I really loved this book! Admittedly it's been a while since I've read a full book of poetry so I was so excited to receive this one. The entire book really read like a bi-lingual love letter. I personally was touched by so many of the poems and could identify with a lot of the situations and feelings presented in this book. Whether you read the entire book as one linear work or hop around and pick favorite, everyone is sure to find a poem from In Real Life that speaks to them .

I loved that the poems were published in both Spanish and English, and although my high school Spanish is really rusty it was interesting to see how the poems slightly differed in each language. The poems' themes selves were on the whole pretty good. Some of them strayed into Instagram Poet territory, but several , like 'Typing" were really interesting:

I never thought the word 'typing'
could wax so luminous.

While waiting while holding on, I imagine
the millions of words
you might write for me,

unready as I am
to accept
the single word
with which you finally
reply.

The "novel" part didn't really work for me. These are clearly thematically and temporally connected, but there's not much of a plot beyond what you would find in a romcom (meet cute, fall in love, deal with adversity, separate, reunite, happily ever after). On the whole a soothing, romantic read.

I was excited for this dual language collection of poetry in Spanish and English. I did enjoy having both languages to compare, however I had trouble connecting with the poetry. I did not like all of the references to technology and social media, although I'm sure young adults will enjoy that. Overall, not a bad collection, moving through the ups and downs of love.

This is an extremely well written poetry collection. Leticia Sala sort of spoke directly into my heart in a way I can't find words to explain. The thing I find most interesting about this book is the way the author wrote the poems in Spanish and English - Spanish on the left side, English on the right side. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

This is a great poetry collection which traces the course of a modern relationship, its demise and the coming out of the other side. It is very real, raw and relatable. There were many times where the author really summed up how I had felt in a similar situation and it was very comforting.

I got this for the cover. I got it for I was made to believe from the title that it was supposed to be a novel in poems.

Novel?

I was expecting some form of continuity or description of something.

I got poetry verses, not that connected to the previous one or the next.

Okay. Let it be. I love poetry.

I kept on reading.

But yes, I feel there's nothing much that I haven't read before.

Instagram poetry genre.

If you love poetry by Rupi Kaur and Amanda Lovelace, you might like this collection.


Thanks NetGalley for the copy.

In Real Life is a book of poetry in English and Spanish that attracted me right away by its cover and the proposal to talk about love and relationships at a distance.

It is very well written, yes. But I confess that, at least for me, this formula used by the author to write her poetry ends up being a little more of the same ...

There are phrases (or are they verses?) That touched me a lot, I laughed in some moments and I was reflective in others, but basically I was reading all the poetry without much emotion.

The book didn't touch me as much as I thought it would.

I thank Netgalley and the publisher for granting this copy of the e-book for honest reading and review.

This clever book is a love story told through poetry in both English and Spanish. As I don't speak Spanish (not even to a basic level) I was still intrigued as the format of the book is Spanish poem, followed by the English translation. I still found myself reading the Spanish versions as there was something quite exotic and beautiful about them.
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BUT....I didn't get this. I didn't get it all. It was an original idea, the poems as standalone pieces of work were beautiful, but I didn't get the underlying storyline particularly.
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This one just wasn't for me.
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This shouldn't be a write off for everyone else though. I've seen many reviewers that are learning Spanish really enjoy testing out their skills. I've seen others who have found it a really beautiful read. But it fell short for me.
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⭐⭐.5 / 5
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Thanks @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for provide me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
No soy una habitual lectora de poesia, pero de todas formats, creo queue lo fundamental es si la misma nos hace sentir cosas.
El estilo es no convencional, lo que es interesante, y la tematica de los poemas es una mezcla de lo traddicional, con los tiempos que corren.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have a deep appreciation for Spanish poetry and I appreciated having the English translation as well. I find it interesting to compare the words and see how the translation can affect the meanings. I think this would be the perfect book for a coffee table. It is short, lovely, and reflective. I don’t think its one of those poetic works of arts that is life changing, its not supposed to be. The author wrote this as a love story to her husband and decide to share that story with the readers. That’s not to say that her words were not impactful or thought provoking. Her words led me to pause and reflect. I was thinking about the people her poems and the emotions depicted reminded me of. The memories I think back on. I found myself silent and deep in thought. I even verbally said “awww” a few times because of the sadness or sweetness in her words. I enjoyed reading the poetry and would definitely would recommend to those interested in contemporary Spanish poetry. I would even suggest this to those wanting to get stronger in the other language as a tool for learning either English or Spanish. Overall, they were lovely poems and I am thankful for the opportunity to read and review the ARC.

