The Most Read Books On Goodreads in August

This romantasy is back in the public consciousness, possibly because the paperback is finally coming out in September. It was marked as read by 72,000 people with almost two million total ratings. It has a 4.6 average rating.

Nikki DeMarco wrote about Fourth Wing as one of the Most Polarizing Romance Novels Ever Written: “Since romance has so many subgenres, when a book toes the line between which genre is the primary one, it’s often criticized as being too much of one and not enough of the other. Fourth Wing is a romantasy that isn’t love-focused enough for many romance readers but is too love-focused for fantasy readers. Still, it’s hugely popular on TikTok and bestseller lists. It was also criticized for reading too much like a YA, but with a spice level inappropriate for teen readers — even though the main character is 20 and it was not released as a young adult title.”

Emily Henry’s newest romance is holding onto its spot in the top five: it was read by almost 74,000 Goodreads users last month, with a total of almost 600,000 ratings. It has a 4.3 average rating.

Erica Ezeifedi wrote about Funny Story for Books Popular on BookTok for the Summer: “Ms. Henry rules the summer, and here, she’s turned her talents to a chaotic/organized romantic pairing. Daphne thought she had it going on, until her fiancé Peter realized he’d rather be with his childhood bestie, Petra. Now, the children’s librarian, away from everyone she knows and in need of a roommate, decides to live with someone in a similar situation: Petra’s ex, Miles. The two mostly avoid each other, until they come together one day to realize how fun it would be to pretend to date and share pictures of themselves doing so online. But it’s all for show, of course…”

The Housemaid Is Watching may have dipped in popularity, but the first book in this series is still finding plenty of new readers. It was marked as read by more than 75,000 users with almost 1.5 million total ratings. It has a 4.3 average rating.

Mikkaka Overstreet wrote about The Housemaid as a book you can’t put down: “Rich people are truly terrifying. A woman becomes a housemaid for a rich family. She finds that the wife is an asshole, the husband is downtrodden, and the kid is a pawn. But here’s the twist: the housemaid has a dark secret that her suburban antagonist doesn’t know about. Who should you root for? Who can be trusted? Readers won’t know until the very last page.”

Colleen Hoover has resumed her spot at the top of the most read list following the movie adaptation of It Ends With Us. It was read by over 115,000 users last month, with almost four million (!) total ratings. It has a 4.2 average rating

Addison Rizer wrote about It Ends With Us as one of the most popular books on TikTok: “Newly graduated and starting her own business, Lily meets a young neurosurgeon resident, Ryle. Their attraction is instant, but differences in what they want out of the relationship send them different directions. That is, until six months later when they run into each other again. Their attraction grows and they veer closer and closer to relationship territory. It’s perfect…until it isn’t, and Lily’s ex comes into the picture to only complicate things further. Definitely listen to the TikTokers and check the trigger warnings before picking up this one.”