yet again another silly goofy monster romantasy, just like i love them!
i was in amsterdam and i needed a chill, easy romance, a simple read and kimbeyet again another silly goofy monster romantasy, just like i love them!
i was in amsterdam and i needed a chill, easy romance, a simple read and kimberly lemming serves everytime for me, anytime, any place! (edit: okay janet jackson!!). i liked dante being the rich (baby) daddy to cherry, a rightfully vain madam. love a sassy, so babygirl boyfriend with a stubborn girlfriend (i am projecting myself onto cherry, i love dante). also alexis made a comback and she has to be there for every other novel in the series. i demand it!!
anyways, their romance was very fun, despite the bumps and i felt the adventure dante and cherry take on could have been more meaningful somehow. i don't know it just didn't struck me like the two first one did. i think i may have expected more intense and dramatic of a fight amid the romance, like the first (with the goddess myva) and the second (the fallout of myva and the incel cult) or now that i'm writing it down, i think i missed more absurdity like i was used to than anything else. the absence of such may attract more "normal" audience but really i'm here bcs i need my lowkey disgusting and saucy monster boyfriend time xoxo (if you know me irl, you don't xoxo). i still loved it but let's course-correct... if possible.
the smut was good and the way dante foreplays is exquisite to me, even though dante and cheery's actual sexual dynamic falls more into sub and dom and i was waiting for a switch in roles or a tease of such. but that's a me thing.
alas, i am now in need for a fourth book (please please please miss lemming, i cannot stand this drought)...more
i love this series so much bcs it's so unserious, so sexy and saucy, so silly like these books and i are a match made in heaven. your honor, we are mai love this series so much bcs it's so unserious, so sexy and saucy, so silly like these books and i are a match made in heaven. your honor, we are matching freaks!!
it's SO damn fun and i laughed so much, i frankly don't care that the 'fantasy' part is kinda weak (good that the lore followed but it was a bit senseless) or that with felix it's pretty much immediate - IT'S DOING THE THING IT SET OUT TO BE!!!!!!! i loved felix and brie, especially felix, he was less possessive than fallon but just as horny. like yes this is how your man should be and if he aint like that, i don't know what to tell you girl... anyways, the smut ate the FUCK down. yea it took inspiration from japanese hentai and ecchi's like of tentacles and served!!, but if you're not into that, maybe steer away from this one. though there are less scenes than in the first, it was just as hot, i'm putting my soul into this, y'all better not be on my ass about this smut. respectfully, y'all don't want me explaining xoxo
the third act thing was weird to me but it passed really quick so who cares, i was still having fun. my hesitation for the epilogue, i can point to the fact it's entierely a set up for the next book with dante and it's cool, but this is still felix and brie's story... i was hoping to see them how it goes after all this show and if brie ended up turning too.. OH ALSO i love alexis, she's random but damn this girl wwas me, making me laugh, so witty. she's crazy and be saying shit the shit i'm thinking outloud LMAOO.
anyways, it was so fun and i'm gonna read the third with dante in amsterdam, you best believe i will. ...more
this is a daunting one for me to write. bcs this is very obviously a beloved novel and the truth of the matter is that i had a fantastic time! ...untithis is a daunting one for me to write. bcs this is very obviously a beloved novel and the truth of the matter is that i had a fantastic time! ...until the very end. and there was so much to talk about with material, with just the content of the novel itself. and i was having a hard time deciding what rating i would give this novel, i took 5 days to debate myself about it. but if i can attempt to sum it up in a word, it would be "vibrant". (3.75)
truly, even if i'm upset at the end of it, this novel was a riot. tommy orange HAS the skill necessary to write all these distinct vibrant voices, not to say 'to have been born with that talent". and on top, to have them intertwined across the deep enmeshed stories where characters are subject to cultural, socioeconomical and political struggles that are specific the native american - WOW!! i see how tommy orange wrote - fought! long and hard to revolutionize the native character in literature - well, at least for me, he made me realize that it was the first urban native story i had read. i was like "huh... it's true that all the indigenous reading i have done have featured them in the country or way in the past". and for tommy orange to bring it back to now and make them as vivid and alive and painstakingly human, it's a feat, most certainly. "there there" announces for me a great writer who i will be following but also the arrival of an important archetype missing in the literary landscape, of which he immediate demystifies, humanizes, decronstructs before our eyes with the vast cast of characters. that is a TRUE skill. reading the dialogues was a pleasure, the switches from 1st person to 3rd back and forth or full stop a written piece by the author himself, the wide narrative structure paired with the direction of the novel was creative and amusing to cross-reference on accident or to notice how they intertwine in minor or major ways a character might or might not notice. the economist had it on the money: it's "not merely a literary triumph but a cultural and political one".
the lives told strike across three generations of urban native americans, all linked somehow by an upcoming powwow in oakland. ranging from a resentment for a disconnection to one's culture, difficulties of sobriety, the prominence of alcoholism within the community and the pains of history that continue to hurt, all the generational violences and silent oppression in its many trenchcoats - really, these urban stories are a new face of contemporary indigenous lives (for a person who's not in the community), showcasing the different relations to being native in an urban setting, currently how a great part of indigenous people live. it's the vamp it needed. these voices in "there there" and their stories are versatile, multiple, emotionally complex and demand to be read with care, consideration and most important outloud.
personally, i felt very strongly for my homegirl, jacquie red feather. she's had a rough life, not a second of rest. but there was a moment in the novel (and i'm sure you can guess where if you've read it) which i was so mad for her tbh. like i know i would absolutely lose my mind if i were her, like actually hysterical batshit crazy full mental breakdown. i'd flee the country, i'd rip my hair off, i'd kill, i don't know what i would do irl, i just know i couldn't possibly be sane and handle like she did. out of all the stories in this novel, jacquie's story was earthquake-like to me.
