10 Books That Are Breaking the Internet on BookTok in 2025

Introduction: Why BookTok is Obsessed with Dark Reads

Okay besties, let’s be real: 2025 is the year of dark romantasy, heartbreaking love stories, and morally gray heroes. If you’re on BookTok, your feed is literally flooded with dragon riders, forbidden romances, and those one-liner quotes that make you scream into your pillow.

BookTok has turned reading into a whole vibe. We don’t just read anymore—we sob on camera, scream in the comments, and make 3 a.m. edits with moody soundtracks. And some books? They literally break the internet. These books will make make you cry , happy , and screamed at the same time.

So, here’s my ultimate guide to the 10 viral books ruling BookTok in 2025. Get ready for dark themes, toxic love, slow burns, betrayals, and endings that rip your heart out.

1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

Listen. If you thought Fourth Wing destroyed your soul, Onyx Storm will obliterate you. Yarros did not come to play—she came to stab us with plot twists and then make us thank her for it.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Enemies-to-lovers, dragon riders, betrayal, found family, morally gray love interest.
Why It’s Viral: BookTok cannot shut up about the final battle scenes. People are posting sobbing videos with captions like “Yarros owns my heart and my tears”.

Fans are making dark aesthetic edits with fire, wings, and those “burn the world for love” vibes. The spice? The betrayal? The pain? 100% worth the hype.

2. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Even though it dropped in 2023, Fourth Wing is still everywhere. It’s literally the blueprint of romantasy hype on BookTok.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Deadly academy, survival romance, forbidden bonds, dragons that could end you in one breath.
Why It’s Viral: The quotes. Oh my god, the quotes. If you’ve been on BookTok for even 2 minutes, you’ve heard “There are only two choices—graduate or die”.

Readers are obsessed with Violet and Xaden’s tension (that’s not enemies-to-lovers, that’s enemies-to-I’ll ruin the world for you). It’s all over dark edits with fire soundtracks and slow-motion screams.

💔 3. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

This book has literally broken BookTok for years, and it’s not slowing down. Colleen Hoover owns the crying filter trend.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Toxic love, emotional abuse, survival, heartbreak.
Why It’s Viral: Readers record themselves sobbing after the last chapter. The line “Just because someone hurts you doesn’t mean you can simply stop loving them”? Yeah, that one lives rent-free on BookTok.

People share their own real-life stories while holding this book. It’s more than just a romance—it’s therapy, heartbreak, and empowerment wrapped in one.

4. Verity by Colleen Hoover

This one? It’s not romance. It’s pure nightmare fuel.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Obsession, manipulation, forbidden lust, unreliable narrator, twisted ending.
Why It’s Viral: People are literally posting “I couldn’t sleep after this” TikToks. The manuscript scenes? The final letter? BookTok lives for the chaos.

Every time someone finishes Verity, we get another flood of “did that really happen?” reaction videos. It’s messy, dark, and addictive—the perfect recipe for TikTok virality.

5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Evelyn Hugo is the queen of glamorous darkness.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Fame, forbidden love, betrayal, secrets, scandal.
Why It’s Viral: BookTok loves messy, morally gray icons, and Evelyn is the blueprint. Her choices are dark, selfish, but also heartbreakingly human.

Readers post edits of Evelyn with Billie Eilish songs or Lana Del Rey vibes. It’s giving sad vintage aesthetic and “all girls want power but pay the price”.

6. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Reid’s 2025 release is literally taking over feeds.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Ambition vs. love, women fighting in male-dominated spaces, slow-burn sadness.
Why It’s Viral: TikTok is calling this “Daisy Jones meets NASA.” Readers are posting emotional breakdowns with space edits.

It’s raw, emotional, and darkly inspiring, showing how ambition can cost love, safety, and even yourself.

7. Powerless by Lauren Roberts

If you’re a romantasy lover, this is your next obsession.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Enemies-to-lovers, rebellion, hidden powers, forbidden attraction.
Why It’s Viral: People are obsessed with how toxic yet addictive the romance is. BookTok edits with slow zooms and “dark academia” vibes are everywhere.

This one’s for fans of Fourth Wing who want more betrayal, more spice, and more morally gray decisions.

8. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

This one is not light. It’s the poetic punch in the gut BookTok can’t stop crying about.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Grief, family trauma, identity crisis, haunting prose.
Why It’s Viral: Readers post voiceovers of Vuong’s lines with tears streaming down their faces. This isn’t a “spicy edit” book—it’s a cry on the bathroom floor book.

Vuong has a way of making sadness beautiful. BookTok is obsessed with his dark metaphors and heart-shattering sentences.

9. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games prequel we didn’t know we needed.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Dystopia, rebellion, brutal politics, survival of the cruelest.
Why It’s Viral: Nostalgia + darkness = virality. People are editing scenes with Katniss quotes and crying about how Panem just gets darker the more we learn.

TikTok readers are calling it “the most brutal Hunger Games story yet.” It’s bleak, raw, and impossible to put down.

10. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Last but not least—Ugly Love is the toxic romance you can’t quit.

Tropes & Dark Themes: Forbidden lust, one-sided love, emotional destruction.
Why It’s Viral: Readers post edits with the caption “this book ruined me and I loved it.”

BookTok thrives on messy romance, and this is as messy as it gets. The heartbreak is so real, people scream about it in their car while recording TikToks.

Why Dark Books Own BookTok in 2025

Intensity = virality → If a book makes you cry, scream, or throw it across the room, you’re making a TikTok about it.
Dark tropes rule → Enemies-to-lovers, trauma healing, forbidden attraction.
Community vibes → Readers bond by crying together online.
Aesthetic factor → Dark covers, moody quotes, and dramatic edits.

FAQs About BookTok Viral Reads

Q1. Why does BookTok love dark romance and thrillers so much?
Because darkness = intensity. Readers want books that make them feel everything.

Q2. Are these books suitable for all ages?
Not really. Many are 18+ because of dark themes, spice, or heavy trauma.

Q3. Do these books live up to the hype?
Some absolutely do (Fourth Wing, Verity), while others might feel overrated if the tropes aren’t your vibe.

Q4. Will these books become classics?
Some, like Evelyn Hugo and It Ends With Us, are already modern classics. Others might fade but resurge with adaptations.

Q5. What’s the next big trend after dark romantasy?
Rumor says dark sci-fi romance is coming. Think “aliens + spice + political betrayal.” BookTok is already whispering.

Conclusion: The Dark Crown of BookTok

2025 belongs to the dark side of literature. These 10 viral books aren’t just stories—they’re experiences. They make you cry, scream, highlight a hundred quotes, and then immediately search for edits at 3 a.m.

BookTok has crowned these reads as the most addictive, emotionally destructive, and unforgettable books of the year. So grab your tissues, charge your Kindle, and prepare your heart—because these books will break it, and you’ll thank them for it.

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