Amanda Lovelace

in her new standalone poetry collection, flower crowns & fearsome things, bestselling & award-winning poetess amanda lovelace explores the complexity of femininity through alternating wildflower & wildfire poems. within these pages, you will find that each of us has the ability to be both soft & fierce at the same time. there is no need to choose one or the other.

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things

Emma Wolfe

when my heart shatters again, i know i can always count on my mother to show me how to repair it.

bless her selflessness. bless her compassion. bless her gentleness.

may i grow to be even half the woman she is.

they say you should always try to ask flowers for permission before you go & pluck them from the ground.

they may not breathe as we do, but they still deserve respect, don't they?

well, i am not a flower. i am a human being.

-you won't touch me again in this lifetime or any other.

when he placed his seeds on her tongue, she felt like she had to say "yes" because she was terrified of what would happen if she said "no.

you don't have to do very much to make her happy.

just let her wear your t-shirt & read her fairy tales until she falls asleep.

he's so misunderstood & she's so committed to being the first one to understand him.

-leather jackets & late-night conversations.

it would be a lie if i said i didn't wear this skirt with the hope that you would put your hand on my leg while you drive.

she would love nothing more than to leave a heart-shaped tattoo on a world filled with so much hatred-

to honor each & every woman who came before her.

-she can't help feeling like she's letting them down.

when i wear a mask, not only am i protecting the lives of myself & others,

nobody tells me to smile, to look less intimidating or prettier for them.

to everyone who has a bad day & tries to take it out on me:

i pray your bitterness is replaced with sweetness.

i pray that your next day is a much kinder one.

i pray you go easier on yourself & those around you.

she is not strong because she wields a sword. she's strong she wields a sword. get it right. 

-she never needed a weapon to be powerful.

Bria

i thought there would be so much more said

Frida Kahlo

I received an eARC copy from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another Amanda Lovelace poetry collection that I wanted to like, more than any of the previous ones I read (Persephone, c'mon!), but sadly - that did not happen.

While I appreciate the gorgeous flower illustrations and how tenderly they depict soft and bold (or planned to be such) lyrics, I can't base my opinion about the collection on them. Nothing much stood out; most of the poems felt already read, pretty basic, and not different from other 'feminist' poetry collections. Even the illustrations themselves were repetitive. 

I enjoyed the concept of describing Persephone's dual nature, her bringing the light of the Spring Goddess and, at the same time, casting the dark of the Queen of Hell. A small step away from simple put-together-in-no-time messages and adding the meaningful undertone of women's complexity, embodied by the Goddess Persephone herself, would have brought a tremendous twist in this poetry collection, lifting it to the heights it deserves. Make this poetry not so shallow and more impactful, and we would have had a perfect poetry collection focusing on femininity (not feminism, I failed to see it).

Danyella Barajas

i normally dont read poetry books but i did like this one. the poems did read more like affirmations or quotes but i still felt something reading it. i did feel that some tried to be a bit fake deep or “im not like other girls” but i did enjoy a good amount of the poems.

Jess Schell

This is the one! Combining the story of Persephone and giving it life for the modern woman? Immaculate. I LOVED this addition to Amanda's always fabulous collection.

✨sunshine✨

"everyone loves a strong woman
until that woman
no longer tolerates their bullshit.

—the age-old proverb."

Alex 

I love her books when I need cheering up or inspiration I turn to Amanda Lovelace's poetry. Highly recommend for female empowerment and self love - there are trigger warnings at the beginning of each of her books!! Read the warnings PLEASE!!!!!!!

Lucía RG

I was kindly sent this in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley

I haven't been the biggest fan of this author in the past, but it's been a couple of years since I read a poetry collection of hers and I decided to give her another chance; this turned out exactly like I had expected.

The book is separated into two sections: spring and underworld, just like persephone. These two parts are separated with illustrations and they are really cute; one has blue skies and a sunny field with grass and flowers, and the other has night time and roses in flames. Can you tell these two illustrations were my favourite part of this book? I honestly don’t know what my problem with this author is, and I don't want to hate on her, but I just don’t like her poetry. I can get behind some of her ideas and intentions, but not her execution. Some of her poems literaly look like tumblr posts.

Gabriel Noel 

ARC given by NetGalley for Honest Review

Out of Lovelace's more recent poetry collections, I enjoyed this one a bit more than I thought I would.

The poems had a little more fierceness to them than her previous fairy tales series, and I was appreciative of that from a reader standpoint. The short form style is not exactly my favorite but I was able to enjoy my read thanks to my interest in the theme about Persephone.

The two poems that stuck out to me were "will i get to do all of the things I want to do" and "marked".

Jelke Lenaerts

I received a galley of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

This book has content warnings for intimate partner abuse, sexual assault, cheating, child abuse, trauma, death, violence, misogyny, body image, eating disorders, alcohol, and fire.

I've never been a huge poetry person but I have liked some of Amanda Lovelace's collections in the past. However, this one was just really dissapointing. All of the poems just seemed very lazy and there was no original thought expressed in this book. The book seems to focus on several feminist ideas but none of them were original or even approached in an unique way. Almost every poem felt like something I had heard somewhere before and the methaphors I've really liked from Amanda Lovelace in the past just weren't present in this one. However, there's some beautiful illustrations in this.

Brianna Brown

"You are not the god of her"

This collection is STUNNING, and I loved every second of it as with all of this authors other collections. The poems may feel simple and repetitive to others but if you find a connection to them, like many women I know can, they're empowering.

