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Sheri | A Fictional Interlude

@afictionalinterlude

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🙋🏽‍♀️ 🇳🇬 in 🇨🇦
📚 Fantasy, Romance, Literary Fiction

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Meet the Bookstagrammer: The Sheri Starter Pack.

I felt like an updated “meet the bookstagrammer” post was in order as in the last one, I talked about being on maternity leave and now that baby is almost 2!

Hi, I’m Sheri: fantasy fangirl, romance lover, part-time emotional mess, and professional procrastinator.

If you’re new here, welcome to the chaos. If you’ve been here a while, pretend you’re meeting me for the first time and be impressed.

This account is where thoughtful reviews on the grid, witty banter in the DMs, and unhinged ramblings in stories collide.

What would be in your starter pack? Drop it below. Let’s overshare. by @afictionalinterlude

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65

2 years ago

Y’all, please swipe to witness the one scene that sums up this entire book. If I had to write 10 things I hated about this love interest, I could fill a whole notebook. So explain to me why I was still rooting for him like a clown? Never have I ever supported a love that hurt so much.

We follow Moroti on her search for a love aligned with the stars after being informed by a matchmaker that the best match for her, as a Taurus, is a Virgo. And that’s how our good sis found herself speed-running through a roster of unrepentant fuckboys that had me telling my buddy reading babe @nenye_wordsandwhatnot that celibacy or homosexuality would very much be ideal. The streets were rough and Moroti was not spared!

I went into this not knowing the specific tropes involved come to find out it’s my favourite one???? Scrim! As always, Adesuwa delivers a banger. I’m always in awe of how real her stories feel, how layered the emotions are, how familiar the characters come across, how easy it is to see yourself (or that one ex you avoid) in them. And because of all this, expectedly the dynamics with Moroti’s main love interest hurt so bad.

I went from I hate him to I love him to I DETEST him to oh my poor baby angel whom I would protect with my life. That’s testament to how well written this is because you feel it all so strongly. I always appreciate how Adesuwa doesn’t write infallible main characters; they’re messy, yearning, stubborn, learning in real time and that’s honestly why her stories are so relatable.

Thank you to my beloved @lipglossmaffia for gifting me this book.

PS: A longer form review will be up on the Something Bookish website soonish so if this doesn’t convince you to pick this book up already, that one surely will!😉 by @afictionalinterlude

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21

8 months ago

January was…chaos.
My reading was all over the place and them books put me through it. Despite the superlatives, I enjoyed the majority of these. They gave drama, trauma, and also a scene that will haunt me every menstrual cycle (thank you, Jennette McCurdy)

How was January for you? Any book recs I need to add to my TBR?📚 by @afictionalinterlude

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26

8 months ago

Get you friends like mine who send you signed copies from Nigeria. My first autographed babies 🥹🥹🥹Amynnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, you’re too sweet to me! Anybody who comes across this babe soon, give her a smooch on the lips, thank you very much!

Y’all know I adore Adesuwa’s stories over here so I’m elated to hold a copy of her new book (eek!) And Fatima Bala’s Broken has been on my TBR but I was so excited to get my hands on Hafsatu Bebi that I started it already! Thank you so much @lipglossmaffia @aka.fatima.bala for facilitating this. You’ve made me one happy (somewhat teary-eyed) girlie!💃🏻 by @afictionalinterlude

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10 months ago

What’s a show you found way too painful to keep watching?

I read Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale last weekend and now I suddenly feel compelled to go back and rewatch the show from the beginning. I stopped after a couple of seasons because I simply could not deal. If there’s one storyline guaranteed to destroy me on sight, it’s women separated from their children. Every episode felt like an emotional demolition: anger, desperation, anger, helplessness, anger, determination, and did I mention anger? Because wow. I was unwell.

But now that the book is fresh in my head, I feel like I owe it to Atwood, and honestly to these not quite unprecedented times where women do not have complete body autonomy, to not look away this time. The novel is prophetic and terrifying in how plausible it feels. It’s evident that Atwood didn’t write this dystopia for shock value but rather as a warning rooted in history and human behaviour, and that’s why the adaptation hits so hard. Ignoring warning signs just because they haven’t reached your doorstep has never ended well for anyone.

I’m incredibly grateful to the wonderful team at @mcclellandstewart for sending me this stunning 40th anniversary limited edition of The Handmaid’s Tale, available exclusively at your local indie bookstore, along with a finished copy of Margaret Atwood’s memoir, Book of Lives. Two sides of the same brilliant mind: the warning, and the woman who wrote it.

#BookofLives
#MargaretAtwood
#YearofAtwood
#TheHandmaidsTale
#HandmaidsTale40 by @afictionalinterlude

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7

a year ago

Petition for Suzanne Collins to retire this series
Ahn ahn, it’s enough!

I realised recently that I never got around to posting about my first read of The Hunger Games Series. I’ve seen all of the movies multiple times (except for TBOSAS because ophidiophobia said once is enough) but for years, the thought of reading the books always seemed daunting because my imagination is far too vivid and has the propensity to be a lot worse than what’s shown on screen.