Some of my personal favorite poems were: Mi Nombre, Ok, Screenshots, Verter Aqua en Acuarelas, and Leap of Faith

Some of my favorite quotes:
“Porque el amor no tiene que irse si siempre estuvo ahÍ”
“Cuando me voy a quedar sin batería, solo te aviso a ti.”

i loved this book. it reminded me a lot of Rupi Kaur's poetry style. however, Leticia does have her own voice, her own style. I related to a lot of poems, the ones about the beginnings of love, of relationships, of trying to know someone else. i think the poems have something unique and interesting about love and heartache, about life, in a beautiful way. and i really loved the bilingual part, speaking spanish myself.

In Real Life by Leticia Sala is a bilingual poetic novel, featuring an online love story of a young Barcelona woman who finds her love online far away in New York City.

It expresses love from both the sides, it talks about how much more they want of eachother. It talks about love in modern times and loving in long distance. Even though it's a poem book, the story unfolds beautifully just like a novel.

She talks about love, acceptance, grief, commitment, self reflection and much more. I liked the poems of 'Reflection', 'Waves', and many more. They are common to us in today's world.

The poems are presented twice, once in Spanish and then in English. But while translating the poems, the author made sure they don't loose their meaning and purpose. The translated ones are also very emotional and relatable to the reader's today.
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Thank You to the Publisher and NetGalley for this e-copy in exchange of a honest review.

As someone who exclusively speaks/reads English, it was quite an interesting experience reading the parts of this poetry collection that are in Spanish. It did not at all take away from the enjoyment and overall experience of this novel. The part I could understand in English were moving, resonant, and settled into my bones. This is one of those poetry collections that feeds your soul without you knowing it, and I'm glad I had the pleasure of enjoying it.

In Real Life by Leticia Sala talks about love, grief, loss, and second chances through the intricate words that flow onto the pages.

Throughout each page of these Spanish/English poems, we are given details of love becoming stronger and sometimes weakening and things that can be completely relatable. Mentions of long distance relationship, the internet, communication made these poetry works amazing to read.

It was fascinating to read and watch a long distance relationship unfold and go through the hardships but then come together so beautifully.

My only physical problem was that it didn’t reel me in as much as I hoped for. I wanted something to fully capture my attention but felt like I wasn’t getting that while reading this. While it was beautifully written, my attention wasn’t captured as much as I hoped for.

This is a great novel-in-poetry and I think people would like this.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book in response for an honest review.

This collection of poetry did nothing for me. It felt like it was trying hard to be meaningful but just felt flat and devoid of real emotion or interesting ideas. I think the blurb does not do it justice, it is not a novel but a collection of poetry. I was expecting two languages to be intertwined but instead there was just the Spanish and English versions of the same poems.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for so kindly sending me an arc copy of this book. I really thought I would like it, the premise was amazing (a story told in verse in two languages! I was so up for it), but the insta-poetry style is not for me anymore.

I am sure other people who are more interested in reading about modern love and long distance relationships in the form of instapoetry will like it.

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!

I've never read a book like this before. A bilingual novel-in-poetry. Every poem is written in english and spanish.

My spanish level is low, even though it's very similar to portuguese. It was easier for me to read in english, but some pages I read in spanish and it was a very interesting experience. I really liked this.

When I finished it, the only thing I could think of was... I wanna read it again! I just need to! I need to read this again when I'm madly in love. I need to read this again when my heart is completely broken. My friends need to read this. You there, reading this review... You should read this book!!!

I can't even save a few quotes I liked on goodreads, because honestly I would be quoting the whole book.

LOVE IT.

I love poems and I loved this book.

The different diagramming for pages, and the beautiful illustrations.

We have simple poems and also with deep tones, about life, fellings, thoughts, loves, relationships, some about our current 21st century with the use of the internet.

I highly recommend it, I didn't know the author, but I'll start to follow.

In Real Life contains poetry to savor. Leticia Sala writes well and gives readers a craft to enjoy and appreciate.

This was a super lovely and quick book. I found interesting the bilingual component of this book and I'm glad the author chose that path, since it's a lot more enriching. In terms of content, the only downside was the quality of the few illustrations, because (at least in my copy) they had a lot of pixelization, and their placement felt a little bit random. I liked the modernity and honesty of the poems, and I felt this was a autobiographical 21st century love anthem. It was nice knowing the characters' story and finding a lot of aspects relatable among the uniqueness of the couple, and I wish Leticia and Pau all the best!