This is my first time reading the poet. I really enjoyed Unfollowing You. This collection offers emotional insight into the start, middle and end of a modern love affair. I could relate to many things the poet has to say. So can many people I assume. The poems are different lengths from a few words to a full page. I liked the variation though the longer poems were better. None of the poems have titles giving the impression the words were dashed off in the heat of emotion. I like poems to have titles though so this niggled a bit. Overall, there are some powerful pieces in Unfollowing You.

As a teacher I totally see myself using this book with teens to introduce them to the world of poetry. But, I couldn’t enjoy it. Also, there are some blank screenshots put here and there. Did they serve a purpose? Who knows.

I enjoyed this collection of poetry! I felt like the poet did a good job of displaying the path love takes in our society. In today’s society, when a relationship takes a turn it ends with unfollowing on social media. The message behind the poetry collection was that once you move on from someone you can finally unfollow them. I loved it!

This has nothing to do with modern relationships. Yes, the narrator tried Tinder. They text, hang out, bla. Her "squad" even suggest to try out Bumble instead. Kapoor's understanding of romance seems like she's seen one too many chick flicks or hung around Instagram for too long. The situation told here is one many people have experienced in this digital era, so this book feels like another meme.

By the end, she repeatedly tried to excuse her juvenile behavior as to why he didn't want to commit. Although he said many times that he doesn't feel to label whatever they have, she takes it personally instead of saying how she actually feels! Then she goes on about letting go of past hurt, moving on, bla. All the things I've read multiple times on the Internet. The thoughts aren't new and at some point were even ridiculous. Are modern women really like this? I find that hard to believe and couldn't sympathy with the narrator. The book reads like it was written by someone who didn't reflect the whole "relationship" but instead just jotted out her anger and pain when she felt the moments of rejection.

The poetry doesn't read like poetry. It is neither beautifully worded nor touching in any way. I had my laugh out loud moment when the narrator compared her spent time with her almost-boyfriend with a trip to Taco Bell. The poems rhymed here and there, it was easy to comprehend the story but it was in no way original or somewhat unique. I liked the concept for the book though. With the text posts and screenshots.

*I got this book from netgally in exchange of an honest review.

I don't know what happened.. but I really did not enjoy reading these poems. They neither felt poetic not emotional enough to stay with me... Thats all.

So I originally requested an ARC for this book because it promised it was "an anthem for the modern woman" and would "explore the complexities and absurdity of contemporary romance". I've been out of the dating pool for a long time, so I thought I'd take a look as it seemed like the book had to potential to be funny and poignant. Instead I ended up rolling my eyes for days.

Now usually I would say that it was just not for me but my biggest issue with this book is that it appears that the galley was actually missing sections. The blurb mentions screen shots and text posts that tell part of the story, but all but one were blank. I don't mean completely blank pages, I mean pictures of a phone with time stamps showing, but no text visible. In the end, it might not have changed my mind, but it was still irritating.

Next, there wasn't very much in regards to an actual romance. The writer was very much so into the person this entire collection was about (to the point where she insults people everywhere by saying everyone else is made up of other people and their favorite characters EXCEPT him), but there was no actual relationship. In fact, she repeatedly wrote that he told her that he wasn't looking for anything serious, he didn't want commitment, and he didn't want a relationship and how her response would be "I lied and told him it was fine". Which is just so freaking infuriating.

Yeah, it fucking sucks when someone you are really into doesn't like you back, but this was all a mess of her own making by not being honest about her feelings. She then goes on to talk about how he "destroyed" her, that he's no longer her favorite notification, how she's jealous of how monogamous eagles are. I couldn't feel her pain, I just felt annoyed.

It felt superficial and didn't bring any insight that was promised in the blurb to the table. Again, maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just out of touch with dating in this day and age, but this was very much so not for me.

I was not a fan of this collection. I feel like I'm about a decade past where this book would appeal to me. This is the story of a woman who falls for a guy who just wants to sleep around. It just didn't have the depth that I've come to expect from modern poetry.

"Unfollowing You" by Komal Kapoor is a collection of short poems and quotes. It is composed of two parts, the first part is following you and the second is unfollowing you.
I don't read poetry, but the cover and the blurb of the book atracted me in.There was some humour which went over my head but mostly it was understandable. It was filled with emotion. This book is so much like a story. Going through the character's life from the start to the end. How the man she loved goes from being her favorite to least favorite notification. It was such a relief when she was mentally able to unfollow him. This book is perfect for everyone going through hardships in life (which is everyone, I think!).

Unfollowing You gave a unique look at dating and falling in love in the age of technology and social media. I took away a sense that the author was trying to say that technology has ruined the sincerity of personal communication and relationships. Although I am not in that stage of life anymore it was easy to feel how the characters felt. Komal Kapoor did a great job making a real situation, happening everyday into prose to show the emotions of dating and breaking up. The layout of the book was fun to read with inclusion of screen shots.

