i read 2 of the most popular romantasy books on booktok so you don't have to 🐉

hi friends!!
this video has been in the works for a minute. sorry it took so long to get to you, but here it is! all my thoughts on fourth wing and the serpent and the wings of night, 2 of the most popular books at the moment.....hope you enjoy 🫶🏼


✨ A Clockwork Reader Reading Journal:

📚 timestamps:
intro: 0:00
fourth wing: 4:18
serpent and the wings of night: 27:08
outro: 40:57

s o c i a l :
☁️ instagram: @clockwork_reads
☁️ tiktok: @clockwork_reads
☁️ twitter: @clockwork_reads​​​​



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thank you so much for watching 🦋

[dnzkmr]

Hearing the word “omegaverse” in a booktube video about dragons was not on my 2023 bucket list

[bookoffholicbookwart]

People might (definitely) come at me for saying this, but I'm seriously worried about the impact of booktok on the publishing industry and readers in general. It is hyping not so good or not well done books and eventually overshadowing the deserving ones. It's making publishers pump out books and multiple editions of them but at the cost of diluted literature.

[glorianamultistan]

Have I read these books? No. Will I sit down with my coffee and brunch to watch the whole video? Yes. Honestly, I love these long videos so much! They are like a comfort video call with a friend who is telling you about the books they read and making you feel less lonely.

[SlowBurnReader]

Romantized is a better word for these types of books.

Frankly, it should be changed to more frequently being called Spicy, or Smutty books, because half the time there is nothing romantic about them, and we should separate those categories.

[shannonigans_]

Fourth wing author said she wanted it to be for people who’ve never read fantasy to get them into it which seems to have worked!

[fkhaoniiii]

one of the main reasons fourth wing blew up on tiktok wasn't even the story itself, it was people on the hunt for the first press edition with the sprayed edges. it was a trend to find them in stores. then people started gushing over the how good the story itself was and it got even more popular. it's sad the physical book is so pretty when the content of the book itself is so underwhelming.

[taylorgayhart]

Honestly, the chronic illness rep was some of the most frustrating parts of this book for me!! As someone with a chronic illness that makes it so I can’t work out like everybody else, it is infuriating to hear that someone with a chronic illness thinks that someone could just work out more, and that would cure them. I thought that her being a scholar with a chronic illness was going to lead to her using her brains not her brawn to overcome the challenges she faced, and then I get to the love interest who’s just like “you’re not strong solely because you don’t try hard enough.” STFU with that! I was done at that point.

[cupofkeyshae]

ACOTAR really is the modern day Twilight in the sense that so many books seem to be trying to copy it's style! Reminds me of when Twilight spawned a ton of vampire books. I'm ready for the book community to move on from SJ Maas though...

[tomdelongjohns]

as a disabled person, i just wanted to offer another perspective on the disability rep in fourth wing! i absolutely hate everything about it because her attitude is 100% "i need to push through this" instead of listening to her body's needs. it feels very internalized ableism-y and i was so disappointed because in fantasy, accommodations can be literally anything and they could be so sick. i know if i tried to "push through" the way violet does, i wouldn't get through whatever i needed to - i would pass out and injure myself from passing out, and i'd scare everyone around me, and i'd put myself in a situation where i could be harmed by anyone around me because i was unconscious. no matter how much people tell me to just try harder to not be disabled, that's never gonna be the case, so it makes more sense for me to learn my limits and work within them. i'm glad she was writing from a place of personal understanding, but man, the entire time it just radiated to me "oh, man, you need to work this shit out with yourself, you're only gonna get more hurt."

love your content as always, and i love when you read popular books so i can judge from afar if they're worth it from a voice i trust. <3

[zeldapwr]

You nailed it with the YA association. These books become so popular because they have more accessible world building which is more common in YA but are a bit more graphic in the romance elements thus the "adult" or NA label. It's how I feel about SJM, her books read very YA aside from the romance elements and they're all just ok.

[sotiria_lazaridou]

while I totally disagree with your opinions because I LOVED both of these books (especially Fourth Wing omg), I still truly appreciate how honest and transparent you are when reviewing books! it's just so refreshing and inspiring to see!!🥰

[aamnahere]

To be honest, I am seriously tired of how Booktok and Bookstsgram have impacted the modern reading experience in a negative manner. They primarily cater to fantasy and romance lovers. There's hardly any diverse content and genres which is why so many incredible books get buried under the hype of a single book merely because of sprayed edges and smutty romance. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with sprayed edges or smut, it's just that I've noticed that Booktok and even bookstagram almost always hype up the same two genres (Booktube does that as well unfortunately) and even the books are mostly either average or below average in terms of style of writing, plot and characterization.

[sneums]

That's it, all of my favorite and trusted BookTubers have disliked Fourth Wing, I don't feel crazy anymore for not buying into the hype 🥴

With that being said, I have a friend who LOVED Fourth Wing, but she said it's introduced her to fantasy and she's now reading Leigh Bardugo. So if these books help introduce people to the vast world of far better written fantasy, I'm all for it!

[anyolivna]

i think the tagline for fourth wing was actually changed bc i could've sworn it was "ride...or die." before which makes it even funnier imo😭😭

[platypuspalace]

When you said that Booktok and Bookstagram are, or at least originally were, full of people who aren't huge readers, it's like a lightbulb turned on over my head. Of course. The books you love are often very different when you first start reading in a genre vs after you've read 200 books in that same genre. That explains so much.

[ggukdipity]

I’m so glad you talked about Xaden’s nickname for Violet and that line 😭 they made me cringe

[cosmic.elixir]

I WAS WAITING FOR SOMEONE I TRUST TO READ FOURTH WING !!
THANK YOU<3

[emeraldsea]

I've been enjoying Fourth Wing. It's easy and fun to slip into. Do I roll my eyes sometimes? Yeah. But it's an easy read and I needed that. I also love the snarky banter between the characters.

[malloreygarrett]

Hannah: “If we had just had more dragons and political intrigue I would have enjoyed it more”

My Brain: THE AURELIAN CYCLE

[Nonrs]

I think fourth wing is getting the hype it is, is because it feels like I’m in high school again reading my favorite books again for the first time. It takes me back to good times where I didn’t worry about bills and life. It’s nostalgic.