. A fresh look at the classic tale of Achilles’s origins. An awkward Patroclus is exiled to the court of King Peleus and his demi-god son, Achilles. In Greece, the pair become fast friends, and as they grow from childhood to adulthood, they build a strong bond that awakens something deeper, to the displeasure of Achilles’ mother, Thetis, a powerful sea goddess. When the beautiful Helen of Sparta is kidnapped and taken to Troy, Patroclus and Achilles are thrust into a war that will test their friendship and their love.
- “A Darker Shade of Magic”
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Kell is the last of the famous Antari-magicians who possess rare and powerful magic. They have the ability to travel between parallel London’s, different versions of the city stuck in opposite dimensions—Red, Grey, White and once upon a time, Black. Kell, who grew up in Arnes, Red London, serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador. When he’s not serving the empire, Kell has a dangerous hobby as a smuggler traveling between White London, full of power-hungry kings and Grey London, stripped of all magic. When a deal goes awry, Kell is thrust into the arms of a cut-purse who forces him to spirit her into another world. For those who love magic and mayhem, this book is perfect for you.
- “My Sister the Serial Killer”
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Set in Lagos, Nigeria, “My Sister the Serial Killer” weaves a tale of beautiful serial killer Ayoola, who murders men that she dates. The captivating tale is told through the eyes of her older sister Korede, a nurse at a local hospital, as she struggles to understand her sister and keep her bloodthirst in check.
- “The Gilded Wolves”
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If you enjoy books like “Six of Crows,” “Heist Society” and “City of Saints and Thieves,” then you’ll enjoy “The Gilded Wolves.” The book is set in 1889, in Paris, a city on the brink of industrialization. Séverin Montagnet-Alarie is a wealthy hotelier of L’Eden, one of the most elegant hotels in the city. However, when the sun falls, and the sky turns dark, Séverin leads a secret life as the leader of a group of notorious thieves who steal magical artifacts from the city’s most powerful families. A world-class performer who thrills Paris’ elite, a talented engineer who can build anything but relationships, a historian fighting for his homeland’s independence and a famous botanist desired by the city’s wealthiest. When Séverin is coerced into a deal by the elite Order of Babel, he is offered what he truly seeks: his inheritance.
Recommended: the best way to enjoy these thrilling books is on a cool, fall day, curled up with a hot drink and maybe a pet or two.