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It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
5.0
There are spoilers in this review. Proceed with caution. ♥️
Before I begin this review, this book contains triggering content related to domestic abuse. Here is the Domestic Violence hotline: 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. ♥️
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover has completely wrecked my heart. As someone who only started getting back into reading over this past year, I am always reminded of the power that immersing yourself in a book has. You truly feel directly every character’s emotion, heartache, and longing. Following the three main characters Lily Bloom, Ryle Kincaid, and Atlas Corrigan, It Ends with Us is a story that is supposed to make your heart ache. It is supposed to make you sob. It is supposed to make you question everything you thought you knew about your life, and what love truly is. It is supposed to make you feel broken. Because these are all the types of things so many people across the world have dealt with. Even I have personally experienced dealt with a great amount of hurt and pain in my own life. Going through difficult seasons on this journey of being alive can remind people that humans are all so imperfect, yet they are resilient at the same time.
Firstly, I will begin with twenty-three-year-old Lily Bloom. Throughout all of her childhood, Lily had to endure living with her abusive father who would physically and emotionally harm her mother. She witnessed and saw him being an absolute monster of a man, and then in the blink of an eye, he would become the sweetest and most tender-loving man you could imagine. Lily’s only example of marriage was her parents’—but it was wrought with a cycle of abuse that her mother took most of the brunt of. He caused physical and emotional abuse, which meant that Lily held a strong heart toward him. She always felt angry with her mother for staying with someone so violent and the true opposite of a man who is supposed to truly love his wife. At the beginning of this novel, the audience learns that Lily’s father passed away from cancer and was not physically capable of abuse for the final years of his life.
However, of the most important parts of this story involves Lily’s past. When she was a young teenager, she met a boy who was three years older than her. His name is Atlas Corrigan. He is a handsome, young boy with light hair and piercing blue eyes. Her past with him is documented through a series of special diary entries she kept in a box from all those years ago. What made their relationship unconventional was that he was homeless, and the majority of the time they spent together was in secret. Atlas’s mother had kicked him out of the house, and he was already eighteen. If Lily’s father found out she was bringing a boy into his home each day, he would never forgive her and would likely bring physical harm to Atlas without a doubt. Even though he needed help and even though he was completely innocent. If anything, this continues to show how awful of a person her father was. She was so scared of him. I could feel that fear directly through these diary entries. Yet despite that fear, Lily’s love for Atlas was so much stronger. She started actually inviting him over to her house during the winter months since he had no warm place to go except for the abandoned home next door. He would only be there for about an hour, give or take, so she would send him back to the abandoned house with warm blankets and lots of food. Lily could not bear to think about him being cold. Over time, they slowly started to bond deeper and learn different things about one another. Of course, this resulted in Lily and Atlas falling in love. Yet there is even more heartache and tragedy when we learn that Atlas is going to be staying with his uncle in Boston until he graduates, and then he is going to the Marines and will be leaving their hometown of Plethora, Maine. It is heartbreaking for Lily to realise that he was leaving and that it was for the better since he needed to take care of himself. There are many intimate scenes throughout these diary entries that had me crying so much. It is so unfortunate that they had to separate because of their circumstances. Despite Lily living with an abusive father and Atlas being homeless, I could really feel how deeply they loved one another. She helped him at a time in his life when no one else would, and it not only changed his life but saved it; he made her feel less alone while living with an abusive father.
Now, in the current time period of It Ends with Us, Lily Bloom meets Ryle Kincaid on the top of a rooftop apartment complex—of all the places you could meet someone. He is tall, beautiful, and masculine with broad shoulders and dark hair (this is a trope I will never get tired of). And so, they both awkwardly have their first conversation. It is pretty clear that for two people to be up on a rooftop, they must really be going something and want to have time to clear their minds. Thus, Lily and Ryle talk about their pasts in the form of “naked truths” and get to know one another very quickly. She talks about her abusive dad and how she used to love someone who was homeless. Then, she learns that he is actually a neurosurgeon, which means he is quite a few years older than her. He is on the rooftop after dealing with a traumatic incident in the hospital that involved two brothers playing with a gun. They also seem to develop a very strong emotional and sexual attraction to one another, however, Lily is not interested in having a one-night stand with him. Ryle is not interested in relationships. Obviously, they are not compatible long-term. After this night, they do not see one another again for almost six straight months. Over that time, Lily opens her dream flower business with the help of her brand-new best friend, Allysa. She is just thriving in her life at this point because this has been something she always wanted, and it quickly becomes a complete success. Then, she finds out that Allysa has a brother named Ryle Kincaid, and it is during these moments that the course of her life changes. Lily and Ryle’s attraction is still as present as it was the night they first met six months prior, and he is just as insistent in wanting to sleep with her. She is undoubtedly drawn to Ryle because she has never felt so viscerally desired by a man. They eventually do sleep together, and they agree to go on a “trial run” of dating, which is a big step for Ryle since he was previously not into a commitment before Lily. Before either of them knows it, they become boyfriend and girlfriend. Their romance is so wholesome, spicy and addicting to read that with every chapter I just kept falling deeper and deeper in love with everything Ryle and Lily shared together.
Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse. During a romantic weekend of drinking wine and making dinner in Lily’s apartment, Ryle accidentally takes a hot casserole out of the oven without oven mittens, causing it to shatter all over the floor. The scene is so romantic, but when this happens, it instantly switches to tension and fear. It is clear that Ryle has injured himself on the hot pan and broken glass, but this is especially troubling since his entire career depends on his hands. He is a neurosurgeon, after all. When this happens, Lily is still laughing at the situation because she was drinking and probably was anticipating him laughing about this too. But he’s not. Ryle Kincaid is angry, and he is scary. Within a matter of seconds, he slammed his arm into Lily, shoving her to the ground and causing her to have injuries. My heart broke during this scene. I did not cry because instead, I was afraid, too. Lily feels like her world is shattering in these moments. She is confused and can not believe her loving boyfriend physically harmed her when everything was completely fine just moments before. Ryle immediately apologized and got her cleaned up and did his best to tend to her injuries. From this point on, their relationship would never be the same. It went back to normal after this incident, but it was not for long. After the first incident of physical abuse, when everything seemed “normal,” they went to a restaurant called Bib. To add fuel to this already burning dumpster fire, Atlas is the chef and owner of Bib’s. There was a restaurant scene where Atlas and Ryle physically attacked one another when Atlas saw the injuries to Lily’s face. Of course, Lily tried explaining to Atlas that it was an accident, but deep down, he did not believe her. It is at this point that Ryle realizes that Atlas is the homeless boy Lily slept with when she was a teenager, and he is absolutely unhinged when he finds this out. Two more incidents of physical abuse ensue, but I will spare the details of the second and third, which were both gutting. In the third incident, Ryle had found a magnet on the fridge that said, “Boston,” on it. He had also found Lily’s box of diary entries about Atlas and some of the gifts she has from him. Ryle is jealous and angry because he thinks Lily still wants to be with Atlas instead of him. This is where the third scene of abuse happens, but I am not going to repeat it here.
After the third time, Lily does the only thing she possibly can. She calls Atlas and tells him that she needs help. He brings her to the hospital where she is examined for her injuries, because this time, they are very severe. While at the hospital, she finds out that she is pregnant which shatters her world. Lily is pregnant with the baby of the man who physically abuses her. Such a realization is traumatizing in and of itself, but she still has time to process it. She has resorted to staying with Atlas for a few days since it is not safe for her to go back where Ryle might find her. At this point, he was scheduled to go to Cambridge for a work opportunity for three months, which gave Lily the freedom to eventually go back there once she was certain he was gone. Staying with Atlas was very healing for her since it brought back positive memories, and Lily felt very comforted with being around him. Unsurprisingly, there are definitely unresolved feelings between both of them. Atlas wants nothing more than to be with her, but with her pregnancy and complicated relationship with Ryle, he knows that is not a possibility. The time comes when she decides to leave his house, and a line from this book that I will never forget that Atlas tells Lily is this: “In the future…if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again…fall in love with me.”
Eventually, Lily has the task of telling Allysa and her mother about being in an abusive relationship with Ryle, and this is hard for clear reasons. Allysa cares about him so much, and her mother would be so heartbroken to learn that her daughter is now in the same situation she was in for so long. During both instances, they both take Lily’s side, which is definitely what should have happened. Neither of them makes Lily feel guilty about what has happened to her. In this part of the book, Lily is still grappling with her emotions about loving Ryle so deeply despite all of the pain he has caused her. She misses him and all she can remember are the good moments in their relationship. Eventually, Ryle finds out that she is pregnant when he comes back from Cambridge three months later. This makes it even harder for Lily to want to move on from him, even though she knows she has to. She can see how utterly devastated Ryle is to know that he will never be her husband again, nor will his child be raised in the same home as her. He has a sense of false hope, but I kind of started figuring out how this was going to end for him. I feel so bad for Ryle in this situation, too. Part of me thinks that he has suddenly changed, but Lily has every right to never allow him in her life again. The fact that she decided to give him a chance at having a relationship with their future baby. Once she gives birth to her beautiful baby girl, Emerson (named after Ryle’s late brother), she firmly decides to divorce Ryle once and for all. Lily is not letting her baby go through what she went through.
