Home

Home, Reviews

ARC Review: We Were All Someone Else Yesterday By Omar Holmon

tanazmasaba
ARC Review: We Were All Someone Else Yesterday By Omar Holmon

Release Date: 12th May 2020

A collection of phenomenal, beautifully composed poems, We Were All Someone Else Yesterday by Omar Holmon is a heart wrenching, emotional poetry book about grief, love, identity and healing. At its core, this poetry book is about Holmon’s family–it’s a tribute to his mother, it’s a heartbreaking cross-examination into his relationship with his father, it’s a reminder of how bittersweet love can be and a beautiful ode to his roots, his culture and his heritage.

Continue reading “ARC Review: We Were All Someone Else Yesterday By Omar Holmon” →
Home, Reviews

ARC Review: becoming By Reenada Williams

tanazmasaba
ARC Review: becoming By Reenada Williams

I love poetry in every shape and form. Free verse, contemporary poetry is my favorite form of poetry, because of the strong emotional appeals they contain, their turn of phrase, their rhythm and their distinct dissonance.

So when I got my hands on becoming by Reenada Williams, I was truly excited. The synopsis itself seemed promising:

Continue reading “ARC Review: becoming By Reenada Williams” →
Home, Reviews, Young Adult

The Heart Forger By Rin Chupeco: A Gripping, Intense Sequel To A Phenomenal YA Fantasy Series

tanazmasaba
The Heart Forger By Rin Chupeco: A Gripping, Intense Sequel To A Phenomenal YA Fantasy Series

Note: This is a spoiler-free review for the second novel of The Bone Witch trilogy by Rin Chupeco. If you haven’t read The Bone Witch yet, I recommend reading my review of it first.

Continue reading “The Heart Forger By Rin Chupeco: A Gripping, Intense Sequel To A Phenomenal YA Fantasy Series” →
Home

Weekly Wrap Up: The Final Week of April 2020

tanazmasaba

It feels surreal that another week has passed us by–April is coming to an end and we will soon be well done with the first four months of this year. This is a hard pill to swallow, but I am glad that I’ve managed to slowly get back into some kind of routine for myself this week. Here’s a quick wrap of my week.

Weekly Wrap Up: The Final Week of April 2020
Continue reading “Weekly Wrap Up: The Final Week of April 2020” →
Book Corner, Discussion Posts, Home, Other Bookish Stuff

All The Modern, Feminist Ideas You May Have Overlooked In Little Women

tanazmasaba
All The Modern, Feminist Ideas You May Have Overlooked In Little Women

This is a classic that has received equal parts praise and criticism. It has been lauded as a feminist novel and then also condemned for not being a feminist novel. In this discussion post, I’ll explain why I believe this is a feminist story and try to highlight all the subtleties that are rarely talked about whenever this novel is discussed.

Continue reading “All The Modern, Feminist Ideas You May Have Overlooked In Little Women” →
Home, Young Adult

The Folk Of The Air Series By Holly Black: A Brutal And Brilliant Fantasy

tanazmasaba
The Folk Of The Air Series By Holly Black: A Brutal And Brilliant Fantasy

Note: This is a series review, meaning that I will be reviewing all three books of the series (The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King and Queen of Nothing) as a whole and will also be rating the series as a whole.

I rarely enjoy stories about the fae–despite their popularity, especially in the YA fantasy genre, very few writers have managed to properly encapsulate their terrifyingly violent and yet comically whimsical nature. The only good fae story, really good fae story that comes to mind is Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series. If you haven’t read it, you are absolutely missing out–it is one of the best fantasy novels that I have read and will forever cherish in my heart.

(And yes I have read Sara J Mass’s Court of Thorns series. No, I did not like it one bit)

Continue reading “The Folk Of The Air Series By Holly Black: A Brutal And Brilliant Fantasy” →
Home, Stray Thoughts

Transitioning From Young Adult To Adult

tanazmasaba
Transitioning From Young Adult To Adult

A global pandemic aside, 2020 was supposed to be a year of challenges for me anyway. After all, this year marks the beginning of a new, terrifying chapter for me: adulthood, and all the responsibilities that come along with it.

Continue reading “Transitioning From Young Adult To Adult” →
Book Corner, Home, Other Bookish Stuff

No Matter The Wreckage By Sarah Kaye: The Kind Of Poetry That Resonates

tanazmasaba
No Matter The Wreckage By Sarah Kaye: The Kind Of Poetry That Resonates

A collection of poignant, beautifully crafted verses, No Matter The Wreckage by Sarah Kay is the kind of poetry book that touches your heart, mind and soul. I am aware that this sounds cliche, but it is true. Her turn of phrase, use of imagery and rhythm and repetition creates vividly written, captivating poems that makes the reader step into her skin and see the world through her lens. Most importantly, the topics that she covers in this book and some of her own personal experiences are written with such resonating quality that you cannot help but be able to relate to her words.

Some of my favorites where Love Letter #137, No Matter The Wreckage, Brother, The Toothbrush To The Bicycle Wheel, The Ladder, Some Things We Don’t Talk About Part 1, and Evaporating, but there were many others too that I couldn’t help but reread over and over because they made me feel.

Definitely the kind of poetry book you would want to keep on your shelf. I highly recommend this to everyone who loves poetry.

Book Corner, Home, Other Bookish Stuff, Review Policy, Young Adult

The Gilded Wolves: A Nuanced Heist Fantasy That Explores Colorism, Colonialism And Power Struggles

tanazmasaba
The Gilded Wolves: A Nuanced Heist Fantasy That Explores Colorism, Colonialism And Power Struggles

Ratings: 5/5

Short review: Excellent novel is excellent. Highly recommend.

The tea (because there always seems to be a controversy or another whenever a marginalized author puts out a best-seller diverse novel): skip to the bottom.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: child abuse, mild torture and violence

Detailed review: Now this here is a stunning, exciting thought-provoking novel that I can’t wait to get more of. Roshani Chokshi (who made me remember why I love fantasy with her debut novel The Star-Touched Queen and its sequel A Crown of Wishes) once again brings a brilliantly written fantasy/heist story with a cast of incredibly fascinating, lovable characters, an intense and captivating plot line, slow burn romance, and breath-taking world building.

Set in the era of Moulin Rouge in a fictional, glittering and magical Paris, the book, on the surface, is about a team of 5 talented thieves working on their most dangerous and rewarding acquisition. However, as you dive deeper into the story and learn about each characters’ motivations and aspirations, the story begins to explore racism, colonialism, identity and disparity through well developed, diverse characters of all backgrounds. What I loved the most is that the author touches on these topics just long enough to make you pause, and ponder on important questions without taking the focus away from the actual heist.

Continue reading “The Gilded Wolves: A Nuanced Heist Fantasy That Explores Colorism, Colonialism And Power Struggles” →
Adult, Book Corner, Home, Young Adult

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: Food For Thought

tanazmasaba
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: Food For Thought

If there is any book that I can say have made a profound impact on my life, then it would be The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Misunderstood to be a children’s book by a surprisingly large number of people, The Little Prince is actually a book for young adults, providing us with thoughtful guidance and insights as we learn to navigate through life and all the complications and messes it brings us.

Continue reading “The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: Food For Thought” →