it's interesting that historical romance hasn't seemed to pick up much on booktok when it's such a sturdy bedrock for longtime romance readers.
i think maybe part of what makes the genre comforting to read is maybe too boring to describe as a creator - on paper just with a plot summary they all sound pretty similar, and it's the author's particular style and the characters that makes them each different and fun to read. see also cozy mysteries
I think a lot of readers who would've come to romance through historical romance have now come in through romantasy, which is similar in some ways (strict social rules, potential for tropes like marriage of convenience, shadow daddies are basically dukes)
My canon has definitely been expanded by BookTok (romantasy!) but at its heart it’s less about genres or authors than one sort of trope—my heart belongs to relationships with just enough tension that gets resolved early enough that the main conflict is between the relationship and something external. Romantasy and RH/WC series really scratch this itch!
We've found that the sapphic readers/recs on BookTok are constantly increasing, but they very much stick to popular canon for the most part. Still, it's great to see.
In general I find BookTok to be release date agnostic - not much focus on when something was released. There's a focus on authenticity (some creators only review books they buy themselves or check out of the library) so they aren't only reviewing ARCs. And Kindle Unlimited drives a lot of the platform, which has a fair amount of backlist enrolled.
it's interesting that historical romance hasn't seemed to pick up much on booktok when it's such a sturdy bedrock for longtime romance readers.
i think maybe part of what makes the genre comforting to read is maybe too boring to describe as a creator - on paper just with a plot summary they all sound pretty similar, and it's the author's particular style and the characters that makes them each different and fun to read. see also cozy mysteries
I think a lot of readers who would've come to romance through historical romance have now come in through romantasy, which is similar in some ways (strict social rules, potential for tropes like marriage of convenience, shadow daddies are basically dukes)
My canon has definitely been expanded by BookTok (romantasy!) but at its heart it’s less about genres or authors than one sort of trope—my heart belongs to relationships with just enough tension that gets resolved early enough that the main conflict is between the relationship and something external. Romantasy and RH/WC series really scratch this itch!
This is interesting! The only book I've read on this list is Fourth Wing, lol.
Such a useful breakdown. Thanks for sharing!
As someone who works for Oracle, all I can say is: lol.
lol
And in case they’re spying on me, I say this as a private citizen and not their official opinion on the matter 🤣
We've found that the sapphic readers/recs on BookTok are constantly increasing, but they very much stick to popular canon for the most part. Still, it's great to see.
I wish we could get more data about book sales on TikTok!
Interesting that backlist titles do well! Do you have a theory on why that may be the case?
In general I find BookTok to be release date agnostic - not much focus on when something was released. There's a focus on authenticity (some creators only review books they buy themselves or check out of the library) so they aren't only reviewing ARCs. And Kindle Unlimited drives a lot of the platform, which has a fair amount of backlist enrolled.
Nice work on this!