Having just more recently gotten into reading poetry, I really still haven't read an extensive amount as of yet. But I found that once I got into the ebb and flow of Amanda Lovelace's The Princess Saves Herself in this One, it was extremely relatable . What I love about poetry is the short, quick catches of phrase that one can zoom past with such abandon, but the treat comes when you take the time to read, possibly re-read the words maybe read it aloud, change the cadence of how the phrase is said, when you can find new meaning(s) within the short, quick phrases. Amanda Lovelace's writings are riddle with such treats.

Another notable thing about this book that I quite loved was the build up of a theme. Almost like painting a picture. One poem would start a topic off and the ones following would build upon that slowly until you understood the direction and the topic at hand. There were a couple of times where the pattern would shift or change too suddenly for me, and I'd have to figure out that we had left off where we were and were off to something new. Then there were things started that I wish had been given more time to grow before we were off on another topic. But regardless, the often personal / private thoughts that take up the majority of the poems present a stark honesty that ranges from anywhere on the spectrum of sad to angry to happy to empowered to content, etc.

Overall, I enjoyed this poem collection. I look forward to going back and reading this one again seeing new thoughts / ideas that I may have missed before.

I received a copy of this ebook on Netgalley in return for an honest review.

And it couldn't get more honest.

So I've only just got back into the realm of poetry after compulsory education ruined it for me. Yes, forcing teenagers to sit and analyse classical poetry in silence is one way to make you never touch the stuff again, but the princess saves herself in this one is a must read for anyone, but could well be the savior for forced poetry reading teenagers everywhere.

Not only is it raw and heartbreaking, each poem tells a short story with an over-arching theme; life will try to ruin you, but only you can fight to survive it. Each poem feels more and more relatable, hitting you in the heart with a pen shaped spear. Amanda Lovelace's voice is truly one to not ignore.

No Kindle option which means I'm actually unable to read or review this title. Which is a shame as I've heard so many interesting things about it and I was pretty excited.

2.5 out of 5 stars

she can't sit here / with us anymore / & i'm sure we can all feel / the heaviness of her absence, / but even when every chair is taken / & everyone else has to stand, / it still feels like there will always be a space for her. / -your energy cannot be destroyed.


This was a very quick read. It was very easy to finish in one sitting, but this points to one of the big issues I had with this book. When I read a poem, and especially when I read a poetry collection, I expect to be compelled to reflect. I expect a good poetry collection to be something I am stuck in for days or weeks, something I keep thinking about and coming back to. This was definitely not that kind of poetry collection. The poems are more like paragraphs chopped into one or two-word increments and assembled to look like a stanza. Moreover, there is too little poetic usage of language in my opinion. This makes the themes come across as trite in some instances.

I was pretty excited to read this collection when I read the synopsis and heard some positive things about it. I liked the fairytale inspiration behind it and was expecting vivid, dreamy poems with a feminist tint. The themes of the collection are worthy and definitely need to be discussed, but I felt like the writing wasn't skillful enough to do the themes justice or to really reach me as a reader on an emotional level. This felt like a poetry collection by a teenager and for a teenager. There is nothing at all wrong with that, though, and I think a teenage reader might get more out of this book than I did. There are some good messages about loving yourself and about denouncing rape culture. The fourth and final part of the collection titled "& You" is pretty motivational and probably just what some teenagers need to hear.

emily— / i often / find myself / wondering / if you are still / out there / trying to find / yourself by / candlelight. / is sylvia there / beside you, / guiding / the way with / the old / brag / of her / beating / heart? / does / virginia / have / a room / all her own? / & what about / harriet / & anne / & harper? / does / a woman / ever / find / her peace?


I've interspersed some excerpts that reached me the most. I would recommend this book to young readers that aren't quite sure about poetry. It's a quick read to give you a taste and to make you think about some important issues (body image, rape culture, self-love/care).

My copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for helping me get a copy of this book.

The Princess Saves Herself in this One is a poetry collection written by Amanda Lovelace. We follow her through four sections named:

I the princess
II the damsel
III the queen
IV you

Each section describes her growing up and the evolution of her feelings towards the people in her life, especially her mother and her first love, a man she calls the Dragon.

