Chaos. Comfort. Repeat 😗

Some books don’t just hurt, they haunt. I’m talking soul-crushing, jaw-on-the-floor, staring-at-the-wall-at-3am kind of reads. These first six books? Diabolical. Heart-shattering. Brilliant. Real. I will always remember where I was sitting at the end of Catching Fire, The Kite Runner had me sobbing as a sophomore in high school, The Devil All the Time was beautiful in a twisted way, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz shattered me with quiet brutality. Then there's Kingdom of Ash and Golden Son - who gave SJM and Pierce Brown permission to hurt me like that??

But after all that emotional devastation and staring into the black soul of humanity, I have to cleanse my soul with the goodness of humanity. That’s when I turn to my comfort books—the ones I’ll reread forever, the literary warm blankets. Pride and Prejudice for the timeless slow burn and humble forgiveness, A Discovery of Witches for cozy academia meets supernatural romance, Heir of Fire because, yes, I like pain but also healing (thank you, Rowan), Beach Read for the emotional rom-com feels with real human issues, Half-Blood Prince because even when the world is dark and uncertain, there’s always time for laughter, and Twilight because… well, I love to be stuck in 2009 sometimes.

Balance is key. Trauma and tenderness, pain and peace, destruction and Harry Potter with a pygmy puff tattoo - iykyk. 📚✨