 So I'm always here to influence you guys to buy books, but I thought today we could chat about the books that I have been influenced to buy. Friends, welcome back to my channel. I hope you're all good. Today's video, we're gonna chat about the books that Booktube made me buy. Forced my hand. To buy. I probably shouldn't say that because YouTube will demonetize me. Maybe I've had to bleep that out. But hello friends. Yeah, I thought this would be fun to chat about because I'm always here recommending you guys books and you guys will tell me that I made you buy this book or this book. But I thought it'd be fun to chat about the books that I know I've bought because of Booktube and chat about whether I like them or not, chat about my success rate with Booktube, what I find with books that Booktube recommends me a lot. And no, I thought this would just be fun to chat about. Now some of these books we've got 10 here. Some of them I'm going to be able to tell you this Booktube influenced me or these Booktubers influenced me to read it. A lot of them I'm not gonna tell you because I've tried to get books that I know it was because it was a moment on Booktube and that's why I've read it. I watch a lot of Booktube, right? And I can't always remember. Some people manage to remember this, I don't. Unless it's like a Booktuber, he's kind of like iconic for like reading said book and enjoying it and they were the ones who pushed it. When it's a book like these that I feel like I bought because of the whole of Booktube, it's because I heard like five different people talk about it. And I can't remember who influenced me to get it. I just know Booktube influenced me to get it. That's what we're going to be chatting about today. And yeah, should we just get into it? Number one for me is one of the most iconic books that I read because of Booktube. I feel like everyone was reading it and loving it. And that is House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Cleen. What I would give to read this book again for the first time. So a lot of you will know this is like a cozy fantasy where this main character visits this orphanage for magical children. And it's kind of like a found family story. There's a little bit of a romance. It's just a very touching, heartwarming story. I remember I felt like I was quite late to the party and watching this and everyone had been giving it five stars and everyone was obsessed with it. For me, this was absolutely a success. I remember I read this. When did I read this? I feel like I'm chatting out of my arse with when I read a lot of books. I feel like I read this book when I was just finishing uni. And that's like two years ago now, almost? Oh my god. Have I finished uni two years ago? Yes, I did. I read it just as I was finishing uni. And listen, anyone who's done uni and done the final year at uni, you know it's rough. It's hell in there. It's horror. You have to be a certain type of person to survive that. And I feel like this book really just helped me decompress, bring that era of my life to an end. It gave me an escape. It gave me a moment. It gave me a feeling. And this is a book I think about a lot. So yes, this was a success. Next, we have the Raven Boys series. We've got the whole series up there, but I'll just hold up the first one. This one, you know, obviously Kayla from Books and Lala is renowned for loving this series. But I feel like when I first joined Booktube, a lot of people were reading this and loving it. And that's when I first got this. Also, I do just want to say I realized I didn't say this at the start. Some of these books may have been gifted to me by my family or you guys from my Amazon wish list. You know, maybe this should be titled Books, Booktube made me read because I don't know if I technically bought all of these. One or two I was gifted. Most of them I think I bought myself, but a few of these may be gifted. Yeah, so this one we're following this group of characters. We've got a girl blue and these boys and they're such, I still can't sum this book up to you. If you force to me to like give you a really good synopsis of this or I don't think I could do it. I think I would just have to say bye bye like see you later. They're searching for like lay lines, which are like power lines. This series, I didn't love as much as everyone else. I did finish the whole series. It feels like a distinctly five, five star, three star, three star series for me. You know, it was fine, but I never got it. Like I never got what the other girls get. I never got it. And I still feel like I'm missing out. I enjoyed it. I can't remember my individual writings of the books. This series kind of blurs together into one blob for me. There's something about Maggie Steve- I found this on the web. Girl, shut the fuck up. Don't ever think that I'll be your lap dog. Run round after you. Respect. No, there's no respect. Something about Maggie Steve Waters writing, I just don't think worked for me. It feels so religious to say. I feel like I can't say it. But something about her writing just didn't vibe with me. Did not vibe with me. So yeah, I mean it was fine. It was three stars. I can see the merit. I can see why other people love it, but it wasn't for me. Next we have a classic, a classic, a modern classic, Sadie by Courtney