During the epilogue, Lily runs into Atlas again while she is out with her baby, Emerson, in the stroller. This scene is deeply touching and painful, for more reasons than I can express in words. Atlas clearly falls in love with her baby and is so glad to see that Lily is no longer married to an abusive man. Even the emotions are so hard to explain, despite this entire review I have written. While I still have love in my heart for Ryle Kincaid, I know it is not worth even a few moments of the pain Lily had to go through to have him. I just can not say whether or not I would be as strong as her, if I was in her position. I get attached to people I love so easily. It takes a lot of vulnerability to admit this, but I might have forgiven Ryle many more times than Lily did. But there is a chance I wouldn’t. I once loved someone who was emotionally toxic for me—not abusive at all—but it could have gotten to the point where it might have become that. This book gives me reassurance and clarity that I made the right decision by leaving someone who made me feel hurt, and someone who could not love me the way I needed to be loved, no matter how strongly I felt for him. I just should have done it a lot sooner than I did. I may not be able to control how much I loved him, but I could control whether I would allow the cycle of him emotionally harming me to continue. And I am very fucking proud of myself for doing that. Leaving someone who is toxic to you is so much harder than I could ever explain. I would even say it is one of the hardest things I ever had to go through. This book did an excellent job of highlighting what it is like to love someone like that. If you are reading this, and you find yourself in an abusive relationship, I know that you can get out. Re-read the chapters and diary entries about Lily and Atlas over and over again. That is the kind of love you deserve.
All things being said, this book is truly profound and I appreciate the ending so much. It is an emotional rollercoaster, but so is real life. Thank goodness Lily has Atlas because he is probably the reason she and the future of her baby were saved. Atlas was probably her light in the depths of darkness and a world of hurt, just like she was once his light. At the end of this highly emotional scene, another quote that made me cry my little heart out is: “You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore.”
Thank you for reading my thoughts on this deeply emotional and bittersweet story. ✨
Before I begin this review, this book contains triggering content related to domestic abuse. Here is the Domestic Violence hotline: 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. ♥️
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover has completely wrecked my heart. As someone who only started getting back into reading over this past year, I am always reminded of the power that immersing yourself in a book has. You truly feel directly every character’s emotion, heartache, and longing. Following the three main characters Lily Bloom, Ryle Kincaid, and Atlas Corrigan, It Ends with Us is a story that is supposed to make your heart ache. It is supposed to make you sob. It is supposed to make you question everything you thought you knew about your life, and what love truly is. It is supposed to make you feel broken. Because these are all the types of things so many people across the world have dealt with. Even I have personally experienced dealt with a great amount of hurt and pain in my own life. Going through difficult seasons on this journey of being alive can remind people that humans are all so imperfect, yet they are resilient at the same time.
Firstly, I will begin with twenty-three-year-old Lily Bloom. Throughout all of her childhood, Lily had to endure living with her abusive father who would physically and emotionally harm her mother. She witnessed and saw him being an absolute monster of a man, and then in the blink of an eye, he would become the sweetest and most tender-loving man you could imagine. Lily’s only example of marriage was her parents’—but it was wrought with a cycle of abuse that her mother took most of the brunt of. He caused physical and emotional abuse, which meant that Lily held a strong heart toward him. She always felt angry with her mother for staying with someone so violent and the true opposite of a man who is supposed to truly love his wife. At the beginning of this novel, the audience learns that Lily’s father passed away from cancer and was not physically capable of abuse for the final years of his life.
However, of the most important parts of this story involves Lily’s past. When she was a young teenager, she met a boy who was three years older than her. His name is Atlas Corrigan. He is a handsome, young boy with light hair and piercing blue eyes. Her past with him is documented through a series of special diary entries she kept in a box from all those years ago. What made their relationship unconventional was that he was homeless, and the majority of the time they spent together was in secret. Atlas’s mother had kicked him out of the house, and he was already eighteen. If Lily’s father found out she was bringing a boy into his home each day, he would never forgive her and would likely bring physical harm to Atlas without a doubt. Even though he needed help and even though he was completely innocent. If anything, this continues to show how awful of a person her father was. She was so scared of him. I could feel that fear directly through these diary entries. Yet despite that fear, Lily’s love for Atlas was so much stronger. She started actually inviting him over to her house during the winter months since he had no warm place to go except for the abandoned home next door. He would only be there for about an hour, give or take, so she would send him back to the abandoned house with warm blankets and lots of food. Lily could not bear to think about him being cold. Over time, they slowly started to bond deeper and learn different things about one another. Of course, this resulted in Lily and Atlas falling in love. Yet there is even more heartache and tragedy when we learn that Atlas is going to be staying with his uncle in Boston until he graduates, and then he is going to the Marines and will be leaving their hometown of Plethora, Maine. It is heartbreaking for Lily to realise that he was leaving and that it was for the better since he needed to take care of himself. There are many intimate scenes throughout these diary entries that had me crying so much. It is so unfortunate that they had to separate because of their circumstances. Despite Lily living with an abusive father and Atlas being homeless, I could really feel how deeply they loved one another. She helped him at a time in his life when no one else would, and it not only changed his life but saved it; he made her feel less alone while living with an abusive father.
Now, in the current time period of It Ends with Us, Lily Bloom meets Ryle Kincaid on the top of a rooftop apartment complex—of all the places you could meet someone. He is tall, beautiful, and masculine with broad shoulders and dark hair (this is a trope I will never get tired of). And so, they both awkwardly have their first conversation. It is pretty clear that for two people to be up on a rooftop, they must really be going something and want to have time to clear their minds. Thus, Lily and Ryle talk about their pasts in the form of “naked truths” and get to know one another very quickly. She talks about her abusive dad and how she used to love someone who was homeless. Then, she learns that he is actually a neurosurgeon, which means he is quite a few years older than her. He is on the rooftop after dealing with a traumatic incident in the hospital that involved two brothers playing with a gun. They also seem to develop a very strong emotional and sexual attraction to one another, however, Lily is not interested in having a one-night stand with him. Ryle is not interested in relationships. Obviously, they are not compatible long-term. After this night, they do not see one another again for almost six straight months. Over that time, Lily opens her dream flower business with the help of her brand-new best friend, Allysa. She is just thriving in her life at this point because this has been something she always wanted, and it quickly becomes a complete success. Then, she finds out that Allysa has a brother named Ryle Kincaid, and it is during these moments that the course of her life changes. Lily and Ryle’s attraction is still as present as it was the night they first met six months prior, and he is just as insistent in wanting to sleep with her. She is undoubtedly drawn to Ryle because she has never felt so viscerally desired by a man. They eventually do sleep together, and they agree to go on a “trial run” of dating, which is a big step for Ryle since he was previously not into a commitment before Lily. Before either of them knows it, they become boyfriend and girlfriend. Their romance is so wholesome, spicy and addicting to read that with every chapter I just kept falling deeper and deeper in love with everything Ryle and Lily shared together.
Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse. During a romantic weekend of drinking wine and making dinner in Lily’s apartment, Ryle accidentally takes a hot casserole out of the oven without oven mittens, causing it to shatter all over the floor. The scene is so romantic, but when this happens, it instantly switches to tension and fear. It is clear that Ryle has injured himself on the hot pan and broken glass, but this is especially troubling since his entire career depends on his hands. He is a neurosurgeon, after all. When this happens, Lily is still laughing at the situation because she was drinking and probably was anticipating him laughing about this too. But he’s not. Ryle Kincaid is angry, and he is scary. Within a matter of seconds, he slammed his arm into Lily, shoving her to the ground and causing her to have injuries. My heart broke during this scene. I did not cry because instead, I was afraid, too. Lily feels like her world is shattering in these moments. She is confused and can not believe her loving boyfriend physically harmed her when everything was completely fine just moments before. Ryle immediately apologized and got her cleaned up and did his best to tend to her injuries. From this point on, their relationship would never be the same. It went back to normal after this incident, but it was not for long. After the first incident of physical abuse, when everything seemed “normal,” they went to a restaurant called Bib. To add fuel to this already burning dumpster fire, Atlas is the chef and owner of Bib’s. There was a restaurant scene where Atlas and Ryle physically attacked one another when Atlas saw the injuries to Lily’s face. Of course, Lily tried explaining to Atlas that it was an accident, but deep down, he did not believe her. It is at this point that Ryle realizes that Atlas is the homeless boy Lily slept with when she was a teenager, and he is absolutely unhinged when he finds this out. Two more incidents of physical abuse ensue, but I will spare the details of the second and third, which were both gutting. In the third incident, Ryle had found a magnet on the fridge that said, “Boston,” on it. He had also found Lily’s box of diary entries about Atlas and some of the gifts she has from him. Ryle is jealous and angry because he thinks Lily still wants to be with Atlas instead of him. This is where the third scene of abuse happens, but I am not going to repeat it here.
After the third time, Lily does the only thing she possibly can. She calls Atlas and tells him that she needs help. He brings her to the hospital where she is examined for her injuries, because this time, they are very severe. While at the hospital, she finds out that she is pregnant which shatters her world. Lily is pregnant with the baby of the man who physically abuses her. Such a realization is traumatizing in and of itself, but she still has time to process it. She has resorted to staying with Atlas for a few days since it is not safe for her to go back where Ryle might find her. At this point, he was scheduled to go to Cambridge for a work opportunity for three months, which gave Lily the freedom to eventually go back there once she was certain he was gone. Staying with Atlas was very healing for her since it brought back positive memories, and Lily felt very comforted with being around him. Unsurprisingly, there are definitely unresolved feelings between both of them. Atlas wants nothing more than to be with her, but with her pregnancy and complicated relationship with Ryle, he knows that is not a possibility. The time comes when she decides to leave his house, and a line from this book that I will never forget that Atlas tells Lily is this: “In the future…if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again…fall in love with me.”
