From BookTok to your TBR: 7 reads too good to gatekeep

The jacarandas are blooming, the sun’s hanging around a bit longer, and your TBR pile is begging for some fresh chaos. Whether you're lounging in the backyard with a cold one or curled up with a flat white ready to dig into your summer TBR list, now’s the perfect time to add a few stories that are just a little bit strange, in the best, most delightful way.

These lucky number seven books aren’t your typical rom-coms or love stories. BookTok is hot on talking ghosts, villainous crushes, airborne pirates, and secret spy girlfriends. There are feisty heroines, reluctant (and sometimes undead) heroes, plus so much of the swoon-worthy tension readers love.

If you like your romance with teeth, curses, conspiracies, or maybe a few spontaneous explosions, consider this your spring reading starter pack on Libby. 

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
🎧 Audiobook

Calling this one out, as it’s #1 on my TBR currently. What happens when your new job is assisting a charming but casually murderous villain? You get unpaid overtime, snarky office banter, and an accidental crush on your boss. A bit like working in politics, but more honest. Super cute romance, part of a series, and the scuttlebutt is this is being adapted into a TV show. 

Everything She Does Is Magic by Bridget Morrissey
🎧 Audiobook

Witchy rites meet high school rivalry in a charming town where it's always Halloween. A slow-burn sapphic romance wrapped in spooky fun and small-town secrets, perfect for anyone who's ever wanted to run away and join a coven. And what woman hasn't hit this dream at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday? Cozy vibes with equal parts hocus pocus and heart. 

If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You by Mae Marvel, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw
🎧 Audiobook

In the witty, jet-setting romance legend-spy Yardley “The Unicorn” Whitmer and hacker-genius KC “Tabasco” Nolan discover their tangled past is far more explosive than any mission. As they collide on a covert operation across Europe, racing through winding streets, hiding in linen closets, and wrestling with unspoken truths, they must decide: follow the agency’s rules or embrace the one secret worth risking everything for: each other. Stealth, sass, and steam included.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
🎧 Audiobook

Check out this hilariously unhinged Victorian romp where proper ladies sip tea, steal treasures, and pilot flying houses. When prim pirate Cecilia Bassingthwaite is targeted by a charming assassin, manners clash with mayhem, and sparks fly faster than her airship. Think Bridgerton meets Pirates of the Caribbean, with extra snark and scandal. 

Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee
🎧 Audiobook

In a small town, two queer teens (and their feuding families) must team up to save their struggling cafés. If you love food, found family, and rivals-to-lovers tension served hot, this one’s a mood-lifter.

Ghosted by Amy Hutton
🎧 Audiobook

Set in a crumbling Aussie B&B with a dark history, this one has all the hallmarks of a classic romantic ghost story — but with a local twist. Reconnecting with an ex while dealing with vengeful spirits? Sounds like a long weekend gone terribly right.

Fangs for Nothing by Steffanie Holmes

A grumpy vampire hires a cheerful mortal to fake-date him, organise his chaos, and maybe fall in love. Think gothic rom-com with a Kiwi flavour — eerie castles, sarcastic dialogue, and sexual tension you could cut with a silver spoon.

So what do they all have in common?

They’re all just a little bit weird — but in the way that makes your heart race and your brain light up. Whether it’s love among witches, vampires, spies or scoundrels, these books bring the kind of fun that refuses to take itself too seriously.

You’ll laugh. You’ll swoon. You might even fall for a villain.

Because sometimes the best love stories come with a curse, a plot twist, or fangs.