I've been trying to figure out a way to explain my frustration with a lot the poetry that is popular right now, and the closest I can come up with is "I don't just want to be told how you feel, I want you to make me feel. And this collection succeeded in only making me feel frustration. I think I just need to acknowledge that the short, modern poems that are super trendy right now are just not for me.

Leav's collection is not bad by any means, but it does feel repetitive and at times generic. After hearing so much about her work, I had hoped for a little more from this collection. If you are a fan of modern poetry, you will probably enjoy this. If you are not, Sea of Strangers will probably not be the book that will change your opinion.

Another fantastic book by Lang Leave. Here poems are extremely accessible, and you can't help but sit and read it in one continual sitting. Her words come from the heart and her feeling and emotions feel as though they are your own.

I received a digital ARC of Lang Leav's latest poetry collection, Sea of Strangers, via Net Galley and Andrew McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I've perused the pages of Leav's other collections on a number bookstore runs, but nothing I read ever spoke to me enough to purchase her books. Sea of Strangers managed to shift my opinion of her work - this collection contains some genuinely gorgeous poems. I've come to expect simplicity and banality from modern poetry, but I didn't find that here - well, at least not often.

I'd say I related to and marked off about 50% of the poems in this collection. I especially enjoyed the pieces that spoke of writing, such as Shelter and Writing and Poetry and Prose. There were also a handful of poems that discussed family, depression, and life in general. These are the ones that kept me flipping through the pages, eager to find more like them.

As always, the poems about love and heartbreak just didn't connect with me. Existential angst is more up my alley when it comes to poetry topics. But regardless of whether the poems touched me on a personal level or not, I was still able to find value in most of them. The language and metaphors Leav uses, especially when speaking of nature, are so powerful that it's difficult to read them without feeling awe.

Of course, there were a few of Leav's works that came off sounding like clichéd Facebook quotes. I'm sure some readers do enjoy this type of poetry, but it just isn't my jam. That said, these poems were few and far between, so I wouldn't judge the entire collection based off of them.

I gave Sea of Strangers a 3 out of 5 star rating on Goodreads. I recommend it to fans of modern poetry, and especially to those who enjoy reading about matters of the heart. While every poem didn't resonate with me, I think there's something for everyone to relate to in this collection.

The description drew me in, by also made me wary to read since this is my first time enjoying Lang Leav's work: "Sea of Strangers by Lang Leav picks up from her previous international bestselling books including Love & Misadventure, Lullabies, and The Universe of Us, and sets sail for a grand new adventure."

This is a collection of both poems and prose. There are quick and to the point pieces, as well as ones that are a little longer, but worth every word. These poems were written with emotions that you can feel as you're reading.

Another set of poems that I would recommend for anyone who collects poetry!

In her book, Leav opens her heart and gives us a lot of poems about love and strength. It touched me, as I could recognize myself in countless poems.
I loved the different formats of the poems that kept it moving and interesting. Also, they sometimes gave us something more than a poetry book can.

Lang Leav poetry is the kind you see endlessly posted on young women's Instagram and Twitter feeds, or pinned to thousands of Pinterest boards. A poetry snob may sniff at the sort of poems that flood social media, but when something resonates this loudly its because it touches something inside people. See, most of the poems that young women today have read in school were written by men or women decades, sometimes centuries, before our time. They're lovely and worthy of course, but there is also a gaping hole that Lang Leav fills with her work. Sometimes it feels like your best friend telling you a mournful truth or giving you wise advice. Other times its like reading a diary late at night when everyone else is asleep and you are full of ache and restlessness. And still other poems are like going for a drink with a friend and confessing something you've kept locked inside. Sometimes the more narrative works come off as juvenile, but there are certain poems that reek of lessons only learned with experience and budding maturity. This isn't poetry like a full course meal but it isn't' quite poetry like dessert either. Sea of Strangers is like espresso after dinner, something that leaves you warm and satisfied after all has been said and done.

I don't usually read poetry and I'm not sure if I am the best person to review it but I really enjoyed it. It was so powerful and so full of emotion. Really heartbreaking but empowering and must read

**thank you Netgalley for providing me an ARC on exchange for an honest review **


I loved this book so much, I was having fun too reading this. It absolutely is one of my fav poems this year. Also my fav poem book from Lang Leav. It tells a lot about our daily life like love, hurt, etcetera. Over all, this is such a good book to read. Highly recommended !!

I gave it three out of five stars. I still recommend it to everyone who haven’t read anything by Lang Leav yet because her poems are really beautiful. It’s just that I’ve read Memories and Lullabies and this is the third poetry collection I read by her and sadly, I feel like they are very similar. It’s nice because you know what to expect. But I also love when writers/poets take on different subjects/styles and often try new things.

I’ve had some poems that I really liked, her writing is soft and emotional and the book was very fast-paced. But it still felt like something was missing. You know when there’s this book and it’s okay, it’s not the greatest thing, but not bad either? Yeah, that’s what I feel about this book.

There were some poems that stood up and that I adored, but mostly it just felt way too familiar. And it’s kind of sad because I feel like Leav has lots of potential and a very beautiful way with words. I really wish she would experiment more.

Lang Leav's Sea of Stranger is definitely my favorite so far from all her poetry books. I especially like the shorter ones because they speak stronger, deeper meanings for me. Readers can easily relate to both the poems and prose since they all speak the same language: the beauty and tragedy of love.