Summers. This was one, I think, I read this before I had my channel. So Booktube Rudy. This was when I first got into Booktube. Oh my god. What a moment. That time, I was so innocent and pure before I started making videos. But this was one of the first audiobooks that I truly loved. If you don't know, I feel like I've spoken about this 10,000 times. But so we have Sadie, whose sister has died, and she's kind of going on this mission to find out what happened to her sister. And she wants revenge. Sadie wants revenge. But Sadie, in the present day, has gone missing. And we've got a podcaster kind of doing a series about Sadie as well. And I just love this. This was one of the first audiobooks I loved. For me, I was like, I remember at the time I was listening to like normal people and stuff. I'm like, oh, absolutely not. Sorry, Sally Rooney is not for me. But this, oh, I need to reread this soon. It's just so incredible. It made me fall in love with Courtney Summers, who you guys know is one of my favorite authors. I just did a video with her. She is incredible. I was saying to her when I did that interview with her, like, I remember finishing this audiobook vividly. And I remember sitting there on my bed right there. And like, just being in shock at the end of the audiobook. Because I didn't own the physical, I was just listening to audiobook. And I just sat there. And I was like, I don't want to go on living. I actually don't want to go on living anymore. So yeah, this was a massive hit for me at the time when I was just a viewer of Booktube, when I didn't make videos, which is like a long time ago. Are we coming up to four years? We are. It's going to be four years on September this year. Oh my god. I'm getting older. I don't know if I can, if I want all this drama all the time, if I'm being honest. I still feel new on Booktube. I still feel like a newbie. So that's so bizarre to me. So yeah, this was such a win. And I need to reread this soon, because I have never reread it. And I've never read it with the physical, with the audiobook. Then we have one that I feel like most of you will not have heard me speak about. I don't think I've spoken about this book since I read it probably like a year ago. But it is Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers. I very really remember both Riley and Mina reading this and loving it and influencing me. And this is kind of a romance, but not, it's like romance adjacent, I guess. We're following this girl who has kind of, I think she's doing like a PhD in something science-y. But she goes to Vegas for the weekend and gets married to this woman. And it's her kind of unpacking her feelings, A, about the stress and burnout that she's experiencing in her work, but also trying to make this marriage work actually with this woman that she just met. This was a lovely book. This was like a four star for me. This was, I mean, I don't give romance as five stars very often unless they are Ali Hazelwood is pretty much. But I thought this was such an interesting book that I definitely wouldn't have picked up if it wasn't for booktubers that I watch. It has got romantic elements, but it's really about burnout and about the pressures that we put ourselves under. And like, you know, at the end of the day, does any of it matter? Like what matters with life? Do you know what I mean? Getting springtime at the moment and spring always just makes me feel like I should just be in nature. Like, why am I doing anything else other than just being like a fairy in the woods? Like that should just be my calling. I don't know unpacking the societal structures we have around work and school and education and pressure around that. It was a very interesting book. And I'm really glad that I read it because like I said, I probably wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for booktube. Then we have I feel like a booktube darling. I especially felt like this when I first joined booktube. And that is Strange to Dreamer by Laney Taylor. I really enjoyed this. A Laney Taylor, I have this thing, right? I love her writing. In terms of writing, she is a five star for me. But I've never given her a five star. This is my favorite one from her. I've also read Muse of Nightmares, which is the sequel to this, which I didn't love. And I've read Daughters of My Combine, which I didn't love. But this, it did it for me. Oh, this one's a difficult one to give a plot about. We've got Laszlo Strange, who's obsessed with the mythical lost city of Weep. And then he actually gets to go there. Something happened in Weep that cut it off from the world and the people there have been through trauma. And there's also stuff to do with a goddess, who was like one of the main characters in this bit. It's kind of a spoiler. So like a goddess is on the back, a blue-skinned goddess who visits Laszlo's dreams, okay? That's all you need to know. This one for me is great, a great first third and a great last third. The middle third of this dragged a little bit. Something about Laney Taylor, her writing is beautiful, right? But her plots, this one's the best of all of them. But her plots always aren't quite there for me. And that stops me giving it a five star. And yes, I always say, I chat about this with my patrons the other day, with writing characters