I didn't expect to be blown away. I didn't expect to love it. I expected to read a bunch of lofty poetry that I'd only understand a smidge of. I got it as much as someone who is not Cyrus Parker can get it. It was beautiful. It was sad. It was happy. I related to some of it. I can never understand some of it but I can still appreciate the words and emotions.

This is my first modern poetry book and it will be on my favorites list.

This was great.

I did not like this. I did not like this one bit. I found the writing style to be too simplistic and surface level. The book read like a series of tweets. And this is all really unfortunate because I went into this book really wanting to love it but I just can't.
Things I appreciate: the layout and formatting. Both made the book easy to read and I flew threw it in about half an hour.
I also really appreciate how throughout reading this book I could feel how therapeutic it was for the author to write. The subject matters would not be easy for the author to write about and I do really appreciate he courage it took to put the words on the page. In that aspect, the book is great and I really do commend the author for writing it.
That said, the style was just so simplistic, there was a lot of telling and not much showing. I think the subject matters are really important, I just wish more had been written into the poems. I wish they were explored more and developed further. This book reads as the rushed first draft of what could be a really impactful collection of poems, if they were developed further.

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for providing me with an e-arc of "coffee days and whiskey nights" by: Cyrus Parker in exchange for an honest review.

Cyrus Parker’s “Coffee Days, Whiskey Nights” is like the first sip of coffee in the morning, filled with hope & possibilities in the midst of despair; and the sharp bite of a shot of whiskey sliding down your throat & burning warmly in your stomach, washing all the bad feelings & thoughts away along with it. Their words have a bite. a kick. They are REAL. Relatable. The sliver of light in the midst of a storm. This collection is the perfect read for the hellish year that is 2020. It speaks to your anxiety, your all consuming depression, and reminds you that no matter what, there is still hope & everything will be okay.

I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Coffee Days Whiskey Nights is a poetry book set out with white and black pages and text to show a contrasting view of life.

I enjoyed this book well enough for what it was but it was not super memorable. In my opinion, this book felt like much of the other tumblr/instagram poetry that you see regularly these days and did not feel super unique. There were a few poems that did stick out to me (unsure if they're titled or not due to the formatting of the eARC) but many more that were not as wonderful.
I would still recommend picking up this book because the poems that are good are very relatable.

Coffee Days, Whiskey Nights is a beautiful collection of life.
Experience, thought, utterance, and struggle.
Both lived and and not. Pondered and not. Conscious and not.
Day versus night. Friend versus foe.
Win versus loss.
In a war where one is never really sure which side is the right one.
Though there are very somber and sometimes triggering topics discussed among this book's pages.
Their treatment is one of honesty, clarity, ownership, and hope.

This is a book that allows one to see that while we may want to run from the darker aspects of life.
To the light, sound, and noise of distraction.
There is yet something to be said for having the bravery.to explore the pain, uncertainty, even the destruction found in those shadowed places.
In order that one might gather the broken shards of expectation, disappointment, betrayal, and hurt.
Sit with them in the darkness.
And after a time.
Integrating them into one's self and daring to refashion that brokenness into a solid and shining promise of self acceptance and love.
On which one can build a foundation for a better and more stable tomorrow.

Thank you to Netgalley and author, Cyrus Parker for their provision of the review copy of the aforementioned work. Upon which this unbiased critique is based.

“Coffee days, whiskey nights” is a poetry collection that deals with difficult issues such as depression, death, anxiety, gender dysphoria, body image, eating disorders or alcohol use. But it’s also hopeful and talks about healing and taking back your life. I love the contrast between the coffee day poems written on white pages and the whiskey night poems on black pages.

TITLE: Coffee Days, Whiskey Nights

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GENRE: Poetry

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SYNOPSIS: Cyrus Parker presents a collection of poetry about contrasts: light and dark, love and depression, coffee and whiskey, appearance and reality. It is a volume about feeling at odds with the world, with your emotions and brain, and with your body. The poems come in pairs, one for the morning and the gathering of strength to face the day, and one for the night and facing the reality of struggling and suffering.

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THOUGHTS: Honestly, this one wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. Or coffee. There were definitely nice aspects about it: I liked the premise of juxtaposing poems with morning and nighttime moods, optimistic and pessimistic. I thought it was a good way to approach the swings in mood and spirit that depression, anxiety, and a feeling of not belonging can cause. I thought Parker executed this balance well. Stylistically, however, the writing was pretty simplistic. I did not get a sense of rhythm or momentum in most of the poems, the language was elementary, and it didn’t really feel like poetry, even considered within the tradition of more modern/“internet” poets like Rupi Kaur, r. h. Sin, and Amanda Lovelace. I thought the idea behind this book was better than its execution. The book was also on the short side (it took me about 20 minutes to read). That said, it still has some valuable subject matter that may speak to many readers, so it’s not without some value.

