A lovely, deep, honest collection of work. The author really explored the depths with their words. Beautiful.

This was a great poetry book. I always absolutely enjoy their work and I can't wait to read more in the near future. I highly recommend it.

A heart wrenching look into dysphoria that catches the imagination and holds the reader entranced throughout.

For some reason, I can't seem to find a copy of this book on my kindle and I'm not sure where it's gone.

I have absolutely loved Cyrus' work in the past, and I'm sure this is amazing, however without actually having seemed to have downloaded the file, it is difficult to give a thorough review on this particular title.

I don't read much poetry, but I truly loved this book, It was beautifully written with emotional prose that had me feeling hopeful and crying all on the same page. It would be a wonderful read for anyone that may be dealing with their own identity or gender issues and those who are trying to find out exactly who they are supposed to be. It was a fabulous read and I will recommend it to anyone who will listen!

This book stirred up so much buried emotions inside of me over wasted time with the wrong people. This book encourages you to never feel bad for loving, you aren't in the wrong. What the other person does with your Love is what mattered. This book was written excellently! Never give up on Love, just be careful and there can be healing after heartbreak.

I enjoy everything that Cyrus Parker puts out, so much so I even purchased this for myself and a friend. I can't wait to read their next collection when it's released.

masquerade is easily one of my top favourite books of 2019. I fell in absolute love with Cyrus Parker's writing in this one, and could relate to so much of what they were saying in this one.

I really enjoyed Cyrus Parker’s first poetry collection, ‘DROPKICK romance’ so naturally, I had to read this one as well, & I found that I enjoyed this one even more than their first collection.

‘Masquerade’ is a bountiful collection filled to the brim with poems ranging from a variety of important topics, including everything from self-esteem issues, non-binary topics, rejection, witchcraft, pain, etc, etc. In addition, it touches on identity, self love, family love, and in doing so, it makes for a very personal and emotionally raw read.

You can feel the author’s emotions and struggles dripping down from the pen onto the pages as they strip themselves bare within the words of these poems, and because of this , I felt as if I was going through their very emotions alongside them, as if I were right there with them as they were penning the words down onto the pages.

Cyrus has a very beautiful, vulnerable way with words. They also have a way of writing in which I feel like I can connect with them and I find a lot of what they are writing to be relatable.

This collection definitely moved me, and I will certainly be looking for more of Cyrus Parker’s work in the future!

Being my first encounter with Cyrus Parker's work, I went into this without any expectations. However, I knew right as I dove into this book that I was in for an amazing and beautiful ride. The poems were incredibly well written and had a very deep meaning. They are not your average peoms good enough only for a caption on instagram. There is no doubt that Cyrus Parker is a very talented poet and I am looking forward to his future realeases.

So I first read dropkick romance about two months ago, I've had it for a longer time, but this has to be one of the best follow-ups that I have ever read. Cyrus speaks so strongly and filled so much emotion into this. Broken into 3 parts, Cyrus speaks on self-discovery, on a difficult past and looking to a brighter future. He talks about his love for for Amanda and how that changed him and difficulties with his father. The X from book one that was just terrible makes a return in one of the most beautifully savage pieces that Cyrus puts in this book.

I would love to thank Cyrus Parker, Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good -but not excellent- poetry book. I didn't find myself in all of the poems, but there were some that were amazing. Let me show you:

misplaced

I was a piece of a puzzle
lost in the box of another.
no matter where you tried to put me,
which way you tried to turn me,
there wasn't a place for me in the big
picture, and i got tired of trying to fit
into places i didn't belong.


bigger

if they tell you to change who you are,
be yourself but even louder.


the kind of games

the jester made himself a crown
and called himself a king,
and that made all the difference.


to us

she sips rose and i sip whiskey,
and i can't help but think about
how perfectly that describes us:
her, a slow, sweet burn, and me,
a little too much all at once.


the moon's resistance

the sun tells the moon
that her place is at night
with the stars,
but still she hangs
defiantly
in the midafternoon sky,
refusing
to have her place dictated
by another's expectations.


These are some of the poems I love from this book. This author really understands how it is to be marginalised by comunity. 3 solid stars for this book!

masquerade by Cyrus Parker is a strong collection of poetry worth reading. This is my first introduction to Parker's work. What stands out most is the way this poet uses the form to explore experience and identity.

I can appreciate the obvious time and effort it took to put this together but unfortunately I was not able to connect with this work thematically.

Very quiet, yet confident, not to mention honest collection, that comes straight from the heart. The poems have a gentle poignant that I believe a lot of people will get something out of.

Worth a look

Masquerade by Cyrus Parker is a collection of powerful poetry. While there were a couple poems that didn't speak to me for one reason or another, there were plenty of poems that did speak to me.
Some were written in a simplistic language, but that didn't take from the impact of the poem. I had many favorites. One of these favorites was this one:

i will not
fit myself into a box
to meet your expectations.

i will not
twist myself into a knot
to earn your appreciation.

"do what you must to protect your own peace,
and don't let anyone make you feel guilty for doing so."

Great collection! It was well written.

It deals on many important topics such as childhood, relationships, abandonment, pain, identity and acceptance for who you are.

It was thought provoking and the illustration was captivating. Can't wait to read his next collection!

I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved so much of this book! The poetry was lovely and utterly moving. Perfect for those who are finding their own identity in a society that loves to place people into specified pegs that we simply don't fit inside. Part i & part iii were my favorites. Part ii just felt like the theme of the collection was disrupted and I had a harder time connecting emotionally to the poems in this section, which is the only reason I reduced my star rating. However, I will be buying a copy of this for my personal bookshelf because there were so many poems inside that I will revisit regularly.

I'm torn between ''I like this collection of poetry'' and ''meh''. Mainly because it didn't bring any sparks or chills while I was reading it. but, it's such an important subject to talk about, that it must exist and put in many hands.
I think I could have liked this book a lot more if I were able to connect with the difficulties lived by the author (and many more other people).
Anyway, this is a good book overall and I would read more work of Cyrus Parker in the future.

It really was important for me to read these poems, I needed to hear these things and I hope lots of other people will want to pick this book and connect with it like I did.