I'm constantly scrolling through BookTok and keep seeing the same book recommendations over and over. Now I'm wondering if those authors are really that good or if it's all just hype. Has anyone of you had good experiences with them?
I'm really skeptical about this and always check whether a book is actually good or just hyped. Honestly, some BookTok recommendations are more solid than you'd think - but not all of them. Authors like Colleen Hoover, for example, who show up everywhere, definitely write compelling stories, even if critics say the prose can be pretty simple sometimes. But "compelling story" isn't nothing either. The real problem is more that BookTok tends to go for superficial trends - pretty covers, drama, romance - and completely overlooks other authors who are just as good or better.
From my experience: if you look beyond the hyped names and search for authors who aren't constantly in your FYP, you often find more interesting stuff. People like V.E. Schwab or T. Kingfisher write more complex things and do get mentioned on BookTok, but not obsessively. That doesn't mean the viral authors are bad - it just means your own taste matters more than what thousands of other people are reading right now.
My tip: pick one or two books from the trending authors that appeal to you and actually read them. Then you'll figure out for yourself whether it's your thing or if it annoys you. And don't blindly trust ratings and comments - sometimes I think a book sucks that everyone's raving about, and sometimes it's the other way around.
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