This is a powerful and emotional collection about love, loss, and healing. The poems feel personal but also relatable, and they truly made me want to sit back and think for a while after reading. The poems are both heartbreaking and hopeful and the book is one that I would recommend.

Burn After Reading by Jessica Ciencin Henriquez is a poignant and intimate poetry collection that invites readers to explore the raw, unspoken emotions that define our shared human experience. In her debut collection, Henriquez combines traditional verse with innovative erasure poetry, a form that removes or alters words to reveal new meanings, to delve into themes of grief, shame, suffering, and love. The poems in this collection are a meditation on the complexities of life and the emotional landscapes that shape us.

Henriquez’s writing is deeply personal and unflinching, yet it also feels universal, offering a sense of connection to those who may have similarly struggled with their own unspoken emotions. Each poem in Burn After Reading is like a delicate unravelling, gently peeling away the layers that we often hide behind. The themes of loss and suffering are explored with striking honesty, yet there is also an element of reclamation and growth. Through her words, Henriquez extends a hand to her readers, encouraging them to confront their darkest emotions and ultimately find moments of stillness and renewal.

The collection’s title, Burn After Reading, evokes a sense of fleeting, fragile moments, much like the poems themselves, which capture the stillness before transformation. As the book progresses, there is a clear evolution—what is burned and discarded, what is lost in the ashes, becomes a part of the journey toward self-discovery and healing. This journey, while not without pain, is also deeply human and, in its quiet and tender moments, profoundly uplifting.

Henriquez’s mastery of language and form makes Burn After Reading a deeply moving and inspiring collection, offering both solace and the courage to embrace the complexities of our emotional worlds. Her ability to articulate feelings that are often left unspoken makes this collection a treasure for those seeking a raw, honest exploration of the human heart.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Thanks netgalley for this book.
Yeah, poetry still isn't really for me. But this one wasn't bad or anything. I like some of the poems tbh. Also like that some poems got repeated, but with certain words bold, showing hidden messages/meanings. Thought they were nice, i like that. But still don't fully know how to read poetry, think i will never learn, that's okay. The book isn't really made for kindle tho, i think. The format was a bit weird there. There were also moments where the space between words missed, so the sentence was a little harder to read.

This book is stunning. I copied at least a dozen to add to my art journal from the year documenting an abusive divorce.

Burn After Reading by Jessica Ciencin Henriquez is a beautiful and deeply emotional collection of poetry. Each piece feels raw and intimate, the kind of writing that stays with you long after you’ve turned the page. It’s the perfect book to keep on your shelf, revisit often, and mark the poems that speak to your soul the most. A must-have for poetry lovers who appreciate words that cut deep and heal at the same time.

This debut release from Henriquez captures life and humanity from birth to death, addressing personal topics including adjusting to motherhood, romantic relationships, trauma and grief, and simply put: what it is like to live and experience life. As is often the case with such a personal text, some readers will relate more so to certain portions of this book than others, depending on one's own life experiences. I personally found that a handful of the poems resonated with me and objectively noted that Henriquez is a strong writer who uses compelling language which is capable of pulling the reader in.

Henriquez features several poems which utilize "erasure" poetry, using blacked-out text. However, reading via Kindle Edition, I did not realize this was the case until going to write my own review and noting that other reviews had mentioned this technique. Other readers should take note that reading the Kindle Edition of this book while reading on a screen with "dark mode" turned on may remove the feature used that allows the "erasure" poetry to show properly on your screen, as it did for me; on my screen, I saw 2 copies of the same poem repeated twice, which was a bit confusing during my original read-through!

Thank you to NetGalley, Rev Publishing and Jessica Ciencin Henriquez for providing a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rev Publishing for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Spoiler: this was so beautifully heart-breaking.

I devoured this poetry collection. The unique use of prose and lyrics turned this very personal collection into a universal experience. The author took us through a journey of loss, grief, healing and self-discovery.

It was a journey in itself. The book started off in a dark place of despair, and it kept moving forward into new experiences.

I have so much appreciation for the journey ‘Burn after reading’ took me on.

There’s a certain kind of satisfaction felt when reading something like this and witnessing how such artistic beauty can evolve from the abyss of grief and darkness.

Superb.

I received an ARC for this title in the hopes of my voluntarily leaving an honest review— which I have just supplied, using an opinion that is solely my own.

I really enjoyed these poems and how they so easily make you feel so much. I really loved the use of erasure poetry. A beautiful and powerful debut. I'll definitely be looking for more.