and plot, everyone has a different, different ranking of those. Mine is writing plot characters, right? So writing is most important. I love her writing, but the plot and the characters weren't quite there for me. And they still are elements that I need. Even the writing is the most important. I'd love to know in the comments. I was asking my patrons this the other day, what is your ranking? Mine is writing plot characters. What is yours? I'd love to know. Because I feel like we all have different rankings of those in what we look for in books. But yeah, this was a good read. I enjoyed it. I vividly, like, some of these books, the books she recommended me, I find I vividly remember reading them, because I feel like, oh my god, I'm reading an iconic book right now. And I vividly remember the experience of reading this. It was an enjoyable one. But I'm excited to see what Laini Taylor will come out with next, because I feel like she hasn't released a book in a long time. And I'm excited to see what she'll bring next, because I'm hoping that might be where me and her vibe the most. Then we have a recent read, and that is Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater. This is a Regency Fairy romance. So it's set in Regency England, but it's fey with fey people. And our main character, Dora, only has half a soul. And I enjoyed this, but it wasn't quite there for me. It sounds like a 3.5 for me. I feel like I've heard so many people speak about this on BookTube the past couple months. I never quite bought into it. I remember saying in the vlog, it'll just get a 4 or 5 for me. I have to really buy into what you're selling. Like I have to buy into the book. I have to be absorbed. I have to be like in the world. And I was never quite in the world. Do you know what I mean? If you come for me, I will apologize immediately. The romance was nice, but I always felt a bit distant from it. There was just a little bit of distance. It didn't quite work for me. But I am going to continue on with this series. There's two more that I know of, and I'm going to give them a go. I'm going to try it and try with this series, because I love Regency England and their fantasy element of it. I just am obsessed with. So I should love this. But there was just something about this romance that didn't quite work for me. And I don't know maybe if it was a romantic connection, like the tropes weren't my favorite. And maybe if I read some more, I would like the more. This was a good one. It just wasn't great. Then we have another one that I believe I read because of Riley. And that is A Dairy of Blood by St Gibson. This is told through, I believe, letters from one of Dracula's brides. And it kind of right at the start. Let me not spoil anything. The first line is I never dreamed it would end like this, my lord. Your blood splashing hot flex onto my nightgown and pouring in rivulets onto our bedroom, bedchamber floor. So it kind of is written from the perspective of why he's dead and what has happened. And this is really about like abusive, coercive relationships. There's also polyamory representation in this. I just thought this was such an interesting book. I really enjoyed it. It was a four for me. But it's got such, it's got some of the most beautiful writing I've ever read. I am so excited to read more from St Gibson because the writing in this is like, oh, it's unlike anything else. It's got that gothic-ness that you would expect with a book that's about Dracula and his brides, basically. But it was just haunting and like ever present. I love the kind of writing letter element. Oh, it was really good. This is like the embodiment of a book that I never would have read if it wasn't for Booktube. And I'm so glad that I did. This is one that I feel like a lot of people can enjoy as well. If you come at it from like the horror angle or the fantasy angle or the romance angle, like I feel like it's a book that crosses a few different genres. And you can come at it from a lot of different angles if you read one of those genres more. So if you haven't read this yet, I would really recommend picking it up. Then I feel like this has been one of the biggest thrillers in recent years on Booktube. And that is In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead. This one we're following, there was a murder in this friendship group. I mean, it's like every other book has a murder in this friendship group at university many years ago. One of them has been the suspect of the murder. I don't think now he was never like imprisoned or like whatever arrested. And the rest of them go back to the uni for a reunion and what am I saying? And I like trying to figure out the truth basically of what happened. And I really enjoyed this. This was such a solid book. I have to say this is dual timeline, which if you watched me a lot, you know it's not my favorite. But what works for me about this is that the present day timeline is linear, right? And then the past timeline with them at the uni at the time the murder happened jumps around in time, which makes it feel like a secondary timeline. I think I don't like when dual timelines are competing to be the main timeline. I can't take it. I liked the past timeline jumped around so it would go from like, I don't know, American years, sophomore year