“She Felt Like Feeling Nothing”

“She Felt Like Feeling Nothing”

Written by R.H. Sin

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

 

A favorite romance poet of mine is R.H. Sin, who writes on bad relationships, self-worth, mental health, abuse, alcoholism, friendships, and raising children. This prolific writer has created many poetry collections so far, writing hundreds of poems for each book. His poetry feels genuine, as if he just speaking to you from the heart while you’re having a cup of coffee together. Sin’s work is just so impressive to me, and I perfectly plan to own all of his collections.

 

She Felt Like Feeling Nothing specifically hones in on female emotion before a relationship, during, and after. I appreciate how Sin creates poems that encourage his readers to strive to be their best and to wish to be treated well. He also seems to write more wisely and more about the real world as he grows older, his poems becoming more realistic and less dream-like. The collection is split into some sections, such as the Scenes and the Hymns, with other poems spaced in intermittently.

 

The poems I enjoyed most from this collection are:

Scenes: “Two, Three, Twelve, Fourteen, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-Two, and Thirty-Five”

Hymn: “Four, Seven, Nine, Twelve, Seventeen, Twenty-Two”

“My Life After You”

“I Blame the Movies”

“22 Minutes Beyond Midnight”

“Broken Fuse”

 

I rate this collection at 5 out of 5 stars for the content, the poems I enjoyed, and the themes. This is one of the stronger collections in his repertoire.

"The Suicide"

“The Suicide”

Written by Amy Tollyfield

Review written by Diana Iozzia

           

            Poetry is always a fickle read for me. At this point in my reading experience, I have concluded that sadder, angrier, and darker poetry can be a fantastic read for me, or something I would like to avoid like the plague. Sometimes, I draw a line straight down the middle.

            With “The Suicide” I found poems I enjoyed, but I also found poems that were just not the right style for me. Some of Tollyfield’s poems are similar to Silvia Plath, whose poems and prose I have always enjoyed. Quite a few of the poems also reminded me of the book, “Girl, Interrupted” as well as Plath’s “The Bell Jar”.

            Amy Tollyfield’s poetry is full of similes, metaphors, and allusions. I do like a great allusion, but some of the mentions seemed necessary only to complete the rhyme couplet, as the typical style is 1212 or 12 32. For example, I thought rhyming “Pocahontas” with “orthodontist” was a bit of a stretch. I remember my younger adolescent years when I used a rhyming dictionary and came up with similar rhymes. To continue, I also enjoyed Tollyfield’s use of different colors to describe actions, emotions, and more.

            I personally felt that the majority of the poems in this collection were not for me. I enjoyed reading the collection, but I do think poetry is very subjective. The poems I enjoyed most are:

“Ask”

“Rosé”

“Big Sea”

“Dice”

“Johanna”

“Tide”

Courtesy of Olympia Publishing, I received a complimentary copy of this book for reading and reviewing purposes.

"Dark Souls"

"Dark Souls" by Paula Morris
Review written by Diana Iozzia

"Dark Souls" is a young adult fiction novel, full of ghosts, thrilling romance, and exploration in historic York, England. I read this when I was in my teenage years, but I re-read this two summers ago, when I was visiting York, England.

Miranda and her family are on vacation in York for the summer, so her mother can participate in an orchestra program. Miranda makes friends with a hipster-like guy named Nick, who shows her around the city. Soon, you realize that Nick is very shady and might not be telling the entire truth about himself. With lots of haunted folklore, it creates a creepy setting for the lovely city. 

I personally enjoyed "Ruined" by Paula Morris much more than this book, but for a second novel, it was quite creepy and interesting. There is a great sequence before the final climax. Good read for a young adult novel with some thrills and chills.

"Small Crimes by Andrea Jurjevic

"Small Crimes" by Andrea Jurjevic

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“Small Crimes” was an interesting book of poetry. There are many small and some longer poems that really pack a punch as you read. I am a person who has a strong stomach. Usually, poetry does not make me feel emotional, but I did notice a bit of emotion being felt by myself. Andrea’s poetry is very sad and emotional, painting a very clear picture of the events that shaped her life. Many of the poems in this book are really well written, and I enjoyed reading them.

Her take on very important government events and affairs that impacted her life was interesting, because it does not relate to my own life. There is lots of foreign language used in the book, translated in the index at the back of the book. There are also dates and times that help you understand the events that she is writing about. Some of the poetry was very dark and emotional, so that's where my love for poetry differs. I love happy poetry, but this poetry by Andrea was very dark and sad. It is still enjoyable poetry, and it was written very well. Unfortunately, this is just not poetry I choose to read on my own.

I did notice that some of the poems were too descriptive, as if she added extra detail just to be more descriptive, but it wasn’t to a positive affect.

I enjoyed the poems "Too Educated”, “Back When I Knew How to Speak”, and “Hotel Scandinavia”.