I really liked the poems. But I felt it was to much for it to be as long as it should be. It was well written and the poems were deep.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I like darker poetry, but this one just didn't work for me. I felt like this was more like broken up sentences and the entire collection didn't exactly mesh with where I am currently in life. However, there were a some works that really resonated with me, such as: The Lessons We're Taught and You Can't Change Who I am. I am sure other readers will appreciate her entire collection!

I wasn't a fan. I think it just wasn't something that resonated with me, I couldn't get myself into this collection.

Book Review
Title: Bleed Like Me: Poems for the Broken
Author: Azzurra Nox
Genre: Poetry
Rating: *
Review: I have been getting into poetry more lately especially after reading Dear Wallflower by Sara Secora so I decide to request this book from NetGalley. Part 1 is entitled Love & Madness, which is definitely portrayed in the poetry, however, there doesn’t seem to be any links between the poems. What I mean by this is in Dear Wallflower by Sara Secora, there are overarching themes that link all the poems together and in Amanda Lovelace’s poems it seems to follow a single person, the author herself, Bleed like me has neither of these so it feels quite disjointed. Despite this I really loved the poem Geisha, as it encapsulated the essence of what a geisha is and what they do blended with western culture and ideals.
Part 1 takes up the majority of the book except for a small Part 2 entitled Into The Light. Part 1 was very repetitive for me as a lot of the same themes, imagery and wording are used so after around 20 poems I was getting rather bored. There is also no rhyme or reason to the poems making it seem extremely disjointed. For me poetry is a journey and the journey in this collection was so convoluted and confusing I didn’t know where I was most of the time. Part 2, tries to introduce a lighter tone to the poems but doesn’t succeed in that as the themes of suicide, infidelity and the like are rather dark. Amanda Lovelace does this a lot better as her poetry books detail a complete journey you can follow through the darkness, into the light and carrying on into healing. If you are looking for some new poetry to read then I’d recommend Dear Wallflower by Sara Secora or anything by Amanda Lovelace. I expected a lot from Bleed Like Me and for me it didn’t deliver at all.

The poem broken doll reads:
Love has treated me
Like a toddler treats
Its toy
That's why my hair is in tangles
and my limbs are broken.

Well, that was dark.

It is the poetry equivalent of the bunny suicide books I read a few years ago. Andy Riley captures the gory details and gallows humour in drawing, Azzurra Nox does it in words.

Okay first of all this cover: Yes. Just yes. Love at first cover okay. Call me a gothic cliche if you want, but the cover (enhanced by the title) is what initially drew me in. The whole dark, gothic feel of the picture, along with the title, is my aesthetic. Before I even began reading the book itself I was picturing reading it surrounded by candle light in a darkened, dimly lit room, lit only by the soft glow emanating from gothic style candles. (This actually did pretty much happen, aside from the gothic style candles because I didn’t have any, but there were in fact candles.)

As for the book it’s self...meh. I hate to say something like that when it comes to someone’s poetry, which is so deeply personal, but when it works it works, and when it doesn’t it doesn’t. Unfortunately, not every poetry collection works for everyone.

It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fantastic either. Azzurra certainly has promise as a writer, but unfortunately this collection wasn’t quite up to par and didn’t meet my expections.

It was certainly dark and gothic, as I was both expecting and hoping it would be, but most of the poems just didn’t do it for me.

There were certainly some gems sprinkled throughout the collection, and more than a few that certainly resonated with me, but I just didn’t feel that this collection was at its best as a whole.

Still, even with all that being said, I enjoyed azzurra’s way with words and style of writing, and the dark overall themes within this book. Many of the poems explore the damaging effects of heartbreak and the pain of love and the painful loss that accompanies it, and despite how I may or not have felt about some of the poems in this collection, I can currently relate to that pain, and I was able to feel the authors pain on a deep level.

Although I didn’t love this collection, and was overall underwhelmed by the entirety of it, I still love the authors gritty, dark, gothic writing style and would love to see future poetry collections by her.

Not my favorite poetry book, but there’s potential here!

the poems were alright, not my taste. but thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book. I'm intrigued in reading whatever the author releases next though.

I'm hoping the next installment will be a bit better than this.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have read my fair share of poetry over the years. I even write some of my own. There were poems in this book that made my heard hurt and weep for those who the poems describe. Some brought tears to my eyes and I knew it was sad and dark poetry going in. That does not mean I disliked anything that was in the book. It was for me about connecting with my emotions and gave me something to think about. IT was worth my time to read it.

THIS COVER. Beautiful!

This talks about coping with hurt and pain. I just can't express how much I liked the darkness that this exudes. Raw emotions. It's pretty much an inward mix of fantasy and reality shook up in a mayo jar.

