Since the earliest use of the hashtag on TikTok mid-pandemic in 2020, #BookTok has shaped our reading lists and the publishing industry. If you spot a novel in prime position on bookstore shelves or atop the bestselling list, there’s a good chance BookTok helped put it there. Nearly half of the 10 top bestselling books in Australia in 2024 were older books given new fresh life by the hashtag including Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel It Ends With Us; Sarah J. Maas’ 2015 A Court of Thorns and Roses; Rebecca Yarros’ 2023 Iron Flame and Freida McFadden’s 2022 thriller The Housemaid.
Here, 10 BookTok creators from Australia and around the world (who have a combined total of more than 3 million followers and 230 million likes) reveal their must-read summer reads. You read it here first!
Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna
Recommended by Charlee Brooks (@grandpasbookclub), Sydney.
“Oisin does an amazing job of bringing characters to life.”
During the hottest June on record in 2019, the lives of four mid-30 Londoners are changed forever when they cross paths at a party held on the Summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Evenings and Weekends is a moving debut novel – full of sweat, sunshine and secrets – from a novelist to watch. “Oisin does an amazing job of bringing characters to life,” Brooks said. “He writes characters in a way that feels so real; relationships are messy, people make mistakes, and I feel like it’s a beautiful reflection of what real life is like. So if you’re looking for your next summer read, definitely look no further.”
The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen
Recommended by Freya Valerio (@freyvalerio), Melbourne.
“There is actually the perfect amount of plot, action, and romance, it is all-consuming.”
Drawing from Greek mythology, The Games Gods Play follows a San Franciscan “mortal” named Lyra, who is chosen to compete in a once-in-a-century tournament. Different Greek Gods set challenges for the competitors, including Hades, who is the love interest in this “romantasy”, which is perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and The Hunger Games. ”Hades mythology is fascinating to me and seeing him this way, I feel like it was captured so perfectly,” Valerio said. “There is actually the perfect amount of plot, action, and romance; it is all-consuming. This book will live rent-free in your head for weeks after reading it – I guarantee you.”
The Striker by Ana Huang
Recommended by Jayden Kouli (@jaydenkouli), Sydney.
“This book right here is a sports romance like no other.”
This steamy sports romance follows a love affair between Premier League darling Asher Donovan and former prima ballerina Scarlett DuBois whose dream career was cut short by a tragic accident. After losing the premiership due to onfield conflict, Donovan is forced to make amends with his rival teammate – but his new trainer, DuBois, also happens to be his rival’s sister. Plus, she’s sworn-off footballers. “This book right here is a sports romance like no other,” Kouli said. “If there is one author I can’t stop reading, it’s Ana Huang, and with us entering our #BookTok Summer Reads era, this is the perfect suggestion for you. It’s summertime, sports are all around us, and I think there’s no better companion read than this one right here.”
Jaded by Ela Lee
Recommended by Robert Swart (@robert.reads), Perth.
“This is basically the one book that I’m recommending for everyone to read this summer, regardless of which genres you like.”
One morning, after a work event the night prior, Jade wakes up naked and alone in bed. She has everything she ever wanted in life: a successful career in law, a well-off boyfriend and loyal friends. But how much is she willing to put up with to climb her way to the top of the corporate ladder? This powerful debut, recommended for fans of Queenie and I May Destroy You, starts with finding out what exactly happened the night before. “This is basically the one book that I’m recommending for everyone to read this summer, regardless of which genres you like,” Swart said. “It shows the breakdown of her career, her relationship with her parents, and her partner, and how the perpetrators are protected, especially if they’re rich. I just think that the way all of these topics were written and addressed was very well done. It’s been one of my favourite books to read this year.”
Holding the Reins by Paisley Hope
Recommended by Belle Terese (@belleslibrarybooks), Gold Coast.
“It is incredible. You’ll be obsessed, and you want to be ahead of the crowd.”
