Forums BWWM Book Club & Romanceanyone else deep in bwwm booktok lately?

anyone else deep in bwwm booktok lately?

9 posts

I swear my TikTok saved me from another boring winter. I kept getting BWWM romance recs and now I’ve got like 8 tabs open on my phone of books I need to read. I just finished one by a self-published author from Atlanta and it was actually really sweet, not just spicy for the sake of it, which I appreciated. I’m in Chicago and I don’t know if it’s me being picky, but I like when the couple feels like they’d actually meet in real life, not just instant soulmate stuff. I want the awkward first date, the family drama, the little stuff. Does anybody have recs where the Black woman isn’t written like a fantasy and the guy isn’t just a placeholder for the cover? I’m also curious if anyone follows any authors on BookTok or Instagram that are worth keeping up with.

Mar 16

130

2 replies

Marcus D.BASIC

#1 · Mar 16

Same, I’m so over the super polished insta-love stuff unless the writing really carries it. I’m in Philly and I found a few good ones through a BookTok creator who does weekly BWWM recs, but honestly half the fun is scrolling the comments and seeing what people hated too lol. One author I keep up with is based out of Houston and she does these messy, very normal relationship stories that feel way more believable. If you want something with actual tension and not just cute scenes, look for books tagged with workplace romance or second chance. Those usually give more room for the relationship to breathe.

Priya PatelPREMIUM

#2 · Mar 17

I feel you on the family drama part. The best ones for me are the stories where the couple has chemistry but they’re also dealing with real stuff, like long distance, cultural differences, or just both of them being stubborn. I’m in Jersey and I read one last month where the heroine was a nurse and the hero was a teacher, and it felt so grounded because they were literally texting around their schedules and missing each other by minutes. Also, don’t sleep on authors who post little character sketches on Instagram. Sometimes I find books that way before they even blow up on BookTok.