The Bestselling Book Everyone’s Talking About on TikTok
When a book goes viral on TikTok, it does more than trend. It moves culture and sales charts. In 2023 and 2024, that role belonged to Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series, beginning with Fourth Wing and followed by Iron Flame. Instead of inventing a viral title, let us look at a real one that BookTok actually pushed into the stratosphere, and what it tells us about how readers discover books now.
The Book and the Sequel That Caught Fire
Fourth Wing arrived in spring 2023 with a mix that BookTok embraces: a fantasy academy setting, enemies-to-lovers tension, and dragons with personality. Early readers posted emotional reaction videos, annotated editions, and shelf tours. Those stitches and duets carried the book across feeds far beyond core fantasy circles. The sequel, Iron Flame, sustained the wave into late 2024, with midnight releases and read with me livestreams adding to the momentum.
What the Numbers Say
Industry reporting shows that BookTok is more than vibes. Publishers Weekly, citing Circana BookScan, has tracked tens of millions of U.S. print sales tied to BookTok authors each year since the trend began. Sales rose from about 13 million in 2020 to about 47 million in 2022 and stayed high afterward. In January 2025, Publishers Weekly reported that about 59 million U.S. print sales in 2024 could be linked to BookTok content and influencers. In the U.K., The Guardian reported that science fiction and fantasy.
Why This Story Worked on TikTok
High emotion hooks. BookTok thrives on readers crying on camera, gasp cuts, and spoiler-free shrieks of delight or devastation. Yarros’s pacing, with quick reversals and high stakes, gives readers many moments to film without giving away the plot.
Visual culture. Dragons, military uniforms, tattoos, and map art lend themselves to edits and fan art. Annotated special editions encourage close-up, ASMR-style videos of sprayed edges, endpapers, and marginalia. Community rituals, buddy reads, annotation swaps, and reaction chains created rituals for the fandom: unboxings on Fridays, sprint streams on Saturdays, spoiler chats on Sundays. The repetition built habit, and habit built sales.
The Feedback Loop Between Readers and Retail
TikTok’s algorithm spreads awareness, but the sale happens when fandom crosses into retail. Bookstore tables, sprayed edge exclusives, and preorder hauls filmed for social media amplify visibility. Once a title reaches a front table in chains and indies, discovery multiplies. Staff picks and “as seen on BookTok” signage recreate social proof in the physical store. When Iron Flame launched, many shops treated it like a film premiere, turning readers into co-marketers.
What This Means for Readers and for the Next Viral Book
If you love romance, BookTok is tuned to your tastes. If you do not, the lesson still applies. The platform’s best recommendations come from creators who disclose gifted copies, show receipts, and share both highs and lows. Follow the people whose sensibilities match yours, not just the loudest accounts. Remember that backlist titles still benefit. Books like Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End continue to resurface years after publication.
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