I will note that there were certainly a fair number of poems that I could appreciate for the strong feminist messages though it was few and far between. While I can appreciate the attempt to be cohesive, where this book failed was that it felt like it was trying too hard to follow a theme of feminist witches rising up and burning down the patriarchy, but it quickly became repetitive and tiring. Then there are ones that aren’t empowering but just detail over and over again how men treat women badly and sure, yeah, there are a lot of awful people out there it just felt like it was repeated over and over again for a dramatic effect. It just felt really impersonal and like it didn’t have much meaning at times.

I felt that most of the content wasn’t so much poetry as much as simple and short sentences that are unnecessarily spaced out. To me, poetry is a literary art form that uses rhyming or aesthetics to convey a story or meaning. Maybe I’m a bit old fashioned, but I didn’t get either from this collection. Placing each word on a different line in all lower case doesn’t do anything for the poem aesthetically, it just looks like a mess and is a waste of paper. I tried really hard to just accept the format, but I really didn’t like it. I’ve heard the argument that it falls under the category of minimalist poetry but it didn’t fit the style to me either.

I was also surprised to find, and I don’t say this lightly because I don’t feel that I’m the type of person that is easily offended, but there were a couple of poems that I found extremely problematic. For poems that are meant to be full of truth or empowering, I found several of them to be misguided at best.

It’s unfortunate, but this poetry collection just wasn’t for me and that’s just my preference. This doesn’t diminish it for others that enjoy it and find some truth that speaks to them.

I haven't read any of Amanda Lovelace's poetry before now, but I am so glad to have read this collection. Women's empowerment poetry is a genre I can totally get behind. Her use of format and impactful words really spoke to me and had me nodding in assent at my desk while I was reading. Wholeheartedly recommend for every woman in my life.

I've heard lots and lots of wonderful things about Amanda Lovelace's powerful and feminist poems, and after a few teasers of her work, I was determined to find out what my own reaction to her work would be. And just like the bold red letters on an otherwise simple cover, The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One without doubt makes a statement. Not only did I instantly connect with her style of poetry and the way she expresses herself, but I could also relate to some of the topics she discusses in her poems. Powerful, enchanting, inspiring and so well represented in both the words and format of her work! There a trigger warnings involved for a wide selection of sensitive themes, but all used in a way that will hopefully encourage women to finally stand up for themselves and say 'no more'. The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One simply blew me away and I can highly recommend it to fans of strong, empowering and feminist poetry.

"red lipstick: an external sign of internal fire. - we tried to warn you."
This poetry book comes at a relevant time with the political climate in the world today. It focuses on the inequality and abuse women has to overcome. Split into four sections, the poetry transitions from obstacles to standing up for women, fighting back, and empowering each other, as women. It touches on issues like insecurity, rape, sexual abuse, etc.

I finished this entire book within an hour.

Thank you Netgalley, the author, and publisher, for allowing me to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest, unbias review.

Just as good as her first work, the witch doesn't burn in this one packs a punch.

An amazing collection of powerful poems. I loved ‘the princess saves herself in this one’ and amanda’s Second collection doesn’t disappoint at all. I’m looking forward to having a physical copy I can carry around with me.

The poetry book is a fun read, however, rarely does an extraordinary poem show up. There is wonderful prose style poetry, it's simplistic and well-intentioned, however, it lacks in depth.

I got the book from NetGallery for a free review. I did like some of her poems, but they were few and far apart.

Amazing and relevant; Lovelace has magic in the tips of her fingers and I am consistently impressed with her artistic endeavors.

A very powerful collection of feminist poetry. Lovelace is unflinching and bold in the ways she condemns the ways society has failed or actively harmed women, and it makes for a very compelling read. I wanted to pick up her other book of poetry, The Princess Saves Herself In This One, prior to reading this, but after reading this collection I feel an urgency to do so.

I honestly just found myself not being able to get into this book. I really enjoyed her first book, but this one just doesn't seem to be for myself.