Eventually, Lily has the task of telling Allysa and her mother about being in an abusive relationship with Ryle, and this is hard for clear reasons. Allysa cares about him so much, and her mother would be so heartbroken to learn that her daughter is now in the same situation she was in for so long. During both instances, they both take Lily’s side, which is definitely what should have happened. Neither of them makes Lily feel guilty about what has happened to her. In this part of the book, Lily is still grappling with her emotions about loving Ryle so deeply despite all of the pain he has caused her. She misses him and all she can remember are the good moments in their relationship. Eventually, Ryle finds out that she is pregnant when he comes back from Cambridge three months later. This makes it even harder for Lily to want to move on from him, even though she knows she has to. She can see how utterly devastated Ryle is to know that he will never be her husband again, nor will his child be raised in the same home as her. He has a sense of false hope, but I kind of started figuring out how this was going to end for him. I feel so bad for Ryle in this situation, too. Part of me thinks that he has suddenly changed, but Lily has every right to never allow him in her life again. The fact that she decided to give him a chance at having a relationship with their future baby. Once she gives birth to her beautiful baby girl, Emerson (named after Ryle’s late brother), she firmly decides to divorce Ryle once and for all. Lily is not letting her baby go through what she went through.
During the epilogue, Lily runs into Atlas again while she is out with her baby, Emerson, in the stroller. This scene is deeply touching and painful, for more reasons than I can express in words. Atlas clearly falls in love with her baby and is so glad to see that Lily is no longer married to an abusive man. Even the emotions are so hard to explain, despite this entire review I have written. While I still have love in my heart for Ryle Kincaid, I know it is not worth even a few moments of the pain Lily had to go through to have him. I just can not say whether or not I would be as strong as her, if I was in her position. I get attached to people I love so easily. It takes a lot of vulnerability to admit this, but I might have forgiven Ryle many more times than Lily did. But there is a chance I wouldn’t. I once loved someone who was emotionally toxic for me—not abusive at all—but it could have gotten to the point where it might have become that. This book gives me reassurance and clarity that I made the right decision by leaving someone who made me feel hurt, and someone who could not love me the way I needed to be loved, no matter how strongly I felt for him. I just should have done it a lot sooner than I did. I may not be able to control how much I loved him, but I could control whether I would allow the cycle of him emotionally harming me to continue. And I am very fucking proud of myself for doing that. Leaving someone who is toxic to you is so much harder than I could ever explain. I would even say it is one of the hardest things I ever had to go through. This book did an excellent job of highlighting what it is like to love someone like that. If you are reading this, and you find yourself in an abusive relationship, I know that you can get out. Re-read the chapters and diary entries about Lily and Atlas over and over again. That is the kind of love you deserve.
All things being said, this book is truly profound and I appreciate the ending so much. It is an emotional rollercoaster, but so is real life. Thank goodness Lily has Atlas because he is probably the reason she and the future of her baby were saved. Atlas was probably her light in the depths of darkness and a world of hurt, just like she was once his light. At the end of this highly emotional scene, another quote that made me cry my little heart out is: “You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore.”
Thank you for reading my thoughts on this deeply emotional and bittersweet story. ✨
Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland
5.0
There may be spoilers in this review. Proceed with caution. ♥️
Now, back in September or October of 2022, I watched this movie. I was not really into reading books then, but this movie stayed with me, and when I found out it was originally written as a book, I knew I had to read it as soon as possible! And I truly am so glad that I did.
This beautifully written story is about two high school students named Henry Page and Grace Town. Henry is a boy who has not had much interesting happening to him because he is very reserved, shy, and introverted. All of that changes when he meets Grace, however. Very quickly, they form a unique and joy-filled friendship with inside jokes, studying sessions, and deep conversations about the universe. All of this meaningful time spent together results in Henry developing significant feelings for Grace in so many different ways. He has never felt so connected to someone before, or so utterly enraptured by someone like her, in every shade that she was. She is beautiful to him in a way that transcends everything he ever thought he knew about relationships or falling in love.
Yet Grace Town has secrets—a side of her that she deliberately keeps from him. Henry Page grows desperate to figure out who she really is because while she is his best friend, so many things about her are confusing and elusive. After a minor incident that triggered some very difficult emotions in her, Grace confesses that she had been in a car crash a few months before meeting Henry. The most tragic part was that her boyfriend actually died because of the accident. His name was Dominic Sawyer, and they had pretty much been in a relationship for eight years since they were both nine years old. For Grace, it is understandable that this was a cosmic loss. When Dom died, it was as if Grace died with him, too. He was everything to her, and she was even going to end up marrying him. Having to cope with this and simultaneously deal with Henry’s feelings toward her only made everything much more complicated. Grace quickly began to feel as though he wasn’t truly seeing her, but the girl that she used to be before she lost the love of her life.
Grace Town will always love Dominic Sawyer, and Henry Page will always love Grace Town. I feel in my heart that love sometimes can be beautiful in every part that it is, including the most heartbreaking, world-shattering pangs of agony one experiences when they are reminded of the one person in the world they love, but no longer can have. People like that remain a part of us no matter how much time goes by. You can feel them everywhere. And sometimes, that is what keeps them alive. Henry and Grace may not end up together in the end, yet that is still beautiful—maybe even more so than happy romantic endings, because they both understand what it’s like to lose someone they wish they could be with. Grace can not be with Dom anymore because he is gone and never come back. Henry can not be with Grace because she can not love him in the way he deserves, and he learns to accept that even though it hurts. So much more could be said about their relationship, but this all summarizes it very well.
On a personal note, this book has taught me the very intense experience that is love, and loss. I am still in the middle of going through a breakup that changed so much about how I, too, felt about love. Sometimes when you love someone, they stay with you even if they are out of your life or passed away. Maybe you have to leave relationships even if you are with someone you love, or maybe the time is still wrong. I know he will never read this, but if my ex-boyfriend somehow makes it to this specific Goodreads review, I hope he knows I am always going to love him. A part of him is always going to exist in my heart, and that will never go away. That is because he was my first true love; he was the first guy I actually was able to be myself around and tell my secrets without him judging me. We had perfect and imperfect moments together, yet I felt in my heart that we wouldn’t last, and every time I had those thoughts, I started to feel more pain in the relationship than happiness. Our relationship was long-distance, and because of that, it was filled with so much uncertainty. It was not going how I thought it would, and we both started to realize that maybe it would not work out in the long term. The love we shared was young and somewhat difficult at times, yet I learned so much from it that I am so grateful I was in his life, even if it was only for two and a half months. I said it before but I will say it again: if he is reading this, I hope he knows he was a blessing in my life. I wish things could have turned out differently, but just because we had to separate doesn’t mean our relationship was a failure or that our love was meaningless. In fact, just the opposite. Maybe we will meet again in the future, or in another life. Or maybe this really was it. Whatever might happen in my life, this book has reminded me, that this pain is not a feeling I am experiencing alone. While they might be fictional, Henry Page and Grace Town know exactly how I’m feeling, and it makes the whole experience of having to leave someone you love a whole lot less isolating. Just because Grace can’t love Henry does not mean she is a terrible person.
“Space is the best cure for sadness that I know.” “Feeling insignificant isn’t exactly a great cure for unhappiness.” “Hell yeah it is. When I look up into the night sky, I remember that I’m nothing but the ashes of long-dead stars. A human being is a collection of atoms that comes together into an ordered pattern for a brief period of time and then falls apart again. I find comfort in my smallness.” “I don’t think you’re on the same page as the rest of humanity, Town. You’re supposed to be terrified of oblivion, same as the rest of us.” “The best thing the universe ever gave us is that we’ll all be forgotten.”
“No one came to answer, so I lifted the window, hauled myself inside, and fell asleep, alone and fully clothed on Murray’s bed, thinking of Grace Town and how, if people really were assembled from pieces of the universe, her soul was made of stardust and chaos.”
“Because it seems like a lot of hassle, liking someone. Your brain runs hot, the cogs inside your mind jarring together until all the oil of your thoughts is burned away. The fire spreads to your chest, where it chars your lungs and turns your heart to embers. And right when you think the flames have burned away everything but your skeleton, the spark skips from your bones to immolate not only your flesh, but your entire life.”
“I sprang off the bed and went over to her and the cabinet, which I’d been filling with various treasures since I was in elementary school. “Grakov Town, you filthy casual. It’s a cabinet of curiosities. The bowls here are my favorite. I read about this technique called Kintsukuroi in an art book in middle school. Have you heard of it?” Grace shook her head. “So basically it’s this old-school Japanese art form where they mend broken pottery with seams of gold. Like, they glue all the shattered pieces back together, and when it’s done, it’s covered in these webs of gold veins. They do it because they believe that some things are more beautiful when they’ve been broken.”
“I spun around to find her staring at me from the door frame, Dom’s shirt still crumpled up in my shaking fingers. Looking at her then, it was easy to understand that she wasn’t of the corporeal realm. Her skin was as translucent as perfumed paper, and her blond hair fell in ashen curtains to settle blunt and dead about her shoulders. There were whispers of bruises beneath the skin of her eyes, like she cried so much it made her bleed. Grace was a lost soul, a ghost adrift, the human embodiment of secondhand smoke.”
