I Read These Popular BookTok Books So You Don’t Have To [Part Two]

It’s that time of year again.

I’ve been recommended books via the bookish side of TikTok, known as BookTok, for a while now. Some of them are really good, like A Court of Thorns and Roses (which I read way before BookTok was a thing), Kingdom of the Cursed, and From Blood And Ash. However, there are some viral books promoted by BookTok that are just… not that good.


Fortunately, I am slightly gullible and here to read those not-as-good books for you. So here are some books highly recommended by the young adult and adult categories of BookTok that I read (or in some cases, tried) so you don’t have to. Or do. I’m not your parent, I can’t tell you what to do.


Just a reminder going forward: If you enjoyed these books, that’s great! I’m happy for you. All opinions stated in this post are my own and not intended as a personal attack against you or your opinions. That said…



Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas


I tried to read this back when Penelope Douglas’s books were blowing up on adult BookTok. When I Googled which Penelope Douglas book to start with, I found that almost any book is a good start. I avoided Credence (obviously) and came across this. It looked pretty tame compared to the others (spoiler alert: I definitely didn’t pick up the vibe).


It’s just glorified daddy-dom smut with a basic and barely-existent plot to try and hold it all together. I got about 30% of the way through before I had to permanently put it down.


Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti


Alright, this one was just awful. Reading this was like reading Wattpad fanfiction- no editing, crappy characters, and felt like a rip-off of Harry Potter, Victorious, and Winx Club. It left me wondering how this truly got so popular?


It doesn’t help that this book has a ton of non-con and dub-con elements to it, such as one of the main characters clothes being burned off by a guy like just after she shows up at the academy (and that’s just in the beginning of the book). This book is advertised as a “bully romance,” which is just nicer wording for rapey-love interests but it’s “okay” because the main characters are into it. I could only make it about 20% of the way through before I decided to stop torturing myself.


The Cruel Prince by Holly Black


Unlike the last two books on this list, there’s nothing inherently wrong with The Cruel Prince series. Hell, I managed to make it through the whole series. It’s just that these books are so… bland?


While everyone on BookTok is fawning over this series and how “romantic” it is, I was sitting here wondering how a book so undescriptive, surface-level, and full of overused tropes was causing so many people to feel such strong emotions for it. It was advertised to me as romantic fantasy when what I got wad political intrigue fantasy with a romance plot on the back burner. Black’s writing style was very bland and, in the kindest way possible, unique, which I found I did not enjoy. I also found it way too similar to A Court of Thorns and Roses, which was published prior to The Cruel Prince (and no, I’m not accusing anyone of plagiarism). Almost any other YA series deserved the hype that the undeserving Cruel Prince series got.


Honorable Mention: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo


Now, before I say anything, I would like to say that I thought these books were good (hence being an honorable mention). However, I don’t understand the hype that these books get. Like yes, they’re good but they’re not that good, BookTok. Please calm down.


In fact, I enjoyed the Shadow & Bone trilogy way more than this duology, as I nearly DNFed Crooked Kingdom multiple times while reading.  I don’t know if it’s the hype from the Netflix series (which I haven’t watched yet) that has been brought over to the books, but I just can’t understand the hype for these books.


Check out Part One here.

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