I gave this a three out of five stars. I enjoyed reading another poetry book by the author. I didn't connect to any of the poems in this collection. I'm excited to see what the author writes next.

I’m beyond words with this beautiful poetry book I know I can count on this author for some amazing words of wisdom I can always count on him as well to send me on a spiral of an existential crisis with his writing that just hits right at home.

This is an amazing work of art by Cyrus. The words here will touch many souls. I recommend this work of poetry to everyone with every reading tastes, because we all have the make it through this life together.

There is an intensity in each of the poems that I could feel all the confusion, insecurity and sense of unsafety as I read them. Cyrus has a powerful way of dealing with emotions of every kind, not holding back anything and bathing in light each and every inner demon. Loved it.

Overall this was a good poetry collection, that I just couldn't really connect to. It might also be, that I just chose the wrong time to read this and didn't really have the motivation to deeply read all of these poems, but they overall didn't really touch me.

I'd still recommend it, if you like modern poetry and the themes handled in this collection. like for example gender identity.

First, I would like to say that the cover for this book is stunning! I love the cover so much.

Second, I thoroughly enjoyed this poetry collection. These are very honest, and sometimes painful, poems. The emotions behind the poems come through clearly. I've learned to love poetry because it often says things I don't have the words for. And while I didn't connect to these poems as much as I have others, these are still wonderful and I know there will be many people to connect with and adore this poetry collection. I love the variety of types of poems in this collection. Some were a sentence and others were entire paragraphs. This is something I enjoy in poetry collections and I think the mix of poems worked very well in Masquerade. Another aspect I enjoyed was the illustrations throughout the book. They fit really well with the poems and I bet they are going to look amazing in person.

Some of my favorites:

* smokey eye
* fixer-upper
* lost and found
* fault lines
* i am become
* better late than never
* mythbuster
* expanse

I really enjoyed this poetry collection! It was such a pleasant surprise!

One of the things I really enjoyed about this collection was the author’s voice. Their voice came across as so soft, almost understated, yet at the same time powerful. Each poem felt like a small, soft punch. I was really into it.

What I liked the most about this book is that the poetry is direct, it doesn't waste our time with cyclic metaphors and riddles. It has a message to pass and it wants it to reach the maximum number of people possible.
This honestly became one of my favourite poetry books ever. It'sbeutiful to read, with simple drawings in between poems that allow the reader to rest their eyes and smile without taking away no of the attention from the poems.
Cyrus has the ability to make the reader feel as if every poem was aimed at the reader in particular with its honesty and kindness.
The only thing that I did not like about this book was the cover, which I would rather have been drawn in the same way has the illustrations inside instead of seeming so "plastic".
My absolute favorite part of this book other than the poem "Spit" which was amazing was the poems in which he spoke about his wife which were of such incredible beauty that was able to make me feel the love he has for her.
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this ARC.

Cyrus Parker blows me away yet again with this brand new poetry collection, Masquerade. This collection had a different kind of vulnerability that the other collection, DROPKICKromance did not have. Although I did love his first collection, I can see the growth that Cyrus has made professionally as an author, and as a person. I feel like this collection really illustrated what it is like to feel like when you don’t fit into the box society has put you in, and the overwhelming realization that occurs when you realize this. I really love the growth that is demonstrated through this collection. Thank you Cyrus for another emotional rollercoaster.

"I was honored with an early copy in exchange of an honest review."
Masquerade touched in places that only words can reach.
If you don't like thinking don't read this book.
If you don't like to get emotional don't read this book.
If you are not okay with sensitive subjects don't read this book.
But if you like poetry, please do yourself a favor and read this book.

If you read one poetry book, I’d recommend this one.

Normally with poetry it’s always a struggle with rating and reviewing because it’s so personal and it can be hard to feel like you’re connecting with what the author is saying. But this one was an instant connection with me. I absolutely love Cyrus’s way of writing. They have this instant way of sucking me in and truly making me feel as if I’m going through it with them. This entire time I was actually nodding my head in agreement and saying “YES YES THIS!!!!” which is a totally new experience for me. I actually got supper emotional at the end because of how much this book really moved me. This touches on identity, self love, family, love, and so much more. It felt really well rounded and I think everyone could find at least one poem in here to relate with. Cyrus is definitely being added to my list of autoread authors, and I can’t wait to see more from them in the future.

The drawing, sektchy and rough added a lot to my experience. They complemented the peoms beautifully, added breathers inbetween the text and were just as stimulating. In fact, I usually critique such drawings but in this case they enhanced my appreciation. (Page 84 just - got to me.)

