This is such an honest story of what it seeks and lost. I just love how the flow of the story plus the writing style is good.

A good and well put together poetry collection perfect for poetry fans new and old. K. Y. Robinson's poetry is raw and emotional, I will definitely like to read more of their work in the future.

I was blown away by this gorgeous poetry collection and the poems penned within them. I have re-read this poetry collection several times because I love it so much. It’s beautifully crafted, heart aching, and captivating.

Furthermore, this collection is incredibly raw and empowering, and my heart was aching as I read many of the poems.

This is a collection about the effects of trauma, toxicity, heartbreak, healing, and self love.

The author takes us through her own experiences within these poems, and it’s clear she bled her emotions through her pen and onto the pages of this collection. I felt myself relating to her in such a deep way. But I was also applauding and cheering her on, as she talked about herself so unapologetically, and it was very empowering and inspiring.

This collection may have been sad and deeply emotional, but it’s also inspiring and theres a powerful message of positivity at the end.

5/5 emotional stars!

Honest, raw, sensitive, and real. I enjoyed reading these poems!

I wish I was able to read The Chaos of Longing, but it was only available in PDF format, which my computer nor phone was able to open. But I've heard amazing things about from fellow reader friends and my favorite poets, so I'm pretty sure I will love this. I saw it at Target, so I'll likely buy it soon. Thank you for the chance, though.

This is yet another collection of poetry in the strain of Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur, and Neon Soul, by Alexandra Elle: cathartic, meant for one sitting, free form, simple and readable, dealing with love, lust, trauma, womanhood, and healing. If you like those collections, you will enjoy this one as well. This collection is more intimate, sexual, and full of imagery and unique metaphors than other similar collections.

The imagery, in particular that associated with lust, is dramatic, erotic, and evocative (trigger warning for the intense imagery of toxic sexual relationships. And in general, if sex makes you uncomfortable, you should avoid this collection). Robinson tackles her experiences with mental illness, being black, body image issues, abusive and toxic relationships, and most of all, the ache of desire. The collection ends on a note of self-love and healing, completing the cathartic experience nicely. Overall, an accessible, intense, cathartic, erotic read. It did not change my life, and I may never reread it, but it is worth a read.

I liked the poems but that was it. I really loved some but overall, I just liked this collection. The eroticism and sensual poems were spot on and didn't make me feel uncomfortable which is what I expected because this was my first time reading poems like those.

The themes were complex and intriguing; mental health, lust, unrequited love, self-love, family issues and loads more. The variety of the poems definitely made me continue the book. I loved the theme of changing chaos into order the most, it was weirdly satisfying to read those poems and they did manage to effectively promote a positive vibe as a whole. "Robinson draws from personal experience as a woman of color, trauma and mental illness survivor, and hopeless romantic." - written in the little author blurb, the perfect description of what drove the whole collection and every single poem. Although, I respect the fact that the author stayed true to herself and incorporated her experiences in the poetry, at times, this collection felt like a repetitive concoction of poems with very similar themes even though falling in different portions of the book. My least favourite portion was "longing", it is what made me read this book in two different sittings rather than one.

Favourite poems:
Inception: Deferred, Stigma and Shame, Open season, Women like me.
Longing: Arithmetic, Tone Deaf.
Chaos: Post-vacation blues, Unrequited love, Hypothetical, Caution, Germination.
Epiphany: Panhandler, When they stop calling, Refugee, Search Party, Truth, Self-love ii.

Overall, this collection wasn't that bad and gave me a new reading experience but at the same time it definitely wasn't something that blew my mind.

I enjoyed this poetry collection a lot. It was raw, real, and dripping with emotion.

eARC Provided by Publisher via Netgalley for Honest and Unbiased Reviewing Purposes

I am conflicted on how to think of this poetry collection. For one, I highly disliked it and struggled with reading it from cover to cover. I wanted to give up a few times but kept convincing myself that it would get better. However, I can say that there were a few poems that I could connect to and enjoy, but as an overall, I couldn't connect or even care.

Many of the poems deal with depression, personal problems, mental illness, abuse, acceptance, and so on. I knew they dealt with serious and deeply personal emotions for the author, though what didn't strike me well was the style of this poetry. I am not a freestyle lover. I had read Amanda Lovelace's poetry collection of The Princess Saves Herself in this One so I thought I would enjoy something similar as well. Yeah, no.

Among my dislike, as I said, there were a few poems I enjoyed, mainly for their use of certain words or literary devices to create a colorful image.

To summarize, this collection is not for everyone. It wasn't for me, but maybe it is for you. Whether you've been a victim of trauma or not, you might enjoy the raw and emotion poured into this poetry.

Rating: 1.5 stars

I didn't like this book. I didn't connect with it. I felt that most of the poems were kinda repetitive or I've already read them somewhere else. Some poems were good, but none of them were impressive :(.

I didn't connect with every poem but the ones that I did connect with were so amazing! This book hit me in the feels, hard. I highlighted so many poems that I just want to hold onto forever! I need a physical copy for my modern poetry collection. This book was amazing and heart-felt, and gut-wrenching at times. A few poems jerked my tears and I enjoyed every second of reading this.

I always say, poetry is extremely subjective and hard to review, as it will touch each and every reader in a completely unique way. Not every collection or poet will strike the right note with every reader, and this ended up being the case for me with these poems. This was one of those situations where I could appreciate the talent of the author, but the topics and their presentation were just not for me. However, despite my personal experience with these poems, I can easily see how they could deeply impact a reader.

These poems are brave, raw, and powerful. They are incredibly intimate and portray both human weakness and the strength that can come out in one’s most vulnerable moments. The collection as a whole is a journey from naivety, through the torment and battering that life and love can inflict on one’s heart and soul, and ending where healing begins.

