I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is the second work by this author I've read and loved. Some of these poems did nothing for me, and others I felt deeply. Deeply. That's what a good poetry book does for you.
Can't wait to see a third book from this author.

"Darling, at some point we all have to stand up for the kind of love we deserve."
I felt that.


"Intergenerational trauma and the thing inside you that says enough is enough,
Father/ Mother/ Grandmother /Grandfather/
Whoever, your demons aren't welcome in my house."

Thank you so much Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this collection!

nectar is gorgeously written poetry collection about growth and renewal.
I find many modern poetry collections tend to be negative, and draw from experiences of sorrow, heartbreak and loss which is understandable as those emotions are powerful and strong.
And while nectar did touch on important topics such as being a black woman, or a woman in general and sadness, it was overall an uplifting read.
It focused on self love, and putting yourself first which was very refreshing.
It had some lines that spoke to me on a deep level, however many pages felt like filler to me and more of a quote than a poem.

"Sometimes
there is love in leaving."
🍁🍁🍁
I was so excited upon reading the dedication of this book. Well, it was an okay collection but I can't call this one poetry. It was more of a collection of quotes and one-liners than poetry. The topics were serious and I don't think the book made justice to it.

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

"Pray for the creative whose vulnerability amuses us, whose pain reminds us of our own, who had to feel something again and again for our sakes."

Short, yet thought-provoking, Upile Chisala crafts words together to be a eloquent piece exploring diverse themes and writes for women with intricate yet simple notions. She talks about love, pain, growth, helping, poetry, marriages, women and self love. The creativeness which stood up for me is that while reading a couple of poems, they resonated couple of my own thoughts put on paper and that instantly connected me to this book!

It is a quick read and everything about it is nice. I enjoyed some to an extent that it stuck in my head and I felt it in my bones while some didn't just work out for me, personally, as good as it is written. Upile Chisala has done a good job with this collection. Her writing, as brief as it is, impacts and influences on one's thoughts in a way it isn't expected! I loved this book and I have a feeling I will love 'Soft Magic' more!

Recommended: Anyone looking for a thoughtful and a brief read can read this. Strongly recommended for young women and writers who think they aren't good enough.

Underwhelming,
Insta
*bongo noise*
PoEtRy.

This collection did nothing that its predecessors have not done before and to a higher standard. This book could have easily been a pamphlet because most of the poems taking up less than a quarter of a page and the longer ones feel drawn out to make up space.

Although the different sections covered different themes I found them very repetitive and often pushing the same message. I cannot remember one poem from this collection that I enjoyed and has stayed with me after I read it. That is the mark of good poetry and I'm afraid that this was a pale imitation.

It's not terrible. It's just not anything new in an evergrowing oversaturated market.

I was sent this ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Upile Chisala has the most empowering and beautiful voice, and I hold that opinion without even having heard her voice with my ears. I hear it in my heart. In my bones. In my soul. Too many of her words fill me up and make me feel less alone with thoughts I’ve had, feelings I’ve had. It’s helpful to know it’s known. It’s understood. Every time I thought I had a favorite, I’d keep reading and discover another one, and another, another. It’s all important. It’s all needed to be heard. I want to share these words with everyone I know so they too can feel less alone, more understood. So they can have the courage to be better and grow. To not let their past stunt them, and to let joy in.

What is the point of these types of ‘poetry’ collections? None of these were poems; they were dull and most of the time, literal sentences with maybe a random line break. I don’t know why these have been so popular recently... like, sure, nothing against this one in particular – they’re all as bad as each other – but Upile Chisala definitely just jumped on a bandwagon and realised she could publish a “poetry collection” if she wrote a few of her thoughts down in a slightly different way than usual.
All these “poets” should just get Twitter and share each “poem” as a tweet. They would probably do quite well on there...