her story was great until the last page, but that doesn't i like how this novel ended. in literary theory or cinematic theory, i understand that tommy orange properly set us his novel, like yes chekhov's gun, i know... i've heard: "if you said the gun was going to go off by the end, it has to go off by the end" or "if it's not going to fired, it shouldn't be hanging there" or whatever - i KNOW....... BUT it was so quick and dry and "brusque" and i was left in suspense with nothing and i don't know, i just feel there are at least another 30 pages beyond the last page and i needed them to be there for this novel. the cutoff was jarring to me, i don't know how to explain to y'all.
also! i almost forgot: all these people and no gay?
anyways. the ending personally really soured it for me, but it's still a great novel overall. i'm probably going to get to wandering stars before the end of the year, bcs except for the end, i rlly liked tommy orange. just don't pull another stunt like that please xoxo ...more
this novel took "ain't i my sister's keeper" to another level, y'all. and it made for nollywood goodness!! like just in its premise and storyline direthis novel took "ain't i my sister's keeper" to another level, y'all. and it made for nollywood goodness!! like just in its premise and storyline direction and dialogues in english an yoruba... SO FUN!!!!! (some spoilers)
reading this book was like sitting in the semi-dark, in the know, a little tiny bit anxious about how it's going to go down. and it was growing slighgtly bigger as it was coming to its climax. my smile was devious, knowing and probably a bit crooked. i was sticking out my tongue just a tiny tiny bit, i was biting my nails like a diva!
but i still had some rough moments... not directly bcs of the content itself but it reminded me off... y'all need to know that for almost 6 years, i was just like korede when it came to tade... like JUST LIKE HER !! it's not my proudest years at all and it pained me so much to see my past self into this novel, like oh my god, this was what i looked like?????? AAAH !?!??!???!!! and with what unfolded??? i would be so sick... in fact I WAS SICK!! okay?? for her sake and my past self, i was terribly ill, i need to hospitalized, fallen into a deep coma, i'm bedridden, plugged in the machines in the ICU, on life-support, knocking on heaven's door. it was just so triggering to see these convos progressed between korede and tade, and how ayoola was behaving and exploiting that... i was so worked up bcs of the memories, it was unreasonably so for this read, really. but i'm over it now, i'm healed and i wishes korede had ended killing him by the end - it would have done REAL good to me.
feelings aside, this novel was very interesting, surprisingly a very fast read. it was very fun and funny but it stayed very much mature on the exploration of african family dynamics, specifically about the responsibility of the eldest daughter for the younger one, or the responsibility of the one for the more beautiful/gifted sibling. it's really the main interest of this novel as it is taken to the extremes with a serial killer sister and i thought it was really well handled and it reached me, as an eldest daughter in a black carribean household with a black mother. it was sensible, honest and made the jokes at the right time, did the nollywood classics with the same hilarious tang. but also along sings many other takes on beauty standard, the emotional repercussions being the one responsible does, pretty privilege and ofc course, colorism.
overall, this is rlly telling me that i need to read more african authors that give off scandalous, drama-filled nollywood vibes :)...more
smut september is here ladies. and this one, the tiktok girlies convinced me and i was pleased for sure. not my cup per say but enough to keep me goinsmut september is here ladies. and this one, the tiktok girlies convinced me and i was pleased for sure. not my cup per say but enough to keep me going. it’s a 3.5 for me but i gave it a 4 stars on goodreads at first but i thought rlly hard and i think it’s more towards the 3 than the 4 :/ still liked it tho!
i usually don't rlly read marriage of convenience. often in the past, i thought it was badly handled or barely entertaining but ana huang knows what's she doing, okay? this one definitely did their bit. the blackmail didn't feel 100% like grasping for straws (though it was kinda random lol - but the sentiments out of it made complete sense). the stakes are there.
vivian can be caught mothering multiple times, which i rlly liked, except when it came to her family but it has to do with the story so i will say nothing. i like the change made by the end of the book. i would rlly like to be her friend irl. as for dante, he is possessive and all, he's a 'you're mine' rather than a 'i'm yours' guy - he lowkey becomes one at the end but still remains possessive. i know some girlies like that, and i knew he had that character before coming in, but i don't like that, it didn't grow on me like i thought the ana huang charm would win me over. i get it for these girlies but i am not those girls so i'll settle for personal taste, though i did like the book overall.
i also appreciate that isabella and sloane were actually there often in the story. just a thought.
the smut, for me, was hit or miss. some had me squealing, some had no reaction out of me. there are incredibly hot, some were not for me at all. like i'm sorry "do you want me on my knees?" YES SIR!!! anyways... while there are numerous smut scenes, i wish that the scenes were longer, had more details and that the two of them talked a bit more. that's my taste, i rlly do like when the two adults communicate while having sex bcs it feels more realistic rather than a choreography. details would help for build-up and lowkey, i would lose how they were positioned or where they were fucking lol. i rlly liked when they tried anew and the silent yearning and phone calls, oh lawd. we gotta stretch out that tension more, it's so delicious, it's my whole purpose for reading smut. but overall... it's pretty hot in here!
so now, i can safely say that i understand the ana huang love but for now, i think it's down to preferences. she's in my corner but i'll go to favs before i visit miss huang again.