The Princess Saves Herself in this One made my eyes fill with tears. I really felt everything that was happening in almost all the poems. I loved that because, I rarely connect so well with poems. Do not get me wrong, I adore poetry, it is just that I am very picky with the poetry that makes me tremble - at moments I trembled when I read this.
The section I liked the most are II the damsel and III the queen. I connected most to those two sections. The section I slightly disliked the last one, IV you. I feel a bit disconnected from it. It was quite different from the previous ones and even a bit political. I hate when art suggests politics so strongly. It loses its beauty.


"...i am
far too
young
to be so
goddamn
broken...

~ what was the point?"

This is a part of a poem in the second section, II the damsel. It is so beautiful, and the whole poem was so strong, in meaning and in the sound of it.

One other poem I really liked is from the third section, III the queen. It made me feel so much in one fleeting moment.

"i am so glad
we were born
during the same
lifetime.

~ i may not believe in fate, but i believe in you"



There is some controversy concerning the fact that many people believe that the poems inside The Princess Saves Herself in this One are not really poems, merely words written by pressing enter after each one. I cannot completely agree, nor I agree. I think what is more important than the fact that the author Amanda Lovelace does not have the same genius in writing poetry as William Shakespeare, Francesco Petrarca Petrarch or Robert Frost, is the strong message she sends through her poems. The writing perhaps was not mind-blowing, but my heart felt every word.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Lovelace's debut book of poetry is both painful and cathartic as she takes us through the stages of her life, from an abusive mother and bad boyfriend to self-acceptance and a healthy relationship. Some of her poems are on point (see her poem about beibg an English major, and the one about growing up surrounded by books) while others are too descriptive, too much showing. I think this would bw the perfect book of poetry to give to a 16 year old girl that has an interest in writing. Thinking of myself at that age, I'd have enjoyed it much more. Lovelace gives a "Happy ending" spoiler in the beginning, and I think as a teenager, I'd have appreciated that-knowing that it does get better.

This collection worked in that I didn't put it down and enjoyed the style and organization, did not work in some of the poems themselves. However, poetry is certainly in the eyes of the beholdet, and I can see how it would be healthy for her to write then and others to read them.

The poems in this collection felt more like tumblr posts or image memes. There is a difference between a single angsty thought and a poem. A poem should take some unraveling, some thought, should make you stop; I really felt these were raw emotions on a page, without form except for arbitrary shapes and stretching out of words. It felt juvenile. Loved the title, felt she was getting somewhere with a few poems that had actual metaphor, and it is likely that she will grow into a better poet if she gets honest feedback along the way.

This was such a beautiful book. I loved the writing and it almost felt like I could FEEL what the author felt when she wrote those words. Absolutely magnificent!

I'm
tired
of
people
thinking
poetry
is
hitting
the
space
bar

I just didn't like the poetry.

This book is such a heartfelt and empathetic collection of poetry that I couldn't stop reading it. I cried, at least, twice, feeling the author's struggle and pain and I cheered for her when she was happy. The poems though simple and the book though short, are deep and even long after finishing The Princess Saves Herself in this One, I recall poems and think about them and Amanda Lovelace's journey.

5 out 5 stars because I cried and smiled and wished for more. I would definitely recommend it.

The poems are absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking. I can't wait to buy a copy for rereading over and over again.

so so so so so so beautiful!
if you like Rupi Kaur, you'll love this collection by Amanda Lovelace

I have been hearing “The Princess Saves Herself in this One” for some time now, never quite knowing what it was exactly and honestly never had the time to do even the quickest of Google searches to find out. When I saw it on NetGalley and found out it was poetry I decided to give it a try. I’m not very experienced in poetry, it was never a focus in my English class (which I’m sad to admit) so I’ll only be reviewing what I thought of it and not critiquing the writing or anything somebody more adept in these things could do a better job of critiquing.

The book is divided in four sections: “the princess, the damsel, the queen and you”, and while you could easily read each section separately I found each section flowed smoothly together. There was a clear progression of emotion and there were many sections that brought tears to my eyes, resonating deeply in my heart.