I’m sorry to say but this collection of so-called poetry sucked big time. I hasten to call anything in its pages a poem. I’ve got no issue with short poetry. I’ve written many short poems myself. A short poem doesn’t mean the poet can be lazy and just stick words together which was often the case here. Many of the ‘poems’ were only 1 line long. These poems and the 2 line ones barely resembled poetry. One of the ‘poems’ on offer is what have you learned about yourself lately. I kid you not. This is not a poem in my book. Sorry. Many of the pieces on offer here are lists. I also hated the fact none of them have a title. There are longer poems that almost work and I thought, we might be getting onto something here but no, the next three pages would have one line of nonsense on them masquerading as a poem. The subjects covered are wide and have depth but the content never does them justice.

I’ve been looking for a poetry collection to dive into when I saw the ARC was available for Nectar on net gallery. This is an easy going collection of short poems - most are only one to two sentences long which made it perfect to jump in and out of this. I read a few while in line at the bakery and while waiting at the bus stop. It’s a sweet, tender compilation of thoughts and empowerment’s that made me smile quite often. I would have preferred a few more fleshed out, longer poems but would imagine having a copy of this on my coffee table would be perfect to jump in and out of while sipping a hot cuppa with biscuits in the morning to set the mood of the day.

I’m extremely glad I had the chance to read this, as I’m definitely going to be picking up a copy of ‘Soft Magic’ also by Upile Chisala next time I’m at the bookshop.

Thanks NetGallery!

Not a fan at all. Reading it was a struggle to stay interested, I found this poetry to be nothing more than common phrases I could see in a fortune cookie. There was no emotion or effort put into this book and I was happy I received a free ARC than wasting my money on it.

I was excited to read this second collection of poetry from Upile Chisala, as I enjoyed reading her first one, Soft Magic. And while I found myself nodding in agreement with quite a few passages shared in nectar, I was a bit disappointed in this collection. So many of the poems were pages and pages of one or two-liners that conveyed profound thoughts, but nothing more. Perhaps I was expecting poems that were a bit more full-bodied and lengthier. I did feel things when reading nectar. I just wish the collection could have given me a little more to feel and think about.

Major thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of nectar in exchange for an honest review.

Upile Chisala continues to cement her place as a poet who writes with powerful, timely and important messages.

Overall this book was very uplifting and I was able to really connect with the author. Even though the second section was heavily written to empower the African American female population, I felt the rest of the collection could’ve been written for absolutely anybody. The writing was beautiful and I definitely would read more of her work if she continues to publish. Definitely a book everyone should read.

I wanted to like this, but I found it disappointingly similar to “instagram”/“Tumblr” poetry like the work of Rupi Kaur.

My first issue is that the poems are incredibly short, each one being little more than a sentence or two. This wouldn’t be a huge issue, except for the fact that every single one starts to sound the same, and they simply don’t have enough room to go beyond scratching the surface. I didn’t feel anything gut-wrenching or deep from them, but I felt like they all had the potential to grow into something more. I think another issue contributing to that was the lack of poetic devices, like unique metaphors or unexpected analogies. I found most of the poems to be single-layered and a little too straight-forward. And, unfortunately, Chisala relied a little too heavily on one of my least favorite techniques--the “mic drop”, or hitting the “enter” button after a line to add emphasis. I understand that this is a fundamental building block of poetry, but the way it was used made it so much less impactful. I’ve noticed it becoming increasingly persistent in most of YA I read, so maybe it’s something that only bothers me. I just find it to be a cheap and over-dramatic way of making something stand out. Rather than letting words speak for themselves, they are separated to make you pay attention to each one.

There were a couple poems that I discovered deeper meaning in, mostly in the section titled “All That Grew”. I found those to be the most relatable and impactful, and I really took to heart some of the observances Chisala had about love. I think my issue with the rest of the novel was that the topics weren’t relevant to me. There were lots about emotionally abusive relationships and familial issues— they weren’t words that were meant for me at this point in my life, but I sincerely hope that anyone who does need them can come across them. Chisala also touched on some pretty heavy-hitting racial issues, which I respect and admire, but to me it didn’t seem like she had anything new to say for people who are already familiar with liberal social rhetoric.

