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Historical Fiction

Book Reviews · Fiction

The Viking Epic You Need to Read Among Historical Fiction Books

May 12, 2025May 12, 2025

Born a Viking: Blot might be your next unforgettable read if you love historical fiction…

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DIARY OF A READER

Welcome to my blog!

I'm Dominique. As an avid reader and book lover, my job is to inspire you to read my favorite books. So, grab your favorite drink, and stay a while. We hope you find a new love.

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Hidden Dragons, Forbidden Magic: Kingdom of Shadows and Wings

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diaryofthereader

Bookish soft life. Always Probably reading. Book reviewer for fiction that lingers — soft, deep & unforgettable.
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📚✨What if love didn't just break the rules— 📚✨What if love didn't just break the rules—but rewrote them entirely?✨🌈 This Pride, I’m reaching for stories that crack open the binary and kiss it on the mouth. From morally gray lovers to queer found families and soft boys with sharp edges— these are the books that made me feel seen and shattered all at once. 💘 Give Me More – open marriages and bi awakening? Yes. Please. 🖤 Kiss the Villain – the darkest desires often hide in plain sight. 💀 A River of Golden Bones – sapphic high fantasy with curses, queens, and rebellion. 🐺 Wolfsong – queer werewolves, found family, and aching tenderness. Whether you crave spice, softness, or the supernatural—there’s something here waiting to devour you right back. 🌈 Which queer book has you in a chokehold right now? Tell me—I'm building my TBR. — Hashtags: #PrideMonthReads #QueerBookRecs #LGBTQBooks #SpicyBookTok #FantasyRomance #SapphicReads #QueerFantasy #DarkRomanceRecs #FoundFamilyBooks #BookstagramPride
🌑 “Some stories aren’t meant to be loud. Th 🌑 “Some stories aren’t meant to be loud. They bloom in the dark.” ⠀ Reading Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab felt like the ache of Addie LaRue—quiet, ghostly, and soaked in longing. It’s the kind of story that lingers in the corners of your heart… a gothic echo of love, grief, and legacy. ⠀ Schwab has always had a way of making pain feel poetic—and here, every sentence feels like a requiem. For who we were. For what we lost. For what we dare to dream beyond death. ⠀ ✨ This is for the readers who want stories that haunt beautifully. If The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue made you ache, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil will make you weep in silence. 🖤 I shared my full, emotional review on the blog—because this one deserves more than just a caption. ➡️ Link in bio to read the full review. ⠀ 💬 What’s a book that felt like grief and magic all at once? ⠀ Thank you so much to @torbooks for sending me an advanced copy. #BuryOurBones #VESchwab #GothicFantasy #AddieLaRueVibes #QueerBooks #HauntingReads #PoeticFiction #DarkFantasyBooks #EmotionalReads #BookstagramMagic #BookBloggers #DiaryOfAReader #AtmosphericReads
“We are not casual readers. We are stitched from “We are not casual readers. We are stitched from storylines, scarred by plot twists, and resurrected by re-reads. This is what I’m made of— What about you?” 🔮 Tell me: What would your reader soul be built from? Tag someone whose ingredients are just as unhinged. #ReaderEra #BookishIdentity #FictionalFeels #DarkRomanceReads #BookLoverMood #TBRChaos #GothicReader #BuiltFromBooks #DiaryOfAReader #ReaderAlchemy
💔 “He’s still in love with his dead wife... 💔 “He’s still in love with his dead wife... and yet I’m rooting for them.” If that line doesn’t scream new adult romance, I don’t know what does. From the first two pages of Shattered Hearts by Renee Parker @byreneeparker I was emotionally done for. This mafia romance book cracked something open in me — the kind of tension-filled, slow-burn romance read where the grief hits before the guns do. Meet Finn Gallagher: broody, scarred, a morally grey made man with a soft heart buried deep. And Riley Brennan? She’s trying to escape her abusive father and carve out a future that’s hers — outside the mafia world that’s been pulling her back her entire life. Their chemistry? Quiet, intense. The kind that builds in looks, subtle touches, and one-sided crushes turned mutual obsession. Yes, there are moments that could’ve used a tighter edit, but the dialogue? 🔥 Finn’s internal monologue gave me everything. I was giggling, kicking my feet, fully inside his head (where I love to be in adult romance reads). I flew through it on Kindle in just two days. The story unfolds in layers, and while it’s a slow burn, the emotional and physical payoff is worth every page. 🖤 If you're searching Goodreads or Instagram for your next dark romance, stop scrolling. Add this one to your TBR immediately. And if you've read it, drop a 💔 in the comments so we can scream together. Don't forget to check out my full review on my blog, The Diary of a Reader link in bio ✨ #newadultromance #mafiaromancebook #adultromance #romancereads #ReneeParker #ShatteredHearts #IrishKings #romancebooks #bookrecommendations #romancereview #kindlereads #slowburnromance #bookbloggerlife #readmorebooks #romanceauthor