“She was set alight, shining, the stars that died to give her all the atoms that made her glowing from beyond the grave. I’d never seen anything so excruciatingly, heartbreakingly beautiful.”
“Grace looked at me, tears in her eyes. And then the world imploded. It was like she split open, finally, and let the pain pour out. She was crying, bawling, these huge, violent sobs rolling over and over her, almost too much for her body to handle. She collapsed against me, her full weight in my arms, and I swear I could feel her grief radiating outward. I breathed it in with each breath until the pressure of it leaked out of her.”
“And all the while I loved her, just as she loved him. In secret, between the shadow and the soul.”
Those were some of my favourite quotes from this book. As you can see, “Our Chemical Hearts” completely wrecked my heart in the most beautiful way. This story will definitely stay with me for a very long time. ♥️
Now, back in September or October of 2022, I watched this movie. I was not really into reading books then, but this movie stayed with me, and when I found out it was originally written as a book, I knew I had to read it as soon as possible! And I truly am so glad that I did.
This beautifully written story is about two high school students named Henry Page and Grace Town. Henry is a boy who has not had much interesting happening to him because he is very reserved, shy, and introverted. All of that changes when he meets Grace, however. Very quickly, they form a unique and joy-filled friendship with inside jokes, studying sessions, and deep conversations about the universe. All of this meaningful time spent together results in Henry developing significant feelings for Grace in so many different ways. He has never felt so connected to someone before, or so utterly enraptured by someone like her, in every shade that she was. She is beautiful to him in a way that transcends everything he ever thought he knew about relationships or falling in love.
Yet Grace Town has secrets—a side of her that she deliberately keeps from him. Henry Page grows desperate to figure out who she really is because while she is his best friend, so many things about her are confusing and elusive. After a minor incident that triggered some very difficult emotions in her, Grace confesses that she had been in a car crash a few months before meeting Henry. The most tragic part was that her boyfriend actually died because of the accident. His name was Dominic Sawyer, and they had pretty much been in a relationship for eight years since they were both nine years old. For Grace, it is understandable that this was a cosmic loss. When Dom died, it was as if Grace died with him, too. He was everything to her, and she was even going to end up marrying him. Having to cope with this and simultaneously deal with Henry’s feelings toward her only made everything much more complicated. Grace quickly began to feel as though he wasn’t truly seeing her, but the girl that she used to be before she lost the love of her life.
Grace Town will always love Dominic Sawyer, and Henry Page will always love Grace Town. I feel in my heart that love sometimes can be beautiful in every part that it is, including the most heartbreaking, world-shattering pangs of agony one experiences when they are reminded of the one person in the world they love, but no longer can have. People like that remain a part of us no matter how much time goes by. You can feel them everywhere. And sometimes, that is what keeps them alive. Henry and Grace may not end up together in the end, yet that is still beautiful—maybe even more so than happy romantic endings, because they both understand what it’s like to lose someone they wish they could be with. Grace can not be with Dom anymore because he is gone and never come back. Henry can not be with Grace because she can not love him in the way he deserves, and he learns to accept that even though it hurts. So much more could be said about their relationship, but this all summarizes it very well.
On a personal note, this book has taught me the very intense experience that is love, and loss. I am still in the middle of going through a breakup that changed so much about how I, too, felt about love. Sometimes when you love someone, they stay with you even if they are out of your life or passed away. Maybe you have to leave relationships even if you are with someone you love, or maybe the time is still wrong. I know he will never read this, but if my ex-boyfriend somehow makes it to this specific Goodreads review, I hope he knows I am always going to love him. A part of him is always going to exist in my heart, and that will never go away. That is because he was my first true love; he was the first guy I actually was able to be myself around and tell my secrets without him judging me. We had perfect and imperfect moments together, yet I felt in my heart that we wouldn’t last, and every time I had those thoughts, I started to feel more pain in the relationship than happiness. Our relationship was long-distance, and because of that, it was filled with so much uncertainty. It was not going how I thought it would, and we both started to realize that maybe it would not work out in the long term. The love we shared was young and somewhat difficult at times, yet I learned so much from it that I am so grateful I was in his life, even if it was only for two and a half months. I said it before but I will say it again: if he is reading this, I hope he knows he was a blessing in my life. I wish things could have turned out differently, but just because we had to separate doesn’t mean our relationship was a failure or that our love was meaningless. In fact, just the opposite. Maybe we will meet again in the future, or in another life. Or maybe this really was it. Whatever might happen in my life, this book has reminded me, that this pain is not a feeling I am experiencing alone. While they might be fictional, Henry Page and Grace Town know exactly how I’m feeling, and it makes the whole experience of having to leave someone you love a whole lot less isolating. Just because Grace can’t love Henry does not mean she is a terrible person.
“Space is the best cure for sadness that I know.” “Feeling insignificant isn’t exactly a great cure for unhappiness.” “Hell yeah it is. When I look up into the night sky, I remember that I’m nothing but the ashes of long-dead stars. A human being is a collection of atoms that comes together into an ordered pattern for a brief period of time and then falls apart again. I find comfort in my smallness.” “I don’t think you’re on the same page as the rest of humanity, Town. You’re supposed to be terrified of oblivion, same as the rest of us.” “The best thing the universe ever gave us is that we’ll all be forgotten.”
“No one came to answer, so I lifted the window, hauled myself inside, and fell asleep, alone and fully clothed on Murray’s bed, thinking of Grace Town and how, if people really were assembled from pieces of the universe, her soul was made of stardust and chaos.”
“Because it seems like a lot of hassle, liking someone. Your brain runs hot, the cogs inside your mind jarring together until all the oil of your thoughts is burned away. The fire spreads to your chest, where it chars your lungs and turns your heart to embers. And right when you think the flames have burned away everything but your skeleton, the spark skips from your bones to immolate not only your flesh, but your entire life.”
“I sprang off the bed and went over to her and the cabinet, which I’d been filling with various treasures since I was in elementary school. “Grakov Town, you filthy casual. It’s a cabinet of curiosities. The bowls here are my favorite. I read about this technique called Kintsukuroi in an art book in middle school. Have you heard of it?” Grace shook her head. “So basically it’s this old-school Japanese art form where they mend broken pottery with seams of gold. Like, they glue all the shattered pieces back together, and when it’s done, it’s covered in these webs of gold veins. They do it because they believe that some things are more beautiful when they’ve been broken.”
“I spun around to find her staring at me from the door frame, Dom’s shirt still crumpled up in my shaking fingers. Looking at her then, it was easy to understand that she wasn’t of the corporeal realm. Her skin was as translucent as perfumed paper, and her blond hair fell in ashen curtains to settle blunt and dead about her shoulders. There were whispers of bruises beneath the skin of her eyes, like she cried so much it made her bleed. Grace was a lost soul, a ghost adrift, the human embodiment of secondhand smoke.”
“She was set alight, shining, the stars that died to give her all the atoms that made her glowing from beyond the grave. I’d never seen anything so excruciatingly, heartbreakingly beautiful.”
“Grace looked at me, tears in her eyes. And then the world imploded. It was like she split open, finally, and let the pain pour out. She was crying, bawling, these huge, violent sobs rolling over and over her, almost too much for her body to handle. She collapsed against me, her full weight in my arms, and I swear I could feel her grief radiating outward. I breathed it in with each breath until the pressure of it leaked out of her.”
“And all the while I loved her, just as she loved him. In secret, between the shadow and the soul.”
Those were some of my favourite quotes from this book. As you can see, “Our Chemical Hearts” completely wrecked my heart in the most beautiful way. This story will definitely stay with me for a very long time. ♥️
Little Bird by Kassanovella
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
<i>There <b>are</b> spoilers in this review. Proceed with caution. ♥️</i>
Like many genres in the literary world, this book, <i>Little Bird</i> is intended for adults. Also, it is not for the faint of heart. Being based off of The Handmaid’s Tale, it has explicit descriptions of violence and sexual activities.
💖Okay, so it’s my second time reading this. The last time I read it was two years ago, when I was in the heat of spending time in the Star Wars-slash-Kylo-Ren fandom. I remember finishing this on October 11th, 2020. This book is what made me fall deeply in love with Commander Kylo Ren (who I realized is my fictional soulmate), and reinforce my love for Adam Driver himself, but also the immense talent of fanfiction creators. After I read this, I couldn’t pick up another book for months. I didn’t even want to, because at the time, this book was all I devoted my energy to, and the memories I had associated with it, after reading the story of Elby and Ren.
Set in the world of <i>The Handmaid’s Tale</i> created by Margaret Atwood, the reader (me) is designated as “Little Bird,” and she is the Handmaid of Commander Kylo Ren, who becomes the lead Commander of Gilead, with his own Knights Templar nearing the end of the story. She falls deeply in love with him, and the man that he is in all of his violent, unstable, beauty. They are living in a world where the love Elby wants is not possible. Commander Ren is hell-bent on perfecting his own vision of Gilead, caring only for his Handmaid, and abandoning everything in his wake for that, including his Wife Johana, his previous Leader, Commander Snoke (who he murders after staging a coup with Elby at his side). Ren believes in the idea of destiny, whilst Elby does not agree with his vision of said destiny. She wants him to <i>leave</i> with him, throw everything away, and essentially choose her <i>over</i> his power-hungry his desire to perfect Gilead, and bend it to his image with Elby fulfilling her role as he leads out his Totalitarian Government.