"where
do all the
memories go,
the ones we
hide away
with
lock &
key yet
continue
to shape
us all the
s a m e

– did it really happen if I can’t remember it?"

Most, actually almost all, of this book was in my opinion written as a catharsis for Amanda herself. But she thankfully decided to share her beautiful words and all of her deepest emotions with the world. My favourite part of the entire book was the part for “you” the reader, it had many of my favourite (and admittedly less sad) pieces.

"if you ever
look at
your reflection
& feel the desire
to tell yourself

you’re not
good enough,
beautiful enough,
skinny enough,
curvy enough,

then I think
its about time
you smashed
that mirrior
to bits,

don’t you?

– use those fragments to make stepping-stones to your own self-love."

Disclaimer: the format of the above quotes is not exact as
it may be in ARCs or in the final published pages.

For my first foray in the world of poetry I’d say it was a success and I’ll definitely be interested in reading more pieces of poetry in the future.

I can't remember the last book of poetry I read, so I don't really have a good basis of comparison for this book. I was intrigued by the idea of poetry that followed the author overcoming a difficult past and writing feminist poetry, but to me it didn't feel like any kind of poetry I'm familiar with. I did get something out of some of the writing but at other times it felt like a few sentences broken up with the "enter" key, more so than profound thoughts. I can see the appeal and I can appreciate the catharsis the author seems to have gotten out of writing this, although I'm surprised this book has as much widespread appeal as it seems to.

A very short and quick read (I got through it in one sitting easily) and worth a shot for those interested in this one.

Not what I had in mind. Just short sentences and a lot of space.

Perhaps I'm too much of a purist, or too old-school, but I like my poetry to feel like poetry. I want poetry that when you read it out loud, the words feel luxurious on your tongue and the air in the room electrifies. To me, sadly, this poetry collection did not do that. The poems felt mundane, banal even when the subject matter was dark and painful. The language had a lot to do with that. I won't go as far as to say that this was not poetry because, really, what is modern poetry? But most of the poems felt amateurish, they barely scratched the surface. You could tell, in between lines, that the author had experienced pain but none of it transcended the page. I was left mostly tepid.

Why give it two stars and not one? Because some of the poems were nice, not great, but nice. Something I'd reblog on tumblr or repost on Instagram. I liked them, I just didn't feel like they were poetry-book material.

I'd heard great things about this book, after all it's a Goodreads 2016 winner, but I can't help but think that there must have been other more deserving poetry books out there. As I said, I'm not much for modern poetry, preferring the classics or at most the Latin Americans like Dario and Neruda and perhaps it's me who's disconnected from modern poetry. I love poetry, though, I even use to recite poetry in contests as a child (nerd alert!), but this one didn't cut it for me. Speaking it, didn't make me feel like other poetry does: glad to be alive, less alone, more human. This book fell short of my expectations.

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me a copy in exchange of my honest review.

This poem collection is a perfect example of poetry in time of internet. Those poems are not complicated, there are no big words, sophisticated constructions. Those poems are simple, they are easy to understand and to feel. And this is the perfect poetry for me, because I want simple, I want something I can understand immediately, something I can feel, not interpret.

In case of collection of poems, it would be very hard for me to find one that I could rate more than three starts. Because I think it will be impossible for me to love the whole collections so much. I loved few poems, I liked and enjoyed some more, but half of them didn't speak to me. For me, this is the beauty of poetry - you can always find something for yourself. In every collection, it is highly probable that there will be this one gem that speaks to you, no matter how awful other poems were.

the princess saves herself in this one is an amazing collection that many will love. And many already did love it, because after it was self published, it was so successful that publisher picked it up. Amazing! Well done author and publisher :)

Gorgeous writing! Beautifully crafted...Raw, inspired, honest... painful to read but such truth and soul! EVERY young woman MUST read. Moms and daughters need to have honest open dialogue. Read through NetGalley but will absolutely be buying my own copy. I cried tears of sadness and joy. My first real connection and appreciation of poetry!

This is exactly how poetry should be. Every word chosen with such care to best evoke emotion in the reader. This collection cut me to the bone, and then I convinced everyone I know to read it in order to make them share my suffering. This book is so important. I have already ordered in copies for our bookshop, and recommended it far and wide.