🖤 She loved him. 👥 She followed him. 🗡 Sh 🖤 She loved him. 👥 She followed him. 🗡 She confessed to murder. And now… she’s finally ready to tell the truth. Maybe. MY EX THE ANTICHRIST by Craig DiLouie 🖤 A horror novel for fans of Stephen King, Grady Hendrix, and Shirley Jackson — where love turns deadly, and the apocalypse wears eyeliner. ❓️Would you read a book where your ex might literally end the world? It’s unhinged, it’s unholy, it’s so Summerween. My Ex the AntiChrist releases on July 1 by @hachetteus horror imprint Run For It! #newhorrorbooks #bramstoker #psychologicalhorror #horrornovel #horrorbooks #gothichorror #gradyhendrix #paulptremblay #stephengrahamjones #cassandrakhaw #horrorreads #horrorgenre #stephenking #graphicnovel #horrorstories #booktokrecs #bookrecommendation #horrorbookreel #summerween #myextheantichrist #horrorbabe #chaoticreads #booktokrecs #horrorforyou #summerreads #darkfiction #bookreels #bookishchaos
🌌 *Speculative fiction isn't just a genre—it' 🌌 *Speculative fiction isn't just a genre—it's a question whispered across time, space, and shadow.*⁠ What if grief could open portals? What if love rewrote the rules of science? What if monsters wore the faces we trust? These 24 books blur the lines between fantasy fiction, science fiction, horror, and magical realism—each one daring to imagine a world just a scale off from ours. The kind of fiction that lingers. That reshapes how we think about time, power, and the stories we tell ourselves. From rising writers redefining the genre to cult favorites that twist reality on its head—this is your sign to fall down the rabbit hole.⁠ 💭 Which speculative book left your mind spinning in the best way? 👇 Drop it in the comments so we can build the ultimate genre-bending group rec list. #speculativefiction #sciencefiction #fantasyfiction #magicalrealism #fictionbooks #bookrecommendations #fantasybooks #scifibooks #horrorbooks #speculative #bookstagram #writingcommunity #genredefying #booktok #literaturelover #fantasyreads #timeandspace #genreblending #bookworlds #bookloversunite #readersofinstagram #speculativebooks #risingauthors
There’s no timestamp on a good love story. These There’s no timestamp on a good love story. These aren’t new releases. No shiny debut. No hype machine behind them. Just romance novels that lingered—until I was ready to feel everything. ✨ Never by Jessa Hastings ✨ The Accidental Pin Up by Danielle Jackson ✨ That Boy by Jillian Dodd ✨ The Long Game by Elena Armas ✨ Promise Me Not by Meagan Brandy …and a few others that had no business making me feel this soft this late in the game. They’re messy. Tender. Sometimes unhinged. But when they hit? They hit hard. And that’s what I chase—a love story that pulls you under like a slow current. Because at the end of the day, I don’t care if it’s queer, fantasy, historical, or contemporary. I just want to believe in something. And these books? They made me believe. Happy Stack Saturday! 🖤 Which romance novel caught you completely off guard—and stayed? #StackSaturday #RomanceBooks #RomanceNovels #ContemporaryRomance #FantasyRomance #BookStack #BookLover #CurrentlyReading #BookCommunity #TheDiaryOfAReader #BookishEmotions #LoveStories #BookishLife #TBRStack #RomanceReader #BookRecs #EmilyHenry #LucyScore #KateeRobert #ReadRomance #QueerRomance #EmotionalReads #BooksThatStay
open my camera roll and it’s just books, soft li open my camera roll and it’s just books, soft light, and moments that feel like a daydream. 🤍 ✨ #bookishvibes Hashtags: #bookaesthetic #booksoftiktok #booktokrecs #cozyreads #readingvibes #bookishgirlies #bookstack #romancereads #fantasyreads #bookvideo #booktokedit #tbrpile #bookishmoments #bibliofilia #quietluxuryreads #moodyreader #blackbookstagram #prettybooks #bookishfeed #readersofinstagram
I fell for chaos, heat, and heartbreak this May— I fell for chaos, heat, and heartbreak this May—and I’d do it all again. This month’s reading wrap gave me everything: danger, devotion, and stories I’m still carrying. ✨ The Perfect Fit by Sadie Kincaid stitched together tension and heat like it was made for me. 💔 Shattered Hearts by Renee Parker? Left me breathless—sharp, tender, raw. 🏍️ Ride with Me by Simone Soltani had me gripping the pages like handlebars. 🌈 Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle? A chaotic, hilarious triumph I’ll be rereading every Pride month. 😈 Heartless Heathens by Santana Knox? Dark, filthy, addictive. Period. This monthly wrap had no skips—every read left a mark. Full book reviews are up on my blog. Send me a DM of you want a specific review and I'll send you a link, but let’s start with you: ✨ What book claimed you in May? ✨ Did we read any of the same? 👇 Tell me in the comments or tag me in your own wrap ups—I need to see what broke you this month. #readingwrap #monthlywrap #wrapups #bookreview #read #reads #book #books #review #story #readingwrapup #mayreadingwrapup #monthlyreads
✨June’s new book releases are here—and hones ✨June’s new book releases are here—and honestly? They’re doing the most. You ever feel like the right book finds you at the right time? That’s how June feels. Like a return. Like a window cracking open just enough to let the story in. Whether you're craving a sharp-edged fantasy novel, a soft, swoony romance, or a book club read that’ll have everyone talking—we’ve got a full round of fiction waiting on the shelf. There’s quick reads, collector’s editions, family sagas, and books that test your heart and your patience. A stacked bookshop, and you’ve got front-row seats. 📚 Which new book has your name written all over it? Drop it below or tag your reading bestie—your next read might just be that book. #newbookreleases #bookreleases #bookclubread #romancenovel #fantasynovel #newbooks2025 #juneedition #bookshopfinds #fictionlovers
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