I loved this poetry collection. You can really never go wrong with this author. One of my favorites of the year.

This was a great poetry book. I always absolutely enjoy her work and I can't wait to read more in the near future. I highly recommend it.

Honestly I think these books are overhyped. I don’t see the appeal and just couldn’t get through this one.

I enjoyed her poems. There's always something honest, and uplifting about her work. I leave feeling inspired and uplifted. She's honest, but I leave feeling like I've learned a lesson versus feeling bleak.

** I was provided an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I love Amanda Lovelace with an endless, reaching passion. Every single poetry book, and series of those books go so deep, touching beauty and trauma with equal force and clarity. This relationship between self and other, sister and sister, daughter and mother, is such a harrow, heartbreaking, and heart making universe to have gotten lost in with her.

In all honesty, I still don't feel comfortable with the way the author writes the poems (they don't seem right to me but this is probably the way I learned how to write them) but the poems where so heat braking and profound. I cried in some of them and in others I had to save to re-read again when needed because the talked with me on a deeper level.

As always with Lovelace, I read this cover to cover.

This is an emotional and thought-provoking look at the aftermath of an abusive family situation. I always feel sorrow and joy, and so much of everything when I read her work. It makes me want to scribble my own thoughts down.

This title was archived and I missed the download. As a result of this, I won't be able to review it.

Thanks so much to the author, NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the complimentary advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW from the author: child abuse, eating disorders, sexual assault, self-harm, violence, cheating, death, gore, blood, trauma, grief, & possibly more. Remember to practice self-care before, during, & after reading.

Full disclosure, none of Amanda Lovelace's collections of poetry are fun to read. They're not. They can be the opposite, in fact, and be really difficult to read. But I really love getting to read them non-the-less. This author has a way of taking really difficult topics and making them accessible and readable both for people who have experiences related to the topics, and people who don't, and in a very modern way. I will also say that she makes poetry feel very accessible as well, since I know that there are quite a few people who avoid poetry since they aren't sure that they will understand it. Anyone can understand Lovelace's collections, and can get a lot out of the reading experience.

This collection is mainly centered around grief, a mother's love, a mother's pain, generational trauma, and the idea of found family. One thing that I love about Lovelace's collections, and this one is no exception, is that while they can be difficult to read and deal with difficult topics, by the end you are always left with a powerful feeling of belonging and growth, and togetherness. I never put down one of these books after finishing reading them and still feel alone, even if I might have in the beginning. That goes for this collection, To Drink Coffee with a Ghost, as well as the Women are Some Kind of Magic series that I have also read from this author.

As the author states at the beginning of all of these collections, and I have listed above, these collections all deal with very sensitive and potentially triggering topics. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend them to every person off the street. If you will be triggered at all by these topics, or if this poetry would at all be harmful to you, don't read Lovelace's collections. But if you are able to read them safely, I would always highly recommend them. Amanda Lovelace and her work came into my life at a perfect time, and I was able to learn about myself and my past through reading her collections.

2.5

to drink coffee with a ghost is the finale to the "things that h(a)unt" duology and it explores the relationship Lovelace had with her mother. It's a cathartic novel where the author explores her childhood trauma, how her mother emotionally damaged her, and the grief she feels regarding her death.

The theme behind this poetry collection centers on how we can't our childhood traumas, especially inflicted by our loved ones. As Lovelace says, it's a feeling that haunts you. Even with her mother gone, the author continued to feel haunted by her and her actions. I think it's an affirming book in regards to self-love and to seek help in order to deal with our fears and ghosts.

My rating doesn't necessarily mean I did not enjoy this collection but at times it felt disjointed. Its main focus is the relationship between Lovelace and her mother, even after death, but there are some sections about the author's intimate relationships and her sister. It could have been a more consistent collection but it's just my opinion. This is one of the author's most intimate collections she has ever shared and I have no doubts about how it will help other people going through the same issues.

as always, i was instantly smitten with this title. to drink coffee with a ghost was incredibly moving and took me on an emotional whirlwind that left me breathless and heartbroken and yet still yearning for more. i have read everything that amanda lovelace has ever written and will continue to do so.

***Advance Review Copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3 stars. This might be the best Amanda Lovelace book I've read so far. It was fine.

I've loved Amanda Lovelace's previous poetry collections, so I definitely had to read this one! For personal reasons I found myself relating to many of the poems regarding her loss. I wish I could have time to say some stuff to the person I lost as well. I think it's her most personal work, yet. It explores grief, joy, hate, love, toxic relationships in a raw, unapologetic way that completely blew my mind! Her writing is simple, yet so authentic and effortless that resonates with us readers.

Grief is so complicated and grieving someone that has been emotionally and physically abusive to you or your family members is something you cannot get past easily. However, Amanda manages to convey her feelings of brokenness and her traumas so lyrically and that's what makes the book so special. She even takes it a step further by advising the readers to turn their angst during their mourning into art.

All in all, I read this during a time where I needed to hear Amanda's words and her poetry helped me a lot. I will definitely be buying a copy of her book! And I do encourage anyone that loves modern poetry full of honest emotions and a feminist point of view to read this one!

