BookTok, the chaotic and wonderful land of book recommendations, trending plot lines, and smut-filled reads. But are the ‘shadow daddies’ and overtly explicit imagery changing how we perceive fiction?
The use of TikTok to promote new releases and self-published books has shown to be incredibly successful, hurling many authors into the spotlight. Authors like Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros have achieved incredible success through this platform, with Maas having sold nearly 70 million copies worldwide, and Yarros hitting 12 million within just two years.
But with all that success comes a cost: the slow decline of romance books that feature unique or fresh storylines. Thanks to TikTok and the visibility it offers, many new authors have learned what sells and are tailoring their books to match the trends. This is creating a market oversaturated with cookie-cutter storylines, and it’s getting real boring.
This is especially noticeable in the romantasy (romance/fantasy) genre. After vampires and werewolves were done to death, an endless stream of fae(ries) and dragons followed suit. There are only so many ways these topics can be written before the novelty completely fades away. These days, I pick up a new book and feel like I’ve already read it! The surprise, originality and spark are gone.
What’s more, it feels like some dark romance and fantasy writers are trying to out-shock each other. Let’s pick on the Lights Out series by Navessa Allen. The first novel has an absurdly long list of sexual content warnings, which is extended even further in the second instalment released in June. It makes you pause and wonder: who actually wants to read something so extreme?
Apparently, a lot of people.
With a 4.5-star rating from nearly 500,000 Goodreads reviews, Lights Out proves that these books have a huge fanbase. But it also raises concerns. As darker romance floods the market, more readers are being desensitised to topics that probably shouldn’t be normalised. In my humble opinion, if a book needs a multi-page content warning list to stand out, maybe it’s just not that good. Nevertheless, it’s a line the community seems eager to cross.
BookTok has undeniably changed the way we discover and engage with books, but now we also have the responsibility to be more critical. As readers, creativity should be encouraged by supporting authors who break the mould, and ask ourselves if chasing tropes and shock value is worth sacrificing originality. Otherwise, we risk turning literature into repetitive and unmemorable slop.
Kathrynf 
Alexander Hanjin De Filippo 
Eabha Quinn
I totally agree with the author, fantasy used to be a really engaging genre, especially those that were also historical in nature. So many have traded depth of character & a really meaty storyline for explicit sex scenes with shock value. I for one avoid ‘romantasy’ books looking instead for quality ‘historical fantasy’ novels where the shock value is in the exciting & engaging storyline.