I don’t really vibe with memoirs that don’t seem to have a narrative thread. Jumping between periods of Sante’s life, this memoir wasn’t compelling to me. It would have benefitted from a strong editing process. There was also the fact that there were things that had nothing to do with Sante’s transition, just anecdotes about her life, that didn’t add much. I also listened to the audiobook narrated by the author, and I think her interpretation wasn’t good. There was rarely any emotion or intonation, it often felt like she was reading someone else’s work. Overall, I appreciate a trans elder telling their story, but this could’ve been a much stronger work.

I was scared to read this. Just from the summary, I could sense this had a tragedy that I don’t really do well with when it comes to queer stories, given there’s so much of that in reality, including my own life. But I am so thankful I took that risk because “Blessings” was one of the most beautiful and heartwrenching depictions of what growing up gay in a homophobic society is. Obiefuna and Uzoamaka’s perspectives completed each other in such a wholesome manner, showing acceptance comes from within, while hatred is taught. The family dynamics were really interesting, with Obiefuna’s brother Ekene being surprising.

I loved how the timeline spanned since he was a child to being in his early twenties, showing how much an environment influences the way someone approaches life. The real-life dimension that came in at the end with Nigeria criminalising homosexuality really took my breath away. It drove in the message with such strength. Overall, the writing was incredibly balanced without exaggeration, yet it had a strong emotional impact on me.

This is such a powerful recount of what it means to be a (trans) woman. How femininity is villainized and how it adheres to strict standards in the face of masculinity—but also about how violence is perpetuated by men and women alike in patriarchy. It was short but the questioning it brought up was strong. The points made were important and opened up new consideration even for someone who’s well versed in feminist talk points.

That was a beautiful reimagining of the Trojan war. Both Cassandra and Helen took my breath away, they were such a powerful representation of women. I didn’t think much of Helen in general as she remains quite a mysterious figure in Greek mythology, but her interpretation here made me fall in love with her. The slow burn between her and Cassandra was incredible. They had such a wonderful love story that would’ve made me fight a war to keep them safe. I love that this story affirms they weren’t just a casualty, they were the main actors of the war.

I had a problem with the pacing, paired with my difficulty to be immersed in a story immediately, which made it that for 60% of the book I wasn’t hooked and I didn’t see where this would go. I feel it would’ve been better if more significant things happened during the first half, but unfortunately it’s a lot of build up through land politics. Herla and Aethel’s chemistry was incredible, I was kicking my feet whenever they had an interaction, but it’s not the majority of the book. The ending was also unexpected and uncalled for, which dampened the entire excitement I had gained over the second half. I did love the writing though, it felt very vivid and cinematic.