‘Wicker’ Has the Internet Thirsting: These BookTok Favorites Are Just as Steamy as the New Release

Now that Alexander Skarsgård’s wicker husband has hit theaters, meet the mythical, magical, and smutty book boyfriends BookTok can’t stop talking about

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Audiences got their first look at Alexander Skarsgård playing a man made entirely of wicker, and, naturally, the internet immediately had questions. Mostly about sex.

In Black Bear’s Wicker, Skarsgård plays a husband crafted from wicker after a lonely fisherwoman, played by Olivia Colman, asks a local basketmaker, played by Peter Dinklage, to create her a husband. When he arrives in the village, his presence quickly sparks fascination, jealousy, and chaos as the locals realize that the unusual new man is, somehow, exactly their type.

After premiering at Sundance earlier this year, Wicker recently introduced itself to the wider public with its first trailer, and the response has been especially enthusiastic on TikTok. Fandango’s trailer post has surpassed 14 million views, with users fixating on everything from the film’s unusual premise to the logistics of, well, a wicker man’s anatomy. Now you can buy tickets to see what all the fuss is about for yourself, with Wicker hitting select theaters Oct. 23 before its nationwide release on Oct. 30.

The trailer has also inspired a wave of comedic TikToks, including jokes about “when the gynecologist finds a wicker splinter during the exam” and videos imagining “how I’ll be pulling up to Wicker” when the movie hits theaters. Even the official 4DX TikTok account joined the conversation after fans began requesting a 4DX release for the film. And they got their wish: Wicker received a one-day 4DX release, with tickets selling out in minutes.

The enthusiasm feels particularly fitting for the BookTok crowd, where the definition of a “book boyfriend” has expanded well beyond the realm of the merely handsome. Romantasy readers have spent years falling for faerie kings, dragon riders, vampires, witches, mythical creatures, and morally gray men with complicated pasts and even more complicated romantic lives. A wicker husband may be an unusual addition to the roster, but the fantasy is familiar: Give readers a mysterious, otherworldly man and a little romance, and they are going to want to know more.

For anyone still obsessing over Wicker following its theatrical release, the following romantasy books offer plenty of mythical men, magical worlds, sweeping romances, and spicy scenes to keep you occupied in the meantime. Whether your preferred book boyfriend is a powerful fae, a supernatural heartthrob, or simply a man who would burn the world down for his love interest, there is a fictional crush waiting for you.

And if you’re wondering where this particularly unconventional love story came from, Wicker is based on Ursula Wills-Jones’ short story “The Wicker Husband.” The story follows an outcast woman who asks a basketmaker to create a husband for her, giving the film’s strange premise a literary origin that predates the current TikTok frenzy. The short story is not currently available as a conventional book for purchase online as of this writing.

Now that the Wicker Husband has arrived, pick up a smutty romantasy, meet your next book boyfriend, and settle in for some magical escapism. Watch the Wicker trailer below.