Spend enough time on BookTok and you start to think every other novel will rewrite your DNA. Someone’s sobbing on camera, clutching a paperback like it personally saved their life, and you think, Alright, fine. I’ll read it. Fast-forward a week later and you’re staring at the last page, feeling… not transformed, but mildly entertained — and wondering if you missed the part where your worldview was supposed to shatter.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m all for loving what you love. Reading is personal, and sometimes a book just hits because of where you are in life. But I also think BookTok has this magical ability to turn decent books into over-glorified literary messiahs. And in my case, I’ve fallen into that trap more than once. Here are five titles I picked up because of BookTok buzz… and my unfiltered thoughts after reading them.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (…or honestly, most CoHo books)
A young woman named Lily meets a charming neurosurgeon named Ryle (red flag #1: his name is Ryle), and their whirlwind romance seems perfect — until it’s not. Through flashbacks to her teenage years and her first love, Atlas, Lily’s story unfolds as one of love, heartbreak, and cycles of abuse. Colleen Hoover does tackle heavy themes here, and I respect that she wanted to bring attention to them.
But here’s the thing: this book is pitched online as an emotionally devastating, life-altering masterpiece. In reality? The writing feels more like a soap opera with Instagram captions for dialogue. The emotional punches are there, but they’re often delivered with the subtlety of a flying brick. And while the message is important, the hype made me expect something profound and artfully written, not just an addictive, drama-heavy page-turner.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Feyre, a human huntress, kills a wolf in the woods and is whisked away to a magical fae land as punishment, where she discovers curses, political intrigue, and dangerously attractive fae men who all happen to look like they just stepped out of a fantasy romance Pinterest board. It’s part Beauty and the Beast retelling, part high-fantasy soap opera, with an ever-expanding world and a fandom that treats it like the second coming of Tolkien.
Look, it’s fun. It’s addictive. But I went in expecting a lush, intricate fantasy epic and got… a fae romance novel with a side quest. The prose leans heavy on dramatic stares, unnecessary descriptions of how good everyone smells, and 500 variations of “his eyes darkened.” It’s not bad — but if you strip away the romantic tension, the plot feels pretty thin. I just don’t think it’s the genre-defining masterpiece BookTok has crowned it to be.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Nora Seed is given a chance to undo her regrets by entering a magical library between life and death, where each book contains a life she could have lived. She hops between parallel lives — famous swimmer, rock star, loving wife — in search of the one that will finally make her happy. It’s a high-concept premise with a moral about appreciating your own life.
Here’s where it lost me: the message is beautiful, but it’s delivered with all the nuance of a motivational poster hanging in a dentist’s office. Every revelation Nora has is spelled out so thoroughly that there’s no room for you to discover it yourself. It’s comforting, sure, but the hype had me bracing for a mind-blowing, reality-shifting read — instead, it felt more like a gentle self-help book wearing a novel costume.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
January, a romance novelist, and Gus, a literary fiction writer, are stuck in creative ruts. They make a bet to swap genres for the summer — him writing a rom-com, her writing something dark and serious — while living next door to each other. Naturally, romance ensues. It’s witty, heartfelt, and has Emily Henry’s signature banter that makes you grin like an idiot.
But… while I enjoyed it, BookTok made me expect fireworks. Instead, it felt more like a sparkler — charming, sweet, but not life-altering. It’s marketed as a “fun beach read” but also tries to juggle heavy emotional baggage, and sometimes the tonal shifts are more whiplash than seamless. It’s still good — just not the transcendent romance many have promised me.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Ph.D. student Olive panics when her best friend suspects she’s not over her ex, so she kisses the first guy she sees — who happens to be grumpy, intimidating professor Adam Carlsen. They fake-date to keep up appearances, and (shocker) feelings develop. It’s STEM romance meets Grumpy x Sunshine, and yes, it has that infamous scene involving a single bed.
This one is pure fanfiction energy — which isn’t inherently bad. But the BookTok hype sold it as fresh, original, and swoon-worthy to the extreme. In reality, it reads exactly like a fanfic that got published: adorable at times, but also predictable, trope-heavy, and with dialogue that occasionally made me cringe. Fun? Yes. Earth-shattering? Not quite.
If any of these books are your all-time favorites, that’s totally fine — I’m not here to steal your joy. I’m just saying not every tear-stained, viral BookTok review translates into the next Pride and Prejudice. Sometimes, the hype train overshoots the station.
Now I’m curious: do you agree with my takes, or am I about to be chased off the internet by angry fae warriors, CoHo stans, and Emily Henry loyalists? And more importantly — what’s the most overhyped book you’ve ever read? Did you love them, hate them, or land somewhere in between? Email me at ihorton@whatsupmag.com and let’s talk books!
