Book Review

Shine your Icy Crown by Amanda Love Lace (You are Your Own Fairy Tale #2)

Poetry book about realizing your own potential and strength and not letting society have a say.

Review: This has quickly moved its way up to one of my favourite poetry books. It’s empowering, emotional, and uplifting. I loved the “big sister says” poems the most, it felt like she pulled everything I wanted to tell my sister out of my head and put it on paper.

Thank you Netgallery and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date is January 26, 2021!

The book was very relatable and made you feel things from such short words. The trigger warnings, in the beginning, was a really nice touch that I think all books should have.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

This is Amanda Lovelace's second book in her 'you are your own fairytale' series. I personally do not enjoy this series as much as her first because I think this is a much lighter series than her 'Women are some kind of magic' series. There is still a helpful list of triggers at the beginning of the book but this series is definitely appropriate for a younger audience than her first. It could even be a great introduction to poetry if you are 12ish.

Feminism and valuing yourself is the key theme of this book, and it is done beautifully, Yet it doesn't do anything new with the topic unlike her book 'The Witch doesn't burn in this one'. This brings me back to this being better for younger audiences or people just beginning their journey with feminism. Something I adored about this book is the use of the big sister. The format of this book is a poem about a struggle and then big sister advice. This could be read as an actual big sister of the voice we follow or I read it as older women's advice to those younger, using the word sister as in sisterhood rather than familial.

Personally, I was a bit disappointed by this as I have enjoyed each of her books more than the previous and this is definitely the one I enjoyed the second least (I was not a fan of 'The princess saves herself in this one). I still think this has many positives and that this will be a great read for those new to poetry but Lovelace can write incredibly emotive pieces and I didn't especially find any of those in this book. I will absolutely be continuing with the series and buying this book as I am still a big supporter of this author and this book was a 4 star read for me so I obviously did still enjoy it despite my critiques.

REVIEW: ⭐️⭐️💫

* shine your icy crown, by amanda lovelace •

“i don’t need to have a king in order to be called a queen. i have always been a queen in my own right.”

I haven’t read any of Amanda Lovelace’s poetry, but my old flat mate adored her, so I thought I’d give this a go when it popped up on netgalley.

I love the message it puts out; strong ideas on feminism, patriarchy, and accepting and loving yourself are central to the storyline of a princess who is being shamed for not marrying before she inherits the throne.

I’m getting strong Rupi Kaur-style vibes from this work and I just don’t think I’m suited to this style of poetry. I agreed with a lot that was being said, which is where a majority of my rating comes from, but didn’t connect with the poems themselves like I have with other poets’ works.

Overall, easy to read and hits major topics but I probably won’t be reading anymore of Lovelace’s work.

(You Are Your Own Fairy Tale #2)

This book was received as an ARC from Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review.

I absolutely loved the sentiment of this book and the message it carries across throughout the book. I have not read break your glass slippers but shine your icy crown was so empowering that Amanda Lovelace had the mindset that women can run their own lives. This may not include a prince at all but the love she has for herself and/or for her sister. Anyone can be a princess, it is all a matter of perception and how you define a princess thanks to the work of Amanda Lovelace.

We will consider adding this title to our Poetry collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

At some point I think I’m going to have to stop saying I don’t like poetry. Like Nikita Gill and Rupi Kaur, Lovelace makes poetry accessible to those of us who don’t particularly take an interest (or understanding) to it.

I’m a self declared Princess; I have a tiara necklace and when I play Among Us my go-to name is “Princess” partnered with the crown (obviously!), so I felt like I had to read this collection. In fact, this is my second Lovelace collection- I read the princess saves herself in this one my sophomore year in college. I shamelessly devoured the collection; the poems really hit home and when I finished I just had to take a moment to breathe.

I want to say the same is true for this collection, the second in her you are your own fairytale series but I cannot. While the poems were very good, and easy to read, I felt like they rehashed a lot that she’s said before. That being said, I really do like Lovelace’s poetry because it reads more like prose, which is what makes me willing to read her poetry in the first place. I do like that there’s a theme connecting them all- sisters mostly in this one. I honestly read it like a dark take on Frozen where Elsa is helping Anna become a fierce badass so she doesn’t have to hide away like Elsa; I can’t exactly tell you why, but that imagery stuck with me, of one woman helping and teaching another about the brutalities of life.

There’s also some gorgeous minimalist illustrations and art in this collection, and one thing that just absolutely made me giddy was the inclusion of fat girls and women! It really brings the whole collection together and makes it seem not only more approachable but also softer.

This makes me want to visit the rest of Lovelace’s collections, so I just might end up reading more poetry in 2021 after all!

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

I tried to like this book. Maybe I simply don’t understand poetry, but I wasn’t all that impressed with the quotes. I saw this book and though “WOMEN—YES!” But I was disappointed in a way.

The poems weren’t horrible, but they weren’t spectacular. They didn’t feed my soul or make me feel something. I could easily understand them, which was good. But they were lacking in some way.