Poetry, in its true form, is something that finds its place in your heart and stays with you for a while. This is it. This is the truest, rawest form of poetry that I’ve come across in a long time.
Fair warning: the book gets dark. Very dark. And it hits you in the gut. Hard.
The entire book shows two contradictions in one’s life; the morning coffee which brings in a brand new day and positivity and opportunity, and the late night glass of whiskey which makes you ponder over failures and remorse and anxiety. The same is shown through the black and white alternate pages.
The writing style is very flowy and smooth and puts forth a vulnerable front. It shows one’s daily struggles and self-confessions of what we tend to think of ourselves.
The book pokes on some very hefty topics of body image, sexuality, remorse, eating disorders and so much more. Things we all go through but are afraid to talk about out loud. It also shows healing and growth and self-acceptance. It is an entire journey in verse.
And okay, okay, I will accept this. It made me cry. Like, silent tears and then bawling and then the happy ones.
As for the author; it takes a whole lot of courage to pen down the innermost complex emotions, especially ones of the haunting past, and they have done it brilliantly!
I loved this one and I will cherish this book for a long time. And of course, I highly recommend this one.

Thank you for the ARC

I enjoyed this book. The prose was incredibly well written and emotive.

I liked the way the book had light and shade within its writing, and also within the layout too. The book is written in 2nd person, and this made it seem even more personable. This book helps to show that despite being a 'positive person' you can still experience negative thoughts and slight 'blips' throughout the space of one day. I loved the fact that this book stems one day - this is so very original and not something I have seen before within a poetry collection.

Despite the book being so short in length - it really does pack a punch. Some might say that it has trigger warnings for depression and anxiety - but having experienced both depression and anxiety I felt it slightly comforting to see it mixed in with positive and light thoughts too. It helped for me to see that other people experience it too.

Title: coffee days whiskey nights
By: Cyrus Parker
Published: Central Avenue Publishing
Genre: LGBTQIA | Poetry
Pub Date: 08 Sep 2020
Review Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3339646498

Coffee Days Whiskey Nights is a anthology which shows how the mind is both light and dark. It illustrates how within the course of a day how our mind can take us to different thoughts, good, bad and back. Some of the darkest pieces are followed by the most hope filled. Parker's work is based on some of the hardest yet most important topics. Such as depression, addiction, and body dysmorphia.

It is clear by the writing that the poet is expressing their fears, trauma and desires. There is obvious addiction and eating disorders. The poet also writs about body dysmorphiia, lack of self trust and low self esteem. I becomes apparent that the main focus of the work is mental health.

Style changes in one or two pieces and gives the poem a different tone and/or feel. This slowed down the word and made a stronger impact of the words.

I found this book of poems a positive if emotive read. You may wonder how with such a dark content but I felt as if some found the words to express my physiological feelings. Though I do not suffer in the exact same way as Parker, I felt understood or at least not alone in my thinking. When the writer expresses their addiction to food and alcohol I empathise with them and see them as similar to my own compulsions.

In a few short words queued together Parker managed to portray suffering that most fail to adequately portray in a 800 word novel.

Not only did this work affect me as a reader bu also as a writer. I finally feel that there is a poet who's style and themes I connect with. I would not only recommend this anthology but I plan to buy it for myself. In short if this book of poems does not move the reader to emotion I do not know what could.

I truly enjoyed this work of poetry. I enjoyed the subject matter of this work, the way it was written, how it goes from day to night, and how it gives readers hope while being honest. This was a fast, easy read that I truly loved.

"I am an all-or-nothing type of person, which is to say i never love anyone or anything halfway- and i can't tell if that is halfway good or halfway bad."

"I will survive despite you."

"No matter the size of my clothes,
no matter how well they fit,
my body is the most
uncomfortable thing i wear."

Coffee Days Whiskey Nights has a very unique concept in that on all the pages on the left side you have the "coffee days" which typically contain the more hopeful, happy poems and the "whiskey nights" which are the more insecure, unhappy poems. I loved this way of publishing the poetry, and I really think having some kind of organizational method in a poetry collection helps readers digest the words.

