For much of 2025, Booktok has been inundated with videos surrounding Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing sequel.
Onyx Storm was one of many fantasy romance novels to release this year, and plenty of other releases were highly anticipated by readers — including Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli and Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett. And while love for the BookTok favorite series surely isn't going to die down anytime soon, there are two fantasy romance novels that are showing promise in becoming the next BookTok sensation.
The Knight & The Moth And Silver Elite Are Getting Praise Ahead Of Their May 2025 Releases
Anticipation For Both Novels Continues To Grow On BookTok
The Knight and The Moth by Rachel Gillig and Silver Elite by Dani Francis have, in recent weeks, begun to create plenty of buzz among readers and creators on BookTok — with both novels receiving considerable amounts of high praise and attention ahead of their May releases. It's to be expected that anticipation for a novel will steadily grow as release dates grow closer. However, the amount of hype surrounding both of these romantasy novels has helped them to go somewhat viral.
Fourth Wing Is Great, But These 10 Recent Romantasy Books Are Just As Good
It's easy to understand why Fourth Wing has become such a huge phenomenon, but there are a number of romantasy books that are just as good.
While this isn't out of the ordinary for the social platform, very few romantasy novels actually find this level of fame. Dozens, if not hundreds, of early reviewers of both The Knight and The Moth and Silver Elite have given out five-star ratings and several creators have dedicated countless videos to sharing their love for the novels — and as the two hit shelves, this is likely only to grow further.
Why The Knight & The Moth By Rachel Gillig Is Going Viral On BookTok
Gillig Does Dark Fantasy Romance Like No Other
Rachel Gillig's The Knight and The Moth has been steadily gaining momentum since its announcement back in June 2024, and now that we're finally a few weeks out from the novel hitting shelves, readers are more excited than ever. Gillig is also the author of the The Shepherd King, which consists of One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns, and has long been a favorite among readers on BookTok — leading to a large fanbase anticipating her next release.
The Knight and The Moth will be released on May 20, 2025.
Many early reviewers have shared that The Knight and The Moth lived up to every expectation they had going into the novel — with several discussing Gillig's expert-level yearning, Sybil's gargoyle sidekick, and the inclusion of dark fantasy elements that are synonymous with Gillig's writing style. But the most prominent are readers' love for the male main character, Rory — with one BookTok creator, justjeanettelee_reads, claiming "[she's] sat for men written by Rachel Gillig". Not only that, but fans are obsessed with the character art that's been released for the book thus far — most of which was created by Gillig herself.
Why Silver Elite by Dani Francis Is Going Viral On BookTok
The Dystopian Romance Has Long Been Anticipated
Silver Elite by Dani Francis has often been described by early readers as Divergent meets Fourth Wing, and from the insane amount of hype it continues to accumulate online, it's likely to become the next BookTok sensation. There's been a lack of dystopian romances since the debut of both The Hunger Games and the Divergent series in the early 00's, and it's clear from the growing discussion about Francis' novel that fans are eager to explore more dystopian narratives — especially with Silver Elite's added spicy romance.
Silver Elite by Dani Francis has often been described by early readers as Divergent meets Fourth Wing
Silver Elite was released on May 6, 2025, and in the short amount of time it hit shelves, it has gone viral on BookTok. Many readers made sure to get their hands on the novel on release day, and looking at the content that's been generated on the social platform, it seems several readers binged it in less than a day — and their reviews are urging others to do so as well. Fans continue to express their love for the dystopian romantasy, Francis' brilliant storytelling, and its surprising twist ending.