Also, some poems also talks about one's own journey on finding oneself and being content and happy to live in this world.

Lang captivates emotions so beautifully in her words. The poem will make you realize the different aspects of love and sadness like you've never think of before.

2.5 I have wanted to read some of Lang Leav's works for a long time and when this popped up on NetGalley, I was anxious and excited. Overall, it's an adequate poetry collection, but it reminds me too much of Amanda Lovelace and Rupi Kaur, and I just don't want to read another hippie poetry sister in this collection. Don't get me wrong, it's an adequate book, with lots of hidden gems in it, but it was all to sweet for my personal tastes. However, if you love Lang Leav's work, there's quite a chance that you'd like this as well.

ARC from NetGalley, thank you kindly.

A magnificent journey from the insecure young writer to a more confident and content poet.

Really loved this book of short poetry and prose. It was an easy but deep read with a lot of poems/prose that I could relate to. I've loved a lot of Lang Leav's previous work so it's no surprise that I loved this latest one as well. She captures love and loss and sadness and happiness so beautifully and says things that I've thought before. Definitely a recommended read. I was so excited that I was able to get an advance copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review, all opinions are my own.

"I will celebrate this life of mine, with or without you. The moon does not need the sun to tell her she is already whole."

This collection of poetry was simple and surprisingly calming. I found myself being lulled by the rhythm of Leav's work, the gentle push and pull. Though I did overall enjoy the pieces, there were only a couple that really stood out to me. I think I was missing some thread to follow throughout to make it a bit more cohesive.

Sea of Strangers by Lang Leav is the poet's fourth publish collection.  Leav is an international bestselling author and social media sensation. She is the winner of a Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and coveted Churchill Fellowship.

This my second review of one of Leav's books.  I was introduced to her work by another review that of her partner, Michael Faudet.  Both write short poems and pieces of prose which is a growing trend in the reading of younger adults and hip kids today.  One doesn't have to look too hard to find the writing of Leav, Faudet, r.h. Sin, Samantha King, and many others who write in this style.

I do like the writing better in this collection than her previous work.  Although the writing and poems are short and in simple terms, there seems to be more body to this collection.  It is not classical poetry or even modern poetry of say, Ginsberg, O'Hara, or Billy Collins.  A more cynical person would see it as the younger generations need for bite-size messages with a single and simple message.  It is, however, the minimalist version of poetry.  Where poets in the past used language to paint a picture of emotion, Leav uses as few words as possible to present a simple but heartfelt thought.  Some of it is very good and some of it presents an oversimplified picture with that comfortable rhythm of a nursery rhyme:

For All Time

You talk to me in riddles,
   I will answer you in rhyme
   I loved you for a little --
   I will love you for all time.

The book is printed on every other page so when open the reader will be able to concentrate only one the one short thought at a time and gives the book some heft.  I will admit that it is nice to focus on a few words that can be absorbed in almost a glance and then have the blank space to pause and absorb what I have just read.  There is no sense of urgency to the next page.  The reader will linger thinking about what was just read.  

Although I prefer the deeper thoughts of understanding and appreciating older poetry,  Leav and others are creating a convenience type poetry that is popular with the younger crowd who would rather have the kernel of literature and ponder it than discover it themselves.  However, if it helps popularize poetry, it can't be all bad.   

Available January 9, 2018

This collection honestly did not live up to the hype for me. Best of luck with the next collection.

Poetry is something that I've just gotten into reading fairly recently, and I credit Lang Leav as the writer who peaked my interested in the art.

In Leav's previous published book of poems The Universe of Us, I felt like there was this sense of vastness that peppered the poems throughout encompassing, as titled, The Universe above us.

In this new work, I felt like the different poems took spread out more along the horizon and less in the cosmos. Their tone shifting from dark and moody, to light and happy, as the tide shifts back and forth along the coast. In and out. It's a wonderful flow about it, but I enjoyed - what I felt as I read - was the more awe-inspiring tone of it's predecessor.

Sea of Strangers has, as mentioned above, a moodier tone. More reminiscent of Leav's first full-length book Sad Girls, a book that I've started but wasn't able to finish yet.

There's nothing wrong with being more contemplative on the aspects of love lost and / or a pining kind of love where you want to be in that light and happy place, but events decided to turn in another direction. There are many beautiful passages of contemplation on this subject. Maybe there's a reason why the cover is blue and the figure on the front in glancing down. I don't know. But I felt the tonal shift from Leav's previous work and while I appreciated the shift as indicative of the fact that this is a different set of poems. I can't help but long for more places of hope.

Something I did really enjoy this time around, which I don't remember feeling in Universe was the idea of certain passages, mainly the longer more contemplative, feeling as though Lang Leav was reaching through the book and speaking directly to the reader conversationally. It felt very personal.

As always, I loved Lang Leav's penchant for making huge statements in such a small amount of words. Those are typically my favorite poems from her.

While Sea of Strangers didn't have the same impact on me as The Universe of Us, I am a devoted fan, I am committed to reading anything / everything Lang Leav writes.

Wow. I've read other books by Lang Leav before, but this one is my new favorite. Her poems are so beautiful, so full of feeling. Absolutely love it.

Lang Leav continues to impress with this stunning collection of poetry that reveals how love can be transformative in strengthening the human heart to persist even in the wake of turmoil.