i read the most viral books on booktok and booktube 📚 should we believe the hype?

charli d'amelio or charli d'ameliNO? let's find out

links:

social media:

FAQs:
😭 what happened to your intro? it got copyrighted ://///
🤠 how old are you? 25!
📆 when is your birthday? 18th october 1998 (libra)
🎓 where did you go to university? i studied english at durham!
🔎 where do you live? new york city
💼 what is your job? book critic
🎥 what do you film with? lumix gh5 + canon g7x
👾 what do you use to edit? final cut pro

video chapters:
00:00 introduction.
01:20 Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
05:58 [ad] Skillshare
07:09 Happy Place by Emily Henry
10:54 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
14:48 Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
17:17 Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

sub count:
📊 1,345,898

[dsmbomb]

Words cannot describe bow happy I am that there wasn't a Colleen Hoover book on this list

[BooksByAnneleen]

I had the EXACT same thought reading Fourth Wing: WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO KILL EACH OTHER? HOW IS THIS AT ALL EFFECTIVE IN WAR??

[Goldensandbooks]

Fourth wing got me out of a reading slump and Iron Flame put me back in one. 😂

[mariboechat]

"all that work and where did it get me?" 😭😭 the reference

[frejabrennan]

I'm so sorry you got death threats from fellow readers 😢 a lot of book reviewers I watch often have different opinions on books I enjoyed but I still enjoy hearing them talk about it!

[pastacoffeeandbooks]

When Jack is your comfort human >>>>

[Luumus]

IMO the issue with R. F. Kuang's books is that she is very, very heavy-handed in her themes, to the point where the characters voices are often lost, and what is left is purely the author's voice moralising directly to the reader. And it breaks immersion, or at least it did for me, specifically with Babel. I think this "style" may be effective to some people but for me I like a more subtle approach, exploring the themes entirely through the characters themselves.

Edit: You mentioned she "doubted the intelligence of the reader" and I agree, I think Kuang needs to have a little more trust in the intelligence of her readers to make their own conclusions on the "moral of the story" indirectly through her characters and the situation they are in, instead of spelling it out as she tends to do.

With that said, I saw an interview she did in Daniel Green's channel with Evan Winter and it was utterly fascinating, Highly recommend.

[Hallmark]

"All the subtlety of a reversing dump-truck."
Jack Edwards with the one-liners, everybody.

[JuliaCheri]

okay I'm an Emily Henry girlie and I loved Book Lovers but never ever would I think it's okay to send someone death threats over not liking a book I liked?! These people are actually insane and don't deserve to call themselves real fans 🙄

[quin]

truly one of my BIGGEST gripe with reading the fourth wing was the way the students were allowed to die even when it was stressed in the first few chapters that there was a shortage of fighters 😭 all sense just completely out the window my god. the only redeeming quality of the book was the relationship of the riders with their dragons. tairn singlehandedly got me through that novel

[leahwilton]

I'm so relieved you loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Every time I hear someone talk about it, I get nervous because it feels so precious to me! I just want everyone to have an equally precious experience with it

[booksarewicked]

1:56 Love how the book is looking at Jack while he is talking about it 😄

[kitkatdoolittle]

The way that I KNEW you wouldn’t let me down with your opinion on Fourth Wing. If nobody else, Jack Edwards Will Not let me down. The ENTIRE time I was thinking “why is this book’s pacing so odd? Why is every moment treated like a climax?” It was like that Incredibles quote: if every moment is a climax, then no moment is

[sandravoyter]

god must protect our strongest soldier

[alexaayadao]

“i actually wouldn’t mind if she fell off that dragon” *chuckles*

I LOVE YOU HAHAHAHAHAHAH

[RichardFerreria]

1:19 Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
7:09 Happy Place by Emily Henry
10:54 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
14:47 Fourth Wing/Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

[Maddie_flamingo]

I feel like emily henry is so skilled at writing different personalities and story arcs that relate to people - but specific people. I loved book lovers because i understood the MC, where i didnt feel connected to happy place because i didnt fully understand Harriet. Idk ill be interested to see what she does with funny story, because i cant help but notice a trend in her books where most people either die for it or feel mediocre about it

[HaleyJeanASMR]

comparing RF Kuang to Beyonce is EXACTLY why im subscribed to you. 🤝 you get us gals.

[bubbaleebubbaloo]

THAT PART in T & T & T was truly devastating, but it was so so beautiful. i was so heartbroken but there was an odd comfort there as well. even in the face of the worst possible things, we move forward. it feels impossible, but man, somehow we continue 🩵

[sacid]

finally, someone who didn't vibe with BookLovers and loved Happy Place! i was starting to feel that i was alone on
that one.