Not my favorite of Lovelace’s collections. This collection of poems borderline in self-help advice. And my thought have always been, don’t take adviceNot my favorite of Lovelace’s collections. This collection of poems borderline in self-help advice. And my thought have always been, don’t take advice from someone who’s ________ you don’t want. Well considering I don’t know anything about her personally (nothing against her per se, just don’t know), these self help-ish poems make it a little difficult to know whether or not I’m enjoying the collection as I read. “Hmm that sounds lovely but it also sounds like advice I don’t know that I would take.” Kinda like a Taylor Swift song, ya know…(but not quite as good). But of course, anytime an author puts their heart out there in writing and poetry, I am in awe. I just think this one was a miss for me.
**received an arc galley for my honest review...more
This is my second Lovelace book, and I *think* I like it more. About half of the poems I absolutely adore. The other half were just a brand of feminisThis is my second Lovelace book, and I *think* I like it more. About half of the poems I absolutely adore. The other half were just a brand of feminism that’s not for me. I love her healing and her beauty and her strength that she shows through her poems. There are just a few that don’t sit with me is all. I know a lot of people out there will love this tho. ...more
This is so much more than a poetry book. It’s a book of art. Because MHN is both an artist and poet, every poem is accompanied by a piece of her artwoThis is so much more than a poetry book. It’s a book of art. Because MHN is both an artist and poet, every poem is accompanied by a piece of her artwork and they both bring each other so much depth. It’s more than uplifting words on a page or strokes of paint. They form a whole new form of art when they are combined to work together. Yes, her poetry is uplifting encouragement. Some might not particularly like poetry that as such. But I think, as a whole, don’t we have enough dark, grittiness in life. Aren’t we all in need of a little more light and beauty in our world? That’s what this Poetry art collection did for me. It brought more light and beauty! ...more
I have seen Amanda Lovelace's books EVERYWHERE. (I mean, who hasn't.) And the simple covers have always drawn my attention. Then the titles. Just so cI have seen Amanda Lovelace's books EVERYWHERE. (I mean, who hasn't.) And the simple covers have always drawn my attention. Then the titles. Just so creative in their simplicity. This, however, was my first read of hers. I like that they are not just individual poems compiled into a book, but that they are in fact a story. The first part especially is a story of two sisters: one who has learned hard lessons that she is trying to pass on to her younger sister, and one who is learning...but not from her sister's mistakes, but by listening to the lies and voices of others. It's really creatively put together. It's almost like the two sisters are the two sides of every girl. The one who knows the truth, and the one who hears and believes the lies around us. I felt like I related to both sisters at different times of my life...or my day. Some of the poems were outright stunning. Some of them were too in your face feminist for me, too in your face agenda-y. But that's the lovely part of poetry. Poets get to do that. They get to bleed on the page and be in your face, because of the nature of the writing. Some of the poems were just two lines. Some filled the page. Some were prose. Many of them were just pieces of advice. Not in a bad way, but also not necessarily in an original way. She just so happened to put them in poetic format and coin them as her own.
I don't know if I'll read another of Lovelace's poetry collections. It intrigued me. And it still does. But I don't know if I'll read through an entire collection again.
>>>Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy. My opinions are my own....more
What a beautiful (small) collection of poetry given as a subscriber gift from the author, JR Rogue. She is a master of words and heartbreak. Her poetrWhat a beautiful (small) collection of poetry given as a subscriber gift from the author, JR Rogue. She is a master of words and heartbreak. Her poetry is human, and you feel her pain and love and hate in every stanza. And in my opinion, that makes beautiful poetry....more
“to the part of me contented to just –Be– Sometimes I wish she wasn’t so hard to find All times I wish I could take you there with me.”
- Excerpt from Thin “to the part of me contented to just –Be– Sometimes I wish she wasn’t so hard to find All times I wish I could take you there with me.”
- Excerpt from Thin Places
Heartachingly beautiful poems. This collection of poetry touches on loss, heartache, beauty and even pop culture in the best way. Some of the lines stung my soul. I had to take it in doses, because of it’s poignancy. And I didn’t want it to end.
Another of my favorite excerpts:
“—But you’re in my heartbeats— and I don’t know which is worse, Love: living without you or waiting to live without you again”
Not exactly what I expected. I thought it would be a new paraphrase of the Psalms, but alas it was a rewriting of approximately 150 modern day psalm-lNot exactly what I expected. I thought it would be a new paraphrase of the Psalms, but alas it was a rewriting of approximately 150 modern day psalm-like poems from this pastor. I say approximately 150 because they are each titled by the Psalm (same as the biblical book of Psalm) but some of them are titled multiple psalms which confused me. Why not just write 150 or just number them by how many you actually wrote. I don’t know. Some of the “psalms” were really poignant and some weren’t. In fact, some were quite reflective of this man’s world view which clearly differs from mine. So it was just so-so. Not what I was hoping it would be....more