to freshman year, I don't know what I just said, senior year. It would jump around in time informing what has just been revealed or just happened or just about to happen in the present day timeline. And that really worked for me. That's what I need a dual timeline to do. I can't take a linear, two linear timelines. It doesn't make sense. Doesn't make sense. Not drama, not a pace, not a tension. Because the problem with that is I feel like I end up reading 100 pages of a book and I feel like I'm only 50 pages in of like plot advancement because I've read 50 pages of two different stories. Whereas this didn't feel like that. Yes, this is like basically every other dark academia thriller with like a murder and a friendship group, like 10,000 of them exist. But I feel like it's a really solid version of that. So if you like that, you're probably going to like this. Like if you like the secret history or if you have a lens, you'll probably like this. And I find with those two books, you often like one or the other, you don't often like both. Whereas I feel like fans of both could enjoy this because I feel like it's pretty inoffensive, like it doesn't really do anything wrong. It's just fine, you know? But I really enjoyed this. It was a fun read. I'm glad I got round to it. Then this one, I cannot remember who was talking about this in particular, but there was a time on Booktube where everyone was reading this. And it is Ace of Space by Farida and B.K. Ear Midday. We're at this like private school academy. And we've got these two characters. One is like the Queen B popular girl. The other is this like, he's kind of like an ordinary boy, but they're the only two Black students in this school. And they start getting like targeted by this person called Aces. So it's very much like a gossip girl vibes. And they're trying to figure out why they're getting targeted and who is targeting them. And this one just, I didn't love it as much as everyone else. This was like a three. I didn't dislike it, but I just didn't love it as everyone else. Something about the writing didn't work for me. Well, you know, when I think of other way mystery that I've enjoyed, like Trudy Devious, Good Guy's Guy of Tomato, like I think that the writing in those is so great. Whereas this one, the writing I didn't vibe with it, was a debut. I'm willing to try more from this author in the future if I like the plot, the way the plot sounds. But this was so successful, like this was ridiculously successful. And I just didn't love it. I didn't feel like the reveal at the end was anything shocking. Or I remember, I think, I mean, it's been a while since I read this. But I remember feeling like the ending was a little bit rushed, a little bit like haphazard, you know, the gossip girl vibes are there, perhaps if I, I never watched gossip girl growing up. So perhaps if I enjoyed that, this would feel more nostalgic to me with the kind of structure and the way the book plays out. But I just didn't love it. I didn't love it. So I was a bit of an anomaly on this one. And then finally, I thought we would chat about another recent read, which was a massive book on Booktube a couple years ago. And I've only just got around to reading, but it is Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Monagacia. This was a 4.5 star for me. I really, really enjoyed it. We're following Naomi whose cousin has recently married but she receives letters from her cousin saying he's trying to kill me. My husband's trying to kill me. She gets there, her cousin's like, everything's fine. The family are like, you're being silly, you don't need to be here, everything's fine. It's just very, I don't want to spoil anything because I feel like this book really slowly reveals the family's motivations and thoughts very well. But they're getting up to some shady shit. Let's just say that. And I love this. This is my second Sylvia Monagacia. I didn't love Velvet was the night, but this, oh my god, the writing was incredible. The pacing, the plot, the tension, the way this book built, the way it suddenly switched up. But I love when a book builds slowly and then skyrockets in tension. Do you know what I mean? I love when a horror book does that, rather than just like slowly, which is fine, like slowly building tension and peeking at the end of the book, like, you know, slowly, slowly, slowly jump. Do you know what I mean? I love that in a horror book. And yeah, this is definitely worth the hype in my opinion. I think it's the kind of horror that like everyone could enjoy, everyone could get into. If you're a newbie to horror, this would be a number one recommendation for me. So yeah, I loved this. It's no surprise it was as successful as it was. So there we have it friends. That was some of the books that Booktube has made me buy with varying rates of success. I would love to know some of your thoughts on books that Booktube has made you buy. How successful are you with your Booktube recommendations? If you got onto the end of the video, leave. Oh, a scissor emoji. There is a scissor emoji, right? We've got two scissors on these at least. What's the chance for that? We love some scissors. So leave a scissor emoji down below if you want to end. Thank you guys so much for watching and I'll see you very soon in another video. Bye!