Though there are some solid ideas and poems that I almost really dug, nothing in the collection ever quite bridged the gap between promising draft to polished poem. Many of the strongest entries in this collection had peculiarities that were distracting, sentence fragments that felt like non-sequiturs or mis-used punctuation that didn't feel deliberate but amateurish. Most of the shorter poems felt like lines scribbled in a notebook for later use, not complete poems, so short and incomplete as to leave me unsure as to what sorts of questions I should even be asking, much less leaving me with questions. Also, the occasional illustrations didn't add anything to the collection other than an impression that the author or publisher is uncomfortable trusting readers to look at nothing but text for more than a few minutes at a time.

2.5 stars.

e-ARC received via Andrews McMeel Publishing & Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
TW: Depression

As a lover and creator of poetry myself, I find it a difficult task when it comes to rating and reviewing other poets' works of art. How should it be up to me to decide whether someone's thoughts and feelings are valid? That is why when I read poetry to rate/review; I do so critically.

F. D. Soul writes well with a certain air that is warm with nostalgia and sets her apart from her fellow "Instagram Poets". Her words bring comfort as well as fresh breath at times and I was happy to get lost in her words. Each poem is of varying length, with some pieces that are perhaps more prose than they are poetry.

The collection is spilt into 3 parts, each with a different focus. I came across my favourite poem of hers on page 12. It is called "Five Loaves And Two Fish". I fell in love with the solace in the words that F.D. Soul chose to describe her grandparent's home. It felt gentle and secure. I found that all the poems that reference her grandparents feel this way and I really enjoyed that common theme.

While I did love a lot of the pieces in this poetry collection, I would say things went downhill from part 2 onwards. I found it difficult for the poems to resonate with me and didn't find myself content within every one of the worlds that the poet created.

Overall I gave 'Between You and These Bones' a rating of 2.5 stars which isn't bad by any means but at the same time it's not my favourite poetry collection that I have ever read.

I definitely liked this writing style of poems, and you can tell the author has a strong passion for love and her home. You can tell from her words that’s where she finds her peace. However I found some poems were far to similar using the same words over and over again and at times I didn’t want to continue.

I had expected a lot more from this book than it turned out to be. I'd gotten used to read awesome poetries in the books published by Andrews McMeel, so I feel kinda let down with this one.


It's not that Between You and These Bones wasn't beautiful, it's just that it wasn't my kind of beautiful. What I mean is, I didn't really feel any of the poems, which is what I usually look for in a poem. Feels. Emotions.


Frankly, I loved the art more than the poems, and I wish I could have likes the poems better.


Overall, it was a nice read, but not my type.

I gave this a three out of five stars. I really enjoyed a decent amount of the poems but I didn’t connect to a lot of them. Some of them made me feel a certain way but not the majority.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley!!


The cover is stunning. The poems in this book are raw and heartfelt.

Poetry always gets me in the feels, and this book did that as well.

2.5 stars.
This is my first time reading anything by F.D. Soul so I didn't know what to expect with this book. I wanted so much to love this poetry collection but I didn't connect with a lot of the work. I'm not a heavy reader of poetry, I dabble here and there, so I don't know if that was the cause of most of the words flying over my head. I did connect to some of them though; there were poems or certain lines in poems that would jump out at me and make me think "wow, this is so beautiful" and then I'd wish that I felt that way about the whole collection. Most of the ones that I connected with related to their experience of discovering love, finding home, and dealing with dark moments and fighting "that battle". I wished there were more that I connected to! The illustrations were beautiful and although there weren't that many, I thought they illustrated the poems they were made for so well. While reading I was thinking that I could see these illustrations being made into tattoos because they're not unlike ones I've already seen inked on skin. Also, can we talk about just how attractive that cover is? Because it's what made me pick up this collection in the first place!