After hearing so many wonderful things about GoodReads Choice Award winning poet Amanda Lovelace's debut book, The Princess Saves Herself in This One, I was stupidly excited when the opportunity arose to review her new collection, The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One.
I am a big fan of poetry and I am conscious that I don't read nearly enough. I found The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One to be a great introduction to the genre of feminist poetry and I really enjoyed this awe-inspiring, authentic collection of powerful poems.
So many poems spoke to me on so many different levels. The content covers an array of subjects including feminism, body-shaming, eating disorders, the glamorisation of abuse and self-acceptance.
However, the collection itself is based around the metaphor of the Salem Witch Trials - and ultimately the oppression of women.
Whilst the actual style of poetry is not necessarily my favourite, I still really enjoyed reading this anthology. The poems definitely had the desired effects of evoking all sorts of emotions within me.
The passion that Amanda Lovelace writes with really shines through in her works, along with the anger and raw emotion that she pours into her words.

I found many of the poems to be inspiring, particularly 'Things I Still Struggle to Say and That’s Ok', '& I’ve Only Just Begun' and 'We Tried to Warn You' (“Red lipstick, an external sign of internal fire.”- Possibly my favourite quote from a poem ever.)
There's no denying that, as a woman reading this it made me feel strong and also rather powerful in a way that other other poetry collection has before. I felt as part of a team - women united as we battle against the injustices that many of us face and it has to be said - that is a damn good feeling. I'd go so far as to say it's liberating - despite the words and content coming from a place of anger and injustice. (In fact, some of the content is very dark indeed - but it has it's place and works well to contributing to the overall message portrayed by the book.)
This is a great book to skim through and to refer back to when you need to; whether you're struggling with an issue in your life or are just looking for some inspiration.

A fiery and compelling book for fiery and compelling women.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

As soon as I saw this available on NetGalley, I knew I needed to read it. The Princess Saves Herself in This One was an amazing foray into poetry for me. I do not particularily like poetry, but I was able to connect on a deep level with many of the poems in that collection. So when I knew Amanda was going to have a "sequel" I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. That being said, this one fell flat for me. I did not have the same connection to the writing as I had with Princess.

This collection is all about female empowerment which is important and very timely. I unfortunately, was unable to make that connection with these poems to really truly enjoy this book. Many are going to read this an absolutely fall in love. It is another great collection of poetry, it just was not the collection for me.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the eARC*

Amanda Lovelace once again shares poetry that seeks to share a widespread message of empowerment to female-identifying individuals who may just be in need of that additional written validation.

I loved the first book in those series and I loved those one just as much. These poems are about feminism and being a strong woman. I loved the way she wrote these poems And the subject material about what alot of us woman have been through.

"The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One" is a collection of poetry and a sort of sequel to "The Princess Saves Herself in This One". Before I get into this review, I should note that I haven't read the first in this series of poetry books. Fortunately, though, I don't think that it matters too terribly much what order you read these in.

I have never been a reader of poetry. I used to write poems years ago, but there was never much rhyme or reason to them. No snapping fingers or banging bongo drums accompanied my work. My knowledge of poetry is very limited sadly.

That being said, I was excited to read this, and I felt that all of the poems in this collection were done well. Objectively, I can tell you that this was a good piece of literature, but I'm not the person to appreciate it. I wasn't aware of the subject material before going into this, and I found that I didn't relate to the content.

That definitely does not mean this was poorly done, or someone else won't find things to love or hurt over in "The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One". This was obviously written to empower women and as a letter against rape culture, which I'm on board with completely. Sadly though, I felt there was much generalization about men and how terrible and awful they are, which I don't agree with.

That's not to say there aren't horribly crappy men out there. There are also horribly crappy women. Our world is inherently evil, so there are massive amounts of horribly crappy people in the world. So I think there are plenty of ways to empower women without spitting fire and hatred. Speak out against the rapists and the pedophiles and the creeps. Fight to make sure they get their just desserts. But try to do so without stomping on the men who don't deserve it.

I think men and women alike will find many things to love about what Lovelace has to say, and she should be applauded for writing such a deeply personal and powerful piece. Just because I couldn't connect with it doesn't mean many others won't.

This review is also found on my blog at spinelessbookwyrm.wordpress.com

Sometimes sequels really aren’t as good as the first instalment. Lovelace’s second poetry collection lacks the power the first had for me. The message is definitely something I can get behind but the poems feel less personal and altogether a little less meaningful.