Merged review:
smut september is here ladies. and this one, the tiktok girlies convinced me and i was pleased for sure. not my cup per say but enough to keep me going. it’s a 3.5 for me but i gave it a 4 stars on goodreads at first but i thought rlly hard and i think it’s more towards the 3 than the 4 :/ still liked it tho!
i usually don't rlly read marriage of convenience. often in the past, i thought it was badly handled or barely entertaining but ana huang knows what's she doing, okay? this one definitely did their bit. the blackmail didn't feel 100% like grasping for straws (though it was kinda random lol - but the sentiments out of it made complete sense). the stakes are there.
vivian can be caught mothering multiple times, which i rlly liked, except when it came to her family but it has to do with the story so i will say nothing. i like the change made by the end of the book. i would rlly like to be her friend irl. as for dante, he is possessive and all, he's a 'you're mine' rather than a 'i'm yours' guy - he lowkey becomes one at the end but still remains possessive. i know some girlies like that, and i knew he had that character before coming in, but i don't like that, it didn't grow on me like i thought the ana huang charm would win me over. i get it for these girlies but i am not those girls so i'll settle for personal taste, though i did like the book overall.
i also appreciate that isabella and sloane were actually there often in the story. just a thought.
the smut, for me, was hit or miss. some had me squealing, some had no reaction out of me. there are incredibly hot, some were not for me at all. like i'm sorry "do you want me on my knees?" YES SIR!!! anyways... while there are numerous smut scenes, i wish that the scenes were longer, had more details and that the two of them talked a bit more. that's my taste, i rlly do like when the two adults communicate while having sex bcs it feels more realistic rather than a choreography. details would help for build-up and lowkey, i would lose how they were positioned or where they were fucking lol. i rlly liked when they tried anew and the silent yearning and phone calls, oh lawd. we gotta stretch out that tension more, it's so delicious, it's my whole purpose for reading smut. but overall... it's pretty hot in here!
so now, i can safely say that i understand the ana huang love but for now, i think it's down to preferences. she's in my corner but i'll go to favs before i visit miss huang again.
Merged review:
smut september is here ladies. and this one, the tiktok girlies convinced me and i was pleased for sure. not my cup per say but enough to keep me going. it’s a 3.5 for me but i gave it a 4 stars on goodreads at first but i thought rlly hard and i think it’s more towards the 3 than the 4 :/ still liked it tho!
i usually don't rlly read marriage of convenience. often in the past, i thought it was badly handled or barely entertaining but ana huang knows what's she doing, okay? this one definitely did their bit. the blackmail didn't feel 100% like grasping for straws (though it was kinda random lol - but the sentiments out of it made complete sense). the stakes are there.
vivian can be caught mothering multiple times, which i rlly liked, except when it came to her family but it has to do with the story so i will say nothing. i like the change made by the end of the book. i would rlly like to be her friend irl. as for dante, he is possessive and all, he's a 'you're mine' rather than a 'i'm yours' guy - he lowkey becomes one at the end but still remains possessive. i know some girlies like that, and i knew he had that character before coming in, but i don't like that, it didn't grow on me like i thought the ana huang charm would win me over. i get it for these girlies but i am not those girls so i'll settle for personal taste, though i did like the book overall.
i also appreciate that isabella and sloane were actually there often in the story. just a thought.
the smut, for me, was hit or miss. some had me squealing, some had no reaction out of me. there are incredibly hot, some were not for me at all. like i'm sorry "do you want me on my knees?" YES SIR!!! anyways... while there are numerous smut scenes, i wish that the scenes were longer, had more details and that the two of them talked a bit more. that's my taste, i rlly do like when the two adults communicate while having sex bcs it feels more realistic rather than a choreography. details would help for build-up and lowkey, i would lose how they were positioned or where they were fucking lol. i rlly liked when they tried anew and the silent yearning and phone calls, oh lawd. we gotta stretch out that tension more, it's so delicious, it's my whole purpose for reading smut. but overall... it's pretty hot in here!
so now, i can safely say that i understand the ana huang love but for now, i think it's down to preferences. she's in my corner but i'll go to favs before i visit miss huang again.
Merged review:
smut september is here ladies. and this one, the tiktok girlies convinced me and i was pleased for sure. not my cup per say but enough to keep me going. it’s a 3.5 for me but i gave it a 4 stars on goodreads at first but i thought rlly hard and i think it’s more towards the 3 than the 4 :/ still liked it tho!
i usually don't rlly read marriage of convenience. often in the past, i thought it was badly handled or barely entertaining but ana huang knows what's she doing, okay? this one definitely did their bit. the blackmail didn't feel 100% like grasping for straws (though it was kinda random lol - but the sentiments out of it made complete sense). the stakes are there.
vivian can be caught mothering multiple times, which i rlly liked, except when it came to her family but it has to do with the story so i will say nothing. i like the change made by the end of the book. i would rlly like to be her friend irl. as for dante, he is possessive and all, he's a 'you're mine' rather than a 'i'm yours' guy - he lowkey becomes one at the end but still remains possessive. i know some girlies like that, and i knew he had that character before coming in, but i don't like that, it didn't grow on me like i thought the ana huang charm would win me over. i get it for these girlies but i am not those girls so i'll settle for personal taste, though i did like the book overall.
i also appreciate that isabella and sloane were actually there often in the story. just a thought.
the smut, for me, was hit or miss. some had me squealing, some had no reaction out of me. there are incredibly hot, some were not for me at all. like i'm sorry "do you want me on my knees?" YES SIR!!! anyways... while there are numerous smut scenes, i wish that the scenes were longer, had more details and that the two of them talked a bit more. that's my taste, i rlly do like when the two adults communicate while having sex bcs it feels more realistic rather than a choreography. details would help for build-up and lowkey, i would lose how they were positioned or where they were fucking lol. i rlly liked when they tried anew and the silent yearning and phone calls, oh lawd. we gotta stretch out that tension more, it's so delicious, it's my whole purpose for reading smut. but overall... it's pretty hot in here!
so now, i can safely say that i understand the ana huang love but for now, i think it's down to preferences. she's in my corner but i'll go to favs before i visit miss huang again.
