Like BookTube and Bookstagram before it, BookTok is TikTok’s community of readers, and spicy BookTok focuses on romance books with extra steamy scenes. Spicy romance books have flooded BookTok accounts in droves (lucky us), but finding them isn’t always easy. How do you finesse the algorithm to steer clear of the milder romance novels and heap on the heat?
No matter how much smut you’re already accustomed to, trust us: There’s so much more, and the lovely creators on BookTok are eager to help you find it. There are hundreds of spicy BookTok books to scratch any itch, and there are a number of ways to curate your FYP (“for you page”) on TikTok to align with the preferences on your Goodreads profile. Thank us later, and prepare to overstock your Amazon wishlist with more Hades and Persephone retellings than your TBR can handle. A Kindle unlimited account is highly recommended.
Where do I start?
BookTok is packed with book recommendations from sweetly steamy to downright filthy. Whatever you’re into, it helps to start by letting TikTok know that it’s spice you’re after in the first place. Some tags to follow are #spicybooks, #steamyreads, #smuttok, #steamybooktok, and #spicybooktok. More will emerge as you refine your preferences, but these are a great place to start.
As with any element of TikTok, the algorithm will adjust to your tastes as you go. Even once it knows you enjoy an enemies-to-lovers contemporary workplace romance, you might find that you adore “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry and maybe aren’t so into “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood. The platform won’t know about your dislike for a fake dating trope until you’ve “liked” and “disliked” certain videos, so give it time. The app will learn.
Who should I follow?
There are hundreds of accounts devoted to recommending and reviewing spicy reads, but if you’re new to this side of BookTok and want to become more involved, there are a handful of users to start following, beginning with the source: writers!
Plenty of authors join TikTok to promote their titles and engage with readers. Authors like Nisha Sharma (@nishawrites) write both adult and young adult romance (from “Dating Dr. Dil” to “The Letters We Keep”), while Sierra Simone (@sierrasimone) and Katee Robert (@authorkateerobert) fall strictly under “grown-ups only.” “American Queen” by Simone is perfect for anyone who thought “The West Wing” needed a lot more heat, and once you’ve read “Neon Gods” by Robert, you’ve got to check out Forbidden Fruit, a spicy audiobook on the Dipsea app.
Carrie Aarons (@authorcarriea) has an endless list of contemporary, trope-riddled, and swoon-worthy romances (“Foes and Cons” is a favorite) while Ana Huang’s (@authoranahuang) “Twisted Love” is on the darker side—always remember to read the trigger warnings!
Once you’re following your favorite authors, publishers are next. Companies like Entangled (@entangledpub), Berkley (@berkleypub), Bloom Books (@read_bloom), and Harlequin (@harlequinbooks) are all excellent about sharing news with their beloved BookTokers. Keep an eye on some of the giveaways and trends they like to kick off from time to time. You might learn how to get some books for free here and there.
Not to be overlooked are the accounts that make BookTok so special, and that’s the readers themselves! Caroline (@salty_caroline_reads) does a one-sentence reviews wrap-up at the end of every month, Kendra (@kendra.reads) co-hosts a romance book podcast called “Bring Your Own,” and no one dissects the latest page-to-screen adaptation like Ayman (@aymansbooks).
Kaven (@kaven_books) and Maggie (@maggiemaebereading) are romantasy lovers who jump at the chance to gab about “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas but are also on their way to becoming authors themselves. TikTok videos about their works in progress are interspersed with plenty of “here’s a book I read and loved.”
What reads does spicy BookTok recommend?
Depending on what you’re into, there’s a subgenre for everyone, and BookTok recommendations span every trope, no matter how specific. Better yet, plenty of them intersect for a, shall we say, well-rounded experience...
Historical romances popular on spicy BookTok include “Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon, the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn, and Evie Dunmore’s books (Sebastian in “Bringing Down the Duke” is an immaculate book boyfriend).
Contemporary romances like “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace, “The Deal” by Elle Kennedy, “The Kiss Quotient” by Helen Hoang, and “Twice in a Blue Moon” by Christina Lauren have all made the rounds across BookTok, and more pop up every week.
Dark romances such as “Den of Vipers” K.A. Knight, “Black Sunshine” by Karina Halle, “Haunting Adeline” by H.D. Carlton, “Zodiac Academy” by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, and “Credence” by Penelope Douglas all come with a hefty set of trigger warnings, but many readers love the way these books explore intense themes.
Fantasy romances (or romantasies) include “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros, “From Blood and Ash” by Jennifer L. Armentrout, “A Touch of Darkness” by Scarlett St. Clair, and “Rhapsodic” by Laura Thalassa, but this is far from an exhaustive list. Moonshadowe Chronicles and Wings of Winter, two original spicy audiobooks on the Dipsea app, put gorgeous spins on this popular subgenre.
What trends should I look out for?
One of the best ways to engage with spicy BookTok is to participate in one of its trends, which circulate through the community quickly! These are as easy and quick as a filter that tells you your favorite praise phrase (sometimes the classic “good girl” needs a twist, no?) or as involved as a role-playing scene (no, not that kind) to go along with a quick sound bite about to go viral.
The moment a sound starts getting popular, BookTok will find a way to make it about reading, so jump in if a trend resonates with you and you have an idea to put your own unique spin on it.
Some trends will appear around the time of a new book’s release. “Fourth Wing” definitely had its share of time on BookTok with audio clips like, “A dragon without its rider is a tragedy; a rider without their dragon is dead,” and Sarah J. Maas’s second Crescent City book “House of Sky and Breath” had all of us in a chokehold with, “Ruhn Danaan, crown prince of the Valbaran fae.” (He needs his own book, ASAP.)
Many BookTokers also do weekly or monthly round-ups sharing what they read, so pay close attention on the weekends and around the start of a new month for their recs. This is also a great time to pop into the comments! What have you read that they might like? What’s on their TBR that’s also on yours? Engagement with these videos helps continue to train the algorithm to show you more of what you want.
Explore and have fun!
Spicy BookTok is as varied as the books and readers involved, and as soon as you’ve gotten a sense of what you’re after, TikTok will help sort out the rest and keep you in the circles you love most.
If you like the sound of the steamier side of BookTok, check out Dipsea, the app for spicy audiobooks. Made by professional writers and top-tier narrators, each story will sweep you off your feet.
Or download the Dipsea app for the best listening experience.