Kimberly

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Audio for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. 

This is not my first Amanda Lovelace poetry collection that I've read. It is the first that I've read as an audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by the author and includes commentary on some of their poems including the writing process and inspiration. I appreciated these tidbits and they added more context to enrich the listening experience. However, I wish there was a break of sorts or a transition between the poem and the commentary. There were times where I wasn't 100% sure if it was part of the poem or not. I think that concern would be addressed if I also had the physical copy in front of me. Overall I think Amanda did a great job narrating and instilling emotion into the poetry. 

This collection is inspired by Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring and queen of the Underworld. Her relationships, her journey and her characteristics. There are themes exploring femininity, definition of strength, respect, individuality, power, and soft vs fierce. I adore a Persephone retelling and the author delivered for me. Within the poetry I feel a connection with Persephone's thoughts, emotions, and fears. I felt like she was my Virgil and we were navigating Hell together. As much as I enjoyed this collection, it's not my favorite; however, it will not be my last. Amanda Lovelace is an auto-read for me.

Alexandra P

An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Is this poetry collection going to change your life? No. Is it beautiful and relatable and does it spark thought? Yes. 
I’ve never particularly enjoyed obvious, minimalistic poetry (or #instapoetry) but I did quite enjoy this. 
The author did a great job exploring the duality of women as a result of being pigeonholed and highlights the assumptions others make and what they take as their right. I enjoyed this collection was from the lens of persephone and the artwork was pretty, but also repetitive.
It is important that the author is writing from her own perspective on life and the struggles she and many other women have experienced should not be discounted, however, I feel sometimes we lose the depth because often it’s not one gender against the other. Some of these passages could be related to by men or non binary people just as much as women and it’s important we understand that.
The truth is we all lie somewhere in the middle of the light meadow and the burning roses. We all want to love someone and do anything for them, but we also want that for ourselves, and when we don’t get that it stings and requires strength not submission. We want to be happy and be whoever we want to be, and when we can’t, it requires strength not submission. Amanda Lovelace encapsulated this beautifully.

Renee Delcourt

I was very excited for Amanda Lovelace's newest poetry collection, but I was a little disappointed with it. It's supposed to be inspired by Persephone and her duality but most of the poems felt disjointed to me. There wasn't a very solid cohesive story like most of her other collections... There was one but I didn't quite follow I guess. It could just be me. I still enjoyed it, it just wasn't my favorite.

Makayla Reed

I see what Amanda Lovelace was trying to do with this collection, but I feel as if it fell short. I have enjoyed most of Lovelace's work, but this one just felt like this was an entire collection of forced poetry. I think there was only a few poems that actually spoke to me but the rest of them felt very dry and boring. This is a short collection and yet I kept checking to see how many pages I had left.

I would definitely recommend Lovelace's Women are Magic series of poetry collections over her more recent work.

Kathryn

An empowering and relatable collection of poems. They genuinely remind me of song lyrics in the best way. 

4.5/5 ⭐️

Jezabel 

This is my first read on Amanda, i really liked this modern style poetry, it includes a lot of hidden messages with a simple writing style.
Personally, I really loved this. I think any woman could easily connect to the collection and the persephone metaphor of soft and strong couldn´t be more perfect. The structure of wildflowers and poems is beautiful!
I look forward to reading more of her poems already published.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this Book in return of an honest review. 

Kaeli Wolf 

Amanda Lovelace has never disappointed me and at this rate never will. All of her collections are honest and this one is especially empowering. If you ever need a reminder of your worth this collection is it.

Aliyah Manji

I have always been a fan of Amanda Lovelace's poetry, it's really the only poetry I will read, and so when I got accepted for this ARC, I immediately started reading it. Flower Crows and Fearsome Things was every bit as beautiful as her previous works. With a gorgeous cover and equally gorgeous illustrations, Lovelace talks about a wide variety of topics in today's world, such as feminism, gender equality, abusive relationships, along many others.

Their writing emotionally destroyed me in the best possible way, and I literally sped through the book in under an hour because it was so addicting. Her prose has always been so beautiful and this book is no exception. If you are new to poetry, highly highly recommend picking up one of Amanda Lovelace's books, including this one. 

5/5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for this gorgeous ARC!

Shannon O’Connor 

***I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts my own***

I will start off by saying, I have always been a fan of Amanda’s work. Her poetry collections are part of what inspired me to write my own. But I am honestly disappointed in this collection. It seems so much like her others, no original thoughts except maybe a few referencing the pandemic. The images inside were beautiful but in no way did they need to be repeated after every poem. It made the book about double the size with only half the poetry. I would read her next collection, but I would skip buying this one.

Sintia

** spoiler alert **
           Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook.
I've read it in one sitting and I enjoyed it.
I ​am no expert in modern poetry, but who is? As a reader of mostly fiction books, this was an interesting read. There are a few poems I didn't like, but there are the empowering ones that I adored. Some poems were simple and reminded me of the inspirational quotes you find on Instagram. Some other poems were good, but still they were not that amazing, it's like I was waiting for something big.
I like the fact that Amanda Lovelace encourages girl-power with her poems, but they reminded me of other ones I've already read.

Leonie

I keep reading Lovelace’s books in hopes I’ll end up liking one of them, but this was another disappointment to me.
I didn’t connect with any of the poems, they were repetitive and felt like the author was trying too hard to write something „deep“.
My e-copy also had more illustrations (always the same two images) and empty pages than actual poetry, so there’s that…


[I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things

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