Merged review:
smut september is here ladies. and this one, the tiktok girlies convinced me and i was pleased for sure. not my cup per say but enough to keep me going. it’s a 3.5 for me but i gave it a 4 stars on goodreads at first but i thought rlly hard and i think it’s more towards the 3 than the 4 :/ still liked it tho!
i usually don't rlly read marriage of convenience. often in the past, i thought it was badly handled or barely entertaining but ana huang knows what's she doing, okay? this one definitely did their bit. the blackmail didn't feel 100% like grasping for straws (though it was kinda random lol - but the sentiments out of it made complete sense). the stakes are there.
vivian can be caught mothering multiple times, which i rlly liked, except when it came to her family but it has to do with the story so i will say nothing. i like the change made by the end of the book. i would rlly like to be her friend irl. as for dante, he is possessive and all, he's a 'you're mine' rather than a 'i'm yours' guy - he lowkey becomes one at the end but still remains possessive. i know some girlies like that, and i knew he had that character before coming in, but i don't like that, it didn't grow on me like i thought the ana huang charm would win me over. i get it for these girlies but i am not those girls so i'll settle for personal taste, though i did like the book overall.
i also appreciate that isabella and sloane were actually there often in the story. just a thought.
the smut, for me, was hit or miss. some had me squealing, some had no reaction out of me. there are incredibly hot, some were not for me at all. like i'm sorry "do you want me on my knees?" YES SIR!!! anyways... while there are numerous smut scenes, i wish that the scenes were longer, had more details and that the two of them talked a bit more. that's my taste, i rlly do like when the two adults communicate while having sex bcs it feels more realistic rather than a choreography. details would help for build-up and lowkey, i would lose how they were positioned or where they were fucking lol. i rlly liked when they tried anew and the silent yearning and phone calls, oh lawd. we gotta stretch out that tension more, it's so delicious, it's my whole purpose for reading smut. but overall... it's pretty hot in here!
so now, i can safely say that i understand the ana huang love but for now, i think it's down to preferences. she's in my corner but i'll go to favs before i visit miss huang again....more
this read was particularly sensitive and difficult, given the on-going genocide in gaza. the palestinian suffering is vivid like an open, gaping breatthis read was particularly sensitive and difficult, given the on-going genocide in gaza. the palestinian suffering is vivid like an open, gaping breathing wound. this small work captures the aftermath of the nakba and the following daily, outright or insidious violence through the eyes of an israeli psychopathic straight-up fucking evil IDF soldier who participated in a gang r*ape and eventual murder of a bedouin woman, and through the eyes of palestinian woman on the spectrum who's hyper fixated on that horrific crime. it's a story that's worth every listen and every available ear on this earth.
also, reading this in august was horrible, and so close to the date of the crime. it made for a torturous juxtaposition while reading. it was sickening.
but as a body of literary work, i do have criticisms. for this one, i question the length for the israeli's pov. while i think it was essential for this pov, to really get a inner view of a thru-and-thru zionist's thoughts and attitudes, i think we stayed too long. zionism is a jewish ethno-nationalist colonizing school of thought, it's a simple straight forward type of violence. i only regret staying so long in their head bcs i wished for more of the palestinian woman's and that it's kinda really fucking awful to be in a zionist's head. other editorial choices like only two chapiters for the pov division, is one that agree with it but it did leave for walls of text, along with dialogues being embedded in said wall text without dialogue markers - little little breathers in between.
as for the end of the novel, i am confused abit for this type of end. i get that it's about a cyclical systemic virtually inescapability of it, living under apartheid but i just don't understand the present of a woman at the end. i want to think it's the bedouin woman who was presumably left for dead but it's a bit confusing, so it's a less satisfying end to it. it's a small thing really but it's for the end so i'm inclined to be a bit harsher.
aside for the crime, i think the most harrowing moment in this novel is when the palestinian woman is staying in an inn outside of the strip and she hears bombing in gaza in the middle of night and she describes to us how it feels to be bombed in the middle of the night, how the dust gets everywhere, how ear-shattering they are, how the buildings crumble. and how still and unbothered it is on the other side, how there's no dust and sand rushing up to the window and their nose, how you can still hear some of them dropping but it's nothing but a drum beating in the distant. how they, on the other side, sleep soundly and live peaceful lives. it's like the zone of interest, rlly. i can't understand how they, who live close to the strip, can live with themselves.
in short, it was a difficult and rather necessary read with some editorial choices that can make this hard read an even harder one. ...more
ironically, this lacked luster. *ba doum tsiii* (spoilers ahead)
and yet it had a perfect recipe! really! some racial and gender dynamics within an opeironically, this lacked luster. *ba doum tsiii* (spoilers ahead)
and yet it had a perfect recipe! really! some racial and gender dynamics within an open marriage including a child, messy inaporopriate unlikeable main character, writing reminiscent of rooney's simple and straight style and a great starter! and while there are certainly good things happening in luster, compared to the list of my personal issue, i can't help asking myself "what went wrong?"... well almost everything.
it's a shame bcs truly, it was an intriguing premise but it fell truly much flat everywhere. the plot was set, did its opening trick, and then the energy waned and sat down, checking their nails as if the job was done. the plot was that one guy in us men's gymnastic team whose only job was the pommel horse except it flopped in a major, embarrassing way and barely did anything about it. you'd think it would make up in character study or presentation but no. the characters didn't make up for it at all. i mean, eric was interesting at first, but then he went out of the pictures for so long. he ended up serving "go girl, give us nothing!". he literally just fucked edie, the main character, like three times and got bored and picked up again an inappropriate relationship with alcohol. rebecca was an attempt at some, idk, unbothered female whiteness of some sort, maybe white savior -esque in the face of black realities (that's the best i can justify her character, okay please don't comment about it). however she just came across as lowkey psychopathic, in the sense that she doesn't really feel, she's bored and ultimately opportunistic, she's just masking all day everyday. white people in this book: uninteresting.
