One of the most anticipated books of 2025 will be released next week (less than a month before the new year): Onyx Storm , Rebecca Yarros’s wildly popular 2023 romance novel The latest sequel to "The Fourth Wing".

The books, from Red Tower Books by Entangled Publishing, tell the story of Violet Sorrengail, a student at the Basghis War Academy who becomes a dragon knight. "Onyx Storm," the third installment in Yaros' planned five-book series "The Empyrean," will hit shelves on January 21, two days after the TikTok ban was implemented in the U.S.

The connection may not be obvious to people outside of “#BookTok,” the large community of readers (mostly women) who create content on TikTok. But the outsized impact TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has had on the publishing industry over the past five years is undeniable, as #BookTok is largely responsible for The Fourth Wing's massive attention and subsequent success. Joined dozens of other romance and fantasy novels on the New York Times bestseller list.

A similar effect is playing out in Hollywood, where the latest craze has been the scramble for the rights to the hottest #BookTok titles, including the TV series The Fourth Wing on Amazon.

Now, the book industry is bracing for a week-long frenzy surrounding the release of Onyx on Yarros (since the first sequel to The Fourth Wing, The Iron Flame, left readers on a cliffhanger in November 2023) This event has been eagerly anticipated by readers ) ) and how best to manage live events and online marketing programs when one of the best ways to communicate with customers is in jeopardy.

"A lot of our current communications around these events — each store has its own social account, whether it's through TikTok or Instagram — is typically posted or featured on the store's Instagram account," said senior director of book strategy at Barnes & Noble Shannon DeVito and Customer Experience, Tell type. She said that while a TikTok ban wouldn't necessarily affect that, it would "change the conversation around book releases and where people decide to talk about the book."

DeVito said that if TikTok was banned, "I think people would find a place for it." "They're going to make (Instagram) Reels. They're going to use Bluesky. But we still have the social tags planned and set up. TikTok is set for now unless the ban goes through. And it applies to Instagram as a whole, too, and a lot of our messaging in particular. "

DeVito said more than 300 of Barnes & Noble's approximately 650 stores have their own TikTok accounts. These stores create and publish much of their own content independently of the main Barnes & Noble account, and are also responsible for marketing the #BookTok books displayed in-store. Given that #BookTok is a solid and well-known branding tool, DeVito doesn't expect an immediate impact on how stores handle potential closures.

"It's not going to be an overnight 'it's gone!' because in five years people have discovered a lot of popular and mobile books," DeVito said. "The #BookTok table is led by stores, so they can decide if To take it off or put it on. But we’ll approach it every day, as we do with all book sales. "

Book sales are likely to take care of themselves for at least next week, as Barnes & Noble's midnight release parties are being snapped up across the country, including a 500-person event at The Grove in Los Angeles where author Yarros himself will be in attendance. DeVito said Barnes & Noble is prepared to change plans if necessary due to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, but the event is currently not affected. “Our first priority is always the safety of booksellers and making sure booksellers who own homes in these areas or need support get that support,” DeVito said, noting that two stores in Los Angeles voluntarily closed last week.

DeVito said this is the first national event Barnes & Noble has held since 2020 because "excitement and demand" is finally calling in all markets.

“A lot of our stores and locations choose to participate in events, and that’s what they do when they host events,” DeVito said. "But this time it's so big, all of our stores are doing some kind of event. Boise, Idaho, Denver, Colorado, they've got 400, 500, 600 pre-orders for the book It’s not just big city life—it’s just New York, it’s just Los Angeles—it’s in demand everywhere from Maplewood, Minnesota, to Dayton, Ohio, and across the country. It’s exciting to be a bookseller and it’s exciting to be part of a book community, which bodes well for this year.”

It’s worth noting that the “Midnight Release” aspect will be based on the time of January 21st at 12am ET, meaning customers in the Midwest will receive their books in stores at 11pm on January 20th, California State customers will be at 9 p.m. Pacific time.

Everyone who attends the ticketed event ($39.91 at The Grove) will receive a deluxe copy of Onyx Storm, but the rest of the experience is store-specific.

"Every event is different. Every store will have their own way of achieving a midnight release," DeVito said. "A lot of stores have cosplay contests, fan theory walls. There was a store last time Iron Flame was released, in Maplewood, Minnesota, and they made a 'rail over' barrier to get into the store. And then there are different types There's different origami, there's crafts, a lot of trivia, a lot of, "What's your quadrant?" "There are a lot of these games and activities."

The book retail giant isn't the only company preparing for the coming "Onyx Storm," with everyone from big-box stores like Target (which will be selling special editions of the book) to independent sellers posting Join in the fun for the day.

For romance landmark Ripped Bodice (which has two locations, one in Los Angeles and one in Brooklyn), it's one of the few times of the year they're willing to stay open past closing time. Yaros was one of the few writers they were willing to serve, along with Emily Henry and Sarah J. Maas. This is based on proven demand for The Fourth Wing series, with social media and events manager Teresa Lynch saying Ripped Bodice's November 2023 release party for The Iron Flame will be held at two locations "immediately" 300 tickets were sold out.

The enthusiasm of the fans even surprised Lynch, who did not expect such an outcome for an incident that had nothing to do with the author. But the desire for the in-person connections and activities that launch day offers is so strong.

“We’re trying to balance that so they can actually talk to each other more,” Lynch said of plans for next week’s “Onyx Storm” event at the Ripped Bodice location. "I think that's one of the conundrums with 'Iron Flames', they're packed together like sardines. Now, you get a goodie bag as soon as you walk in the door, it's kind of like instant gratification, there's trivia, there's your celebration and leisure shopping in the store Everything you need. It basically creates a big line to the store so you can go to all the stops we might have - pick out your dragon, do some trivia, check out the special items and then get your The book is the ultimate reward.”

While the online reader community may lose its largest gathering place if TikTok shuts down ahead of the release of Onyx Storm, the pre-orders and pre-orders associated with these in-person experiences suggest it could have a lasting impact on the larger publishing industry without being banned risk.

"I think this phenomenon really proves that there's a lot more room in romance stories than people think," Lynch said. "I feel like a person who doesn't read romance novels, they might be surprised that there are dragons in the book. I think that's the real power in breaking expectations. Honestly, I think most books have romance in them in some way , that’s why our store exists, because we really take advantage of it all.”