As I mentioned at the start of this review, this is my second time rereading <i>Little Bird</i>, Gosh. I am so emotional. The depth of this story is profound. Kylo Ren has my whole heart. The angst is incredible. I love RC because she is much stronger than me. Honestly... I would stay with him, in Gilead. I would give it all up for him. I would <i>not</i> be able to leave. ♥️The ending of this fic is completely flooring—specifically, the very last line of the book. Commander Kylo Ren is, once again, my fictional soulmate, and I can not properly express everything I feel for him. Despite the great levels of conflict, angst, and mutual pining in <i>Little Bird</i>, he loves in a way that is incredibly profound. I feel everything about his aura and his character so strongly within my soul. Maybe I sound a little hopelessly romantic, but that’s not something I am ashamed of, because my feelings here are something I am incredibly comfortable with. I can not possibly recommend reading this fic enough to people. Stories like this are what help people heal in their dark moments; I am once more reminded that the longings of my heart have been felt by an author. In this case, that author is Kassanovella. ♥️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
emotional, fanfiction, dark fanfiction, dark romance, kylo ren, feelings, adult romance
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
5.0
There are spoilers in this review. Proceed with caution. ♥️
This story was just as captivating as its first installment, Assassin’s Apprentice.
The Prologue and Chapter One of this book really helped to tie events from the first installment together. Up to this point, FitzChivalry Farseer was still healing from his poisoning and attack from Prince Regal, grasping at little to no strength and regularly experiencing seizures, which served as a reminder to me that he is human. He was still feeling a great amount of shame and with Burrich still unable to heal him, it took everything in Fitz to find the resolve to keep moving forward with his life and head back to Buckkeep, despite the major setback of being in a severely weakened physical state. It was also fascinating to me how he was able to see a Forging attack in a town called Siltbay as though he was taking on Kind Shrewd’s perspective through the Skill, as tenuous as his grasp on that ability was; this vision of the Forging taking place at Siltbay was disarming, as it revealed to him great violence of innocent people being burned, raped, and murdered, which showed the plotline becoming much darker. Later, Lady Patience warned FitzChivalry that he was not to be seeing Molly, the girl he began falling in love with all those months ago, since it could cause a future scandal in the court, especially with all that had befallen him up to this point. This was very difficult for Fitz to accept since he wanted to make right everything with her, and explain his true feelings to her.
In Chapter Four, there was a scene where Fitz purchased a small wolf from a merchant and felt the wolf’s emotions as if they were his own. There was a lot of intensity to this specific scene but I took a lot away from it; it was an emotional whirlwind for sure, but the ending was sweet and also is a reminder of Fitz’s ability to bond with animals in such an intimate way through the Wit. Once again, the way Robin Hobb communicated the thoughts of animals in such a visceral, intuitive way is completely brilliant to me. Something else I appreciated a lot from this story is how Fitz and Prince Verity, particularly towards the end of Chapter Six. Verity was experiencing a time of wishing Chivalry was the King-in-Waiting since following him was so easy; he always seemed to have the answers. During a very heartfelt scene at the end, he subtly reminded Prince Verity that he is very gracious of his direction and wisdom. When Fitz was out on his important task of leaving out poisoned goods for the Forged, he was fortunate enough to be in a position to assist Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken as she herself was attacked, left alone on a horse ride by Prince Regal—who of course assumed no responsibility of his terrible actions. This scene was so visceral, and the true courageous and brave heart of Lady Kettricken shone through. However, this was yet another reminder that Regal is truly a very insufferable character who has gotten away with so much, especially since there was already enough King Shrewd and Buckkeep had to deal with during that winter. In Chapter Eight, I could tell that Lady Kettricken is a very strong character, even though she may not be the perfect wife for King-in-Waiting Verity, she was exactly the strength Buckkeep needed to fight against the Red-Ships and the Forged ones. Even Chase was exultant about this, and how she had turned such a dark situation into a high tragedy, and brought a feeling of pride back to the people. I admired the way Lady Patience developed a sense of protectiveness over Fitz, even if he never required her to be there for him in that way; I thought that component of this book showed revealed her heart in an intimate way
From this point forward, I will be going into less detail on the actual plot since it is a little unnecessary and ruins the reading experience. Thank you for understanding. I thought that the whole beginning dynamic between Cub, now know as Nighteyes, is very fascinating. I did not think they would remain separated. Nighteyes saved Fitz’s life after he unbonded himself from the world. In Chapter Twelve, I found Fitz’s desire for Molly to be completely beautiful. That is the way women should be desired, and it reminds me of how much I have come to adore Fitz as an intelligent character but also as a chivalrous man, no pun intended. Watching the love story between Molly and Fitz towards the end of Chapter Twelve was very beautiful; I very much love the way that Robin Hobb has articulated their feelings for one another. In terms of emotions and passion, I felt great sympathy for Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken because she deeply loved Verity and was growing more passionate towards him as he was still not loving her with that same fervency, at least this was my interpretation of those feelings. I know what it is like to have that desire for someone and be denied it. Additionally, I greatly loved seeing how Fitz’s and Verity’s relationship was expanding. During his initial quest to seek out the Elderlings for aid, Verity did not wish to bring Kettricken with him. In Chapter 20, it was alarming to me, seeing how King Shrewd was beginning to decline in health and also wits, with Fitz becoming very suspicious that someone was poisoning him with the herbs and supplements, namely, Wallace. When he went to assassin Chade Fallstar about killing someone out of his own will instead of the King’s will, Chade disagreed with this and told him to not make such moves, and reminded Fitz of his place within the court as a misbegotten son. Fitz is left rather feeling trapped and finds himself very weary and out of ideas about how to keep himself but also the Six Duchies in stable condition, with Verity being on his quest, King Shrewd growing weak, and Prince Regal acting selfish and greedy as all hell.
After the attack that ensued in Neatbay, I was enraged to read about how Prince Verity had been found dead—leaving Regal essentially in control of the court at Buckkeep along with King Shrewd and Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken’s respective futures. As if his attempt at murdering Fitz and Burrich in Assassin’s Apprentice was’t enough to make me hate a character, this hatred for him had increased tenfold at this point in the trilogy. This book ended with a turn of many complex events regarding the future of Buckkeep, the Six Duchies, and Fitz himself. Essentially, King-in-Waiting Verity was deemed dead by Prince Regal and his vexating cronies before Fitz was able to Skill to him, proving that Verity was alive. He, Burrich, Chade, Shrewd, and Queen Kettricken, devised a plan that would secretly get themselves out of the Keep under the noses of all around them, which was a task that proved to be as difficult as it promised. Eventually, King Shrewd ended up changing his mind about agreeing to this plan, which ultimately led to his death before he was able to make it out of the Keep. His health had essentially been ailing throughout the entirety of this installment of the Trilogy. Shrewd’s death led to a crack in the incredible plan the three men and Queen conjured, which led to an upsetting turn of events. Fitz Skilled to Verity through King Shrewd one last time, but this led to Shrewd dying, but it was not Fitz who killed the King. It was actually Justin and Serene, the antagonists of this story part of Regal’s coterie. At Regal’s behest behind the scenes, the two of them had been weakening Shrewd this entire time, which is why his health had been ailing so much, and he had to be drugged up with herbs and wines. This was honestly very saddening; I felt great sympathy for old Shrewd to be reading of him in such a condition. Regal thus charges Fitz with the murder of the King through using the Wit, a highly frowned upon magic that results in torture and execution by hanging of the worst kind, as ancient wisdom stated. The Wit is a lesser form of magical power that people fear and generally has an extremely deplorable reputation. This is in direct contrast with the love readers likely come to have for Fitz, showing irony at this ridiculous idea that the Wit could someone make someone less worthy of a good life. I even find the Wit to be beautiful.
Anyways, the book culminates with Fitz being left in the dungeons. He was repeatedly beaten and fought against by members of Regal’s guard, particularly a man named Bolt. That greedy, selfish princeling took great pleasure in seeing Fitz being hurt and tortured in such a way. He started losing his grip on reality after being tortured and kept in a cell with only bread and water to eat, his morale slipping away with every page. The only thing he had left was his connection with his wolf (named Cub at the beginning) Nighteyes. There was a particularly devastating scene where Burrich had found his way into the dungeons and rebuked Fitz for incessantly tapping into the Wit, which is what Regal wants to have Fitz hanged for, as mentioned. Fitz finds a small parcel of a leaf on his floor that is Carryme, a very simple sedative that causes a painful death. This implied that Burrich wished for Fitz to simply take his own life instead of allowing himself to be hanged—he was as good as dead regardless. This was the alternative that he ended up succumbing to. What ended up happening was Fitz that FitzChivalry himself to Nighteyes through his death, and then came back to life after being led to his body by the likes of Burrich, Heart of the Pack, and Chade. This scene felt extremely emotional yet also something that miracles are made out of. Yet he can never go back to the life of being FitzChivalry Farseer. Aside from Burrich and Chade, no one knows he is still alive. If anyone were to find out about his extraordinary survival, it would be more than evident that he was a Witted one.
All in all, this book has wonderfully showcased FitChivalry’s ultimate transition from boyhood to manhood, both regarding the passion in his soul yet also for his desire to protect his people. It made me feel very sad that he and Molly did not end up together, and he loved that woman as much as he possibly could even though he ended up breaking her heart and she had no choice but to leave him since he never put her first in his life; Fitz always put being a King’s man before fighting for her heart. I also incredibly loved the story of Fitz and Nighteyes, which is the essential plotline and conclusion of this Royal Assassin. Little did Fitz know that the little Cub he rescued so long ago would be the very same animal that saved his life, in the end.