akila was my favorite character - like this was literally me when i was 10 (and kinda still am to this day). super isolated growing up culturally speaking and wasn't sure how to connect, super into anime and videogames, super scared to be vulnerable with other people! (calling myself out *heart*) not particularly likeable but god, she's a teenager - who fucking wasn't? with edie, their moments together really appealed to my natural candle for misunderstood black girlhood and eventual womanhood. as for edie, she's giving traumatized mental illness chaotic realness in the worse possible. of course, it's on purpose but that doesn't mean i'm appreciating her as a character. edie has this still voice insanely calm chaotic level 100 boss fight but it gets old quick. edie has some meat, character-construction-wise but i don't think she really has growth over the course of the novel. she just responds to what little plot there is, doesn't really struggle, except thinks about things she maybe hasn't thought before. for short, we spend most of the time in her hand and it's not an intriguing place.
the other aspect that were supposed to pop and keeps me tuned, turned out to be quite gimmicky. the open marriage dynamics were so far in the background, when it's literally so interesting especially in an aggressively monogamous society. i mean, the whole thing focuses on rebecca and edie's distant partnership, that was mostly hostile and silent ?? and the racial contrast between them wasn't even compelling bcs they don't really interact ?? it's a mind game but the mind game is made up of half-convincing moments and almost straight-up hallucinations. like ???? racial dynamics were promised in this novel but they were barely to be found and if found, utterly unengaging.
and the other component of this promised "racial dynamics" is set up since day one when edie arrives in new jersey (as a black person, it was insanely easy to clock her, like first time i saw that character); and it climax as a police brutality event with akila and edie... but even set from day one (and popped in the end like a pimple), it felt incredibly inappropriate and lazy, especially given the premise of an open mariage with a mediocre white and uncaring white woman. there's so much opportunity for subtle racism to pull out from this set up of relationship. like *that* is to be the peak of this supposed racial tension in this novel about relationships? in such a unique setting? like wow, that was such a boring, gimmicky choice. like eugh, it was truly distasteful in my opinion.
lastly, i want to underline that it's good writing at least and that there were great passages and reading it went quickly. but those are few and far between and the writing just doesn't make up for most of the choices.
i stand at an 1.5 stars. :// at the end, i'm just like "whatever that means!" of which i actually mean "that shit was squashed and i have no idea how this could have happened". in hindsight, i'm glad i found this book at a second hand bookstore. i would have been really really unhappy if i had paid full 39.99$ cad for the hardcover....more
before picking this up, i didn't know ada limon was the peot laureate for the u.s. not that it changes much of my thoughts on this collection i've reabefore picking this up, i didn't know ada limon was the peot laureate for the u.s. not that it changes much of my thoughts on this collection i've read over a week ago at this point. (sorry i've been busy)
i thought that the collection was hopping between big themes like fertility and then passion and after politics? all great topics to read poetry about but i think i just like my big themes in poetry to be under an umbrella at least. maybe it's just me who rlly needs this sense of direction and ultimate purpose in poetry, as if each poem is a piece of tainted glass placed under light to show a beautiful mosaique of something. for me, i'd rather reduce the scope of ada limon's collection.
the writing is good, definitely. ada limon uses depictions of nature and natural elements in this collection in a way that should be satisfying for one but jsut wasn't for me? i don't know to be honest. i think simply she just might not be for me. it's a good and easy collection to start with, if a reader is on a journey of discovering poetry but it just ultimately didn't do much for me.
maybe i'm just really in love with warsan shire....more
ouff... the more i read, the more i was lost. it's actually a shame for me bcs i was rlly looking forward to that reading being good asf. i was going ouff... the more i read, the more i was lost. it's actually a shame for me bcs i was rlly looking forward to that reading being good asf. i was going to try again magical realism bcs this is one of the pivotal novels that has influenced the famous and celebrated gabriel garcia marquez... but alas i have failed.
the more i advance, the less and less this novel was grounded. there was litlle to no checkmark to attach me to reality or to distinguish the magical elements from the real ones. plus it was going so damn fast, like my god, can we please sit down and assess what's going on? like just for 10 seconds please? maybe i'm just not built for magical realism, after all. it's good writing that's for sure but after this novel, i think magical realism rlly just not for me.
truly, i'm not hating if you loved this. i just can't genuinely fuck with this bcs i was so lost. (2.5)...more
this is one of the many correct ways for a straight man to serenade, to love (and to lust?) after a person, or a woman specifically.
it was very seductthis is one of the many correct ways for a straight man to serenade, to love (and to lust?) after a person, or a woman specifically.
it was very seductive and amorous; i am a bit jealous of whom ever this was dedicated to... just a little bit. and the version i had also contained the original spanish poems, and whisper them out loud was just so... amorous. (i'm sorry i hope i'm not playing into the latin lover archetype - i just also think spanish is such a handsome language). i was taken by alot of the love poems - their prose, the subjects and love (bcs i love love). while i didn't care for all the poems like i did with emily austin or warsan shire, i never found them impertinent or ever dislike them.
but as much as i had fun on the moment, i can't say that i'll be thinking about it very soon. it sits at a 3.5 stars :)...more
'until august' is the published uncompleted manuscript from the beloved gabriel garcia marquez. and though it's very clearly unfinished, it is still a'until august' is the published uncompleted manuscript from the beloved gabriel garcia marquez. and though it's very clearly unfinished, it is still a lush and romantic piece of writing - there, to be certain, stems the attraction of this novella; a final crumb of his undeniable talent.
