There are a lot of books that seem to get recommended on TikTok. And that’s why BookTok can be so critical to an author's success. If a book finds the right audience, it can blow up.
And it is because of TikTok that a lot of books end up getting hyped up, and going viral. But does every book deserve the hype that it gets thanks to the BookTok section of the app? In some cases, maybe not. But reading is subjective. So we wanted to read some of the overly hyped-up books that BookTok has been loving.
In this case, we turned to author Emily Rath and her Jacksonville Rays series. This is a why choose, hockey romance that is quite entertaining actually. Specifically, I went with Pucking Sweet, which was apparently quite a popular book in 2024.
Does Pucking Sweet by Emily Rath live up to the BookTok hype?
I should note that this is the third book out of four in the series. It was released in September 2024, and it quickly became not only a bestseller but also a TikTok favorite. It's definitely not a standalone book, but that actually adds to the appreciation for this one.
If you enjoy hockey romances, this is a good option. And it actually works really well within the series itself. I like Rath’s writing style. And this book was emotional at times, while also being humorous. I was able to laugh and connect with the characters.
I do think that it’s interesting how much story is told in this book, even as I didn’t find it to be quite as end up as some other romances that I’ve read. I like that it was told from multiple characters' points of view. And I did find it interesting that we had a few different tropes going on, including the sports aspect and the bad boy of hockey.
I can understand why BookTok seems to enjoy this series, as well as this particular book. And for the hockey romance fans, this delivers. We do get hockey out of this book. And that’s important because some hockey romances seem to forget the hockey.
If you are looking for something new to read and you haven't checked out Emily Rath, you may want to check out her Jacksonville Rays books. They definitely live up to the hype.