In this steamy cowboy romance, Cecilia “CeCe” Ashby leaves a toxic relationship and returns home to the small town where her parents own a horse ranch. There, she meets newly retired ice hockey star Nash Carter, who is a hometown hero. Alas, he’s also a serial bachelor – and the best friend of her older brother. “Small-town romance books do not normally get a four chilli spice rating, but if you want a book that is going to make you sweat this summer, it’s this book here,” Terese said. “Like I said, get onto this. It is incredible. You’ll be obsessed, and you want to be ahead of the crowd.”
Taboo by Hannah Ferguson
Recommended by Cameron Gibson (@slaggybookclub), Melbourne.
“It feels like a late night sleepover D&M with your best friend.”
Interweaving personal stories, opinions and advice, Hannah Ferguson takes on “taboo” topics diving into sex, friendship, body image, work and family. “It feels like a late night sleepover D&M with your best friend and, in fact, the moment I finished it, I wanted to give it to my best friend so that we could then talk about it. If you loved Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love, then this book should absolutely be on your summer reading list,” Gib said.
Play Along by Liz Tomforde
Recommended by Eden Victoria (@edenvictorria), UK.
“The communication in this book is fantastic, A-class. Absolutely brilliant.”
Kennedy Kay is desperate to land her dream job as a doctor for a major league baseball team. But after a fuzzy night out, she wakes up with a ring on her finger. Now, she is married to the “most persistent man she has ever met”, Isaiah Rhodes, a shortstop for the baseball team and must pretend she purposefully married him for at least one season to save her job. But Rhodes wants to use that time to prove he is husband material. “Stop and read it. Stop and pick it up, please,” Victoria said. “I will say this time and time again, the communication in this book is fantastic, A-class. Absolutely brilliant. That is why it’s my summer reading recommendation.”
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Recommended by Ayman (@aymansbooks), Illinois, USA.
“This book made me smile, laugh, it pulled at my heartstrings.”
Three estranged siblings return to New York after their beloved sister Nicky’s death to stop the sale of their family home. The eldest sister, Avery, is a recovering heroin addict turned lawyer; Bonnie is a former boxer now bouncer; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris and is trying to stay sober. Fighting to keep their family home results in a wake-up call for the sisters, who begin to confront the realities of their grief, addictions, identities, ambitions, and secrets. “It portrays the struggle of addiction in all different forms, more forms than I even thought of throughout a whole family,” Ayman said. “This book made me smile, laugh, it pulled at my heartstrings. The ending? Oh my gosh. Soon as I read it, I was filled with so many emotions; I was literally staring at a wall for 10 minutes straight.”
Beg, Borrow, Or Steal by Sarah Adams
Recommended by Pauline Juan (@thebooksiveloved), California, USA.
“If you’re looking for a book that just makes you swoon and gives you butterflies.”
Romance writer Emily Walker lives in a perfectly curated world, one made even better when her nemesis, Jack Bennet, moved to Rome. But the calm disappears when Bennet calls off his wedding, returns home single, and becomes her neighbour and colleague. Let the fireworks begin! “Sarah Adams and her books are so good at drawing out just happy emotions when I’m reading them, it feels like I’m taking a stroll in the garden – and it’s a beautiful, nice, sunny day outside,” Juan said. “If you’re looking for a book that just makes you swoon and gives you butterflies, literally kicking your feet in the air, I think Beg, Borrow, Or Steal is going to be for you.”
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
Recommended by Kate Kauri (@katelovesbooks_), Wellington, NZ.
“The world-building is just genius.”
Sciona became an orphan when she was four, and for 20 years, she dedicated her life to learning magic to achieve her one goal: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally achieves this dream, her colleagues treat her as though she is a janitor rather than a qualified lab assistant. At the same time, she must work with another former janitor, Thomil, to save people and homes from the indiscriminate killing occurrence known as the “Blight”. “The world-building is just genius, and it made me experience the full spectrum of human emotion, it’s funny, and it’s lovely,” Kauri said. “The world is so systemically oppressive, it just made me so mad. But it’s also poignant, like six stars. So you should probably go read it immediately, and let me know what you think.”
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