gabriel garcia marquez' writing is luxuriant and sultry. it is adorned by characters who are creatives, surrounded by music and literature references. there's a great emphasis on art, love, passions, infidelity and the main character's inner life, ana magdalena. the atmosphere he sets is seductive, rich and sensual. personally, if i can dare safely, i see a little allegory or a set intention for female/womanly sexual and romantic exploration, of which it's slightly undermined by the shame and fear ana magdalena feels and projects. she wrestles with "decorum vs temptation" in her mind and body. even in this short a novella, the picture of ana magdalena's inner life is complex and vivid. also, one could also possibly argue this is about the effects of past relationships onto our current behaviors and reactions to past information - talk about breeding resentment in mariages; wanting to be seduced again; questioning ourselves as "there are no sure option in love". the night with the bishop was certainly the most interesting night she spent on that island, as it clearly displayed all that very clearly.
the writing (and translation in my case) is absolutely the main star of this novella, as it is uncompleted. i very much like to think, naturally, that if gabriel garcia marquez were still of this world, it would have been absolutely phenomenal. but for it is not complete and obviously is, my rating will reflect that. 4.5 for me. ...more
with the on-going and acceleration of the palestinian genocide in gaza led by the israeli apartheid, these poems, semi-following the poet's grandmothewith the on-going and acceleration of the palestinian genocide in gaza led by the israeli apartheid, these poems, semi-following the poet's grandmother who's older than israel, felt all the more powerful, important and most of all, beyond devastating. rifqa was 103 years old, when she passed away on june 16th, 2020. she was a living breathing symbol of resistance in front of all the instances of settler colonial violence, terrorism and genocide. she lived thru the nakba. reading this collection, paired with the images coming straight from gaza, was... just... there are no words.
as for the poetry itself, it was dry-cut, direct prose with woved with bleeding and bloody memories and a suffering only palestinian person could feel. his prose just hightens the horrors on paper and fiercely warns us to stand by the oppressed and reject the lies of the oppressor. i really appreciated the use of godhood and the occasional references stories from the quran. "no moses in siege" was my favorite poem, of which recalled the cruelty the IDF navy showed on july 16th 2014 when it fired on boys playing soccer on the beach in gaza city. absbolutely inhuman.
"do i believe in violence? well i don't believe in violation"
while sometimes i found that the poem's visual srtucture was a bit confusing, it always manage to sap all the air out of my lungs.
i had an itch for silly romantasy adventure and i got my fill thankfully. i'm so happy i picked up a book that knew what it was - it leaned in the sili had an itch for silly romantasy adventure and i got my fill thankfully. i'm so happy i picked up a book that knew what it was - it leaned in the silliness, into the fun of adventure. it was genuinely funny (and confirmed the sassy men apocalypse is upon us)!
and here's the deal: objectively, it's a 3 - i'll be so honest. but i had so much fun and i got so attached to the cast of characters... it was so addictive, fast-paced and contemporary-internet-funny (i'm sorry my brain is rotten). the writing of course has its flaws, most definitely but i forgive it bcs it knew what it was + kimberly lemming knows how to create loveable characters and dialogue. are their constructions strong? apart from the main characters? no they could be stronger but it is the first in a serie so the side characters might be stronger / get out of their archetypes in the next books. but even a particular aspect of cinnamon's character was too easy: losing your religion! i felt she lost it very easily, it didn't shook her as hard as i think losing your religion should be.
for the world-building, it was intriguing at first but as i progressed it was getting less and less good, and more and more convinient. for exemple, it mentions creatures by their common real-life names of which some are based in greek mythology (a lamia and a minotaur). bcs this is high fantasy, you can't name them like that bcs it implies they know greek mythology, which is impossible. sometimes, it was a word like "al dente" - this implies the existence of the italy and italians (get out your forks). those are pretty grave mistake for an editor to slip up on (this novel was originally an indie book but was picked by tradition publishing when it gained lots of attraction, i think). but oh well! i knew they were going to be silly. like i don't know anyone picked up on it but myva is basically the minecraft ender dragon LMAO.
as for the smut, it's definitiely for a particular audience as it does contain some light BDSM and dubcon (of which i think they were well-handed and well approached). of course, if these are not your thing at all, i recommend you skip this. the smut is perfectly fine, if sometimes it's not my thing. this is also a slightly possessive and slightly feral mmc, fallon - this panders to alot of people. i'm not in that audience but done well, i don't mind at all, but here i liked it bcs he stated what he felt and was open about this, and respected cinnamon's wishes. but fallon's sassy and so petty so i like him regardless.
it's a real fun ride with much giggles, they are so unserious. also ambrose is my pookie, i don't make the rules. ...more
warsan shire immediately ambushed me with a knife to my throat, drew my blood, and laid down all the woes and the pains in such ravishing, rightfully warsan shire immediately ambushed me with a knife to my throat, drew my blood, and laid down all the woes and the pains in such ravishing, rightfully bitter and poignant prose, i can only stand there, like an idiot, totally disarmed and bewitched. there is simultaneously a violence and a beauty in this collection of poems - which i understand, is her first! - that is rarely found elsewhere...
"no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. you only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well. the boy you went to school with, who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory, is holding a gun bigger than his body. you only leave home when home won't let you stay.
no one puts their children in a boat, unless the water is safer than the land. no one would choose days and nights in the stomach of a truck, unless the miles traveled meant something more than journey
no one would choose to crawl under fences, beaten until you shadow leaves, raped, forced off the boat because you are darker, drowned, sold, starved, shot at the border like a sick animal, pitied. no one would choose to make a refugee camp home for a year or two or ten, stripped and searched, finding prison everywhere"
you'd open a page and you would see the work speaks for it self. there is hardly any other collection cleverer, more torturous and more gorgeous than shire's collection of poems. she writes candidly about the traumatizing life experience of being black, being a black woman, being a black woman of muslim faith, being a black woman who's a refugee - to be othered and in search of home again, forced to seek... anything to hold on to in diasporas. this poem collection stings you and then makes your body ache. warsan shire's talent is immeasurable. her agony reverberates long after you've read it, it's as if you were personally scorned. her poems take you from personal to intergenerational traumas, from almost-savage girlhood to grievous womanhood, while all being super precise and relating to her own experience. as a black woman, i must profess - this is phenomenal.
