Books on BookTok: romantasy continues to triumph
This week BookTok creators listed the books that are trending on the platform.
Brittany (@whatbrireads; 56,300 followers) said that it was “very romantasy heavy” on the app, with Callie Hart’s previously self-published novel Quicksilver flagged as a popular title by all the creators. Acquired in a 10-way auction by Hodderscape, Hart’s romantasy is the first in a trilogy and will be published on 3rd December 2024. The associated hashtag—#quicksilver—has been used in more than 163,000 posts at the time of writing. Brittany also highlighted Kristen Ciccarelli’s The Crimson Moth and The Rebel Witch, the final instalment in the romantasy duology publishing in February 2025 by HarperCollins. The continued popularity of fantasy, and its spicier sub-genre romantasy, reflects a wider trend in the industry. So far in 2024, more than six million books have been sold in SFF, already up from 4.2 million in 2023. This translates to more than a £20m increase in sales through Nielsen BookScan.
Other popular fantasy titles include Kaylie Smith’s Phantasma (Bookouture) and Tigest Girma’s vampire story Immortal Dark (Hachette Children’s). Alice (@bookwithalice; 13,900 followers) noted a “lot of hype and anticipation” for Laura Steven’s January romantasy, Our Infinite Fates (Penguin Children’s). “I’m currently reading [it] and can vouch that everyone will love this one!” She also flagged Isabel Agajanian’s dark academia book Modern Divination (Pan Macmillan), publishing in January 2025. There are “a lot of upcoming releases by fan-fiction authors” that are “getting so much love already”, including Alchemised (Michael Joseph) by SenLinYu, author of the self-published fan-fiction novel Manacled, which reimagines the Harry Potter characters Draco and Hermione. Alice also pointed to Brigitte Knightley, who writes fan fiction under isthisselfcare, and their debut novel, The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy (Orbit), alongside Julie Soto’s Rose in Chains (Magpie). Soto writes fan fiction under the username LovesBitca8. Knightley’s debut was featured in The Bookseller’s SFF, published on 15th November: “A slow-burn romance featuring a healer and an assassin. Tropes include the slightly bewildering ‘slaughter as love language’.”
Romantasy’s popularity continues with Rachel Schneider’s self-published Metal Slinger, the first in the Fire & Metal series, and Penn Cole’s Spark of the Everflame (Headline), which follows healer Diem Bellator, who discovers a dangerous secret about her family when her mother goes missing. The hashtag #romantasy has been used in more than 590,000 posts on the platform at the time of writing
Backlist titles receiving attention include Stephanie Garber’s Spectacular (Hodder & Stoughton), a novella set in the world of Caraval, and John Gwynne’s Shadow of the Gods (Orbit), the first in the Bloodsworn Saga (Little, Brown) published in 2021. The titles were highlighted by Emily (@emilymiahreads; 79,800 followers) and Samantha (@samfallingbooks; 51, 900 followers), respectively.