This story was just as captivating as its first installment, Assassin’s Apprentice.
The Prologue and Chapter One of this book really helped to tie events from the first installment together. Up to this point, FitzChivalry Farseer was still healing from his poisoning and attack from Prince Regal, grasping at little to no strength and regularly experiencing seizures, which served as a reminder to me that he is human. He was still feeling a great amount of shame and with Burrich still unable to heal him, it took everything in Fitz to find the resolve to keep moving forward with his life and head back to Buckkeep, despite the major setback of being in a severely weakened physical state. It was also fascinating to me how he was able to see a Forging attack in a town called Siltbay as though he was taking on Kind Shrewd’s perspective through the Skill, as tenuous as his grasp on that ability was; this vision of the Forging taking place at Siltbay was disarming, as it revealed to him great violence of innocent people being burned, raped, and murdered, which showed the plotline becoming much darker. Later, Lady Patience warned FitzChivalry that he was not to be seeing Molly, the girl he began falling in love with all those months ago, since it could cause a future scandal in the court, especially with all that had befallen him up to this point. This was very difficult for Fitz to accept since he wanted to make right everything with her, and explain his true feelings to her.
In Chapter Four, there was a scene where Fitz purchased a small wolf from a merchant and felt the wolf’s emotions as if they were his own. There was a lot of intensity to this specific scene but I took a lot away from it; it was an emotional whirlwind for sure, but the ending was sweet and also is a reminder of Fitz’s ability to bond with animals in such an intimate way through the Wit. Once again, the way Robin Hobb communicated the thoughts of animals in such a visceral, intuitive way is completely brilliant to me. Something else I appreciated a lot from this story is how Fitz and Prince Verity, particularly towards the end of Chapter Six. Verity was experiencing a time of wishing Chivalry was the King-in-Waiting since following him was so easy; he always seemed to have the answers. During a very heartfelt scene at the end, he subtly reminded Prince Verity that he is very gracious of his direction and wisdom. When Fitz was out on his important task of leaving out poisoned goods for the Forged, he was fortunate enough to be in a position to assist Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken as she herself was attacked, left alone on a horse ride by Prince Regal—who of course assumed no responsibility of his terrible actions. This scene was so visceral, and the true courageous and brave heart of Lady Kettricken shone through. However, this was yet another reminder that Regal is truly a very insufferable character who has gotten away with so much, especially since there was already enough King Shrewd and Buckkeep had to deal with during that winter. In Chapter Eight, I could tell that Lady Kettricken is a very strong character, even though she may not be the perfect wife for King-in-Waiting Verity, she was exactly the strength Buckkeep needed to fight against the Red-Ships and the Forged ones. Even Chase was exultant about this, and how she had turned such a dark situation into a high tragedy, and brought a feeling of pride back to the people. I admired the way Lady Patience developed a sense of protectiveness over Fitz, even if he never required her to be there for him in that way; I thought that component of this book showed revealed her heart in an intimate way
From this point forward, I will be going into less detail on the actual plot since it is a little unnecessary and ruins the reading experience. Thank you for understanding. I thought that the whole beginning dynamic between Cub, now know as Nighteyes, is very fascinating. I did not think they would remain separated. Nighteyes saved Fitz’s life after he unbonded himself from the world. In Chapter Twelve, I found Fitz’s desire for Molly to be completely beautiful. That is the way women should be desired, and it reminds me of how much I have come to adore Fitz as an intelligent character but also as a chivalrous man, no pun intended. Watching the love story between Molly and Fitz towards the end of Chapter Twelve was very beautiful; I very much love the way that Robin Hobb has articulated their feelings for one another. In terms of emotions and passion, I felt great sympathy for Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken because she deeply loved Verity and was growing more passionate towards him as he was still not loving her with that same fervency, at least this was my interpretation of those feelings. I know what it is like to have that desire for someone and be denied it. Additionally, I greatly loved seeing how Fitz’s and Verity’s relationship was expanding. During his initial quest to seek out the Elderlings for aid, Verity did not wish to bring Kettricken with him. In Chapter 20, it was alarming to me, seeing how King Shrewd was beginning to decline in health and also wits, with Fitz becoming very suspicious that someone was poisoning him with the herbs and supplements, namely, Wallace. When he went to assassin Chade Fallstar about killing someone out of his own will instead of the King’s will, Chade disagreed with this and told him to not make such moves, and reminded Fitz of his place within the court as a misbegotten son. Fitz is left rather feeling trapped and finds himself very weary and out of ideas about how to keep himself but also the Six Duchies in stable condition, with Verity being on his quest, King Shrewd growing weak, and Prince Regal acting selfish and greedy as all hell.
After the attack that ensued in Neatbay, I was enraged to read about how Prince Verity had been found dead—leaving Regal essentially in control of the court at Buckkeep along with King Shrewd and Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken’s respective futures. As if his attempt at murdering Fitz and Burrich in Assassin’s Apprentice was’t enough to make me hate a character, this hatred for him had increased tenfold at this point in the trilogy. This book ended with a turn of many complex events regarding the future of Buckkeep, the Six Duchies, and Fitz himself. Essentially, King-in-Waiting Verity was deemed dead by Prince Regal and his vexating cronies before Fitz was able to Skill to him, proving that Verity was alive. He, Burrich, Chade, Shrewd, and Queen Kettricken, devised a plan that would secretly get themselves out of the Keep under the noses of all around them, which was a task that proved to be as difficult as it promised. Eventually, King Shrewd ended up changing his mind about agreeing to this plan, which ultimately led to his death before he was able to make it out of the Keep. His health had essentially been ailing throughout the entirety of this installment of the Trilogy. Shrewd’s death led to a crack in the incredible plan the three men and Queen conjured, which led to an upsetting turn of events. Fitz Skilled to Verity through King Shrewd one last time, but this led to Shrewd dying, but it was not Fitz who killed the King. It was actually Justin and Serene, the antagonists of this story part of Regal’s coterie. At Regal’s behest behind the scenes, the two of them had been weakening Shrewd this entire time, which is why his health had been ailing so much, and he had to be drugged up with herbs and wines. This was honestly very saddening; I felt great sympathy for old Shrewd to be reading of him in such a condition. Regal thus charges Fitz with the murder of the King through using the Wit, a highly frowned upon magic that results in torture and execution by hanging of the worst kind, as ancient wisdom stated. The Wit is a lesser form of magical power that people fear and generally has an extremely deplorable reputation. This is in direct contrast with the love readers likely come to have for Fitz, showing irony at this ridiculous idea that the Wit could someone make someone less worthy of a good life. I even find the Wit to be beautiful.
Anyways, the book culminates with Fitz being left in the dungeons. He was repeatedly beaten and fought against by members of Regal’s guard, particularly a man named Bolt. That greedy, selfish princeling took great pleasure in seeing Fitz being hurt and tortured in such a way. He started losing his grip on reality after being tortured and kept in a cell with only bread and water to eat, his morale slipping away with every page. The only thing he had left was his connection with his wolf (named Cub at the beginning) Nighteyes. There was a particularly devastating scene where Burrich had found his way into the dungeons and rebuked Fitz for incessantly tapping into the Wit, which is what Regal wants to have Fitz hanged for, as mentioned. Fitz finds a small parcel of a leaf on his floor that is Carryme, a very simple sedative that causes a painful death. This implied that Burrich wished for Fitz to simply take his own life instead of allowing himself to be hanged—he was as good as dead regardless. This was the alternative that he ended up succumbing to. What ended up happening was Fitz that FitzChivalry himself to Nighteyes through his death, and then came back to life after being led to his body by the likes of Burrich, Heart of the Pack, and Chade. This scene felt extremely emotional yet also something that miracles are made out of. Yet he can never go back to the life of being FitzChivalry Farseer. Aside from Burrich and Chade, no one knows he is still alive. If anyone were to find out about his extraordinary survival, it would be more than evident that he was a Witted one.
All in all, this book has wonderfully showcased FitChivalry’s ultimate transition from boyhood to manhood, both regarding the passion in his soul yet also for his desire to protect his people. It made me feel very sad that he and Molly did not end up together, and he loved that woman as much as he possibly could even though he ended up breaking her heart and she had no choice but to leave him since he never put her first in his life; Fitz always put being a King’s man before fighting for her heart. I also incredibly loved the story of Fitz and Nighteyes, which is the essential plotline and conclusion of this Royal Assassin. Little did Fitz know that the little Cub he rescued so long ago would be the very same animal that saved his life, in the end.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
2.0
There are spoilers in this review. Proceed with caution. ♥️
Had to read this for English class. Here is the essay I wrote for it.
In his 1623 romantic comedy, Twelfth Night (or What You Will) by William Shakespeare, the theme of identity is a primary topic. Shakespeare demonstrates how people can be deceptive in their aims to control how others view them. As it comes to be seen, the central plot of this play is centred around two twin characters named Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck at the beginning, leaving Viola alone and in a new land without her brother. From a psychological standpoint, this can have both benign and manipulative results. The main character named Viola disguised herself as a man named Cesario to gain entry into Duke Orsino’s palace, and this event serves as the catalyst for interesting events to unfold as the play develops. Olivia falls in love with Cesario’s honesty and passion, but “his” identity is not what it actually seems to be on the surface. These events show great irony, as the audience of the play knows information about the characters that the characters do not know about one another. In his 1623 romantic comedy, Twelfth Night (or What You Will), Shakespeare intellectually crafted the concept of human identity to demonstrate the importance of self-discovery in relation to others.
