I loved her first collection of poems and I loved this one as well. It’s geared towards women and is a very important read for the current state of women’s rights. It was powerful and empowering!

“warning II: no mercy ahead.”

** Trigger warning for violence against women. **

misogyny
/m ‘säj ne/
noun
1: the power-driven hatred of women.
2: just the way things are.

misandry
/mi ‘ sandre/
noun
1: the reactionary, self-preserving hatred of men.
2: somehow this is going too far.

###

our
very being

is considered
an inconvenience,

our bodies
vacant homes

wrapped in layers
of yellow tape,

our legs
double doors

for one man
(& one man only)

to pry open so
he can invade us

& set down his
furniture,

never once
asking us

how we feel
about the curtains.

– they love us empty, empty, empty.

###

in this novel
the woman protagonist

claims she’s not like
those other girls,

not because she finds
their femininity

to be an insult or
a weakness, no—

it’s
because

she knows
all women have

their own unique
magic

that cannot be
replicated by her

or any other
woman.

– the plot twist we’ve all been waiting for.

###

It pains me that I didn’t love this book more than I did.

I credit Lovelace’s first collection, THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE, with reigniting my love of poetry. Accessible and invigorating, it showed me that I could both enjoy – and understand – modern poetry. Based on the strength of the first book, and the fairy tale promise of the follow-up’s title, my expectations were really quite high. Maybe unfairly so.

If you read THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE, many of the pieces here will feel familiar to you; this is not necessarily a bad thing. Lovelace’s words have the same fierce intersectional feminist spark that drew me to PRINCESS. There’s a lot to love here – but there’s also quite a bit of repetition. I was also hoping for a more obvious connection between the poems and fairy tale villains; maybe a retelling here or there. Mostly though the poems just draw on imagery of witchcraft and witch hunts. Again, this isn’t a bad thing, especially given the current backlash against the #MeToo campaign. I was just hoping for something … more.

That said, there are some really wonderful and memorable poems within these here pages. The topics are timely AF, and I love that Lovelace takes care to embrace all women under the banner of sisterhood (say it with me: all women are authentic). If you love women and love poetry, THE WITCH DOESN’T BURN IN THIS ONE is still a pretty solid pick, and I look forward to the next title in the “Women are some kind of magic,” THE MERMAID’S VOICE RETURNS IN THIS ONE.

Link to the review of this book to be added when published.

I have been dying to get my hands on this book since I had heard Amanda was writing it. I absolutely fell in love with her first collection of poetry, and I am constantly praising it. This book was just as powerful and so inspiring. I felt completely empowered while reading it, and I couldn't put it down. Each poem is so accurate and emotional. You can really see Amanda's confidence grow in this book and each piece of art she chose to include was for good reason. I can not wait to get my hands on a finished, physical copy. If you have a chance to pick this up, please do. (I received an early copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review).

This book could not have come at a better time. It filled me with rage, inspiration and hope. It is a battle cry.

I don't know what peoples problems are with this book, because I enjoyed it so much more than the first book in this series of poetry. But then again, I tend to be the black sheep, baaahh.

Some of my favorites were "Expectations vs Reality" and "Women, we can spin gold out of dirt"!

Amanda Lovelace, aka queen of poetry, did it again! She slays dragons and wolves with her words, and burns the patriarchy with her power. Because women are some kind of magic, but we aren't delicate flowers made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. We are strong, we are fierce, and we are tired of your bullshit. We are angry (of course we are!) and we have the right to be. And the most important thing is that we are together in this everyday fight.

In her second poetry collection 'the witch doesn't burn in this one', Amanda Lovelace writes unapologetically against the manmade structure that oppresses women, and shows no mercy to misogyny. She also encourages women to support other women, and to always put themselves first and be their own priority.

This is an inspiring and empowering book that will make you feel that your rage is fair and that you're not alone, because we women are the fire. "Fire is catching and if we burn, you burn with us" 🔥

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this book a 2 star rating and I am probably in the minority with my opinion on this book. It was an okay read for me but I didn't love it. I did, however, enjoy the first book more than this one. Some of the poems within this book were great and really stood out, but for the majority it really didn't seem that refreshing or new to me. I think that many people will enjoy this book, especially if you like this style of poetry. So, definitely give it a try if you think it is something you would enjoy.

Trigger warnings: abuse, sexual assault, eating disorders

www.turningthepgs.wordpress.com

Man oh man! I loved this so much. Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read an e-arc of this amazing book. wowza. 2017 for me, was the year of poetry. I hated poetry growing up so in the past year, with modern poetry, it brought back a love for it that I once had. Modern poetry has such an impact on me and Amanda Lovelace is such an amazing poet. I can't wait to see what we get from her next.

I was really excited about this second collection of poetry. I wasn't entirely let down. There were pieces that made me feel angry, righteous, and like I could burn down the patriarchy. There were also pieces that made me feel strong, empowered, and tender. I'll read it again, if/when I feel like society is letting us down.