"we found something crouching behind your bed, it grunted when approached, sang a severed song, a dead thing clinging to life, a mass of knots, born of fiber, torn from blood vessels, dry to the touch.
when it stood, it was the height of a shrill scream, we asked its name, it said your name.
in the garden we set fire to it, it burnt quickly, made a neonatal sound, left behind the perfume of scorched sulfur. was it yours?"
one said that the way warsan shire writes the same way nina simone sang. i cannot agree more. she captures the suffering like i have yet to see elsewhere. this collection is raging, hadean and a magnetic piece - an excellent knock-out blow for prose.
this collection of poems was on literaryhub's most anticipated reads and i was most excited to read from a palestinian-american poet to read about disthis collection of poems was on literaryhub's most anticipated reads and i was most excited to read from a palestinian-american poet to read about displacement, violence, diasporas, fears and indirectly the on-going genocide in palestine.
in a space and time bending haze, we hop from beirut, damascus, basra, jerusalem in the west bank, dubai - all over the middle east. it's a hard read for those who are particularly sensitive to that awful feeling of divorce between a person and their people/home... but i have to admit that the poems themselves, while i deeply appreciated their raw and haunting content, didn't always sit with me in their formats. for me, some were hits, some misses.
the range of which hala alyan is reaching, is of noble intention but there is this zoom-in and zoom-out that felt slightly awkward to me between poems. the polyvocality ( - the perfect word another review has used for these poems, i fear -) hasn't been nailed perfectly. nothing major but it's remarkable to me. this sometimes would tie to the poems that were must more visually striking and/or interactive - which is the most i have ever read, by the way. it was creative to add these "fill the blank" forms as a poem, a true play with page design. but i personally am more about the word play within the words or a simple text. these interactive poems were interesting but in my case, i failed to see the pertinence or the pleasure in having to solve these. not bcs i don't love a puzzle - i love a puzzle - but bcs i can easily misconstrue, bcs i have to probe and poke and play with the words and the sentences, and bcs whatever i came up with, just might not be the "correct" or the "true" order. and perhaps that was the beauty in it. but for my little plausibly neurodivergent brain, the poems would lose their charm bcs i would be preoccupied with the puzzle than with the words and the message or the poem. the worry and the exponential possibilities would tick tick tick in back of my head and whine to me "what if you didn't read it right?". and so that took away alot during my reading.
long story short, while i really appreciated the creative effort and the content, it did landed awkwardly with me and i left the poem collection feeling nervous about the correctness of my order during those interactive poems. ...more
this nice little sapphic comic published by drawn and quarterly (a 30 min public transportation ride away from my home) was a breeze to read! i sat dothis nice little sapphic comic published by drawn and quarterly (a 30 min public transportation ride away from my home) was a breeze to read! i sat down and in little less than three hours, i was done with this little cautionary tale about choosing your vacay buddies properly and the importance of not passively ignoring your friend while pursuing a mere fling.
"roaming" was a well-structured comic set in new york city, lasts for a long weekend that went by so quickly to us. incredible vibes paired with the a-game dialogue gave it an unstoppable flow. zoe, dani and fiona all felt terribly human and to be honest, had someone told me that this was someone else' actual memories of such a trip, i would 100% believe them. especially fiona - she's the regular selfish "if im not having fun, none of yall are" type of bitch. the tamaki pair absolutely nailed her persona. she's the true energy vampire of the real world, a real menace even though she came out to be the star of this comic for me. hate her guts but she's a great character.
i'd give it a 3.5 stars but for the sake of the goodreads, i'll round it down....more
this is one of my most anticipated releases this year and i am so thankful it did not let down. to me, this wawhen poets write novels, magic happens.
this is one of my most anticipated releases this year and i am so thankful it did not let down. to me, this was magic, kaveh akbar is a revelation. much heart and soul went into this story of interlinked fates, of death and life, and of big complex emotions and characters, of kings and divine beings. just like orkideh's first painting, i too woul call it "arresting, radically human".
the craft-level is phemonemal, impeccable, truly astrounding. some sentences had me gasping and pausing myself just to admire and reflect. from the beginning until the very end, this novel is absolutely stunning -- honest and raw, raunchy, witty (had me cackling a few times); the dialogues, formats and narrations choices were perfect in my opinion, especially that one juxtaposition in arash' pov with him remembering mira from the market while witness all this death as the angel gabriel riding on the front. reading that part was a gut punch, it was almost cinematic. i get why it would bother some people these different, but it was smooth as butter for me. specifically the different formats really kept me into this novel and truly peaked my interest in kaveh akbar's poetry. i mean there's that one text that's from cyrus' BOOKOFMARTYRS.doxc that i had me like "wow":
"if the mortal sin of the suicide is greed, to hoard stillness and calm for yourself while dispersing your riotous internal pain among all those who survive you, then the mortal sin of the martyr must be pride, the vanity, the hubris to believe not only that your death coul mean more than your living, but that your death could mean more than death itself - which, because it is inevitable, means nothing."
this absolutely stopped me in my reading. and some more too stopped me again. i think i personally just naturally enjoy a diverse style (it's the gemini in me) (going from small essays, poems mostly, one-liners, dreams) and it was just such a treat for me.
the main twist part one, personally, had me shocked and teary-eyed. part two had me gagged, bcs i knew prior to even cracking a page the case of iran air flight 655. to me, it was incredible. i was absolutely GUTTED, in awe by the emotions that were actually fluttering in my facial muscles - i hadn't realize that i was that into the story.
