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ninjatrombonist's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
2.0
knittyreader's review against another edition
5.0
I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
Edgar A. Poe
This was at the start of this beautiful collection. Gender identity is - deservedly! - a hot issue. Please do not be scared away from Masquerade if it is not your issue. It is not exactly mine either (although it is of friends of mine, and from that angle I always want to know more and learn). Even then I recognized many issues of not belonging, not being myself.
It is time to let the mask fall off. I hope Masquerade helps you with that, as much as it helped me.
From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
Edgar A. Poe
This was at the start of this beautiful collection. Gender identity is - deservedly! - a hot issue. Please do not be scared away from Masquerade if it is not your issue. It is not exactly mine either (although it is of friends of mine, and from that angle I always want to know more and learn). Even then I recognized many issues of not belonging, not being myself.
It is time to let the mask fall off. I hope Masquerade helps you with that, as much as it helped me.
ankysbookbubble's review against another edition
5.0
I don't read a lot of poetry, and this was probably the first time I really fell in love with a book from the genre. Masquerade was everything I don't expect poetry books to be for me.
Reading it, I could feel a frisson of what the poet must've felt while writing them. The pain, the desperation, the hurt...it was all so real. So raw.
I want to applaud the poet for sharing this amazing collection with us. Reading it, I can imagine how personal it must be to them. It takes a lot of courage to share something that personal with the world.
I loved all of the poems, but some of them especially stood out to me. Like, Smokey Eyes...it was so inspiring, so uplifting. And I could practically feel the desperation in Graverobber and I could also relate to it a lot because I'm no stranger to not being able to say what's on the tip of my tongue. i am become, 5:30 a.m. and the final masquerade were all pretty darn amazing too.
Now I'm going to go check if I can afford a paperback copy of this book. I'd recommend you to do the same and order an eBook if you can't afford the paperback because you need to read this one!
Reading it, I could feel a frisson of what the poet must've felt while writing them. The pain, the desperation, the hurt...it was all so real. So raw.
I want to applaud the poet for sharing this amazing collection with us. Reading it, I can imagine how personal it must be to them. It takes a lot of courage to share something that personal with the world.
I loved all of the poems, but some of them especially stood out to me. Like, Smokey Eyes...it was so inspiring, so uplifting. And I could practically feel the desperation in Graverobber and I could also relate to it a lot because I'm no stranger to not being able to say what's on the tip of my tongue. i am become, 5:30 a.m. and the final masquerade were all pretty darn amazing too.
Now I'm going to go check if I can afford a paperback copy of this book. I'd recommend you to do the same and order an eBook if you can't afford the paperback because you need to read this one!
sarverv's review against another edition
5.0
Cyrus Parker blows me away yet again with this brand new poetry collection, Masquerade. This collection had a different kind of vulnerability that the other collection, DROPKICKromance did not have. Although I did love his first collection, I can see the growth that Cyrus has made professionally as an author, and as a person. I feel like this collection really illustrated what it is like to feel like when you don’t fit into the box society has put you in, and the overwhelming realization that occurs when you realize this. I really love the growth that is demonstrated through this collection. Thank you Cyrus for another emotional rollercoaster.
alandd's review against another edition
5.0
There is an intensity in each of the poems that I could feel all the confusion, insecurity and sense of unsafety as I read them. Cyrus has a powerful way of dealing with emotions of every kind, not holding back anything and bathing in light each and every inner demon. Loved it.
saeverra's review against another edition
3.0
Finally got my hands on Masquerade by Cyrus Parker. Love the cover and some of the poems stood out to me. I related with more of the poetry in DROPKICKromance than I did this edition, but I still enjoyed how Cyrus Parker approached trauma through his writing and I often felt the anger and disappointment through his words in many of his poems.
mustbeinwantofawife's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
thegalaxypanda96's review against another edition
5.0
Once again an incredible book of poetry I love Cyrus Parker's writing so much I think this is my favorite of his books I teared up a bit at times which doesn't happen to me a lot when reading I really related to so much of this book and it was wonderful to see feelings I've had put into words that at times I just didn't have everyone should definitely read this book!!
vinireadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I was sent this book as an advanced copy by the publisher via NetGalley for reviewing purposes, but all opinions are my own
Ever since I found out that Cyrus Parker was married to Amanda Lovelace, one of my favorite poets, I've been wanting to read his books. So I jumped on the opportunity to request this when I saw it was on NetGalley.
This is second poetry collection, his first one being "dropkick romance", which I, unfortunately, have not yet read. Despite that, after reading this one, I felt like I really knew him. The poems were very relatable and honest.
Now I'm dying to read his first collection and more of what he publishes in the future.
Ever since I found out that Cyrus Parker was married to Amanda Lovelace, one of my favorite poets, I've been wanting to read his books. So I jumped on the opportunity to request this when I saw it was on NetGalley.
This is second poetry collection, his first one being "dropkick romance", which I, unfortunately, have not yet read. Despite that, after reading this one, I felt like I really knew him. The poems were very relatable and honest.
Now I'm dying to read his first collection and more of what he publishes in the future.