Like her previous book, there are some poems which I think are really strong, with feelings which are identifiable. However, as a whole it just doesn't hit the mark. I found I was wanting for a bit more substance and complexity.

Full disclosure: I received The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars

Amanda Lovelace’s writing has improved dramatically since The Princess Saves Herself in This One. Or at any rate I enjoyed it a great deal more than Princess.

Things I loved:
-The message: WOMEN ARE COMPLEX HUMAN BEINGS LIKE ANYONE ELSE. We can be rageful and vindictive too.
- The homages to classic like Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market, Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls, and Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.
-The eating disorder representation was well - done and realistic.
-The emphasis on sisterhood and women strength
-That there is an included list of triggers

Things I wasn't crazy about:
-Amanda Lovelace’s style is a bit repetitive for my taste

Bottom line: I liked it and would recommend it

Thank you, NetGalley, for the review copy!

I don't read poetry very often but I had read The Princess Saves Herself In This One by Amanda Lovelace before and loved it which is why I am grateful to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book! These poems are so empowering I literally got goosebumps reading some of them. Absolutely loved this collection and I would recommend it as a must-read for everyone.

The Witch Doesn’t Burn In This One by Amanda Lovelace on Netgalley and holy shit. I am in love with it. I read it in one sitting. And plan to read it again tomorrow, I am not gonna lie. This is a picture of me after a heartbreak, a heartbreak that left me feeling shattered and alone. This is the first time after that, that I actually felt empowered and this was because of Amanda Lovelace’s first poetry collection that I read, The Princess Saves Herself in this one.
The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace was amazing. I absolutely loved it, so much. I really connected with the poems, they were so raw and emotional and it seemed as if Amanda was talking right to me. As if she understood all the struggles I have been through and am still struggling with. It’s like she personally gave me a kick in the ass to become a badass and to overcome all my struggles and remind me of my worth. And remind me that my life is a gift. That being female is a gift and if other can’t see that it is on them and not me. I do not fail because somebody is unable to appreciate me. And I should never allow people to walk all over me.
I can’t wait for this poetry collection to be released because honestly Amanda Lovelace’s poems are my absolute favourites. They are the poems I turn to to give myself motivation and remind me of my worth. I am picking this collection up as soon as it is out of shelves. I highly recommend you do the same :)

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My second foray into contemporary free verse poetry went much better than my last, if my high rating is any indication. The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One is my first read from Amanda Lovelace, covering topics ranging from historic female oppression to the 2017 Women’s March.

And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

At first I didn’t know what to expect and my hopes weren’t super high, but both Lovelace’s dedication and trigger warning at the very beginning made me sit up straighter. This is a woman who both knows and respects her audience, and the more I read, the more I realized that, yeah, I am getting feminist poetry from a female perspective. How novel! (You may think I’m being facetious, but I’ve had a lot of Male Feminism™ thrown in my face lately that has not been great, so this was a breath of fresh air in a room full of Axe body spray.)

Unlike my last poetry book, this one had structure. Glorious, beautiful structure. Not just with the poems themselves (and many of them were structured in interesting and unique ways) but the book as a whole. Lovelace splits her poetry into four parts: the trial, the burning, the firestorm, and the ashes, and within each of these parts, her poems build in ferocity, passion, and content. You really feel like each part is taking you somewhere, building you towards something.

With symbolism largely revolving around witch burnings, imagery of fire and ashes and the rage they come from abound, but I never got bored with it. It never devolves into the raging feminist stereotype for me. So much of it is about women taking back our power, expressing our anger, getting back at our oppressors, but the endgame is one of action, dedicated to leaving the world better than when we found it. There’s a lot of healing taking place.

That isn’t to say the poems pull their punches. Many deal with topics such as sexual assault, insecurity, eating disorders, fear, powerlessness, violence, and the venom that comes with them. They call out the patriarchy, the laughable “Not All Men” saying, and the 2016 US election. All the while, Lovelace pays tribute to women, both fictional and real, by name and by identity, regardless of race, religion, or gender. There are poems dedicated to Eliza Hamilton, Hillary Clinton, Diana Prince, Emma Sulkowicz, and many more that had me sitting there, stunned, when I realized who and what they were about.

So would I call this form of free verse real poetry? Well, poetry is about making you feel something. It’s about making you think and keeping you company. There were so many times I was nodding along, going, “Yeah. Yeah! YEAH!” in my head because the words and lessons in Lovelace’s work were so relevant to me. I have lived so much of this female experience, and I have seen other women go through the more terrible consequences that come with the crime of being born women.

I felt angry and heartbroken at times, but also hopeful and empowered AF. I felt called to action, both for societal change and for personal change, namely to always treat other women like family because they are. We’re all going through a lot of the same stuff and our differences can only enrich and teach us, not divide us. We are united in more ways than those who seek to oppress us want us to know.