This collection is a cohesive piece about feminism and strong women. All the poems work well together, unfortunately, they sort of resemble each other a little too much. Despite the four distinct section labels, each section felt sort of the same. Not only that but nothing here feels revolutionary or raw the way some of the poems in the previous collection did. I’ve seen all these emotions, statements and ideas all over the internet. There’s nothing transformative here.

I know I will be in the minority. This is a poetry book many people will love but I feel that it is so much weaker than the original that I barely enjoyed it. I felt, at times, like I had read the same poem several times throughout the book. In the princess saves herself in this one I was constantly pulling quotes to share. I was deeply affected. I was in love. There are poems in this book that I enjoyed, but nothing I’ll carry with me for long.

Lovelace has created a strong collection of angry feminist poetry, and it will certainly suit the taste of many people. It just wasn’t what I was hoping for. It felt so impersonal (though this may not be the case) to me compared to her last collection and I don’t feel like it left me with any fresh takes on the world.

"there exists
a fine line
between
being
selfish
&
being
selfless"

Having read "The Princess Saves Herself in this One" and loved it, you can tell I was so excited to know Amanda Lovelace is coming out with a companion! Her poetry style is something that is so elegantly simple and yet reaches so deep and clutches your heart strings (in a good way).

She did receive a little bit of criticism (amongst many other authors) regarding her style of writing, and wether this new wave of ~tumblr poetry~ is even poetry at all. As art is something that is so> subjective, I do think poetry can come in all forms, and the only rule that exists for poetry: is that it makes you feel.

"They scratched it
out of the history books,

but on all the
great innovations

you will find
scorch marks

in the shape of
a woman's

magnificent
handprint."

Women are libraries about to burst made me burst with emotion, I loved the way Amanda phrased the meaning behind her words. With raw fire and an urge to leave a message.

Many poems in this book made me have to stop, and just relish in the words..... And in my opinion, if poetry doesn't make you do that, then its not poetry.

Amanda's passion is very clear, though I didn't like every poem of the book. There were definitely moments where I was just, confused as to what a certain piece is doing, and what is it adding to the bigger picture.

But there is no denying that the author poured all of her heart and vulnerabilities into the completing this book. The topics discussed are a bit deeper, and there is a sense of healing.

Another one of my favourite pieces at the end of the collection, entices such courage and warm feelings in my, and I'm so thankful it.

"today
you are
the fire

& tomorrow
you will be
the sea

& they'll
have no choice
but to hear your siren song."

Though this poetry collection is not for everyone, there is no denying I enjoyed so many poems featured and they've inspired me to create. Enjoyed making this gif to go along with the review! if you are interested in seeing more gifs and reviews, find me on @endlessyarning! we moved to Wordpress!

Why are witches evil and wizards good when the only difference is their gender? This is the question that rolled over and over in my head while I read this book of poetry. I really liked the journey this collection took us through. I felt my anger build, especially in the poems about rape culture, and I was worried that this collection would do nothing more than promote anger (anger isn't bad, but anger alone doesn't help anyone), but the fourth part of this collection addressed that very nicely. Most of the poems individually I did not find particularly remarkable, but there were a few that struck me (and a few I disagreed with), and, overall, I thought the collection was beautiful and provocative. It definitely made me think: Why are witches evil and wizard good when the only difference is their gender?

I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
As the introduction to this collection of poems states, it deals with abuse, assault, body issues, eating disorders and childhood trauma.
Having had personal experience with a few of these topics myself, reading these poems was truly a journey through a range of intense emotions.
I appreciated the poet taking her time and exploring the emotions before moving on and almost guiding the reader to begin the healing process. The anger and hurt and suppression felt leads the way to stand up, speak up and fight, which in turn leads to allowing the reader to heal.
Overall, I haven’t had a chance to read the first collection in this series, but will do so as soon as it is available at my local library. As the poet warns, her poems deal with a lot of sensitive topics and one should practice self-care at all times. Having said that, I appreciated the poet’s sincere and honest address of these issues and I would recommend this collection of poems.