To start, in these components of Scene 1 and Scene 2 from the play, both Orsino and Viola express themselves in specific outward ways that reveal who they are and how their behavior affects interactions with others—Orsino with his passion for Olivia, and Viola with her disguise. Duke Orsino is the first character introduced in Twelfth Night, and he is found by the audience singing a passionate song, indicating that he is someone who has depth inside his soul. Orsino’s attitude is ostensibly wrought with melancholy as he sings the words, “If music be the food of love, play on, / Give me excess of it, that surfeiting, / The appetite may sicken, and so die. / That strain again, it had a dying fall” (lines 1-4, Act I, Scene 1). In this song, he is expressing his love for Countess Olivia in a musical form that is evocative. He is shameless in the way he expresses his love, so much so that he comes off as melodramatic in our modern times. Next, the concealment of her identity in Act I, Scene 2 shows Viola from Illyria disguising herself as a eunuch; Viola’s behavior in this scene indicates that she is a very intelligent character with immense tenacity. Shakespeare states, “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid / For such disguise as haply shall become / The form of my intent. I'll serve this Duke, / Thou shall present me as a eunuch to him:” (lines 54-57, Act I, Scene 2). She does this so she would become able to gain entry into Duke Orsino’s court since she would not be allowed to enter as a woman. Soon, she takes hold of Cesario as her identity, who is a man, and Viola feels that this level of deception was acceptable since she would be able to sing still, express herself, and impress Orsino in a socially acceptable way while hiding behind a façade that is not her true self. Women during this time period were restricted in what they were allowed to wear, say, and do.
Next, Shakespeare reveals some internal motivations of the characters through the ways they interact—particularly Olivia and Viola (Cesario). At the beginning of Scene 5 in Act I, Shakespeare writes, “Olivia: Are you a comedian? Viola: No, my profound heart. And yet (by the very fangs of malice I swear) I am not that I play. Are you the lady of the house?” (lines 170-173, Act 1, Scene 5). Countess Olivia and Viola are interacting, but one must remember that Viola is masquerading as her male disguise, Cesario. This certainly changes the dynamic between the characters as Olivia is under the impression she is interacting with a man (while she is definitely not); this will affect the way events play out later on in this play. Additionally, in Act II, Scene 4 of Twelfth Night, the text reads, “Then let thy love be younger than thyself, / Or thy affection cannot hold the bent. / For women are roses, whose fair flower / Being once displayed, doth fall that very hour. / And so they are. Alas that they are so. / To die, even when they to perfection grow” (lines 35-40, Act II, Scene 4). This quotation, spoken by Orsino, is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast with its comparison to flowers, and there is also a sentiment of temporality—this notion that time is very fleeting and limited for the characters. These words are a reminder of the passionate man he is and reveals, once more, his love for Olivia.
In addition, Shakespeare’s creation of deep emotion and love for his characters should not be understated as this advances the plot and shows some more of Orsino’s identity, given his professedly unfaltering romance and passion for Countess Olivia. Unfortunately, Duke Orsino is cautioned against his passion by Viola (Cesario) who realises she, too, is in love with Olivia. This is expanded upon in Act II, Scene 4 as follows: “Viola: Say that some lady, as perhaps there is, / Hath for your love as great a pang of heart / As you have for Olivia. You cannot love her. / You must tell her so. Must she then not be answered” (lines 86-90, Act II, Scene 4). (Nota bene, this particular quotation is between Viola and Duke Orsino). She has seen the way Olivia deeply loved, and wished to feel that for herself as well. “Cesario” was attempting to pull Orsino away from Olivia in this scene by essentially claiming, “You can not love her.” This can be viewed as problematic because, despite Viola’s tenacity and intelligence, she is utilising deception and lies to get something that she wants and control the narrative happening around her, especially taking into account her disguise.
Furthermore, music is a very important aspect of this play because of how it reveals the inner emotions and longings of the characters in a great way, and this is visualised in Feste the Clown’s song in the next act and beginning scene. In class, we listened to Dave William’s adaptation of the song Come Away from Twelfth Night. The mood of this song feels particularly sad; there is an underlying hint of profound yearning. Here, Shakespeare writes, “Come away, come away death, / And in sad cypress let me be laid. / Fly away, fly away breath, / I am slain by a fair cruel maid” (lines 50-53, Act II, Scene 4) and “My poor corpse, where my bones shall be thrown. / A thousand sighs to save, / Lay me, O where / Sad true lover never find my grave, / To weep there.” (lines 61-65, Act II, Scene 4). Some feelings articulated here include sadness, depression, pity, regret, melancholy, poignant bittersweetness, and sorrowfulness. The idea of death itself is treated like a more physical object; it is very present. Feste wants to sit with his feelings and his longing, and to me, there is something very dramatic yet poignant about him speaking to death in the absence of love. Even in modern times, death and longing are parts of life since they are a deep part of the human condition that our identities can not escape, no matter how hard we try to disguise ourselves—and especially—no matter how much we may love another human being.
Next, Sebastian’s internal condition of feeling madly in love with Olivia, along with Olivia’s desire to marry Sebastian, advances this play’s theme of passion through the zealous interactions of the characters. Shakespeare writes, “This is the air, that is the glorious sun, / This pearl she gave me, I do feel’t and see’t / And through 'tis wonder that enwraps me thus, / Yet 'tis not madness” (lines 1-4, Act VI, Scene 3). These words here indicated that what Sebastian is feeling in this scene is wonder—not madness. He grounds himself in reality and accepts that his emotions are not something to feel so much trepidation and anxiety over—and feeling “mad” could most certainly bring about such uncomfortable emotions. Sebastian feels so much depth and reckless love for Olivia that it is as if it was consuming him altogether. Additionally, the pearl between Sebastian and Olivia symbolizes an exchange of romance, especially since that man is seeing something so radiant within Olivia. Olivia’s action of going to the priest and requesting to wed Sebastian is indicative of her not thinking rationally and her quest towards something for which her heart yearns. The play reads, “Blame not this haste of mine. If you mean well / Now go with me and with this holy man / Into the chantry by. There before him, / And underneath that consecrated roof, / Plight me the full assurance of your faith, / Plight me the full assurance of your faith, / That my most jealous and too doubtful soul / May live at peace” (lines 22-28, Act VI, Scene 3). Both of these scenes (indicated through the textual evidence) are quite humorous since Sebastian knew full well the actions he was taking, but Olivia barely knew him and was pining over him nevertheless. This is a situation of irony that the audience can understand. It can be reckoned that Countess Olivia’s method of going about marriage is rather unconventional in this scene, and it is a testament to the lengths to which someone will go for something they dearly wish to obtain. Consequentially, the internal desires of Sebastian’s and Olivia’s souls are both unique to their identities and personalities, and the same idea can be applied to the other characters of this play, those not part of this specific scene.
Shakespeare concludes the concept of identity and self-discovery in the last act and scenes where all events are tied together as Sebastian (Viola’s twin brother) and Olivia get married, and Duke Orsino and Viola get married. Shakespeare shows that there is a silver lining to the many chaotic and questionable events that have thus occurred in this play, especially with how Orsino and Viola were interacting. Many of the characters endured confusion and hurt feelings with the range of love affairs that were simultaneously taking place. In Act V, Scene 1, Twelfth Night reads, “After him I love / More than I love these eyes, more than my life, / More, by all mores, than I e’er I shall love wife. / If I do feign, you witness above / Punish my life for tainting of my love” (lines 128-132, Act V, Scene I). This quotation from this scene illuminates the relationship between Orsino and Cesario (Viola). Their love goes deeper than the disguise she is wearing despite the seeming hiddenness of someone’s identity, which is a rather important lesson to take away from this play. While it is still a bit ambiguous as to whether Duke Orsino loved Cesario or Viola, the main message taken away is a sense of passion that is not merely surface-level. There is a very satisfying resolution to this play, with everything being made right. Sebastian, who was Viola’s twin brother, ends up marrying Countess Olivia.
To conclude, in the writing of his 1623 romantic comedy play, Twelfth Night (or What You Will), it is evident that Shakespeare effectively used various literary techniques, themes, and a wide range of characters to demonstrate the concept of human identity and how it impacts self-discovery in relation to other people. His use of blank verse within the dialogues of his characters was also a tool that helped readers and/or the audience better understands the characters on an emotional, internal level. In addition, topics such as outward appearance, internal motivation, longing, and identity are all equally instrumental in driving this plot towards understanding the profundity of the human heart. This is made clear through the characters’ use of dialogue and song within this play. All of the characters—Viola, Orsino, Sebastian, Olivia, and Feste—are deeply imperfect, and this reminds the audience and readers of this play about what it means to truly be human.
Had to read this for English class. Here is the essay I wrote for it.
In his 1623 romantic comedy, Twelfth Night (or What You Will) by William Shakespeare, the theme of identity is a primary topic. Shakespeare demonstrates how people can be deceptive in their aims to control how others view them. As it comes to be seen, the central plot of this play is centred around two twin characters named Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck at the beginning, leaving Viola alone and in a new land without her brother. From a psychological standpoint, this can have both benign and manipulative results. The main character named Viola disguised herself as a man named Cesario to gain entry into Duke Orsino’s palace, and this event serves as the catalyst for interesting events to unfold as the play develops. Olivia falls in love with Cesario’s honesty and passion, but “his” identity is not what it actually seems to be on the surface. These events show great irony, as the audience of the play knows information about the characters that the characters do not know about one another. In his 1623 romantic comedy, Twelfth Night (or What You Will), Shakespeare intellectually crafted the concept of human identity to demonstrate the importance of self-discovery in relation to others.