Is this real poetry? You bet it is. Mission accomplished, Amanda Lovelace!

I definitely liked the first book in this series, The Princess Saves Herself in this One, more than this second installment. There are a few poems in this collection that I really liked, but most of them were just ok for me.

I do think Amanda Lovelace writes about some important topics. I’m glad this type of poetry collection exists that deals with feminist issues, body positivity, sexual assault, self-love, etc. But I feel like the way these topics were explored in this collection became repetitive. Also, the poems in this one didn’t evoke any emotion from me, which was weird because I feel like I usually relate to poetry that deals with these topics.

I feel like overall themes of the book, witches, witchcraft and witch hunts were interesting and they were present in all the poems. There was a lot of consistency in the collection, both in terms of the overall theme and the different topics it explored. But, as I was saying before, my main problem with this book is that I didn’t feel touched or connected to a lot of the poems and most of them didn’t provoke any emotion in me.

I fell in love with Amanda Lovelace's writing after reading "The Princess Saves Herself in This One" That book helped me to learn love and forgiveness. "The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One" was the complete opposite. It taught me to embrace my reopened wounds, and harness my pain. It caused an eruption in my soul, and gave me a healthy way to feel anger and rage that I had bottle up. Amanda is an incredible writer, one who can elicit the most visceral response I've ever felt towards a poem. She thankfully does include a trigger warning, which is not to be ignored! Reading "Witch" was a surreal experience, many of the poems felt like they had come from my own mind, as they pinpointed my emotions so accurately. An emotional roller coaster, but worth it.

"The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One" is the feminist answer to centuries of male dominated poetry that relegate women to nothing more than fragile flowers and damsels in distress. Amanda Lovelace turns that narrative on it's head, a poetic Call-To-Arms of powerful women to embrace our flaws, and take our rightful place in the world. This is a book that will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I hope it helps other people as much as it helped me.

Amanda did it again. Wow. I think I loved this more than Princess. It was the fire I needed to keep going and keep standing up for my sisters. I absolutely adored the red font. Red is the color of fire and blood, both of which we do. I loved the little nods toward witchy language and I'm calling my group of close friends my coven now, for sure.

I loved how she played with form more in this one and actually made symbols or pictures out of the words of her poems. I think there's a certain delight in reading an copy of this book purely for the lists of poems who start out with the same sentence or initial stanza. It was really cool to watch the transition on the computer and watch the bottom change. The sections were on point and I loved the story that introduced each section and continued as the over arching theme of the collection. I loved the small collections of poems within the overarching collection. Gosh, I can't wait for Mermaid and I really need it now.

Amanda always has the most beautiful writing styles, and her writing leaves me in tears in the best way!

It is hard to find the words to convey exactly how this book makes me feel, but I will try my best. I cried while reading this book from beginning to end. This book is a love letter to women and everything that we are. It is drowning in emotion and it is taking me with it. I think every woman should read this.

"get up, you are nobody's doormat"

I picked this up because I was curious and wanted to jump into poetry a bit more after taking a class on it in school. The writing style is really beautiful and has a such a powerful message to it. I haven't read Amanda Lovelace's first collection The Princess Saves Herself in This One but I'm definitely intrigued after reading this sequel collection!

I loved her first collection of poetry, but this was even better. Not only does lovelace capture the anger/fire metaphor well, but there are excellent references to current political and pop culture that make it timely. I loved the Hamilton/Game of Thrones/Handmaid's Tale shout-outs, but I know there are more. Plus, she actually says what they're from, so no inside jokes. Already pre-ordered.

I really liked this book, but somehow it fell short on my expectations, I think I liked the first book a little better! The feminists aspects and themes were still here, but I feel like I was expecting more from the witch-y aspect (more bad-assery, more spells-like poems). I think it was my fault entirely that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I would have wanted - because I set up some high expectations, maybe too high to reach.
All in all, it was a very nice book, full of empowering and bringing women together.

The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One is a continuation collection from The Princess Saves Herself in this One, including even more empowering stories for women and girls to read about. The poetry in it is, of course, as amazing as the first in the series. It is moving and great for empowering females or just anyone who can relate. As with the first book, structurally it is split into 4 sections: 'the trial'; 'the burning'; 'the firestorm'; and 'the ashes'. The messages are still as important as in the first book, but I felt like I couldn't connect with the poems as well because they felt similar to the first.

Some of the pages truly stand out and make an important note, especially the pages surrounding sexual assault. The describe things we should discuss more openly but rarely are brave enough to, Amanda manages to portray these subjects in an incredibly moving way.

More detailed review on my website but this was definitely another collection of poems from Amanda that I adored!

