Amanda Lovelace keeps doing it. Her words are poignant and raw, they always strike as profoundly sincere and human. I respect her immensely for the courage needed to open yourself like that to the world, to pour your experiences and your pain and your soul and heart into words and give them to others as a gift.

In this book, Amanda focuses primarily on the relationship with her mother, which was a toxic one. And even though I cannot relate to this topic as much as I related to the topics on her previous books (because I have the immense luck of a great loving relationship with my mother, that I won’t take for granted anymore after this reading experience), the poems still managed to make me feel a lot. And that only speaks wonders of Amanda’s writing style. Someone capable of making you feel torn apart at things that didn’t even happen to you is an author that shouldn’t be ignored, but greatly celebrated.

I also love that she never focuses on the trauma alone, she talks about healing as an ever ongoing process and that, ultimately, there’s always hope. And that is okay to feel contradictory things about a person or a time of your life, all that you need is acceptance and the will to keep going.

I am clearly always going to read what this amazing woman writes, and I highly recommend the experience of her books. It’s an enriching one as no other is.

This books takes you along with the emotions that come along when your relationship with your mother is abusive and complicated, and then she passes away. It’s about grief, about how a sister can be a saviour, how the relationship with a parent can (and most often will) resonate in (love)relationships. With beautiful drawings (all black and white, with one color accent each), and of course the amazing wordcraft of Amanda Lovelace.

I highly recommend this book. Get it when it comes out the 17th of September. I recommend all her books. Buy them, read them, feel them.

Lovelace is one of my favourite poets and I’ve read most of her books now. I enjoyed this so much I bought a copy of the first book, To Make Monsters out Of Girls. These poems are very personal. Lovelace explores mothers and daughters and how the relationship between them is never simple. The mother in these poems seems to be cruel at times, verging on unhinged and abusive. Some of the poems were painful to read. As the poems were for the most part very short, no more than a few lines I read the collection fairly quickly. I would have enjoyed longer poems with a bit more substance. I looked forward to Lovelace’s next collection.

I’ve fallen in love with this author since the first book the princess saves herself in this one and this one doesn’t fail to compare to her raw emotional writing that hits in every way to me

This book starts with a list of trigger warnings that is bigger than some of the poems that follow so beware that some of these poems carry heavy emotions and heavy themes with them.
The book is divided into three parts: the first is about the author's relationship with her mother and all the ways in which she failed in protecting her daughter from the world and herself. The second part is about reconciling the good and the bad, learning to forgive the mother for what she couldn't change after getting sick and prematurely dying and still remember all the good moments that they had together. The third part is my favorite because it is about healing and finding a family.
My absolute favorite poems though are the one's about Amanda's spouse because they are what divides the sad poems from the happier ones.
Amanda's poetry is direct and heartfelt and I'm happy I finally had the opportunity of being introduced to her books.
This book is also illustrated and every drawing is absolutely beautiful.
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this ARC.

chills.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for letting me read this piece of art.

I read this poetry collection in a very short amount of time, but let me state that it gave me enough to think about for days. I teared up, this is so important.

The Trigger Warnings section in the front reminded me that maybe literature today is headed in the right direction, with more and more authors including them in their works. I count myself fortunate for being able to start anything without even worrying about what's inside.
This fact and the book reminded me how fortunate I really am. For having parents who support me, and not having lost anyone really close to me, for having a relatively easy time while others have it terribly hard.

to drink coffee with a ghost made me think about how crucial it is to think twice before you talk: to avoid affecting those who look up to you in a harmful way.
Words hold endless power. As someone studying psychology, considering myself an empathic person, and trying my way of spiritualism I am well aware of how much it matters.

Please take care of others. Please be careful yourself.

The author showed me how much has happened to her and I rooted for her to get that happy ending, because some cases you just know that someone's a good person and they deserve it.

The art work in this poetry collection is absolutely gorgeous. Witchcraft, tarot and COFFEE are incredibly important things to me which means that I felt an even stronger connection to this on top of everything.

I'm so grateful to have been able to read it.

I am giving this book 4.75 stars!! This poetry book was so good!! I love this author so much and I can’t wait to have the finish copy in hands!! The book was also red for the reading especially for the challenge 6 which was Pick a book that has 5 or more words in the title !! Thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange of my honest review!!

Amanda Lovelace never fails in a fun amazing book full of poetry. She is one of my favorites. Can’t wait til her next one.

Amanda Lovelace is back, and while I admit to never being that into poetry, something about her work guts me, puts me back together again, and inspires me to get her words tattooed on my skin. Seriously, this collection of poems, which deals with similar issues to the first few of her books and also with the death of her mother, is powerful and beautiful and I can't recommend it enough. 

I love Lovelace's style of writing, the simplicity of her poems and how they pack a punch more than any sonnet ever could. The illustrations in this book are also amazing. While this book deals with a lot of things I've never experienced firsthand, I still couldn't stop reading and I can't wait for her next collection. She's a real gift for female readers, I know that.