To start, in these components of Scene 1 and Scene 2 from the play, both Orsino and Viola express themselves in specific outward ways that reveal who they are and how their behavior affects interactions with others—Orsino with his passion for Olivia, and Viola with her disguise. Duke Orsino is the first character introduced in Twelfth Night, and he is found by the audience singing a passionate song, indicating that he is someone who has depth inside his soul. Orsino’s attitude is ostensibly wrought with melancholy as he sings the words, “If music be the food of love, play on, / Give me excess of it, that surfeiting, / The appetite may sicken, and so die. / That strain again, it had a dying fall” (lines 1-4, Act I, Scene 1). In this song, he is expressing his love for Countess Olivia in a musical form that is evocative. He is shameless in the way he expresses his love, so much so that he comes off as melodramatic in our modern times. Next, the concealment of her identity in Act I, Scene 2 shows Viola from Illyria disguising herself as a eunuch; Viola’s behavior in this scene indicates that she is a very intelligent character with immense tenacity. Shakespeare states, “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid / For such disguise as haply shall become / The form of my intent. I'll serve this Duke, / Thou shall present me as a eunuch to him:” (lines 54-57, Act I, Scene 2). She does this so she would become able to gain entry into Duke Orsino’s court since she would not be allowed to enter as a woman. Soon, she takes hold of Cesario as her identity, who is a man, and Viola feels that this level of deception was acceptable since she would be able to sing still, express herself, and impress Orsino in a socially acceptable way while hiding behind a façade that is not her true self. Women during this time period were restricted in what they were allowed to wear, say, and do.
Next, Shakespeare reveals some internal motivations of the characters through the ways they interact—particularly Olivia and Viola (Cesario). At the beginning of Scene 5 in Act I, Shakespeare writes, “Olivia: Are you a comedian? Viola: No, my profound heart. And yet (by the very fangs of malice I swear) I am not that I play. Are you the lady of the house?” (lines 170-173, Act 1, Scene 5). Countess Olivia and Viola are interacting, but one must remember that Viola is masquerading as her male disguise, Cesario. This certainly changes the dynamic between the characters as Olivia is under the impression she is interacting with a man (while she is definitely not); this will affect the way events play out later on in this play. Additionally, in Act II, Scene 4 of Twelfth Night, the text reads, “Then let thy love be younger than thyself, / Or thy affection cannot hold the bent. / For women are roses, whose fair flower / Being once displayed, doth fall that very hour. / And so they are. Alas that they are so. / To die, even when they to perfection grow” (lines 35-40, Act II, Scene 4). This quotation, spoken by Orsino, is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast with its comparison to flowers, and there is also a sentiment of temporality—this notion that time is very fleeting and limited for the characters. These words are a reminder of the passionate man he is and reveals, once more, his love for Olivia.
In addition, Shakespeare’s creation of deep emotion and love for his characters should not be understated as this advances the plot and shows some more of Orsino’s identity, given his professedly unfaltering romance and passion for Countess Olivia. Unfortunately, Duke Orsino is cautioned against his passion by Viola (Cesario) who realises she, too, is in love with Olivia. This is expanded upon in Act II, Scene 4 as follows: “Viola: Say that some lady, as perhaps there is, / Hath for your love as great a pang of heart / As you have for Olivia. You cannot love her. / You must tell her so. Must she then not be answered” (lines 86-90, Act II, Scene 4). (Nota bene, this particular quotation is between Viola and Duke Orsino). She has seen the way Olivia deeply loved, and wished to feel that for herself as well. “Cesario” was attempting to pull Orsino away from Olivia in this scene by essentially claiming, “You can not love her.” This can be viewed as problematic because, despite Viola’s tenacity and intelligence, she is utilising deception and lies to get something that she wants and control the narrative happening around her, especially taking into account her disguise.
Furthermore, music is a very important aspect of this play because of how it reveals the inner emotions and longings of the characters in a great way, and this is visualised in Feste the Clown’s song in the next act and beginning scene. In class, we listened to Dave William’s adaptation of the song Come Away from Twelfth Night. The mood of this song feels particularly sad; there is an underlying hint of profound yearning. Here, Shakespeare writes, “Come away, come away death, / And in sad cypress let me be laid. / Fly away, fly away breath, / I am slain by a fair cruel maid” (lines 50-53, Act II, Scene 4) and “My poor corpse, where my bones shall be thrown. / A thousand sighs to save, / Lay me, O where / Sad true lover never find my grave, / To weep there.” (lines 61-65, Act II, Scene 4). Some feelings articulated here include sadness, depression, pity, regret, melancholy, poignant bittersweetness, and sorrowfulness. The idea of death itself is treated like a more physical object; it is very present. Feste wants to sit with his feelings and his longing, and to me, there is something very dramatic yet poignant about him speaking to death in the absence of love. Even in modern times, death and longing are parts of life since they are a deep part of the human condition that our identities can not escape, no matter how hard we try to disguise ourselves—and especially—no matter how much we may love another human being.
Next, Sebastian’s internal condition of feeling madly in love with Olivia, along with Olivia’s desire to marry Sebastian, advances this play’s theme of passion through the zealous interactions of the characters. Shakespeare writes, “This is the air, that is the glorious sun, / This pearl she gave me, I do feel’t and see’t / And through 'tis wonder that enwraps me thus, / Yet 'tis not madness” (lines 1-4, Act VI, Scene 3). These words here indicated that what Sebastian is feeling in this scene is wonder—not madness. He grounds himself in reality and accepts that his emotions are not something to feel so much trepidation and anxiety over—and feeling “mad” could most certainly bring about such uncomfortable emotions. Sebastian feels so much depth and reckless love for Olivia that it is as if it was consuming him altogether. Additionally, the pearl between Sebastian and Olivia symbolizes an exchange of romance, especially since that man is seeing something so radiant within Olivia. Olivia’s action of going to the priest and requesting to wed Sebastian is indicative of her not thinking rationally and her quest towards something for which her heart yearns. The play reads, “Blame not this haste of mine. If you mean well / Now go with me and with this holy man / Into the chantry by. There before him, / And underneath that consecrated roof, / Plight me the full assurance of your faith, / Plight me the full assurance of your faith, / That my most jealous and too doubtful soul / May live at peace” (lines 22-28, Act VI, Scene 3). Both of these scenes (indicated through the textual evidence) are quite humorous since Sebastian knew full well the actions he was taking, but Olivia barely knew him and was pining over him nevertheless. This is a situation of irony that the audience can understand. It can be reckoned that Countess Olivia’s method of going about marriage is rather unconventional in this scene, and it is a testament to the lengths to which someone will go for something they dearly wish to obtain. Consequentially, the internal desires of Sebastian’s and Olivia’s souls are both unique to their identities and personalities, and the same idea can be applied to the other characters of this play, those not part of this specific scene.
Shakespeare concludes the concept of identity and self-discovery in the last act and scenes where all events are tied together as Sebastian (Viola’s twin brother) and Olivia get married, and Duke Orsino and Viola get married. Shakespeare shows that there is a silver lining to the many chaotic and questionable events that have thus occurred in this play, especially with how Orsino and Viola were interacting. Many of the characters endured confusion and hurt feelings with the range of love affairs that were simultaneously taking place. In Act V, Scene 1, Twelfth Night reads, “After him I love / More than I love these eyes, more than my life, / More, by all mores, than I e’er I shall love wife. / If I do feign, you witness above / Punish my life for tainting of my love” (lines 128-132, Act V, Scene I). This quotation from this scene illuminates the relationship between Orsino and Cesario (Viola). Their love goes deeper than the disguise she is wearing despite the seeming hiddenness of someone’s identity, which is a rather important lesson to take away from this play. While it is still a bit ambiguous as to whether Duke Orsino loved Cesario or Viola, the main message taken away is a sense of passion that is not merely surface-level. There is a very satisfying resolution to this play, with everything being made right. Sebastian, who was Viola’s twin brother, ends up marrying Countess Olivia.
To conclude, in the writing of his 1623 romantic comedy play, Twelfth Night (or What You Will), it is evident that Shakespeare effectively used various literary techniques, themes, and a wide range of characters to demonstrate the concept of human identity and how it impacts self-discovery in relation to other people. His use of blank verse within the dialogues of his characters was also a tool that helped readers and/or the audience better understands the characters on an emotional, internal level. In addition, topics such as outward appearance, internal motivation, longing, and identity are all equally instrumental in driving this plot towards understanding the profundity of the human heart. This is made clear through the characters’ use of dialogue and song within this play. All of the characters—Viola, Orsino, Sebastian, Olivia, and Feste—are deeply imperfect, and this reminds the audience and readers of this play about what it means to truly be human.
I Am Definitely, Probably Enough (I Think): Revelations on the Journey to Self-Love by Tori Press
5.0
This book is incredibly helpful for me when understanding my worth. It is not a “traditional” book, but is intended to exist for consistent use. I will be coming back to it many times. The drawings are so beautiful, but also cute. Tori Press did an outstanding job on creating this book. I feel very loved and seen for who I am.