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- The side of TikTok for book-lovers, BookTok, has been engulfed in a review bombing scandal this month.
- A sci-fi author has admitted to leaving negative reviews on books from other authors.
- Cait Corrain has since been dropped by both her publisher and literary agent.
An investigation that began on BookTok has ended with an author confessing and losing her book deal.
Author Cait Corrain issued a lengthy apology on Tuesday in which she admitted to review-bombing, or leaving negative reviews under fake accounts, her fellow authors. Corrain's debut novel, "A Crown of Starlight," was set to be published by Del Rey Publishing in 2024, but the company said Tuesday that it has no plans to pursue "any other works on that contract."
According to her statement on X, formerly Twitter, Corrain logged into at least eight different Goodreads profiles on December 2 and "boosted the rating of my book, bombed the ratings of several fellow debut authors, and left reviews that ranged from kind of mean to downright abusive."
Canadian author Xiran Jay Zhao posted a Google document titled, "Review Bomb Receipts" with screenshots of the alleged reviews, and chaos ensued in the book communities of X and TikTok.
"I can't believe Del Rey spent half a million dollars on this when they could have spent half a million dollars on anything else. Sorry not sorry," one of the fake reviews read.
@xiranjayzhao A full explanation of reviewbombgate. #booktok #caitcorrain #crownofstarlight
♬ original sound - Xiran Jay Zhao
Corrain named four authors she targeted — two of which were under the same publisher — but said "it's possible there are a couple other authors."
"I felt no ill will towards any of them, it was just my fear about how my book would be received running out of control," Corrin said in her statement.
Business Insider has reached out to Del Rey and representatives for Corrain, along with the authors she named in her statement, for additional comment.
Corrain attributed the web of fake critics to a "psychological breakdown" brought on by poor mental health, addiction, and a new medication in her statement to X.
The author has since been dropped by her literary agent Becca Podos, and book subscription service Illumicrate said "A Crown of Starlight" would no longer be included in its May 2024 box.