Dawnny Ruby
Hudson Valley NY

Burn After Reading by Jessica Ciencin Henriquez is such a deeply personal collection, while at the same time it resonates profoundly. Many universal themes, such as personal identity, motherhood, and grief, are explored and examined, and I found myself completely immersed in these beautifully flowing, unfiltered verses. I look forward to reading much more from this new voice, one that will clearly leave an indelible mark.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rev Publishing for an ARC.

Thanks to Rev Publishing, NetGalley and Jessica C. Henriquez for the opportunity to read this beautiful work of art.

This book somehow manages to feel personal and emotive right from the get with no poem feeling lesser than the next.
Thankyou to Jessica for giving us a beautiful insight into your world, inviting us in to feel it with you.
Many of these will stay with me.

I gave this book 5 stars and I’ll happily share why. First, thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Ciencin Henriquez, and Rev Publishing for the opportunity to read an early release of Burn After Reading. This book is incredibly moving, crafted with depth, intention, and clearly written for the readers it was meant to reach. I am one of those readers. The book resonated with me on such an intimate level that I felt both protective of the author and a bit jealous of anyone else who discovers it. Henriquez’s stories and experiences are bound to resonate with many, especially in the poems like Home, Before and Press Between Pages. I found genuine solace in her words. The best way I can describe this book is generous—it reads as though it were written just for you. I thoroughly enjoyed the erasure poetry and found myself wishing she’d used it more throughout each section. Overall, I’d say Henriquez is tenacious, original, and undoubtedly has a long, impactful career ahead of her.

This was a very emotive read with some great poems. I loved the Embers and Ashes chapters and felt the most when reading them. However it's only a 3 star as I felt like a lot of them were just filler and gave me no emotion. The short poems after most poems were good at first and my favourite part at the beginning however after a while they became repetitive and gave me nothing.

A poem collection that really had me go into my feelings. I loved the hidden meanings of some of the poems . I recommend this to every person that loves true telling yet soft and heartfelt words.

Thanks to Rev Publishing, Jessica C. Henriquez and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this beautiful book of love, life and survival. I am new to reading poetry and in reading these poems my heart was just torn from the depth of the authors words. From her poems of love to her words of redemption and hurt. I see now that every poem is telling a story and through her words we are reliving it with her. The presented messages within every poem was a true delight.

Thank you Jessica for giving a small glance of your life and the beautiful way it was presented to the world. I especially loved your poem titled "Cage". It was an Honor to read. This has encouraged me to read more poetry as this book left me wanting more. Highly recommend to all genre of readers.

Burn After Reading is the kind of book you’ll want to read with a pencil in hand, underlining line after line. Every poem feels like a pebble of truth, slingshotted through the sky aimed straight at your soul! Truth you didn’t know you needed to hear. Jessica’s words are sharp, intimate, and deeply felt, making you pause and lean into the weight of each emotion she brings to the surface. This poetry collection is so needed. I found myself turning back to certain pages, specific poems *create her* and *first breath* especially, This book is a shelf staple for any bookstore or library.

This collection truly hot me hard, it has so many different styles of poetry that all fit s well together and really speak to the reader to give them what they need.

Beautiful poetry. Thought-provoking verses. Beautiful imagery throughout. I definitely recommend this collection.

This poetry collection is very heartfelt and willowy. The wording is very lyrical and resonates with the soul of the reader.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rev Publishing and Jessica Ciencin Henriquez for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.


I devoured this poetry collection in a couple of hours and know a re-read will be coming soon. Henriquez' use of masterful prose alongside unique structuring makes for a pleasant yet utterly heartbreaking reading experience.


The author takes the reader through a journey exploring grief, loss, pain, healing, self discovery and a love of life itself in a way that is evocative and makes the reader feel like they have an insight into their psyche in a way that is intimately personal.


"You will chase the ordinary days that you race to leave behind"


The author implores the reader to take every day as it comes with whatever challenges that come. To be present in the moment and feel all the emotions life brings negative or otherwise.


"After fire what remains is truth"


Thoughout the poetry collection the use of erasure poetry is used often. A little snippet or reward to the reader to see the message that was otherwise left unspoken. It is used somewhat frequently and is implemented well and keeps the reader wanting more and seeing insights that may not be apparent on a first read. In the titular poem "burn after reading" the above quote is left after erasure as the last line to read. An insightful closing line for this collection further provoking the reader to look back and analyse those poems more.


I do not read poetry nearly as often as I would like, but I will be looking out for more from this author in the future.