BookTok 2024: Will these fantasy and romance authors continue to reign supreme?

Reading has been on the upswing over the past few years and 2023 kept a steady pace after the 2022 boom, according to Publisher's Weekly. Among the reasons for this growth is the emergence of "BookTok."

The social media app TikTok has many "toks" to join — WaterTok, MomTok, CleaningTok, just to name a few. Whatever your interest, there's probably a tok for it.

BookTok was a prime place to be in 2023 and that looks on track to be true for 2024 as well. BookTok fans come to the app for everything from influencers talking about their latest reads to cosplayers recreating scenes to seeing the authors themselves.

The Romance and Fantasy genres dominated BookTok in 2023 and they won't be slowing down in 2024, if upcoming book releases are any indication.

Most popular BookTok genres of 2023: Romance, Romantasy

In 2023, among the big genre winners on BookTok were Romance and Romantasy (romance + fantasy). Close behind were Fantasy, Horror and Thrillers.

Going into 2024, traditional Romance, RomComs, Speculative Romance (the paranormal, time traveling and futuristic are subcategories) and Romantasy are all projected to be on trend again.

Since COVID-19, reading has increased and reading trends have been affected by the pandemic. According to BookRiot.com, fewer people are reading nonfiction and more are flocking to the escapist genres.

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BookTok Romance books to read in 2024: Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood

Fans of the contemporary Romance and RomCom genres have plenty to look forward to in 2024.

Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood dominated this category in 2023 and it looks like they aren't stopping anytime soon.

Henry's upcoming "Funny Story" will continue the trend of beloved trope-y RomComs. Henry is known for classic contemporary romance novels like "Book Lovers" (2022) and "Happy Place" (2023). "Funny Story" comes out on April 23, 2024.

"Funny Story" is about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common. It includes classic tropes like fake dating, opposites attracting and going from friends to lovers.

Hazelwood continues to break barriers in the Romance genre with her upcoming novel, "Not in Love." She carved a niche for herself by creating the world of STEM romance books. Her 2021 "Star Wars" sequel fan-fiction "The Love Hypothesis" went from fan-fic repositories Ao3 and Wattpad to lining the shelves of bookstores.

Hazelwood's novels follow people working in STEM careers, finding themselves at odds with other beautiful smart people and falling in love. "Not in Love" comes out June 11, 2024, and follows a secret affair that proves that all's fair in love and science.

BookTok Fantasy, Romantasy books to read in 2024: Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black

Fantasy and its subgenre Romantasy have been dominating on BookTok. The pure escapism is what drags readers into fantastical worlds with whimsical romance woven in. Two authors in particular are steamrolling with new releases in 2024.

Sarah J. Maas has been publishing fantasy books for over a decade and while they've always done well, her second series, "A Court of Thorns and Roses," really took off on BookTok.

While Maas fans eagerly await the next ACOTAR book, they have the third book in her third series — "Crescent City" — making its way to shelves on Jan. 30, 2024.

"House of Flame and Shadow" will continue the story of Bryce Quinlan and her journey through a new world as she attempts to get back home in one piece and finding out if Hunt Athalar can to escape the Asteri dungeons. The future rests on their shoulders alone. Will they survive?

Holly Black has been around the Fantasy genre for quite some time, gaining major recognition for her 2018 novel "The Cruel Prince" and its sequels.

Black's "The Stolen Heir" duology will reach an epic conclusion when "The Prisoner's Throne" releases on March 5, 2024.

"The Prisoner's Throne" will take readers on a final journey as Prince Oak desperately tries to find a way out of trouble before all of Elfhame is caught in the coming storm.

Meredith G. White is the entertainment reporter for The Arizona Republic |azcentral.com. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her atmeredith.white@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Top BookTok 2024 romance, fantasy titles and when they release