How do you choose your next read when your TBR (To Be Read) is already out of control? Asking for…well, pretty much every reader out there. In today’s world, finding your next book doesn’t even require a trip to the bookstore (although we still love those). All it takes is a phone and an app— whether that’s TikTok (or what readers lovingly call BookTok), Bookstagram (Instagram’s algorithm will get you every time), Goodreads, Storygraph, Fable…the list goes on!
It’s easier than ever to find books to add to your growing list…and harder than ever to decide what to actually read next. As soon as you finally decide on your next read, another one pops up on your ‘For You Page’—tempting you with a spicy excerpt, a swoon-worthy single dad, a tragic twist, or a fan edit that leaves you giggling and kicking your feet. And don’t even get us started on how you’re supposed to keep track of all these recommendations—let alone what you’re actually reading.
Well, allow us to introduce you to the lifesaver you didn’t know you needed: reading challenges. At the start of every new year, readers set a goal, usually between 10 and 50 books and use platforms like Goodreads and Storygraph to track their progress. Goodreads is especially popular because it keeps up with the books readers want to read, are currently reading, and have read, and it allows Kindle users to sync their Amazon account. This way, every finished book is automatically added to their digital “read” shelf. But, with TBR piles stacked higher than the laundry no one’s folding because they dived headfirst into yet another book, the challenge isn’t just about numbers or achieving a goal. It’s a way to rediscover the joy of reading, and it’s about smarter reading. Over time the real question becomes: which books make the cut this year?
So what books are flooding social media right now? The answer is often romance—mostly contemporary and dark romance. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become unofficial curators of emotionally explosive and swoon-worthy reads. From author advertisements to fan-made edits that capture every romantic detail, the algorithm makes it almost too easy to discover which fictional man will ruin readers next. Hello, Xaden Riorson.
BookTok favourites that dominate readers’ For You pages include Heartless (Daddy Cade, obviously) and Reckless (Yes, the Theo Silva) by Elsie Silver (honestly, anything by Elsie), Caught Up by Liz Tomforde (have you seen those fan-made edits of the Rhodes brothers?!), Ashes of You by Catherine Cowles, A Love Letter to Whiskey by Kandi Steiner, and From The Embers by Aly Martinez —a heart-wrenching story where a man, Eason, pulls someone from his burning house, believing it’s his wife…only to realise he accidentally saved her best friend, Bree, instead. As Bree and Eason grieve their spouses together, they uncover the devastating truth: their husband and wife were having an affair.
Meanwhile, Instagram serves up titles like Tourist Trap, The Summer We Fell, and One in a Million— about a megastar, Whitney, who finds out she has a six-month-old daughter, Haylee, after a fertility clinic uses her egg and a married man’s sperm. Bonus is that the FMC is a famous singer who gives major Aaliyah energy. These posts come with aesthetic photos that turn books into instant must-haves.
There’s nothing more rewarding than reading a book, imagining the world and the characters as they live rent-free in your head—then opening up social media and seeing those same characters and that world come to life.
Another popular way readers find new books is through authors. Have you ever finished a book by an author and immediately ran to their catalog and devoured the rest of their books one by one? Or is that just us? Authors like Q.B. Tyler, who’s written fan favourites like The Nanny is Off Limits and our personal favourite Forget Me Not, have catalogs full of deep emotional longing and angst (No one does angst quite like Q.B. Tyler) and characters who shouldn’t fall in love…but do—hard. Tyler’s catalog? It’s a masterclass in emotional destruction. She will break your heart and slowly put it back together. She writes the kind of stories with characters that will live rent-free in your head for months, wishing you could beg her to write a sequel.
Another author with the same effect? Laura Pavlov. She’s the genius behind popular series like Cottonwood Cove, Magnolia Falls, Honey Mountain, and Willow Springs—the fourth book of the series is Sealed…our first five-star read of the year. Laura Pavlov is the queen of small-town charm, big emotion, and found-family themes. Pavlov’s catalog is pure comfort. Haven’t heard of either of these authors or their books yet? Just search them on TikTok, fan edits will pop up everywhere. But be warned: once you start one of their books, you won’t be able to stop.
Need more romance? You can always check out this page on The Nerd Daily for romance reviews and excerpts to give you a taste before you pick up your next read, plus plenty of author interviews to read as well!
There are six months left in the year. If you haven’t started a reading challenge, now is the perfect time to set it. Your goal doesn’t have to be huge. You can start off small and work your way through, but even if challenges aren’t your thing, readers will welcome you with open arms to BookTok or any of these other bookish platforms. If your TBR is overflowing like ours, you’re in good company. And hey, if you happen to spiral over a single dad, grumpy cowboy, or two along the way, that’s just part of the fun.