But I have to admit that I struggled to connect with this collection on a personal level. Identifying with and relishing the poems is something very important to me; it makes it easier for me to dive deeper into the text and win more from it than simple enjoyment. I think that I share very little with the author when it comes to life experience - which is fine! I cannot go around the world only looking for people who are like me but it makes it harder for me to understand, especially with something as personal as poetry.
That is not to say that I hated any of the pieces. In fact, I was marking up parts, in the first part especially, and rereading those several times.

Ever since I found out that Cyrus Parker was married to Amanda Lovelace, one of my favorite poets, I've been wanting to read his books. So I jumped on the opportunity to request this when I saw it was on NetGalley.
This is his second poetry collection, the first one being "dropkick romance", which I, unfortunately, have not yet read. Despite that, after reading this one, I felt like I really knew him. The poems were very relatable and honest.
Now I'm dying to read his first collection and more of what he publishes in the future.

This collection of poetry by Cyrus Park was neutral territory for me. Some poems gripped my heart, others I could go without. This lands squarely right in the middle of so-so.

The collection does have some distressing topics, which I found hard to read. I think that they're important to cover, and I'm glad we have voices that are willing to speak out about hardships, especially around childhood.


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

I don't read a lot of poetry, and this was probably the first time I really fell in love with a book from the genre. Masquerade was everything I don't expect poetry books to be for me.

Reading it, I could feel a frisson of what the poet must've felt while writing them. The pain, the desperation, the hurt...it was all so real. So raw.

I want to applaud the poet for sharing this amazing collection with us. Reading it, I can imagine how personal it must be to them. It takes a lot of courage to share something that personal with the world.

I loved all of the poems, but some of them especially stood out to me. Like, Smokey Eyes...it was so inspiring, so uplifting. And I could practically feel the desperation in Graverobber and I could also relate to it a lot because I'm no stranger to not being able to say what's on the tip of my tongue. i am become, 5:30 a.m. and the final masquerade were all pretty darn amazing too.

Now I'm going to go check if I can afford a paperback copy of this book. I'd recommend you to do the same and order an eBook if you can't afford the paperback because you need to read this one!

Cyrus Parker has cemented their place as a poet i will always love and who will always be able to move me with such deep, profane words. The section on family love especially resonated with me. I know that when the book is released i will be buying it and pouring over these words again. Everyone should read it.

This was a really powerful poetry collection for me. Divided into three parts, it deals with gender dysphoria, toxic family, love, and finding yourself. Several of the poems in the first part really hit me, especially “dysphoria i” and “dysphoria ii.” I loved the poems in the second part around Amanda (guessing/assuming) because the love in them was wonderful. I liked the themes of support and being there in those poems. Cyrus has some in the beginning of part ii about sharing their name with father and grandfather, and page that said “your name is not my name” meant a lot to me though not for same feelings around my name. Overall, this was a great poetry collection that really meant a lot to me to read and I hope to see more from Cyrus in the future~

I love every inch of this book!

This is an unexpected catch from #netgalley. This set of poetry comes as inspirational pieces that will help someone with self realisation amd self actualisation. It was surprising how beautifully it points out the social loopholes!

An obvious five out of five. Eagerly waiting for more from the author.

Cyrus Parker’s Masquerade is a collection of inspiring vulnerability. Broken down into three parts, Parker focuses on issues of childhood, discovery of self, gender dysphoria, relationships with family, exes, their current relationship, and finally, societal expectations. I love this framework. We go from very introspective, very personal, and slowly zoom out to others and then society. The vulnerability sucks you in and the need to understand keeps you going as a reader.
Parker’s own drawings are used throughout the collection. From my perspective as a reader, they laid out an extra beat, some kind of extra emphasis that I really enjoyed. Furthermore, the images added to an atmosphere that felt like a journal. Coupling this with Parker’s mention of their own journals, I thought this was deliberate and well done. The drawings just added to the realness that permeates this collection.
Were I to give one criticism, I thought that the poem The Final Masquerade could go at the end. When I came to it, it felt like a natural end to me as a reader. However, it was just a shift into the true final part of the collection. With this in mind, I completely loved the true ending and the flow of the collection as a whole.
There were two poems I really appreciated: expanse and fault lines. Both spoke to me deeply and I really appreciated Parker’s vulnerability in these moments. Purely as a reader, and not as a reviewer, I adored the words they said. I needed those words as a person and I am grateful for that.
I have to say I enjoyed this collection even more than Cyrus Parker’s first collection. I think they have only grown as a writer since then and I am awaiting the next poetry collection. Overall, I would recommend Masquerade to fans of Amanda Lovelace, Nikita Gill, Rupi Kaur, and anyone who has even the slightest interest not just in poetry, but in vulnerability.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

This is a raw, heartbreaking and tender poetry collection I wish a lot of people should read. I also liked the illustrations.