I read some of the most popular books on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. People cannot stop talking about these books and that everyone seems to be recommending.
In this article, I’ll be sharing my completely honest reviews of these popular social media books and figuring out, from my point of view, if they’re overhyped, appropriately hyped, or underhyped.
Whether you’re someone who loves to read and is just looking for a new book, or you’re someone who’s trying to start reading and really wants 2025 to be the year of books, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve got a mix of genres and some seriously addictive stories to share with you.
I’ll be breaking down each book, sharing my thoughts, and helping you decide which ones are worth your time. Trust me, by the end of this, you’ll have a whole new list of books to add to your TBR pile.
2025's Popular Books to Read
- Housemaid by Freda McFadden
- The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black
- Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
- Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter
- Funny Story by Emily Henry
1. Housemaid by Freda McFadden
The first social media popular book that we’re going to be talking about is Housemaid by Freda McFadden. I gave this book 4 stars.
If you’re someone who wants to read a book before a movie about it comes out, then this is the right one for you. Housemaid is being turned into a movie, and it’s going to be releasing very soon.
Synopsis:
This Housemaid book is a mystery thriller—it’s super fast-paced and literally a page-turner. So, our protagonist, Millie, is a homeless girl who’s trying to find a job. Then, she finds the Winchester family, who are looking for a maid. She gets hired and is super excited to start working, but as soon as she joins, she realizes some very weird things about this house and this family, and she’s not sure if she’ll get out alive.
This book was addicting. I could not keep this book down. Like, you can imagine that’s how good it is. And the plot twist? It’s good enough that I couldn’t guess it, even when I was trying to guess. The twist was actually good.
Two things that I wish were different in this book.
First, I really wish there was more of a backstory to Millie’s life and who she really was. Like, there was not much depth to it. But regardless of that, I absolutely, absolutely loved it.
I also recommended it to my best friend, and she also read it, and we both couldn’t stop talking about the plot twist. There are many more parts of this, but I haven’t read them. But honestly, I can’t wait to read more from Freda McFadden. I’m going to say this book is appropriately hyped.
2. The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black
The second book, I’m going to be talking about one of the most popular fantasy series, The Folk of the Air series. It is a trilogy.
The first book is called The Cruel Prince, the second one is called The Wicked King, and the third one is called The Queen of Nothing.
The series is written by Holly Black, and I feel like I picked this up because I heard everywhere that it is a romantic book. I mean, at least I did not feel the romance at all in this. It’s more of a fantasy book—I think fantasy would be the right genre to keep this in.
Synopsis:
The story is about three sisters: Jude, Vivien, and Taryn. They began their life in a mortal world, but soon after the death of their parents, they were forced to shift into a whole new world, which is the world of fairies (no, these are not fairies like Tinker Bell).
So, the first book, The Cruel Prince, has more of the world-building, which, if I’m being very honest, as someone who got into reading, I didn’t find it that easy to understand. But it slowly grew on me, and after, like, I think at the end of the first book, and the second and the third book were super easy to read.
There was also a lot of politics in this book, which, surprisingly, I enjoyed. If someone didn’t tell me this before, I would probably not pick this book up, thinking that it’s about politics, and I’m not interested in that. I think it’s very safe to say that politics is what made this book even more interesting.
Now, coming to romance—it does have a slight plot of enemies to lovers, and I did feel the enemies part a lot. Like the enemies, the hate was there.
The love? I don’t know, it just couldn’t feel that real. Probably. I don’t want to give spoilers, but yeah. Regardless of me not feeling the romance that much,
I absolutely loved the series and enjoyed it, and I’m not going to regret it. But it’s also a series that I don’t have engraved in my brain, so that’s why I gave this whole series 3.75 stars. And I’m sorry, but I would say, it’s a little overhyped.
3. Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
Next scial media hyped book on our list is Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. I gave this book five stars.
Let me tell you why I gave it five stars first. This was my first ever young adult romance book, and I was a strong believer that I’m not going to like a young adult romance because I’m an adult. Why would I like something which is made for teens? That is what I thought. But this book broke my belief, and it got me into reading more young adult romances. That’s why I gave this five stars. I’m so damn happy that I picked this up.
Lynn Painter, who is the author—I feel like her surname is just so appropriate because she really paints a whole world inside your brain. You will be able to visualize everything that is happening. Like, for me, every part that I read, I try to visualize it, and this book made it so easy for me to visualize and to feel it.
These books literally have a playlist inside them—even during the chapters, while you’re reading it, the characters would let you know what song they’re listening to or what’s going on in their head. And I used to play it while reading, and it literally made the experience a whole lot better.
Synopsis:
The main character, Liz, is a hopeless romantic, and after a very long time, her childhood crush reappeared back into her life, and she cannot wait to start her perfect love story with him. And for that, she actually needs the help of her crush’s friend—his name is Wes.
The twist is that Wes is actually Liz’s childhood enemy. They both hate each other. It’s the perfect enemies-to-lovers.
This book is also the book that made me realize that I am so much into enemies-to-lovers. It is my favorite, favorite trope. The feelings of a high school kid are so rightly captured in this book. You should definitely read this book.
4. Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter
Nothing like the Movies is the second part of Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter.
Synopsis:
In the second part of the book, both of the characters move to college. So, our main characters move from high school now to college.
In this book, I feel, has a lot more depth to Wes’s character. Like, the first book was all about Liz and what she is like—it was her story. But this book has a dual point of view, which the first book did not have. So, in this book, we get the point of view of Wes as well as Liz.
So, I would this book four stars. I’ll say these books are definitely appropriately hyped.
5. Funny Story by Emily Henry
Moving on to our last social media book—this is Funny Story by Emily Henry. It’s again a romance, but I think this one’s more of like an adult romance.
Emily Henry is such a well-known author. And this was my first ever book from Emily Henry.
Synopsis:
The characters, Daphne and Miles, both have gone through a very recent breakup. It involves both of them—like, it’s a little complicated story. I personally thought that the characters have gone through so much, I would have preferred it to be about their individual stories—healing and moving on. It is just my personal opinion and preference. But other than that, this book is strangers to friends to lovers.
Good things about this book is the character-building. I’m sure that Emily Henry has written better books, and I honestly want to pick them up as well. This book, for me, I’m going to say it’s overhyped.
My Words...
These are the 5 most popular books to read that are viral on social media in 2025.
I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts as much as I enjoyed sharing them. From thrilling mysteries to swoon-worthy romances and epic fantasy worlds, we’ve covered a lot of ground. Whether you’re adding these books to your TBR pile or crossing them off your list, I hope my reviews helped you figure out which ones are worth your time.
If you’ve read any of these books, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Did you agree with my ratings, or do you think I got it completely wrong? Let me know in the comments below.
Or if you have any recommendations for me, drop those too! I’m always on the lookout for my next favorite read.