Robinson paints a vivid and candid retrospective on self-image and self-discovery—she exposes the full depth of the painful, open wounds that slowly close over time. Not only does she display the torment that one may go through when they let down their defenses in favor of passion, but also the triumph of courage gained from accepting who we are and the decisions we make. Ultimately, this collection is not only her story, but also a stark and uninhibited portrait of what it is like to be human.

Even though I didn’t quite connect with this particular work and the subject matter, I still found the beauty in Robinson’s writing and delicate crafting of each poem. She clearly poured so much heart and meaning into every word, and truly bared herself and her personal emotional journey through this collection. I admire her candor and her nerve, opening herself up in this manner—and I very much believe that her writing can and will reach and impact plenty of readers.

"These are artifacts from our past lives. Handle them with care."

The Chaos of Longing by K.Y. Robinson is a raw collection of poems about love, heartbreak and trauma. Divided into four sections, Robinson's collection tells a loose story of the beginnings, middles and ends of relationships as well as her childhood. While it was originally self-published, The Chaos of Longing was republished by Andrews McMeel Publishing in September 2017.

I adore confessional poetry. I want to feel like I know a poet by reading their work. After inhaling The Chaos of Longing, Robinson feels like a dear friend. The way she describe her struggles and experiences transports me to the moment she is sharing. I was completely wrapped up in her world and wanted everything to work out for her.

Honestly, the worst thing about getting poetry ARCs is the time limit. I wanted to savor this collection. I wanted to read one poem each day until I was finished and I couldn't. I feel like this will be even more enjoyable the more times I read it. I will defiantly purchase a finished copy in the near future.

I received this book from Andrews McMeel Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A very powerful set of poems highlighting life experiences and the emotions they evoked. Beautiful, haunting and engaging, A Chaos of Longing will definitely pull you in with each word and story being told. A nonreader of poetry will even be able to get what the author is trying to tell without getting confused. Definitely worth reading.

An ARC was provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

“i never felt
more alive
and dead
at the same time”

K.Y. Robinson’s The Chaos of Longing is a collection of poems on love, lust, heartache, blindness, brokenness, and healing. It’s a bottomless ocean of life and its lessons, a flower blooming in a field of thorns.

This book is undeniably precious. K.Y. Robinson’s earnest writing peeled back layers I’ve covered myself and exposed wounds that I never knew I’ve concealed somewhere inside me. It’s a book that understands and listens. I read it as if I was looking into a mirror.

Reading this got so much better every time I flipped to another page. Each poem had its own intense message that pierced my heart and healed it simultaneously.

I highly recommend this to everyone, for I know we’ve all been hurt and have healed. This is our story.

A very personal and beautiful poetry collection about love and sexuality that deals with racism, sexism, abuse, and mental illness. I really appreciate that it includes trigger warnings.

This book is a thing of beauty. Something that aches and begs you to realize that as a woman you are powerful, beautiful, and something greater then yourself. This book is about the sorrows of our longing and how we diminish ourselves for the sake of what we long for.

Simple, lyrical, and impactful my favorite parts of this book were the epiphanies. Where you realize that you should keep your insides for your own sake and not worry about what anyone else on this earth thinks. The parts where the Fire of this story builds and you realize you must set fire to the toxicity that is the expectations of other around you and to invent yourself and be who you have always dreamed to be.

A feminist poetry book for this generation, The Chaos of Longing will inspire many to be brighter then their brightest selves.

I ended up not finishing this book because I just didn't click with the poetry. It was well written, don't get me wrong, but there wasn't much in here for me to relate to. This book is written for people who have gone through trauma, racism, sexism, depression and are trying to overcome the scars these experiences have left on them. Considering I have not experienced many of these things, I'm not a part of the target audience. However, I believe that those who ARE a part of the target audience would certainly enjoy this work!

I have always had a soft spot for poetry, especially one that is done in such a careful and personal way that upon reading it, it feels like you’re not stepping into a person’s shows but they entire soul. This book felt a lot like that.
The first couple of poems work wonderfully to set the tone of the rest of the book, which is divided into four parts: <i>Inception, Longing, Chaos and Epiphany.</i> Each of these parts has something in its core that not only ties it to the rest of the poems but allow them to stand on their own against time and scrutiny.
One particular part of a “you will get used to me” stuck with me throughout my entire reading: “your eyes and heart /must adjust to me./ darkness lives here.” And it guided me through all the pain and ache that sometimes dripped from carefully crafted stanzas.
I felt pain with this, I felt longing and hope, and I stepped into a room that was full of thoughts and ideas that, though they did not belong to me, seemed to be inviting me to know them.
I loved the honesty of it. I devoured every line because it felt like this book demanded to be heard, to be known, maybe not understood, but acknowledged, and I felt like I owed it at least that much.
Stylistically, I enjoyed the uncluttered pages and the lack of capitalization since it seemed to enhance the message of it all.
I also appreciated the fact that it had a trigger warning at the beginning, which allowed me to prepare myself for the kind of topics that would be treated.
Overall, I would a hundred percent recommend this book to those who enjoy poetry books that are a journey of discovery.

This book of poetry left me without words. It was incredible, looking back now, the way the author succeeds in conveying such strong feelings with so few words and sentences. I guess this must be the power and the beauty of poetry, but I'm not an expert.

Questo libro di poesie mi ha lasciato completamente senza parole. Ripensandoci é quasi incredibile come l'autrice riesca in poche parole e frasi a veicolare sentimenti cosí intensi. Immagino sia questo il potere della poesia, ma io non sono un'esperta.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!