As usual, Lovelace does not disappoint! I love Lovelace's storytelling and the way that she conveys her emotions and makes you feel them too. A few triggers, but it to read some real and raw you have to overlook the triggers. Definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

To Drink Coffee with a Ghost is Amanda Lovelace's second installment in her Things that Haunt Series. In This series of she explores her complicated relationship with her mother, who died of cancer, grief, and healing. I was enthralled by her writing once again, and the drawing between chapters in their autumn colors is such a beautiful touch.
I truly adore Amanda Lovelace's poetry. I have written every single book she has published. She has such a way with words, and how she shapes each poem to be related to an overarching theme is simply beautiful. I found myself relating to this one so much, as someone who has also lost a parent I loved reading the ones about grief and healing as I felt like it spoke to my soul.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Every time I think, I can’t love Amanda Lovelace anymore than I do already.
Every time, I end up a liar.
To drink coffee with a ghost is Amanda’s exploration of her fraught relationship with her mom and finding peace in the good times and bad, and exploring how hard it is to go on afterwards.
I had a good relationship with my mom, but her words still spoke to me for the person I did have a tough relationship with. She spoke to my heart of how hard it is to forgive but want to get to that point. About how perception can change as you get older, how you can look back at that relationship and see it differently now. How sometimes that doesn’t really change the hurt, just how you view it. How we haunt ourselves with all the what if’s, could haves, should haves, and maybes.
I loved this collection and I can’t wait for it to go on sale so I can add it to my poetry shelf where I can bookmark my favorite pages and sink back into the words.

Wowowow I absolutely adored this. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't pull myself away. I have read all of Amanda's works and each one shares a new story. This one is definitely up there with my favorites by her, but also probably one of my favorite poetry collections of all time.

The writing is incredible, of course. Amanda always writes incredible poetry. But her ability to tell a story with her poems is unmatched. Every time I pick up her book I expect greatness, but I am always given perfection.

I seriously can't think of any way this book could be better (except if there were more of it!). If you've never picked up any of her books before, you 100% need to. You won't be disappointed.

Trigger Warnings: child abuse, grief, death (of a parent), self-harm, eating disorders

Let me start off with saying. Amanda Lovelace hasn't let me down yet! I was jumping for joy when I was able to read another one of her works. This collection is a continuation of "to make monsters out of girls" that deals with the feelings of confusion, grief, and loss after the death of a loved one (her mother specifically). What always stands out to me in Lovelace's work is that she is able to capture such raw emotion in such small spaces in words. The lines are never over-flowery or pompous, but never boring and repetitive. As the reader continues through this work they get to see the recovery and strength that comes with navigating through hardships. This is a great work for teens and up!

An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read anything by Lovelace before, and I am floored. This is beautifully written and the illustrations throughout are amazing.

This collection of poetry focuses mostly on the relationship between Lovelace and her mother, who sadly passed away from cancer. It was not relatable to me in that aspect but there were several passages that touched me in some way.

I believe that it takes a lot of courage and strength to present yourself openly like that to the world. I think Lovelace did an amazing job expressing what it can feel like to lose a parent.

Highly recommend.

I loved this new work from Amanda Lovelace, the poems were hopeful, painful and beautiful and bittersweet as she explored the relationship with her mother who has passed away from cancer. I enjoyed the third part of this collection the most, easily five stars.

I am coming to the conclusion that I would be read anything Amanda Lovelace writes. I had the pleasure of reviewing this author's earlier works and it was my pleasure to read a digital review copy of to drink coffee with a ghost. Here is experience, memory, and emotion -- all powerfully wrapped up in verse and decorated with attractive images.

Recommended literary reading for a wide audience. If you enjoy poetry, check out Lovelace's work.

With her new poetry collection Amanda Lovelace delivers as always. This collection in particular deals with mother-daughter relationship, the toxicity and anger as well as love and forgiveness. A couple of the poems took my breath away, but now as many as I usually expect from poetry collections,so 4* from me.
Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As much criticism as "Instagram poets" get these days, I'm actually a pretty big fan. I think poetry can be inaccessible sometimes, and what Lovelace (and other current poets like Nikita Gill) get right is making poems easy to understand. Although I always appreciate Lovelace's unfailing honesty and willingness to put her pain on the page, her recent collections haven't had the same impact on me as her first two ("The Princess Saves Herself in This One" and "The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One.") Her early work felt so fresh, creative, and powerful; I often marked many pages to come back to at a later time so I could revel in them all over again. "To Drink Coffee With a Ghost" feels too rushed to me (it took me less than 30 minutes to read), and I didn't find any specific poems that really spoke to me. Since this collection focuses on Lovelace's complicated relationship with her mother, there was plenty of insight and moving emotion throughout. However, I just wasn't able to connect as much having not gone through similar experiences. I'll still be a fan of Lovelace's after this book and I'll still check out her future work. This one just sadly missed the mark for me.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book of poetry is primarily about grief for the passing of the poet's mother, who was at times the poet's best friend and at times very toxic. I loved the way that this dichotomy was explored, and how the grieving process was depicted in a myriad of different ways—reminiscing, anger, fear, love, hate, sorrow—it was all very real and raw, yet magical throughout. No feeling was too big or too small, too personal or universal to include, and I always appreciate that about Amanda Lovelace's writing. I'll definitely keep reading whatever she writes!