Actual rating: 4.5/5

Last year, I fell in love with Amanda's The Princess Saves Herself in this One. Hard. Her poems rang true to me in a way not many other poems ever had. So it wasn't a huge surprise that I couldn't resist the opportunity to read it early.

Even though I wasn't bewitched like I was for her first book, I once again fell in love with her words and poems. In them, she talks about feminism, rape, girl empowerment and self-love among other subjects. And as a girl, they did speak to me. You could feel that she meant every bit of every word used in her poems.
I particularly liked the fact that she wrote some poems in homage of some books/musicals that I absolutely love.

Amanda Lovelace proves once again that though her poems may seem 'simple' to some, she is capable of writing powerful poems which can only make you feel something.

Continuing her same powerful, spare style from her debut, the princess saves herself in this one, Amanda Lovelace is back with another collection of feminist poetry. Angrier than princess, I feel like Lovelace is coming into her voice more with each book and I can't wait to see where she goes from here.

3.5/5

These poems are a tribute to all women, a call to be yourself no matter what, and a request to the need of self love and acceptance.

This book was full of poems for women’s empowerment and I really liked it. Some of them were too much for me, but I still really liked the whole collection.

“forget
being ladylike

(whatever
the hell
that means)

& allow
yourself to

show
the world
just how

unapologetically
angry

this
inequality
makes you.

let it all
g o.

– throw flames like a girl”

Amanda Lovelace has done it again! This collection of poetry was amazingly well written…I felt so many emotions while reading it. I teared up, I got angry, I felt shattered and then inspired. The collection, much like her previous one, touches on a variety of topics, including feminism, violence against women, rape, self-love and abusive relationships. Her words have so much power, each one carefully chosen and formatted for effect. I’m always amazed at how much she can say when only using a limited number of words. I can’t properly describe how reading this book made me feel. I simply don’t have the words.

I know this is a collection that I’ll come back to again and again. It’s a stunning companion to her debut and now that it’s part of a series…well I can’t wait for what Ms Lovelace will release next! This is most definitely, without a single doubt, a poetry book that everyone needs to read!

I have to say, I’ve been a fan of Amanda’s work since her first collection, the princess saves herself in this one. I read it and appreciated it and loved what the poetess had conveyed in her story. It was so beautifully done. I really liked it.

Now, her last book, that felt like more of a cellphone novel to me than a poetry collection, especially with the formatting used, but this one felt more like poetry. Whatever the format, the story that was told in the book was just as compelling as the first one. More so here. The way that Lovelace has described what women go through all around the world and her inner most thoughts about such behaviour left me spellbound.

She talks about so many different things in this novel, each one as important as the other. The basic theme of the story is how women bow to no one, anywhere at anytime. It really brings out the fight in you. The theme of self love and acceptance that was abundant in the book made me love it even more.

Lovelace’s words are beautiful. They’re absolutely phenomenal and they’re gorgeous. They’ll make you think, they’ll make you want more for yourself than what you’ve been pitifully given and they’ll make you question the society you know. It really is a good awakening. I thoroughly enjoyed everything in this book – all the problematic issues called out, the importance of standing up for yourself, the importance of self love, but most importantly, not letting others treat us like trash because we don’t deserve that.

So, yes. I love this collection. It is powerful and enigmatic and it absolutely needs to be on your TBR because everyone in the world needs to read this book.

This book of poems cut through to my soul. From the first page, the words hooked me in with their sharpness and the vivid imagery they evoked. I was surprised that this book wasn't a fantasy or supernatural. I took witches literally. They are cleverly and powerfully used as metaphors.

I did feel empowered and better after reading. It isn't just about women facing misogyny, it's about rape culture/abuse, trauma and low self-esteem among other things women are forced to endure because of patriarchal societies. And the book guides you to rise above all that. So it's also a confronting, but important read, a guide to self-healing and development of resistance.

I'm usually not a huge fan of poetry, but I loved the princess saves herself in this one, so of course I was very excited about the witch doesn't burn in this one. It definitely did not disappoint, and I am so excited to purchase a physical copy for myself when it is out. There's a lot more anger in this collection, and I'm so glad I read it. It's the poetry collection we need right now.

WITCH is the sequel to PRINCESS. It’s short, a little repetitive in my opinion, but very good. Although I’m no longer a fan of this poetry style and though I enjoyed the first collection more, WITCH is a decent second instalment with a newer empowering selection of poetry.

Amanda Lovelace's new collection is a lot more mature then her first one. There's a lot more structure to her writing and the poems feel more fleshed out. I think she really evolved as a writer and it definitely shows throughout this collection. I loved the theme of witches strewn through the poems - it delivered the message perfectly. Lots of important and very current themes in this one. I especially loved the poems about sisterhood and girl friendships and I think those were the highlight of the collection for me. Definitely recommend this one!

As with her first book, I have mixed feelings on this one. I truly love her thoughts and ideas. Stylistically this leaves so much to be desired. This is just not my kind of poetry. I appreciate every idea she is trying to portray, but can't help but wonder if there is a more impactful way to do so. It is definitely worth the read even if poetry (or this style) are not your cup of tea.