Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was a very sad, hard to read book of poetry. It hits you deep in your gut, however it was wonderful. I felt the pain and bad memories, as if my own. Anyone who's been through traumatic events of abuse can relate to these words. There is a trigger warning at the beginning. I hope to read more by this wonderful poet .

TW: child abuse, eating disorders, sexual assault, self-harm, violence, cheating, death, gore, blood, trauma, grief

This was absolutely beautiful and I loved it so much. I usually have a hard time understand all the feelings behind poetry but this one hit me spot on. I'm so happy I read this and I can't wait to read more!

I recieved an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgally in exchange for an honest review.

I've read every collection of poetry that Amanda Lovelace has released and have always loved them and the same goes for this one. This is the second collection in the "things that h(a)unt me" series. I love how she always includes a trigger warning page before she gets started in on the poems. It also has some gorgeous illustrations through out the book. I love when poetry books have little illustrations in them.

In this collection of poetry she talks about grief, toxic relationships, escapism, and the impact of words. You can tell how much emotion was behind these words in this collection. As she talks about the mother daughter bond and how she just wanted accepted and dealing with the grief of losing her mother. Which gives you a perspective on the loss of a parent. How she goes about coping with the loss by using her love books and tarot cards. I liked that she had her family to rely on when she needed it the most. The ending felt a bit short. I feel like it didnt have the closure the rest had.

Here are some of my favorite poems in the collection:

The
Ways
In which
They
Suffer
Themselves
Is not
An excuse
To
Make you
Suffer
In return.
-let me get "controversial" for a moment II

You are not
A disappointment
You are not
The culmination
Of what people
expect of you.
-life is not a pass or fail

You may
Be
A product
If whoever
Raised you.
-you choose

But you
belong
to nobody
Except
Yourself.
-your own future

This is another amazing collection of Amanda Lovelace and a great finale to the Duology of Things That Haunt. Loved this one just as much as Amanda's other work.

This wasn't far one of the very few Poetry books that I actually liked. This book actually hit too close too home. It was so so relatable. At times I laughed a little, others I cried and some I was so angry. The writting flow of this book is outstanding. I've never read anything from Amanda Lovelace but believe me, she has a new admire. Thank you for such an amazing piece of literature.

Rating 4.5

This was so powerful. I’m still not a huge poetry fan, but Lovelace is an auto-read author for me at this point. This one hit me harder than the others, so far, maybe because of my upbringing and complicated familial relationships (though not the same complications) I also loved the illustrations included, I thought the art style just worked so well with the font and style of the poetry.

I think this is now my favorite collection from Amanda Lovelace. Like so many of the "Instagram poets" or "Tumblr poets" (or whatever label you give to new poetry), Lovelace's style is simplistic but there is so much feeling and familiarity in the words. Anyone who has lived through a loss can relate to many of the pieces and anyone who has had a complicated relationship with their mother will be touched by Lovelace's words. Sometimes the best thing poetry can give us is the reminder that we are not alone in our experiences.

I enjoyed Amanda's early works a lot but i felt like " To Drink Coffe with a Ghost" was a little bit rushed. However, the author writes about topics that i have never read in poetry and even expresses really polemic ideas which i loved.

Once again Amanda knocked it out of the park. Her work sinks into you and grip you so you feel every single word. I can always count on her to take me on a journey and to make me feel things that i wouldn't usually. She's my favorite poet and an automatic read/buy for me.

How can you not love Amanda’s words? I fall in love with this writer more and more each time they release a book. I love the way she puts so many emotions into her words even in small samples and they just hit me so hard. I do truly love the fact that she added a trigger warnings page right at the very beginning so you are WARNED.


Chasing Emily may be my favorite piece in this book because I did immediately think of an exact conversation with my own mother.

This is my first Amanda Lovelace book, and I enjoyed it - or about 1/4 of it, which for a poetry collection isn’t bad.

I know ‘Instagram poets’ get a lot of shit, and I get it, and I get why, so I didn’t quite know what to expect from this. I found some of the poems simplistic to the point of childishness, but then I’m 35 and grumpy so not really the target market. The poems that hit, though - they were great. Like ‘envious and wish I’d written them’ great. Not much to say about this one. It went really well with a strong coffee on a lazy Sunday.

This book is one of my most anticipated releases of 2019 and I was so happy I got the opportunity to read an ARC thanks to Netgalley.

Amanda Lovelance has quickly become one of my favorite poetry authors. I have a hard time understanding complex poetry mainly because I am terrible at analyzing it but with Lovelance´s poetry I don’t have to think about it too much because the poetry speaks for itself and although it deals with difficult topics she does this greatly. Her writing is so unique and it is personal, you get an insight in the authors life and even though I can´t relate to everything she has been through I can understand her better and appreciate how she overcame all this things.

This poetry collection is raw and honest and like I said even though I do not relate to what she went through I can admire her for growing through it. Moreover, this book includes images related to the overall topic which I though was a very nice touch.