Unfortunately some of this collection seemed like rambling, unorganized thoughts that weren't relatable. The poems that were relatable or inspirational seemed to only be so in a vague "anyone could have said it way," that's similar to inspirational tweets that go viral, for example. Good words but unspecific, and you aren't sure where it really came from because they aren't incredibly profound. This was disappointing for me because I had been really looking forward to this collection. I think Cyrus Parker has a lot of writing potential and a lot of thoughts to put to paper, and one day when all their skills are honed we'll be blown away.

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for this advanced review copy.

This was a truly astonishing collection of modern poetry.

I've struggled with mental and physical health from a young age, so the soul shattering bluntness of the first half of this book was both a blessing and yet hard to read. I felt like the author was writing my darkest thoughts. And yet I turned the last page of this with a smile on my crying face. Why? Because the author managed to seamlessly turn this collection into a spark of hope. It was truly beautiful.

I'd also like to quickly give a shoutout to the amazing color play between the 'good' poems and the 'bad' ones. It created an atmosphere for the words, especially as I read this as an ebook.

Again, incredible. Read this.

Oh guys, how do you review poetry books?

First off, love me a book with trigger warnings UP FRONT. We need to normalize this to put into EVERY BOOK. Also, the edition ???? is beautiful ???? how ??? Stunning.

My constant state while reading this was “did I write this?” ‘cause so much sameness, but, BUT. I feel extremely underwhelmed by this. Like I’ll be “same” with almost every poem but… nothing else. It wasn’t a “omg same!! they put it into words!!” but more like a “same” and keep scrolling. Maybe (probably) it’s because I’ve been thinking and reading and writing about these topics (anxiety, depression, coffee, alcohol, binge-eating, cutting people off, feeling lonely and never reaching out, and overall selfhate) for YEARS now, but even though the book is OK it won’t make a lasting impression on me, no more than a tweet would.

My biggest problem with this book was its inconsistency, tho. There were some poems that just… I feel like they don’t belong to this book. How do you go from “I don’t know what I love anymore so don’t tell me to do what I love because nothing even excites me” to “go! See! Walk and write and read and love! Just!! Enjoy things!!” I don’t know what the author is feeling anymore. And like, I get it, I feel like that countless times in A DAY but this is supposed to be a book??? With a message or something??? I get that we are all contradictory in our feelings and our lives, but the book shouldn’t be. I don’t know if the author wanted to say “I feel you” or “just! Don’t be depressed anymore!” and it really put me off.

So, yeah. I don’t know how I’m feeling after reading it. It didn’t moved me but then again, maybe it’s just me.

Also I’m sorry, I know its fashionable now, but I can’t accept that we are wasting three pages of book in a two-lined poem. Just… no.

This was a short collection, but oh my god- it’s like it spoke to my soul. This read was unbelievably relatable. Parker takes you from the hope that springs from a new morning and dives deep into the trenches that present themselves at night. The work wonderfully touches on the modern millennial experience and I already can’t wait to reread it.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book! A more comprehensive review will be posted on social media closer to the date of release.

First of all I want to thank Netgalley, Cyrus Parker, and Central Avenue Publishing for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Reminder: if you are easily triggered with sensitive topics such as anxiety, depression, and body dysphoria, you need to practice self-care before, while, and after reading this.

In the first few poems I doesn't feel connected to it. But after a while, I begin to feel cozy while reading the poems. When it says it talks about depression, anxiety, and body dysphoria, it's actually is. It lived up to the expectations about talking those issues. The poems are so sad that it makes me want to hug the narrator. You can clearly tell by the poems that the narrator is struggling but still choose to fight and survive. This maybe a book that's so honest with sensitive topics, but it's also honestly saying that there is hope at everything. It also talks about being yourself no matter what. Even though it has some deep messages I still enjoyed it. I think this will be a perfect poetry book for people who are struggling with anxiety, depression, and body image issues.

It's difficult to write a review for a poetry collection. I really liked it and found some of the things talked about to be relatable. I'm not sure who to recommend this to though. I guess if you typically like poetry and maybe want/need something about anxiety or depression that has an ultimately positive message, then you should read this.

Very thought provoking and emotionally raw with themes that I feel most readers can identify with. This was my first poetry book by Cyrus Parker, and while I enjoyed their book, I will say that I'm a bigger fan of their wife, Amanda Lovelace. I feel like a majority of the poems touched me and resonated with me, but others I didn't feel connected to, thus the less than stellar rating. Despite that, the book was very compelling and emotionally complex, and i feel blessed that Cyrus was able to share their views with me through their beautiful poetry.

Cyrus Parker has a beautiful way of writing, My favorite poems were those about anxiety. I find it hard to rate a collection because each poem is unique, and tells it’s own story. I did really enjoy this collection and will be buying my own copy.