Thank You Netgalley and Andrews McNeal Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to leave a positive review.

Unfollowing You
by Komal Kapoor
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Poetry
Pub Date 05 Feb 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Unfollowing You through Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley:


Unfollowing You is an anthem of sorts for modern woman.


The poems in this book deal with everything from modern day love to social media, and the way it can either build up or break down relationships.


Komal Kapoor uses her personal experie as well as her social media expertise to create this collection of poetry.


I give Unfollowing You five out of five star!


Happy Reading!

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

"In a world
That no longer pauses
To listen to the whispers of a soul
You found a song
I didn't know I held within me."

I enjoyed this collection of poetry. The first half is about "new love" and the second half is "broken love".

Best poetry I have ever read. I have to admit, I am usually not a fan of poetry but this collection sounded very interesting! It didn't disappoint! This collection catalogues the authors thoughts on her relationship from first meeting, falling and being in love, suspicions and disappointment and finally moving on. I think it has something anyone and everyone can relate to whether you have been and are still in love, had a heartbreak or even had your love not returned and felt that rejection. Moving work and I will definitely be following this author!

I have been trying broaden my horizons with regards to different types of literature and this one caught my eye. A story of modern love and heartbreak told in modern poetics. Even though my life is beyond the age of the author, it gives a glimpse of how young people interact in these modern times of cell phones and the internet. This is one person's story and I thought she wrote it beautifully.

[2.5 stars]
This is exactly the poetry I would have wanted to read in my early twenties after dealing with the loss of my first love. But now as a jaded 35 year old, self-proclaimed spinster, it kind of made me wanna barf. Objectively I can say the poetry was decent, the social media aspect was interesting, though I think the digital ARC was missing some of the formatting so it was a bit lost on me. I would recommend this to people going through their first break up. Sadly(well, not THAT sad. I don't care to deal with those feelings again), that wasn't me.

I found this book of poetry relatable, yet I also found myself not really liking it. It may partly be because of the description: it states it's about 'modern love' and 'relationship', but I think love is completely different from what happens in the story, and the couple it deals with does not reach the relationship status before their supposed tragic end occurs. I get what it is about, though. The digital era can make dating and finding our significant other something quick, shallow and not quite honest. We've all been there. So maybe I should've regarded this story that way. What made me cringe was the dramatic attitude the 'narrator' seemed to have about it all. It was either childish or desperate for my taste. Everybody makes the mistake of taking something very casual for something way deeper, but I think that's a mistake mostly very young people do. If this book was aimed at young adults, my rating would probably be one star higher. I don't think a healthy adult would think so much of this 'relationship' that's mostly lived through the internet and texts. Maybe I'm old fashioned, I don't know. But I am a millennial, just in the middle of my twenties, and even I know a relationship is more than that. From the start.

As for the poetry, I wasn't that much impressed either. I liked the idea of writing in messages, notes and texts, it fit the story and worked well, but I would've liked more original wording if we call these poems. Something that makes it unique and beautiful. These were nicely worded messages, but ones that people with a sense of language/composition write all the time in their private lives. It didn't give the experience of reading poetry, but one of reading someones random thoughts regarding her situation with an almost-boyfriend. The story was more interesting than the poetry.

There were so many moments when reading Unfollowing You, that I thought, this is a little scary. It was so relatable, almost as if it were taking a piece of my thoughts and transforming it into poetry. Love is strange in this world of social media and texting. There is a certain amount of disconnection and isolation, even though we are paradoxically, more connected than ever. Unfollowing you is a collection of poems of the beginning, middle and end of a relationship. Although it was short and sweet, I greatly enjoyed reading this collection.

Struggled with this book and even thought about not finishing or reviewing. It was hard to get into and even harder to connect with while reading.

I think, in the end, I enjoyed this less as poetry, and more for the story. I was incredibly invested in this narrative and there were so many relatable passages. I thought the second half of the work dragged a little and could have ended earlier, but other than that I had a good time with this.

I like how the author has used how people chat on social media to write this book. The first part is a look into falling in love and being obsessed with your beloved and the second part is more about heartbreak and dealing with it.
I love the format of the book.
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

When it started off with acronyms like 'lol' and 'bae' in the poetry, I thought I was in for a rollercoaster ride that only went down. But, surprisingly, the meaning behind a lot of the poems far outweighed some of the language used. It was an anthology surrounding modern relationships in a technologically advanced society, so of course it wasn't going to be insanely poetic with fancy words that nobody knows the meaning of. It was concise and succinct and straight to the point (unlike this review). I did really enjoy this.