I don't doubt that there will be many people out there who love these poems and feel connected to many of them. For me, this was a nice introduction to F.D. Soul's work, and although I didn't connect with many of them, I would still be curious to see what else they've made. Will definitely be checking out their social sites!

My review will be published on my blog on May 13: https://dinipandareads.home.blog/

I enjoy this poetry book. I didn’t love everything in here but there was many lines I wrote down. I did really like her writing style and the word choices. There was also art in here that I found beautiful. Over all I had fun reading and related to some of the lines.

Picking up this book I was hoping for less romance and more growth... while this poetry book wasn’t landing in my taste I know of plenty that would enjoy it thoroughly, those I wold recommend this too for those like myself not so much.

I knew from the introductory love letter that I was going to love F.D. Soul's writing. Her style of poetry is very personal, honest, and vulnerable. I greatly enjoyed the wide variety of subjects she covered while keeping the language simple and linked throughout various pieces to keep it cohesive. A few of the poems were a little too literal for me, but her language was lovely.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an ARC and opportunity to review this beautiful collection.

F.D. Soul is one of my favorites, partly due to the active Instagram pages that gives me just the dose of poetry and emotions that I need on any given day, and partly due to the topics. Boyfriends, family members, depression, etc. are all topics I can connect with. While I love a good poem that makes me feel like a warrior or a princess, I also like a poem that keeps my feet on earth, my sensible thoughts in my head. F.D. Soul gives beauty to typical moments. I so enjoyed The Land That Wraps Around You and A Love Letter to Today made me take a moment to appreciate the day. The poems in Between You and These Bones aren't all new, but each read somehow new to me. Some made me feel nostalgic, some happy, and some made me think for awhile.

"I like to think I'm someone else's
half-away
dreams softly piled up in their hair
still ..."


Like all poetry books, Between You and These Bones is best read in small doses. Reading poems all in order, page after page, leaves my soul and mind exhausted, and so I flipped through F.D. Soul's latest in a leisurely fashion. I found myself drawn to the artwork, to the varying lengths, to the almost-stories that fill some of the pages. I do, however, wish this book was organized by subject. I am a mood reader when it comes to poems and being able to find a section of poetry about a specific subject is something I really enjoy about many of the poetry books on the market. In this case, I had several favorites and while I can flag them, I just think it would've been nice if those of similar topics, like love, were placed in the novel together.

"Sometimes it is a very sad thing
to be human
and longing
oh,
but if we weren't."


Between You and These Bones is, in my opinion, a solid selection of poems that poetry readers will enjoy.

I'm a huge fan of this style of poetry. This collection was lyrical and ethereal. Such beautiful laid out with stunning illustrations too. This really is the full package.

2.5 stars

"You are an ocean that will perhaps never stop crashing, and what a beautiful thing that is."

Most of the time I didn't connect with the poems but sprinkled between I found some quotes that really spoke to me.

I hadn't read any of F.D.Soul's poetry before this collection, and I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed her poetry style, and the way life is described.

There are poems about love, family, home, and how they are all interconnected. There are also some poems about understanding herself.

I really enjoyed how the poems were organized. I felt that the first poems were introductory and that the later poems were more encompassing of the various themes. There are also some gorgeous illustrations along the way.

A truly emotional collection of poetry that grabs you in from the first page. I thoroughly enjoyed the connecting imagery and I just felt so connected to each piece. I will definitely recommend this to other poetry lovers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of poetry. I did not find myself relating to every poem, but i found that there is a lovely selection. There is certainly something for everyone in this collection. The ones that I did connect with, hit home hard. A lovely addition to any poetry book shelf. I will certainly be recommending this to my fellow poetry lovers.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly appreciate it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I needed a little poetry in my life, so I took to NetGalley to see what would call to me, and found Between You and These Bones by F.D. Soul. When the title of a collection grabs you with it's imagery, it has to be good, so I quickly requested and was approved for the collection.