I liked the overall message of the poems, which is that you don’t owe anything to anyone except yourself. Chisala made the point that self-love and self-worth are the keys to healthy love and relationships with others, which is something I completely agree with. Her words were meant to empower women to be themselves, unabashedly and with pride. Ultimately, I can appreciate all of the heart and love and struggle that went into these poems, but none of them made me stop and think, or consider my emotions in some new way. I wish there had been a few more poems with narrative, or ones that weren’t about such intensely positive or negative emotion.

I was really excited when I saw that Upile Chisala had a second poetry collection coming out and even more excited when I saw it was available on Netgalley. Thank you so much Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this collection! However, I definitely enjoyed her first collection more.

This collection was hard for me. I didn’t feel like it was as well written nor as impactful as her first collection, Soft Magic. Partially, I don’t think they were edited as well, but also the subject matter just didn’t speak to me nearly as much as the first collection did. The first collection spoke more on depression, which at the time of reading was something that I really needed to read about. I needed the encouragement that the Soft Magic collection gave me. Many of the short poems spoke to me on a personal level in the first collection.

For me, this collection really only had two things that spoke to me on a personal level, whereas the first collection had many.

The first being:

“You do yourself and those who could love you a disservice when you make yourself smaller; when you eat your words or use less of your light.”

I feel like too often lately other women and myself are having to make ourselves smaller so that those around us don’t get offended. Or so we don’t piss off the patriarchy and they don’t try to take more of our rights away. Or just in general with my job because I almost constantly work around men.

The second being:

“Waiting for people to be sorry will exhaust you.”

I am not a particularly forgiving person and when people don’t apologize for injury that they have caused me in the past, I have a tendency to hold on. Letting go of these grievances is something that I am working on. It’s hard for me to let go though when I am basically enraged by other people’s actions.

All and all it is still a fine collection. I was just hoping to be as moved as I was by her first collection, but that unfortunately just didn’t happen this time. I am still willing to read any other collections she puts out, but I am hoping they will be more like Soft Magic.

Loved the title and cover of this book. Such a simple perfect poetry book. I loved it! I read it while waiting in a hospital and it made me feel good and enjoyed Uptile Chisalas voice.

Upile Chisala's latest book of poetry and prose, "nectar" was deep and profound. It was cutting and also tender. It had sharp truth that cut to the core of some relational dysfunction. I resonated with parts of it, and it was at times convicting of my own painful past. The book was written to women and it is a wonderful collection that I would share with my daughters when they are older. I would also invite my son to read it too.

As a man reading Ms. Chisala's poetry I felt the pain. I felt the wrongs done to her and her wounds that are on full display in "nectar." I also heard a strong, tender and fiery woman who knew who she was, knew what she wanted, and was dead set on pursuing those things because she is worth it, she deserves those things, and what she sought were all worth her effort and her toiling and her full attention.

This collection is a moving and important collection. I wholeheartedly recommend this to women and men alike. I think people would learn a lot from her words and hopefully it would bring about meaningful change in the lives that Ms. Chisala touch through her poetry.

I received this eBook free of charge from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it all in one go and I found myself jotting down her thoughts because they felt like mine own at some points. It's a really well structured and well thought out poetry book that touches on the sore soul spots and heals this a little. I would keep this on my bookshelf.

nectar is a beautiful collection of poems that draw on strong images and experiences — wonderful literary working!

3.5/5

Although I really enjoy insta-poetry (poems that resemble posts on social networks), this is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful poetry collections I've read in a loooooong time.

Everyone knows that I enjoy poems about heartbreak/relationships ending, etc (even though Im heartbroken) and obvious I found that kind of poems in this book:

"It’s scary to think how you were all the wrong things for me yet you felt like home."


But, the book also talks about other topics such as self-love, healing. And mainly, black women (i know i'm not qualified to talk about that).

"I see you. You’re not on this perpetual mission to destroy yourself anymore. I’m glad you finally think you’re worth saving."

"Cry.
Let that water go.
You were drowning."


It's a book that I definitely recommend. The reminders at the end were inspiring. 💖