Every year, new books hit the shelves, and some stories always find their way into the spotlight. From BookTok to Bookstagram to BookTube, these online communities set the stage for which books spark conversations and dominate trends.
In 2025, we’ve already seen an incredible lineup of releases that have taken the social book spaces by storm. Here are just a few of the standouts!
Fantasy and Science Fiction
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
The Games are back, and so is Suzanne Collins. Sunrise on the Reaping takes us back 24 years before Katniss’s story, dropping us into the 50th Hunger Games and the brutal Quarter Quell that features none other than Haymitch Abernathy. Long before he became Katniss’s sarcastic mentor, Haymitch was a survivor and fighter in his own right, and fans have been begging for his backstory for years.
Collins delivers her signature mix of political intrigue, gut-punch emotion, and keen worldbuilding. No surprise it’s dominating BookTok and BookTube, where readers are dissecting every detail and hailing this as the prequel we knew we needed and wanted.
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Dragons, drama, and devastating cliffhangers: Rebecca Yarros is three for three. Onyx Storm, the third installment in the Empyrean series, had fans counting down the days since Fourth Wing broke the internet back in 2023. With more battles between dragons, sizzling romance, and enough world expansion to fuel endless theories, this book didn’t just meet expectations. It scorched past them.
BookTok exploded once again with breakdowns, memes about the positions in the ‘spicy’ scenes, and predictions, proving Yarros still has the romantasy world in a chokehold.
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
R.F. Kuang never plays it safe, and Katabasis is a testament to that. This genre-defying, witty novel follows two students who literally descend into hell to rescue their professor. The premise alone sparked a wave of prep-reading panic across BookTok, prompting questions such as: Should you read Dante’s Inferno? Or Sussana Clarke’s Piranesi? Or merely trust Kuang to break your brain in the best possible way?
Either way, the discourse was half the fun, and once the book dropped, it became the kind of story you can’t stop thinking about long after the last page.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
If there’s one thing V.E. Schwab does best, it’s setting up a haunting atmosphere, and this time, it’s deliciously dark. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil offers gothic horror, sapphic vampires, and the lyrical storytelling that Schwab fans love.
Told through the eyes of three women from different timelines, this book is equal parts eerie and beautiful. Bookstagram had a field day with its moody aesthetics, with readers on BookTok exclaiming, “This is how you write gothic fantasy with lesbian vampires!”
Fearless by Lauren Roberts
The Powerless trilogy has been trending on BookTok since day one, and Lauren Roberts completely delivered with Fearless. The finale ramps up the heat for lovers of Paedyn and Kai’s story, offering more romance, more heartbreak, and more tension, while tying everything together in a way that feels both satisfying and devastating. Readers rushed to TikTok with edits and a mix of mixed reviews and reaction videos.
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Rachel Gillig knows her way around gothic slow burns, and The Knight and the Moth is peak dark fantasy romance. Following Sybil, a Diviner with secrets, a brooding knight named Rodrick, and a hilariously sarcastic gargoyle, this one had readers hooked on equal parts banter and gloom. After One Dark Window became a TikTok darling, Gillig proves she’s no one-hit wonder, and fans can’t wait for the sequel!
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
Romantasy lovers met their new obsession in Shield of Sparrows. This book has everything: cursed monsters born from spiteful gods, a princess forced into a marriage she never wanted, and a slow-burning romance. Perry blends high-stakes danger with simmering chemistry, giving BookTok all the ingredients it loves: epic battles, reluctant love, and a harrowing cliffhanger.
Alchemised by SenLinYu
Alchemised by SenLinYu has quickly become one of the most talked-about fantasy debuts of the year, largely thanks to its origins from Archive of Our Own (or AO3). Adapted from the viral fanfiction Manacled, a blend of Harry Potter and The Handmaid’s Tale, the novel has been completely reimagined into a thousand-page epic set in Paladia, a world ravaged by war and ruled by necromancers. The story follows Helena Marino, a former alchemist imprisoned after the fall of her city, who awakens with memory gaps and is forced under the enigmatic High Reeve, Kaine. As she struggles to piece together her past, Helena is drawn into a web of political intrigue, alchemical secrets, and dangerous romantic tension.