Soul's poetry is broken into four parts: I, XI, XII, XIII. Usually when I've reviewed poetry collections in the past, I break down what is in each part, but since Soul's themes transcend throughout each part, I'm just going to share the overall themes and impressions as I came to them, an not worry too much about the sections.

Starting off the collection, there are a few poems that give the reader background on the poet's childhood- discussing what she's learned from her parents, grandparents, and farming life. She also starts delving into the definition of home, of it's many meanings. Next, there are some transitional poems that relate to growing up, coming of age, learning about love, feeling safe and secure. Then, the reader starts to recognize a pattern of small undercurrent poems relating to something darker. It took me a little time to notice the repetition of the phrase "of this war" as a representation of depression, or some sort of mental illness or inner struggle. This struggle flows into the poet's writing process, how her poetry is created. She writes about being a poet, the complexity of defining poetry, the emotions that become poetry. Often, love is the catalyst in these poems, the expression of a moment or a wish for the future, or as Soul states, how a person can not only be poetry, but home. I really felt I understood that relationship, as the saying goes, "home is where the heart is" and it's with that special someone. Soul also explores faith and what God means to her- often, it is love. The leads to contemplation on marriage, analyzing the human condition, of what it means to be and feel alive.

In addition to the beautiful poetry, Soul also includes illustrations that give a visual representation of her poems. I always enjoy when a poetry collection includes illustrations, as they complement the artistry of the printed words. As a visual learner, I also think it helps with comprehension of what imagery the poet is trying to portray to the reader.

I honestly adored this collection and am eager to get ahold of a published physical copy to add to my poetry collection. I thought the structure of the collection was enjoyable, and the content so relatable and breathtaking. I flagged many favorites, and have decided to keep those for myself, in the hopes that you'll pick up your own copy and flag your own favorites, too.

(This review will be posted on my blog (www.thelexingtonbookie.com) in the beginning of May, 2019).
Expected Publication Date: May 14, 2019

Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this poetry collection from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've been looking for new poets and I am so thankful to have found F.D. Soul's poetry collection, Between You and These Bones. All I can say is wow. Yes, WOW!

I loved how she played with words, stringing them together to put an arrow right through your heart. Every poem in this collection will make you happy, feel appreciated, empowered and feel things you're not expecting to feel in the first place.

I'm excited to read her future works, and this definitely made it to one of my personal go-to poetry collections. Plus, the illustrations were so beautiful!

*Thank you to NetGalley for letting me receive an ebook in exchange for an honest review.*

What I enjoyed the most about this book was the atmospheric feel to it. There were illustrations included throughout (including the cover) that were beautiful and added to the atmospheric feel. I wished there had been more included, however, since I was often confused about what the author was writing about and the illustrations helped me understand.

The writing was hard for me to grasp at times. I was not sure when certain lines would end or begin, which the author probably meant to do on purpose, but it did not work for me, unfortunately. I got to the point where I was struggling to understand what was trying to be said and it really hindered my reading experience. There were, however, some sections of the writing that were so beautiful and delicate that they partly made up for the sections that were muddled and tedious.

I flew through the first 50 to 75 pages of this book because I could relate to some of it and even the parts I was unable to relate to I could still understand some of what the author was trying to say. Overall, I did enjoy this, although there were slow parts, and I would read from this author again.

and so
this book
shall become my confessional

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

A promising poetry collection that ultimately let me down. It was bland, generic and lacking any of the emotional intimacy that I expected from a collection labelled 'intimate' by other reviewers.
There were flashes of uniqueness. But the poems I enjoyed were either at the very end like 'Depression is a Park Bench' or they were previously published works like 'This Land is my Church' (first Published in Indigo). Everything else was sadly surface deep bland blank verse.
Some of the topics covered may be triggering to readers to please be mindful of this if you chose to read the collection. (In my opinion, the presentation of these topics could be considered to be problematic).

What saved this book from a One-Star rating was the beautiful art.

For alternative reads and other reviews click the link below.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2792227549?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1