My only critique for this book is that I would have loved to see a little more cohesion in the order of the poetry collection because this one felt a little all over the place for me. Moreover, the ending felt a bit abrupt and it didn’t have a proper “closure” felling I need from books. Finally, I feel I have read similar poems on other books of hers.

Overall, it was a solid 4 star poetry collection and I cannot wait to get it physically once it is released.

I honestly believe that Amanda Lovelace writes my soul. I discovered her last year when I did an internet search for "witchy quotes" and found some from her book,The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One. Ok so with such a title how could I not go right out and grab it? So I did just that! She prefaces her collections of poetry with trigger warnings and gently informs you to practice self care before,during and after reading. I'm 38 and never had read such a thing in a book...I actually didn't even like poetry. I didn't know it was a poetry book ...oops. So I started and I read straight through...crying. It was a cathartic experience. I felt like the book healed me in ways I couldn't explain. So I've been grabbing her books and healing myself through her connected words for almost a year now. To Drink Coffee With A Ghost is that same connected,beautiful,cathartic experience. I didn't live the exact moods or themes of this book but I can relate to so much of it and it deeply touches me. Having lost a mother to cancer...there's no way I can describe how these words touch me. The only thing I can really say is thank you for the experience of this book. Thank these books for bringing me to a type of poetry that keeps me interested and invested. Turns out I really do love it.

It's hard to review poetry because it is so personal. If it happens to be a topic that doesn't resonate with you, it can be very difficult to fall into or feel what the author is trying to relate. There were a handful of moments in this one that I thought she nailed it - I completely understood what she was saying, and I felt it viscerally. That is how I have felt with her previous books. But a lot of this one felt flatter to me, with less power behind the words then she usually displays. That may be because I cannot relate to the topic in the same way - or it may be that the topic is by nature so different than that of her previous collections that the resonance isn't at the same amplitude. Regardless, I'm afraid this was the least favorite of her books that I've read, and I've pretty much read them all by now. It just didn't have the same gut-wrenching immediacy that so many of the other pieces have. Still, she has a beautiful way with language and I am immensely impressed by her ability to bare herself for closure and healing and to share those naked thoughts so that others can take strength from them.

3.5 stars

I find that I enjoy Amanda Lovelace's writing more and more I read her works. I'm not usually a big fan of fiction centered around family, but I'm actually rather fond of it in poetry, especially when it has to do with mother-daughter relationships. This series has been a favorite of mine, as I love poetry about love, trauma, doing what's best for you and overall self-improvement and self-love. Highly recommend!

Again I am really please to read a new collection from her. Really nice to see new work in this duology ( from what I saw it is). But I have enjoyed reading the new work. Gets you.

To Drink Coffee with a Ghost is my second read from Amanda Lovelace, and I see her becoming a favorite of mine despite the fact that I’ve never been a poetry reader. I read this volume in one short sitting because I just couldn’t stop. One thing I love about Lovelace’s writing is that it is easy to read while still being emotionally impactful and at times very dark. Lovelace’s poetic style is very approachable and relatable in that she writes about herself and her experiences in a very vulnerable way. This volume deals with Lovelace’s rocky relationship with her mother and her unresolved feelings after her death, but also covers unhealthy self image issues and toxic romantic relationships. Lovelace does so many interesting things with the style of every poem and really mixes up the formatting. The illustrations were truly beautiful and brought the collection to life. I can’t wait to pick up another volume of Lovelace’s work.

I loved this collection! The description of a toxic mother - daughter relationship was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. There were many poems named after specific tarot cards which I thought added a special touch. She talked about her mom buying her first tarot deck, teaching her about crystals, and magick. As a metaphysical aficionado this really spoke to me. *ARC provided by NetGalley for review.

I am not a poetry reader. I was drawn to this book because of the cover and the title. If I had seen this in a bookstore I would have picked it up and probably put it straight down when I realized it was poetry. Not just poetry but that new genre which is sometimes referred to as "instapoetry," because of its prevalence on Instagram. However, because I got this book as a free review copy, I decided to read it. I like how the poems are progressive and tell a story. Some of the poems were good I think. I would rate a poem as good if it makes me reflect or makes me feel something. Many of the poems seemed a bit forced, if that's the right word. You feel a slight something but it is overblown. The words seemed overused and it seems like you've seen this before. I used to write poetry like this on scraps of paper and in between notes while in class a schoolgirl. It seems a weird format to now be taken over by grown women, but such is life. I feel I was a bit tricked by the cover. I was hoping for something Halloween related. Pumpkin Spice poetry. I am not surprised to see this book is part of a monster themed poem series. It wasn't really for me.

I thank NetGalley for a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5

To Drink Coffee with a Ghost is the 2nd book in Things that Haunt by Amanda Lovelace. This poetry collection reveals pain and loss, but also acceptance and love. Mostly, Lovelace writes about a toxic mother-daughter relationship. She discusses the grief of losing a parent and the emotions that come from trying to overcome it.

Personally, I thought this book fell a little short in truly painting a picture. While I do think Lovelace poured her emotions into this collection, but there was something missing that didn't allow me to truly truly connect with her work.

I received a copy from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.