While poetry isn’t something I often reach for, a couple months ago I picked up The Princess Saves Herself In This One because of a booktuber’s recommendation, and loved it. So when I saw this sequel on Netgalley I just couldn’t help myself. This compilation of poetry is exactly what 2018 needed. It’s a lovely and daring reflection on what it means to be a woman. While you read, you can really feel the resentment toward the toxic masculinity of the patriarchy and also the underlying support that Amanda Lovelace is trying to build up under all women! Every poem felt raw and real and I finished this read with a sense of empowerment that I would really love to share with female readers everywhere! And while this is certainly a highly recommended book for female readers, I would suggest it just as highly to any of my male followers. The Witch Doesn’t Burn In This One simply has too many important messages for anyone to skip out on! Can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book on March 6th when it is released.
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*Spoilers -ish*
After the dedication to Harry Potter in the first book, I really, REALLY enjoyed the dedication to Katniss Everdeen in this sequel. Hats off, Amanda Lovelace, a truly lovely read.

You know that moment when you get a book that you have plans to savor? Especially with poetry, where you’ll read a poem here or there, whenever the mood strikes. Next thing you know, you look up and time has passed and the book is over. That’s what happened when I got my hands on the witch doesn’t burn in this one by Amanda Lovelace (also known as ladybookmad). I devoured the collection in one sitting and I have zero regrets.

Last year I purchased her first collection, the princess saves herself in this one, not quite knowing what to expect, but willing to give a shot since I had heard a lot about the book through Tumblr. I was not disappointed. From the moment I opened the book, I was sold (No. Really. With a dedication to Harry Potter, how could I say no?). It was intense, with an overarching tone of sadness amidst the poems of overcoming the various trials.

But the witch doesn’t burn in this one has an entirely different mood to it. Again, I was sold from the beginning, but I quickly realized this collection was about empowerment, strength, and rebellion—just like the character of Katniss that Lovelace makes a nod to at the start.

Just like with the princess, this book knew right where to hit: the feels. Every time I thought, “This is it. This is the most relatable poem. This one is my favorite,” Lovelace one-upped herself and proved there was still more to come.

While the witch can easily be read by itself, it is my personal recommendation to read Lovelace’s first collection before beginning her sophomore release. Both are strong on their own, but the impact they make together is profound.

3,5 stars

One of the things when you step out of your comfort zone is that you can find remarkable things. Amanda Lovelace’s poetry certainly is that. This is only my second poetry collection I’ve read, but it certainly has not put me of it. On the contrary.

One of the things I knew before going in was that Amanda’s style would be quite different from the style of poems I read in The Goblin Market. Where there is more subtleness in those, Amanda’s poetry is in your face. With the topics she chooses to take on that is much needed. Feminism, abuse, patriarchy and so on are just a few things she touches upon. Things that are topics of discussion these days. That are current. Important. You can’t be subtle about those things. They wouldn’t listen.

The collection of poetry is divided into four sections. For me the second section called The Burning was the strongest. Poems like Abuse is Nothing to Romanticize, Expectations vs Reality and Everything is a Distraction are strong poems with so much needed messages that a lot of the current patriarchy do not want to hear.
While saying I enjoyed reading this poetry collection isn’t quite the right word, as a woman I felt strengthened and validated in my own experiences. And I haven’t even dealt with half of what other women have endured.

Having said that, I can’t quite rate this up to 4 stars. The reason for this is the filler content that is scattered throughout the collection. I don’t think the collection needs it and I think it takes out perhaps some of the punch. In a collection with about 200 pages it was just too much.

I am a huge fan of Amanda’s previous poetry collection the princess saves herself in this one. I thought it was emotional, powerful, and honest. I loved it. But, I think the witch doesn’t burn in this one is far better. It’s angry, fiery, fierce, magical, and very empowering. It’s full of messages of self-love and uplifting other women. While her previous poetry collection seemed much more personal, this one is much broader. It mainly tackles misogyny, abuse, and rape culture. I love that this book has such an angry tone as if it literally doesn’t give a single fuck about men’s feelings and I loved that.

I also loved the symbolism of this collection and how Amanda used the witch trials to highlight how across time women have been accused of witchcraft when they haven’t fallen in line. It is dark and brutal full of blood and fire, but there are plenty of trigger warnings needed for this, which Amanda does list at the beginning.

Overall, an empowering and brilliant feminist poetry collection. Amanda Lovelace has definitely grown as a poet since her last poetry collection so if you loved the princess saves herself in this one, then you need to get your hands on the witch doesn’t burn in this one. I can’t wait for the next installment, the mermaid’s voice returns in this one. And I can’t wait to read whatever else Amanda writes in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-copy! The Witch Doesn’t Burn in this One is another great collection of poetry. I’m truly loving Amanda’s style, and this book’s very inspirational! Again, just like her first poetry book in this series I felt every single one of her emotions in every poem. The anger, strength, willpower, and determination that you read will make you want you put your own words onto paper. Definitely can’t wait for the next book!