the portrait of sobriety was one that i deeply appreciated. very honestly, it was the first time that i had spent so much time with such a detailed and fictional sober person. this perspective taking was so refreshing for me and it allowed me to get an idea of how it is in cyrus' head and potential how it could be in one of my friends' head who had struggled with addiction in the past and has been sober for now over two years i think. i thoughy about them for a good portion of my reading. there's a specific part in this novel that i literally can't find now but it went about like "the addiction story is the same for everybody but the road to recovery is different for eveyone" and that strucked me in the head so hard, i was genuinely thankful about this. it was like getting a proper pair of glasses - i mean it like "i could see blurry and was knowing of what it was but it was the first time i saw clearly". i find after my reading experience that cyrus' sobriety was handled and written with realness, empathy and much grit. i'm super grateful that i got this new lens from cyrus' experience with addiction and sobriety.
some reviwers say that the theme of martyrdom, alternative martyrdom was a bit lost around 60-75% into the novel... i say it rather transformed as cyrus grew to understand more about death, life and martyrs. what i understood from cyrus' is that cyrus only stops being obsessed bcs what makes a martyr to cyrus (his broader definition) to have been and to have lived and to have loved (with zee in this case - i loved zee so much). a full life with love and passion and convictions and beliefs. that's just my little take, especally since it ends so perfectly on that clarice lispector quote:
"my god, i just remembered that we die. but - but me too?! don't forget that for now, it's strawberry season."
this encapsulates this novel so well in my opinion. it's ambiguous enough to draw out our own conclusions from this exploration of martyrdom with cyrus. it doesn't offer a purpose to it, nor a reason, nor an answer but do we really need one?
to have not heard of kaveh akbar prior to this amazing novel, is insane but i am so delighted to have met him like that. it was unforgettable....more
chain-gang all-stars has an action-driven prose in a casual mortal kombat style with laid-back dialogue which should make for a direct and entertaininchain-gang all-stars has an action-driven prose in a casual mortal kombat style with laid-back dialogue which should make for a direct and entertaining reading experience. plus it presents gay women!! but for the life of me, i cannot be bothered to pick it up again. i don't know what to say. i'm as stumped as you are - scratch that, even more than you could ever be. me giving it the month treatment was just me being in denial - im so sorry but when i reached 30%, i just knew i didn't want to slave away my time trying to finish it.
i sincerely cannot point to anything that really disinterests me. maybe it's the science fiction genre? dystopian subgenre? but even with that, this novel comments on the exploitation of humans, most specifically people of color, in the american incarceration system. and please heed my words: chain-gang all-stars is an absolute genius idea in concept, very creative and such a mine for different explorations. i understand why the "literary fiction from people of color" group i'm part of chose it, i understand it totally. but man i can't be bothered.
i was told "gay women warriors lovers in prison", i've barely got it by 30%. i was told "addictive prose", i didn't get it unfortunately. maybe the beginning is just weak but honestly, i think the beginning of a book should be the best part bcs that's where you set the terrain and try your best to hook your readers in. as for the commentary, i'm sure it would have been coming and all. where i stopped, i found it okay, perfectly agreeable. perhaps for my personal sensitivities, i'd rather read about incarceration in a nonfiction format, an essay or memoir, doesn't really matter the ultimate form but nonfiction would be best for me to consume critic on prisons.
there are footnotes in this novel and to be very honest, i have no idea why they are there. i think it's cool that you want to show your sources and you're basing yourself off of but keep it in a "mediagraphy"/bibliography at the end of it to lead your readers to read about more of it. and keep them small and referential, like there was one page of which literally 85% of the page was a footnote relating to the part in the american constitution where slavery was kept legal in prisons and such -- please don't do that. very important note but please referential. already footnotes in fiction is weird bcs you're supposed to be fiction and therefore, all or partial explained as we progress into the story but also CGAS is not nonfiction - where we use academic language or anything that might lead to confusion and would require a footnote; nor should be making EXPLICIT references to real-life things via footnotes. also, and this is a big point: if you feel like you have to, use them scarcely. and most importantly, don't use for system explanations ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE GONNA CLEAR IT UP LATER ON!! like yea, i noticed there's a hierarchy of which i don't know about but you don't need to clear it up immediately being telling me about in the footnotes. like i get it that a reaper is below a harsh reaper or colossal. don't tell me all about immediately at the bottom of the page!! trust that readers will understand or at least will soon come to understand.
so as i re-read myself perhaps i had points of which i was not in agreement with but oh well. 3 stars bcs im kind....more
je m'engage à nouveau dans la poésie et je suis tellement contente d'avoir commencé avec celui-ci, quel plaisir! kanapé-fontaine nous illustre les joije m'engage à nouveau dans la poésie et je suis tellement contente d'avoir commencé avec celui-ci, quel plaisir! kanapé-fontaine nous illustre les joies et douleurs de la reconnexion à la terre après les violences générationnelles avec un langage magnifique et poignant. j'ai vraiment aimé l'usage de la nature comme une force à redouter, à ne plus jamais dompter - tornades, ouragans, océans, caverne. et surtout l'usage de la mythologie/du fantastique parsemé. l'élément de génération est aussi bien exploitée et touchant -'' je ne sais pas parler aux étrangères qui m'habitent'' aah ce passage dans ''je suis la fille'' s'est creusé une place dans ma mémoire. c'est une de mes passages préférés!
ces poèmes sont vives et importants. les joies et les souffrances de l'expatriation qu'enferment cette collection sont essentielles à parvenir aux québécois les dévastations de notre siège mais surtout à la prochaine génération autochtone qui connaitront leurs histoires, mythologies, arts et surtout leurs voix. en tout, j'ai grandement aimé. j'ai hâte de lire plus de kanapé-fontaine :)...more
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