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kfriend 's review for:
Music Lights & Never Afters
by C.L. Matthews
Are you ready to be ripped to shreds?! No one quite marries the tintillating appeal of forbidden taboos with heartripping emotional angst like CL Matthews. This story is rife with heartache, grief, love, and longing- yet mired in the toxic, dark, and damaged romance within there is a beautiful tinge of hope and optimism. Hope that we can work our way through our demons, that we can accept the fullest parts of ourselves even if others see them as wrong, that we can find the true essence of our being from within our own hearts….and in the ways our hearts connect with others.
CL has the magic touch of delivering stories that are soulfully emotive while also pushing me to the edge of my comfort, pushing me to question myself. She explores characters and themes that others might shy away from - dynamics that feel less “accepted.” And in that vein, prepare yourself- this is not really a “rockstar” story. Her stories are designed to both unsettle and challenge- but also to highlight our sameness. How the shared human experience of pain and heartache supersedes all differences. She’s a bold and unapologetic story teller- and as such, this book is loaded with characters whose identities or whose approach to romance might not be that that is the typical “trope”- and that is what makes it so authentic and powerful. And she’s also not scared to explore the depths of pain, trauma, and heartbreak- in particular, the ways in which our demons impact both our minds and bodies. There are topics and experiences in this story that many might fight triggers- though others might appreciate an unflinching look and the worldview or experiences similar to their own. Our narrative is an interesting marriage of the psychologically dark character journeys CL is known for writing with the more plot twisting moments we’ve associated with her more recent work. It’s a turbulent and raw story, and at times I even had to put it down just because it felt so heavy. But that’s what I ‘ve always appreciated about her work- life, loving, LIVING isn’t always easy, it isn’t always “on trope,” and it certainly isn’t pretty. CL isn’t scared to help us find the beauty in the uglier parts of our humanity, in finding peace in the chaos.
CL has the magic touch of delivering stories that are soulfully emotive while also pushing me to the edge of my comfort, pushing me to question myself. She explores characters and themes that others might shy away from - dynamics that feel less “accepted.” And in that vein, prepare yourself- this is not really a “rockstar” story. Her stories are designed to both unsettle and challenge- but also to highlight our sameness. How the shared human experience of pain and heartache supersedes all differences. She’s a bold and unapologetic story teller- and as such, this book is loaded with characters whose identities or whose approach to romance might not be that that is the typical “trope”- and that is what makes it so authentic and powerful. And she’s also not scared to explore the depths of pain, trauma, and heartbreak- in particular, the ways in which our demons impact both our minds and bodies. There are topics and experiences in this story that many might fight triggers- though others might appreciate an unflinching look and the worldview or experiences similar to their own. Our narrative is an interesting marriage of the psychologically dark character journeys CL is known for writing with the more plot twisting moments we’ve associated with her more recent work. It’s a turbulent and raw story, and at times I even had to put it down just because it felt so heavy. But that’s what I ‘ve always appreciated about her work- life, loving, LIVING isn’t always easy, it isn’t always “on trope,” and it certainly isn’t pretty. CL isn’t scared to help us find the beauty in the uglier parts of our humanity, in finding peace in the chaos.