Reminded me of Edgar Allen Poe. Some poems were weaker, but it was an enjoyable read. I’d recommend this collection auto anyone who enjoys darker poems.

I gave this a two out of five stars. I liked a couple of them poems in the second half of the book. Besides that I didn't like a good portion of them. I didn't connect to any of the poems. I felt like this collection dragged on.

A little bit too dark for my liking, I guess. I felt like the writer wanted to make this darker than it was naturally, and I did not enjoy the book as much as I was hoping to.

Oh dear. I guess with poetry you either love it or don't. I didn't. Nothing personal, I just found them somewhat repetetive and the fact the poems seemed to go from medieval vibes (maidens and such) to the present day kind of annoyed me. The last 25% was a little better, but I just could not wait for it to be over. I also wasn't in the right state of mind for dark and grotesque poems like that, I guess.

So, unfortunately the one star is for the EPIC cover of this collection which was pretty much the reason I decided to read it, and maybe one poem that resonated with me.

BLEED LIKE ME: POEMS FOR THE BROKEN

by Azzurra Nox



TWISTED WINGS PRODUCTIONS




Poetry , Teens & YA

Pub Date 12 Feb 2019





I am reviewing a copy of Bleed Like Me: Poems For the Broken through Twisted Wings Productions and Netgalley:





Despite poetry being one of the hardest genre’s to review I often find myself drawn to poetry:





In Bleed Like Me the Poems included deal with first love, as well as the heartbreak first love can bring. It deals with the exhilaration as well as the damage unrequited love can cause. The poems in this book read like memories coming alive. The poems become a journey between reality and fantasy often coming together as one.





The poems in Bleed Like Me can be both cruel and sweet.







I give Bleed Like Me Four out of five Stars!





Happy Reading!

Bleed Like Me: Poems For The Broken is a selection of gothic poems. I DNF as they became repetitive.

A collection of very dark, melancholic and slightly twisted poems about first love, unrequited love and love lost. A little too dark and self-indulgent for me; I read all of the poems but didn't find that many resonated with me. There was some familiar moments in the authors word, vague recollections of teenage concerns and frustrations, but they were few and far between.

Like me, you may be tempted to read this if you are a fan of Lang Leav. This is a very different collection of poetry.

I really loved the cover and the synopsis so that's why I wanted to give this book a try but it just wasn't something for me.

I usually love dark poetry or just dark stories in general, but I couldn't get into the poems. They were weird and I didn't really like the writing.

Bleed Like Me is a book of poems confronting romance, lust, abuse, suicide and general dark emotions.

I was immediately attracted to this book because of gorgeous cover art. It looks effectively moody and Gothic.
I feel that the poems however swerve from the original form of the Gothic straight to the 15 year old goth kid, which was both expected and a little bit disappointing.
However, that negative point is also what I liked best about this book - many of the poems gave me a very nostalgic feeling, of being a teenager again and feeling every emotion so intensely, and wanting a way to express it. I feel that these poems could almost be printed on pages that look like Myspace, to complete the sentiment.
Overall, I am pleased that the author found this route to self expression, but I also think the final product is far too long.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me access to this pre-publication book.

Bleed Like Me: Poems for the Broken by Azzurra Nox

1 star- DNF @40%

This is a poetry collection that focuses more on darker content and themes. I love dark poetry. I'm always down for a good Poe-wannabe, but note I said good. This one is not good. I cringed inwardly so many times at the vulgar, grotesque, and obscenity. I like weird and dark things. This poetry collection was the Endless Night of horror for me. It's so overtly dark that it becomes campy and questionable. I just was not a fan and I tried to read this all the way through because it's a short poetry collection, but I just couldn't force myself to continue. It was too painful.


Here are the questionable things I encountered:
"Inject me with anti-depressants, / They are my only companions. / Allow the worms to crawl on over me, / Possess me. / Eat me. / Until I rot. / Until I'm blot, out of my existence."
Questionable
"Rip my eyes from their sockets. / A queer fetish in your pocket."
Weird, but not the worst thing I've read.
"Look no further- / For I'd be your geisha. / I'd be [your] lover. / I'd be your prostitute, / I'd be your humble servant, / I'd be your slave."
IS THIS REAL? I can't.
Don't even get me started on the Mephistopheles with Scabbed Wings poem because it was revolting and just plain over-the-top.
The real-kicker is my personal favorite for why I can't continue with this flaming garbage:
"Because I've raped all your lovers. / You'll need to beg me before I'll shoot you up."


Whimsical Writing Scale: 1

Plotastic Scale: 1

Cover Thoughts: It's weird and I thought I was going to get something on the horror-side because of it.

Thank you, Netgalley and Twisted Wings Production, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.