I am so sick of the all the books on booktok. Its always the same books over and over again, I need something new. I love many booktok books, but at this point I just need a break from those types of books. I read almost every genre and I read in every format. I do tend to lean more to horror, thrillers, fantasy, romance and bios, it doesnt matter if its YA or for adults.
I dont really like weak female characters or over-sexualized female characters.
I dont mind violence and spice at all, but I am not interested in splatterpunk levels of gore.
Hit me up with your best non-booktok book recommendation!
I love authors like R. F. Kuang, Karin Slaughter, Erika Fatland, S. T. Gibson, Nick Cutter, Amy Engel, Rachel Gillig, Tolkien etc. I also love Star Wars books!
by immafookuindaface
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The Pariah by Anthony Ryan
The Walking Fire by Anthony Ryan
The Will of the Many by James Islington
Ordinary Monster by J.M Miro
Temeraire by Naomi Novik (Series)
New Moon by Ian Mcdonald
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
I’m not on tiktok so no idea what books are featured there, but if you love Tolkien then try Ursula Le Guin – A Wizard of Earthsea for fantasy or The Left Hand of Darkness for SF.
The non-booktok book I am currently in love with is Fall of the Guardians by Vanessa White. It is first-person narrative that is based on her time in a cult-run military boarding school for troubled girls. It is a little more than mild violence, as it sometimes graphically discusses the abuses she dealt with. Her intake and body cavity search felt like you were listening to a 13-year-old describe it happening to them. This and other parts was really hard to read, but I also could not stop reading it. And weak she is not! This changed how I see books in a way no other book ever has. For one, I normally hate first-person books, yet I keep going back to re-read this one. The letters from Home chapter, specifically the letters from Jess and Beth, literally made me cry.
I am now a test reader on Fall of the Guardians II: The Book of Ericka, by Ericka Brown. She was one of the girls Vanessa was in with, and I am now questioning everything I ever thought I knew about reading books. Perspective really is everything, and things are not what they appear to be. Over and over again, this book has blown my mind.
I don’t know what a booktok book is, but it sounds like getting off Tik Tok would be good for you.
I’m working through *The Locked Tomb* series by Tasmyn Muir and it’s a fun ride. It has all kinds of complex and complicated female characters. It’s not a complete series, with the last book coming in 2025. Audiobooks were available through my library with no wait time. Necromancers in spaaaace!
If you’re open to middle grade fantasy, I highly recommend [Nevermoor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6a6d5ca1-b2f5-47be-828c-018144d3bbc7) by Jessica Townsend!
Recent faves of mine:
“The Immortality Thief” by Taran Hunt – a group of criminals get strong-armed into going on a space salvage mission. When they get there, they discover they’re not at all alone. Ancient knowledge, forgotten language, a deserted space lab filled with seriously freaky dangers, trauma and evil secrets! (SO SPOOKY, OMG)
“The Butcher of the Forest” by Premee Mohammed – a deep dark fairy tale about a seamstress who is sent into a haunted forest to retrieve the children of the local tyrant. Like little glittering needles to the heart. :so much love:
“The Tainted Cup” by Robert Jackson Bennett – fantasy murder mystery with augmented humans, fatal plant contagions, a prickly, eccentric detective, her stalwart assistant, a society under threat from giant monsters whose blood ruins the land, political intrigue, and a series of impossible murders. :chef’s kiss:
Well, going for the opposite of weak / oversexualized female characters, I got a couple mystery series if you like that kind of thing. Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway series, on the lighter side, or Denise Mina Alex Morrow series, which is much darker.
I deleted Tiktok a month ago so forgive me if this has been going around.. I know her newer series was floating around on there often but I feel like I never saw anyone recommend Carissa Broadbent: War of Lost Hearts Trilogy. This I think was her first trilogy and I have yet to see anyone recommend it on there and I don’t know why lol
Another trilogy I enjoyed was The Bone Witch Series by Rin Chupeco. Definitely more YA but I absolutely love this story line and how it was told.
Happy book hunting!
I always recommend Lisa Gardner and Alison Brennan. They both have been around long enough to have several different series. Try the DD Warren series by LG, and the Maxine Revere series by AB.
I don’t know what books are on tiktok but I am reading the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. It was a recommendation I got from here actually.
Its supernatural (fae) and shes a private detective so has a whodunit kind of plot line to each book. Seeing as you like both fantasy and Karin Slaughter it might be up your alley. Strong female lead character, not very violent and not particularly sexualised.
Dowry of Blood by S.T Gobson if you haven’t read it already.
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson
I love NK Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy (I don’t see this one recommended as much as other books she’s written), Nnedi Okorafor never goes wrong, and Nalo Hopkinson is another author I love.
Anything by Shannon (SA) Chakraborty.
If violent fight scenes are ok,there’s a new book called The Secrets of Spirit Energy by Darius Knight. It’s on Amazon as a paperback, ebook and audible. It revolves around the power of spirit energy and there’s currently a war going on to find the secret to spiritual evolution to becoming a limitless warrior. Every one has the potential to bring the power out of themselves, but they need to be conscious it exist. Book 2 just released the other day too
Candy by Luke Davies.
I was just thinking I hadn’t seen this mentioned for a while. It’s about a young couple on drugs.