Social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit have amplified the buzz, with fans dissecting theories and speculating about how it will be from its origin story, Manacled. A mix of necromancy, memory loss, and forbidden romance, it’s the kind of dark fantasy that thrives on BookTok.
Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn Cycle has been a juggernaut since day one, and the third book, Oathbound, had readers counting down the days to release. The story continues Bree Matthews’ journey as she navigates her role in a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights while grappling with grief, identity, and power.
Fans flooded social feeds with theories as they devoured the book. Deonn’s mix of epic world-building, emotional depth, and magic has cemented this series as a defining voice in YA fantasy.
Romance
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
Abby Jimenez never misses when it comes to romance, and Say You’ll Remember Me had TikTok readers crying and laughing in equal measure. The novel follows Xavier, a sweet veterinarian, and Samantha, a sharp-witted social media marketer, whose seemingly perfect first date is cut short when she has to move across the country the very next day.
Long-distance struggles, heartfelt moments, and Jimenez’s signature blend of humor and heartbreak make this story impossible to forget. The viral reactions weren’t just about swoons; they were about the way this book makes readers feel.
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
At this point, Emily Henry has solidified her title as the internet’s comfort-romance queen, and Great Big Beautiful Life only cements her reign. This time, she introduces us to Alice and Hayden, two rival writers locked in a one-month trial to win the chance to write the official biography of the reclusive heiress Margaret Ives.
What unfolds is a perfect mix of comedic banter, gut-wrenching emotion, and a swoon-worthy romance. Henry’s unmatched ability to craft messy, lovable characters keeps fans turning every new release into a BookTok event.
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Ali Hazelwood, the reigning queen of STEMinist rom-coms, came out earlier this year with Deep End, her steamy new sports romance. The novel explores the lives of Lukas, a competitive swimmer, and Scarlett, a platform diver who aspires to attend medical school. What starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement quickly evolves into a slow-burning romance brimming with tension, heat, and heart.
Fans were hooked not just by the sparks between the leads but by Hazelwood’s signature mix of emotional depth and sizzling chemistry.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Reid’s Atmosphere is a historical fiction romance that delves into the life of Joan, one of the first women to enter NASA’s space program to become an astronaut. Joan falls in love with fellow astronaut Vanessa, and they keep their relationship secret, fearing intense scrutiny and homophobia. Reid weaves in themes of ambition, friendship, and self-discovery against the backdrop of space travel and historical obstacles.
Fans of Atmosphere created conversations that trended around the sapphic love, the tension, and Reid’s signature ability to make even stellar settings feel heartbreakingly human.
Nonfiction
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
Best known for his young adult novel The Fault in Our Stars, John Green tackles a heavy and heartbreaking topic, making it deeply human. In Everything is Tuberculosis, Green discusses the history and science to unpack the devastating global impact of the disease while weaving in his own reflections on illness, mortality, and resilience. It’s an exploration into tuberculosis and the story of Henry Reider, a Sierra Leonean who contracted tuberculosis as a child and even wrote a memoir talking about it.
Readers connected deeply with the vulnerability and honesty of the work, and BookTok lit up with annotations and health activist recommendations similar to those found in Green’s book. More than just a book, it felt like a poignant reminder to seek meaning and beauty in the midst of pain.
Thriller/Mystery
The Tenant by Frieda McFadden
Frieda McFadden has become the internet’s thriller queen, popping out a new thriller book every year. The Tenant begins with Blake Porter, newly fired and trying to keep up with mortgage payments, and he and his fiancée, Krista, decide to rent out a room to Whitney, the seemingly perfect roommate. Typical of McFadden’s work, Whitney isn’t all what she seems to be, and soon the apartment itself feels like a trap. As lies unravel and danger closes in, every chapter delivers another gasp-worthy twist that keeps readers up way past bedtime.
Fans devoured it in a single sitting and then immediately went to BookTok to discuss the ending. Dark, fast-paced, and bingeable, it’s the kind of thriller that makes you side-eye your own roommates after turning the last page.
From sweeping fantasies to poignant romances and chilling thrillers, 2025 has already delivered stories that resonate far beyond the page. Each of these titles has sparked discussions across online reading communities, reaffirming the power of literature to connect readers. As BookTok, Bookstagram, and BookTube continue to shape the modern reading landscape, one thing remains clear: Books and stories will always be talked about.
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