* I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review*

3.5 Stars

It has been a while since I read this poetry collection, although out the two books in the "things that haunt" series, the first book is my favourite of the two. This collection is more wistful, with a bit more of a feeling that the narrator has become numb towards the person they are referring to. I do really love the design of this cover relating to the contents of the poems.

An arc was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I’m a bit late but I’m here! (lol)

I think it’s really hard to review poetry books for two reasons. Some will judge the written style and some will judge the content. I’m only judging the content as I know jackshit about writing poetry.

A lot of it felt repetitive and it honestly felt like I kept reading the same poem with slightly different words. That’s how all of her work has felt to me since her first book and hopefully it’s not something that’ll still be there in the next 😬

In this collection of poems, she mainly talks about her mother, who passed away from cancer. Lovelace brilliantly makes it hard for us to tell whether she despise her mother for being toxic or loves her because she’s her parent. Humans are so complex with our feelings.

Another great book of poetry. There is just something haunting about this poems and I find myself unable to stop reading them.

Amanda Lovelace never disappoints me!
I follow her on social media and I am always excited to hear about her new releases because I LOVED her other books. I remember I was so happy and thankful that I got to read this book before publication.
Her writing was as amazing as ever and the focal point of the poems, the relationship between her and her dead mother, was tear-jerking and very heartfelt. It was such a beautiful way to end the duology she started with ”To Make Monsters Out Of Girls”. Can't wait to read more in 2020!

This was the most disappointing collection of poetry that I've read lately. I'm not sure if this just wasn't my style or what, but I couldn't really connect with the voice or any of the poems. It all came across as very forced and overtly cheesy.

Amanda Lovelace is one of my favorite poets. In fact, her books are what spurned my love of poetry. After reading The Witch doesn't burn in this one, I quickly devoured all of her books. When I heard that she had a new book coming out, To Drink Coffee With a Ghost, I knew I had to read it. It came as no surprise to me that I loved it.

To Drink Coffee With a Ghost was extremely personal to me. It felt like Amanda Lovelace took a peek into my life over these past few years and wrote my story. I also had a mother that I had conflicts with. She passed away two years ago, and I've been struggling to deal with the grief and emotions that I've had. This book actually helped process those emotions, and helped deal with some of my grief. Reading Amanda Lovelace's experiences taught me it's okay to feel the way that I'm feeling, and most importantly that someone else has had the same experience AND survived it. I'm not the only one that has gone through that specific situation.

I will always be grateful for Amanda Lovelace's To Drink Coffee With a Ghost. It was an emotional journey reading through her poems, but one I desperately needed at a time I needed it. Thanks to this book, I have begun to heal from my grief and experiences. This solidified Amanda Lovelace as one of my favorite poets in my mind.

*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

“…one minute you were here; the next, you had already gone.
now i’m terrified to leave a room without
saying goodbye to everyone inside of it first.
– what if they disappear like you did?”

I’ve read many of Lovelace’s books and, perhaps because of preferences and high expectations when it comes to poetry, I have found myself unable to love them and unable to hate them. I must admit I criticize them with more ease than I applaud them, but there’s a lot in her work I truly enjoy. After all, there’s nothing that I appreciate more than a poet that bares itself thought their words; Lovelace always does. Besides, I know there’s a growing audience for this kind of poetry: it reaches them in ways it fails to reach me —and that value is undeniable, whether I get it or not.

However, what I mean to say is that “To Drink Coffee with a Ghost” was a different experience. Don’t mistake me; this is Lovelace, and the book will be familiar to her fans, both in structure and wording, with its franks, brutal rawness. But this collection touched me in a way Lovelace hadn’t before. As the conclusion to her newest series, a duology titled “the things that h(a)unts”, the book explores the poet’s complex relationship with her mother and her death. The product is a cathartic confession, that feels so personal, sometimes I wanted to look away. I couldn’t, though. The book held me trapped by its sincerity, and I read the whole thing in a single sitting.

There’s something about grief in the hands of a poet. Lovelace doesn’t hide from it, still undressing her heart in ways I would think impossible, after having read so many of her books. There’s something about grief, and Lovelace drags the word and all its stages through every page.

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS*

• The book opens with a trigger warning. Lovelace’s decision to always include this first, formatted to look like a poem, is commendable. Prioritizing the reader’s well-being through such a simple gesture, even at the risk of losing a reader, says a lot about the person behind the pen.

• The illustrations were gorgeous! Each drawing matched the preceding poetry and their palette, black and reddish, seemed to inhabit the very soul of Autumn’s colors. I loved them.

• The titles at the end of the poems; it made the reading experience feel a little like a mystery —like going blind into a movie, having not seen its trailer. It made me read most poems more than once, taking the title into account during the second and third readings, thus enchanting the overall experience.

I think I’ll be conflicted about “insta-poets” and what they are or aren’t for a few more years, maybe forever… but this book made me feel and cry. Will there ever be a better compliment?

Trigger warnings (as stated by the author): child abuse, eating disorder, sexual assault, self-harm, violence, cheating, death, gore, blood, trauma, grief, and possibly more.

(*I’ve mentioned some of these in other reviews.)