The one thing I appreciate most about the adaptations now that I’ve read the books is how closely they stuck to the source material. They captured the heart of the story without diluting the brutality or the moral weight behind it. Rather than cherry-pick screen-worthy plot points, they stayed true to the moments of resistance and the psychological unraveling of characters living under an oppressive state. It’s rare for an adaptation to understand not only the story but its intent. Because beyond what to most probably seems far fetched, this series is a masterclass in political storytelling. It’s an unsettling reflection on propaganda and the way systems manufacture spectacle to control people. It hits even harder now with the current state of the world👀.

I’m not looking forward to being eviscerated by the emotional giant that is bound to be the Sunrise on the Reaping movie but at this point, I’m locked in. This is a series that has been consistently well written from start to finish but yeah, Suzanne, let’s wrap it up now.

PS: See how I covertly covered up the snakey covers?🙈 by @afictionalinterlude

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26

a year ago

#sponsored Margaret Atwood might as well have said “let me tell you about my fascinating, slightly feral childhood and the chaos that followed”.

Book of Lives isn’t your typical overly polished, noticeably curated memoir. It’s sprawling, a testament to the life she’s lived so far. It’s also funny and so emotionally sharp it catches you off guard. Atwood takes us from her childhood in the wilds of northern Quebec (picture a small child growing up amidst trees, bugs, and the occasional existential thoughts) all the way to literary stardom and somehow makes every monumental stage feel commonplace. She makes her extraordinary life sound so normal.

Her tone is engaging and witty, almost like having tea with your gran while she tells you about her life. Atwood isn’t performing, she’s just being herself and the person we get to know is weirdly observant and bitingly witty. This memoir felt super honest to me. You know the honesty you achieve at an older age when you’re less worried about how people perceive you, so you’re willing to say things as they are rather than tying them up in a pretty bow.

There’s no tidy lesson here, just a panorama of her life unfolding through memories and reflections. My favourite part of reading this was finding out just how much of her work was influenced by her lived reality.

I found this memoir wise and oftentimes hilarious, the kind of book you highlight every other page in and draw parallels with your own life; because so much of it feels deeply personal as if she were directly speaking to each reader.

#BookofLives
#MargaretAtwood
#YearofAtwood by @afictionalinterlude

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10

a year ago

Second chance romance has the power to undo me in the most spectacular way. There’s no other trope that can replicate the sheer depth of emotion - the ache of loving someone for years, losing them, and then finding your way back when it felt impossible. It’s devastating and beautiful all at once.

It was different this time though (sorry, title pun, I had to do it🙈). June and Adam did not previously have a romance in the traditional sense. They were everything but lovers. They were each other’s whole world; anchor, mirror, and home. Their connection ran so deep that the romance almost felt secondary. From the way the author built up their story, it was evident there could never be anyone else for them. And when they fell apart, you feel the pain of their estrangement just as deeply because the loss of that kind of bond is excruciating.

I loved everything about this book - the setting and vibes were immaculate, the side characters were the absolute best. But I loved it mostly because of how real it felt. Yes, June was a little dumdum who did infact STRESS my entire existence, but it still was realistic. The fear of saying too much. The way we’d rather suffer silently than risk rejection. The irony that trying to protect your heart often hurts more than honesty ever could.

I also appreciated that there’s quite a bit of accountability that is not often had in stories where the characters are so consumed by each other. This book doesn’t shy away from the fallout: the collateral damage, the people hurt along the way, the realization that in protecting yourself from the traumas of your past, you’ve visited that same hurt on another.

I could not put this down. I’ve never met a second chance romance I didn’t love, and I’m glad to say that streak continues. Thank you @penguincanada for gifting me this brilliant debut and introducing me to a new author.

PS: Don’t let anybody gaslight you into believing it’s completely platonic with their hot bestie. Thank you very much. by @afictionalinterlude

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a year ago

Day 31 #sbphotochallenge25 - Shortest vs Longest.
103 pages vs 830 pages.
It took me fiftyleven years to get through one of these. I’ll let you guess which 💀

Last day of this photo challenge and I’m glad it’s forced me to be more present on my grid. Now let’s see if I can keep it up😬
See you next year, Amyn @something__bookish by @afictionalinterlude

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14

a year ago

#ad Your guide to the Atwood library, a.k.a. “how to lose faith in society, elegantly.”

Every book in this guide proves that Margaret Atwood didn’t just write fiction, she wrote the instruction manual for our timeline.

I’m equal parts intimidated and impressed. Her work feels timeless and timely at once: part myth, part mirror. She’s been writing about power, identity, and survival for 60 years and somehow, every page still feels like right now.

#BookofLives
#MargaretAtwood
#YearofAtwood by @afictionalinterlude

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2

a year ago

Day 27 #sbphotochallenge25 - The complete works of…

Octavia E. Butler❤️

I have this compulsion to collect as many works of an author off of ONE book by them I read and loved. Case in point, I once owned 23 books by Colleen Hoover😭. The gateway to my Octavia Butler obsession was Parable of the Sower, and unlike CoHo, every book I’ve read after that, I have LOVED.

I got most of these from Book Outlet as the frugal bookish babe that I am, and I’m still on the lookout to complete my collection. by @afictionalinterlude

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24

a year ago

Looking back over my booksta photos to make this reel had me hella nostalgic 🥹
So glad to have this space.

Day 25 #sbphotochallenge25 - Hand in frame by @afictionalinterlude

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30

a year ago