It wasn’t a bad read, but I expected more from a poetry book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3726385690

Another of the gorgeous arcs granted by publishers I meant to read earlier this year, but COVID times really have gotten into my reading habits and turned everything askew. I wanted to make sure I got through this one before the end of the year, and it was one of the best decisions ever.

I ended up reading this in bed, long into the night, finding piece after piece I wanted to share with friends and family members. Lovelace continues to march her way through the worst lies the world, as we ourselves, tell us, and to show the way through that darkness in the true light. I am incredibly glad to see this second series of her doing that in every way and cannot wait for the next piece in this series already.

Completely touching, although it doesn't surprise me! Amanda Lovelace always writes beautiful sentences.

Shine your icy crown is a very touching poetry collection about different girls with different dreams. A lovely and beautiful book. Thank you NetGalley!

Amanda Lovelace is back with another beautiful collection of poems in her "you are your own fairy tale" series, and I love it! This book was filled with inspirational poetry encouraging women to loves themselves as they are, and I just loved all the feminist messages: from embracing who you are to loving all the parts of yourself, I think these are such needed messages for so many people! I only wish it could have been longer because I did not want to put it down!

Amanda Lovelace is my favorite "modern poetry" author I like to go back to. I did not enjoy all of her collections, but they are most relatable, at least for me.

Shine your Icy Crown is a sequel in You are Your Own Fairy Tale series, which is fairly inspired by fairy tale tropes. It also heavily focuses on Sisterhood in the first part (in both healthy and unhealthy way), so if you have a sister, you might relate more and on feminism in second part. Some of the topics discussed were used in her previous collections, though I still enjoyed them.

Amanda's poems are consistent through whole collection and her growth as an author also shows. I coudln't relate to everything but I really enjoyed poems focused on self-worth and self-love. I can't wait to see more from Amanda in the future!

This was the perfect read to start off the new year. 2020 was a tough year for everyone and I was feeling down on myself and Amanda Lovelace made me feel powerful again. She brought back the spark in me that I needed to start this new year off with. 2021 is about self-care after 2020 being such a horrific year. Thank you, Amanda Lovelace for this perfect poetry collection that is not only relatable but also includes gorgeous graphics.

Lovelace really has the gift of creating work that connects emotionally to her audience. I really enjoyed this collection and I had no clue this was coming out until I saw it on my netgalley homepage.

While this isn’t one of my favorite Amanda Lovelace poetry collections, I still really enjoyed <i>shine your icy crown</i>, and plan to buy the Target bonus edition.

This a beautiful collection of poems about sisterhood, women supporting each other, feminism, and becoming comfortable with yourself and your body. I definitely recommend all women to read this.

I have devoured each of Amanda Lovelace's poetry collection and this one continues to impress. Lovelace tells a compelling story in verse throughout the book and this one is especially poignant since it's about sisters and the bond between them.

You don't have to have read any of the previous collections to get something from this collection, and her prose is the perfect introduction to beginners finding their way into poetry. Not because her poems are simple but because they are true and honest that anyone can relate to.

I was given an advanced Readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

"embrace every part of you they told you to hate."

This is actually the first book of Amanda Lovelace's that I have read. It was a lovely collection of poems-- mixed between an overall narrative device of the fairy tale genre with some other poems that are more general in between.

Spoken in a plain language, there is no purple prose to be found anywhere in this book. Interspersed with lovely thematic illustrations, its a page turning quick read.

The narrator takes on the moniker or "Big Sister." Doling out advice and sentiments to the reader in that narrative voice. As in every poetry collection, some will stand out more to you than others and there is no right or wrong way to like poetry.

Really enjoyed this-- will be keeping an eye on whatever comes after this.

I don’t think poetry is for me. I tried the princess saves herself in this one too but I just don’t like the way it’s written. It seems very over the top dramatic and I just don’t vibe with it.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review*

This is the Amanda Lovelace I adore. I read her two collections in this new series back to back and the difference in how the stories resonated with me was stark.

This one felt more complete to me, like there was a more finished story to tell. The themes felt more mature and maybe that's part of it.

The illustrations throughout were gorgeous and made the poems feel more compelling.

If you enjoy feminist poetry that tackles challenging topics then I do recommend Amanda Lovelace. She lists trigger warnings in all the works of hers I've seen so far and encourages self-care. It's not quite a 5 as there were no poems that stood out to me as a new all time favourite but the collection overall was strong and bolstered me as I read it

Amanda Lovelace is one of my all time favorite modern poets. Almost all of her works are relatable and fit the time and age she is writing in. From "The Princess Saves Herself in this One" to her newest collection "Shine Your Icy Crown", Lovelace inspires women to take up arms against society and fight for themselves and for others like them. Her words spread love and empowerment to anyone who picks up a copy of one of her books. Her words show not only that we can get through whatever, but that we as readers aren't alone in the heartbreaking things a lot of people go through from day to day. Her works show that the road to self love isn't easy, but that it is there and we can help support each other along the way. Wonderful work! I highly recommend!