elliel_nook's Reviews (601)

I requested and received this book from Booksirens. My opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this poetry collection. But, I didn't. It is a work of poetic fiction, with multiple narrators the number of which I do not know. I also can't tell if the narrators repeat.

 There is one poem in this collection that soured the rest for me. I truly believe had I expected it I would have had a better experience. The poem is "War Talk" and I'm not comfortable quoting it here. But after reading it mind kept going back to it. And every time I read a poem that could've had the same narrator I became uncomfortable. 

The vast majority of the poems in this collection are cute, sexy, romantic, or a combination of the three. It is an objectively interesting and good collection. It's just not for me. 

 (I also want to say that it is my own life experience that colored the way I read "War Talk". But that is the beautiful terrible thing about art and creating. No matter what the artist, author, ect wanted or meant to convey they/we have no way to know how people will experience it.)

I requested and received this book from booksirens, my opinions are my own.

"Cul-de-sac Rabbits" by Jax Bulstrode is a well written and heart squeezing exploration of home, queerness, and love. (But that feels like a very limited description.) I loved this collection. There were several poems and lines that struck a deep cord with me.

I'm excited to see what the author writes next!

I requested and received this book from NetGalley. My review is voluntary. 

Every time I start writing this review I over share. It's difficult to explain why I loved this book without getting too personal. But I will try. 

I loved "Sheltering Eaves vol.1" by Rie Aruga. It made me cry, enraged me, and gave me hope. It was disheartening to see how similar the foster system in Japan is to the one in the U.S. Even more so that the sentiment towards foster kids is also the same.

I knew when I requested the book that it was going to hurt, and I was right. However, it also gives me hope that it will inspire people to take action. Actions like giving kids in the system more protections. But, that feels like wishful thinking. I do hope, at the very least, that this story (and others like it) will help drum up social change. That the sentiment towards kids in the system will change for the better. 

Overall,  I loved the characters they're all realistic. The story itself is realistic. I want to read volume 2 and beyond. I want nothing more than to see the characters succeed in life and be happy. They've had a(n extremely in some cases) rough start. But they also have big dreams and hopes for the future. I'm excited and terrified for volume 2. 

I requested and received this book from book sirens. This is my honest opinion. 

As a lover of pirates and poetry I loved this book. While reading "Love-Drenched Decks: pirate Poetry to Plunder Your Heart " I found myself imagining different poetic pirates writing each piece. Every poem is perfectly mushy and so fitting/ on theme. It was just an all around fun and creatively inspiring read. And just for the love of alliteration these poetic pirates perfectly plundered my heart. 

I requested and received this book from NetGalley.
"You are a Sacred Place" is minimalistic yet powerful book of art and poetry. I wish I had the strong sense of hope for the future that the author, Madeleine Jubilee Saito, exhibits in her work. Honestly she's given me a bit more faith in humanity just by publishing this book.