Clickbait Sensationalism is the New Book Review
- Jacqueline Sahlin
- Oct 15, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 23
Should paid book reviewers and influencers on BookTok make us question the integrity of all the book reviews we see on social media?
For as long as there have been books, there have been those who review them. We currently live in a world where BookTokers have arguably eclipsed BookTubers and Bookstagrammers, and in that context, one might consider the nature of reviews to have taken a turn toward the sensational. What we have learned as a community is that sensational reviews can make or break a book and its author, even when those reviews are motivated by cold hard cash.
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The Birth of BookTok
One of the best things to ever happen to the book community was BookTok. During a time when most businesses were struggling to survive post-pandemic, BookTok breathed new life into the love of and desire for physical books, something desperately needed in a Kindle and iPad-dominated world.
For those who have stumbled upon this article and may be unfamiliar with the term, BookTok is a community developed within the TikTok app. Anything can be a “Tok”: HikingTok, BakingTok, AstrologyTok, etc. It’s a shorthand that allows users to identify with a community that has shared interests.
BookTok was one of the earliest and most prominent communities that grew from TikTok when it launched in 2020. The timing was certainly serendipitous. What else were people going to do during a pandemic that required quarantining? When the world was locked down? A new app for entertainment and extra free time to read were the perfect ingredients to create a BookTok explosion.
In fact, the BookTok community grew so large that Barnes and Noble began incorporating the phrase into its in-store marketing. Tables and displays of “#BookTok” or “Popular on BookTok” began to appear in local stores everywhere. The move was so successful that it enabled the company to expand its retail shops after years of store closures, and fresh from the pandemic, to boot. New and existing authors saw significant growth, both in traditional and independent publishing, with record sales over and over again. All thanks to BookTok.
One good viral video is all it takes to change lives forever
The Symbiotic Relationship of Authors and Readers and BookTok
As with any ecosystem, an author’s success is nothing without their readership. And the best way to grow readership is by word of mouth. So, what better mouth than a video with hundreds of thousands of views?
Reviewers on BookTok were not the first people to ever review books. BookTubers and Bookstagrammers walked so BookTokers could soar. And as authors and books garnered more attention, so did the reviewers on BookTok.
In the early days of BookTok, like their predecessors, readers made posts about their favorite books, giving honest opinions that resonated with people. These influencers – because that is what they became – were trusted by many, and so they took it upon themselves to find the next best book. However, as much as they found success with positive reviews, many saw even greater success with negative reviews.
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Sensationalism that Sells Books (and Reviews)
If there is anything a community loves to do, it’s to hate unanimously.
When it comes to videos on social media, the comment section is just as important as views when it comes to engagement and the algorithm. And when it comes to negative videos, they spark heated debates between users who argue the merits or demerits of a book, sometimes even relishing the fervor of the negative review.
Honest opinions are important. Every book should be honestly reviewed, as it helps readers decide what’s next on their TBR (to-be-read list). Honest reviews can also help the authors learn what works or doesn’t work for their audience before they write their next book.
But, somewhere along the way, reviews became less about the reviews themselves and more about the growth of the book review influencers.
Videos created by influencers escalated from “These are the books I wouldn’t recommend” to “Here are the books I wouldn’t wish my worst enemy to read.”
Their positive reviews become hyperbolic from “Here are my 5-star books” to “These are all of my god-tier books.”
The more sensational the review, the more views.
The more views, the more money.
Because frankly, that’s what it comes down to.
With a little bit of virality and a spark of cash, and suddenly, books went from good or alright to metaphorical kindling.
Review videos take on a new meaning when fueled by money. It’s not uncommon for the most successful of book reviewers to be paid to read and review a book on their social pages. So if you’ve ever asked yourself the question, can a review be purchased?
Yes. Yes, it can. And only for a few hundred dollars.
But that’s not all. Because social media platforms like TikTok continue to pay successful creators for every thousand views, there is more money for influencers to access beyond the initial payment to conduct a review.
Influencing Versus Integrity in Book Reviews
This might sound like an attack on these creators, but honestly, it is not. Get that bag, honey. Make that cash. Girl boss your way to the top.
Business is business, and I am not above it.
Nevertheless, the integrity of book reviews comes into question when money is involved. Is the enthusiastic woman on the other side of your screen someone who has never steered you wrong? Does she have an aesthetic backdrop of a bookcase you dream to have? Does what she say in her video convince you to stay away from a book you might have otherwise given a chance?
There is nothing inherently wrong with influencing per se. Where things get murky is when the influencer forgets they are dealing with actual, living, breathing people.
Believe it or not, authors are more than just a photo at the back of a book with a 250-character blurb. They are individuals who have devoted months or even years of their life to creating a piece of art. A piece of art someone is being paid to promote or demote in sometimes hurtful ways to thousands of other humans.
Are all books good? Of course not. But are most, if not all, books written with a level of care and drive that most people can’t even begin to understand? Absolutely.
So, when book reviewers base every piece of content on sensationalism, the basis for all book reviews shifts increasingly from honest reviews to videos that are near performative. How does that help readers know whether they should take a chance on a book? How does it help the author know what they did well or where they might want to focus their energy in the future?
Because when there are only the best and worst books, with nothing in between, that doesn’t leave much room for learning. And we, as viewers, feed into that vicious cycle when we reward videos with engagement.
Of course, we want to know what the best book of the year is thus far. We naturally want to be part of the conversation. We’re here to jump on a bandwagon if there is one. That is the beauty of community.
But there’s a lesson for us to learn here.
As consumers and creators who contribute to the book review cycle on social media, it’s up to us to avoid falling into the trap of chasing the revenue flow. Content creators absolutely deserve to be paid for the time and effort they put into their videos. But that also means we, the consumers, need to be cognizant of how money may color or skew a review. The best way to be informed is to consult multiple sources with differing views to gather as many points of view as possible, and sometimes that means intentionally expanding what we are willing to watch.
It’s about being a smarter consumer of media. When we understand that creators and reviewers hustle because they rely on the income, and we expect them to do what is necessary to get as many views as possible, then we can approach every review and opinion with some distance. We understand that a lens or motivation may limit each review. And that we shouldn’t discount an author or their book simply because one creator had something negative to say about it.
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With an M.A. in Comparative Literature and a B.A. in Creative Writing, Jac Sahlin is a Californian with Chilean roots who once told her mom “my version is better”—and never stopped writing. Now she’s a Romantasy writer, podcaster, and unapologetic lover of smut.
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