This felt like a reminder of all the things my heads keeps trying to say to myself but I keep buffing them and being abosrbed by all the darkness looming inside my head. Beautifully written and a harsh reality.

Amanda Lovelace's poetry collections always make me feel a little conflicted. On one hand, so much in them strongly resonates with me. And on the other hand, I don't like the writing style. However, I'm still filled with excitement when going into Amanda's books because there is so much potential for it to be great. Also because they're really quick reads that I enjoy, whether that's for its simplicity or the illustrations. Before I gush about illustrations, I'll go back to the beginning.

This collection of poetry is about societal pressures, how to overcome them, and how to find the power within yourself to love yourself, take care of yourself, and rise above it all in order to be happy and healthy. I love all the messages behind Amanda's poems. She writes about so many important things that I think will resonate with so many people. There is so much valuable content in this book just like in the other collections. Though my biggest issue is, I wish the writing contained a little more magic in it.

Amanda's writing is very simple which is common in modern-day poetry. This means that if the meaning behind the straightforward words isn't impactful or relatable to us, it kind of... doesn't serve a purpose. I love when poems are lyrically written because I enjoy them despite the meaning. That's unfortunately not the case in this book and there was just something missing. It was the kind of case where I felt like I'd already learned a lot of the lessons and there wasn't much new for me to learn.

What I will say though is I adore the illustrations. I'm so happy that Amanda has illustrations in her books and they're SO STUNNING too. So if you love illustrations, you don't mind a simple style of writing, and the theme sounds good to you, definitely give this a try. It's such a quick read. I also wish I had Amanda's books when I was younger because back then, I would have devoured this and it would have meant so much to me. So if you are a teen, you might enjoy this really a lot.

i'm not a poetry fan whatsoever, but this book honestly really surprised me! it was a good mix of hard hitting, but also the complete truth about being a woman in 2020. but, i was pretty scared going into it since it's all about sisters, and i don't have a sister, only a younger brother. but, i feel like the whole story didn't really focus on sisterhood, more about things that her sister told her over the years of her life, which i honestly really cool, especially if you don't have a sister, so you can still get the sisterly knowledge. and i also really like the talk about not wanting to date, and how men can sleep with a bunch of people, but not be called mean names, but if a woman sleeps with the same amount it they get called a slut. i just really thought it was cool to actually see in a book, and not just on social media. the drawings in this book were something else honestly, they were so pretty to look at, since they told the story but in pictures.

The best thing about the book was that the poems and confessions of the princess were something that every person can relate to on a personal level. The concept of sisterhood really resonates with me. In fact, the relationship between the two sisters is something that I absolutely adore. And here the sisterhood isn’t just representing blood sisters, but all women around us. The cover design of the book is simple, elegant and very appealing. I also loved the graphics and pictures embedded with the poems, which made the reading experience even more magical. The only thing that I did not like though was the use of small letters for the entire text, even the 'I' and letters after a period. Other than that I think it's beautifully written and a magical journey of self-love and acceptance.

I have received this book from <i>NetGalley</i> in exchange for an honest review.
I know that there are feminists complaining about the "mainstream-ization" of the movement. They argue that by bringing it into the pop culture, the feminist gets to be forecasted as a stereotypical girl wearing t-shirts with edgy wording and sporting a hell of an attitude for all the bad reasons.

On the other had, I think that a little pop culture never hurt somebody.
What does that have to do with this poetry book?

In my view this book was a perfect example of <b>an <i>Instagram</i> page that calls itself feminist</b>. There are pretty drawings that follow pretty words mushed together from which you can make a post at your leisure. They are just the properly amount of quirky and reactive.

<quoteblock>”she wants a life
Like you see in movies---“</quoteblock>

Perfectly safe lines, nothing too problematic. Here is another quote-ish line, with a bit more depth:
<quoteblock>”love is not
Always the answer”</quoteblock>

The book was designed as a conversation between sisters. I think that it might help teenage girls, if not in life, at least to see a conversation about <i>them</i>.

It was not a bad book.
It was just boring and repetitive and redundant.
But that may be that I have already read some Dworkin and Beauvoir.

Mostly enjoyed this poetry collection but I do wish it was a little longer and dove a little deeper. It was quick and makes you think about living your life for yourself and not judging others. There is a lot of talk about sisters in here too an d as an only child I just couldn’t relate there 😅

Amanda Lovelace has given us another beautifully personal book. She is a gifted poet, and uses her own words and her own experience to speak to her reader on topics like emotional abuse, body image, eating disorders and so many more. Her words jumped from the page so vividly, I was brought to tears. I anxiously await her next work.

This is the second installment of poetry in the 'You Are Your Own Fairy Tale' series by Amanda Lovelace. Thank you Amanda Lovelace, NetGalley, & the publishing company for allowing me to read this divine ARC. This installment tells a story of a young woman who has lost who she is and goes through periods of rough times to finally realize that she doesn’t need a king to be a queen and that she needs to love and accept herself for who she’s meant to be. It’s a wonderful story of learning to love oneself with a feminist twist.
Trigger warnings: abuse, self-harm, eating disorders.

Amanda’s back with another powerful prose book. I’ve read all of her other books and I am a huge fan and this one is no exception. It’s absolutely brilliant and I recommend it

Actually 4,5/5⭐.
It was a wave of emotions I can't even describe în words. I loved this book so freaking much.

The writing was excellent and I saw the evolution from the first book I read from her (The princess saves herself in this one) 'till this magnificent piece of art.

The message was more powerful than in the first volume of this series and I really loved the concept of fairytales and how it played.

I really love her writing style, her books and want to see more from this author because she is surprising me every time.

P. S. The art was from another universe. One word, stunning.

I enjoyed this collection of poetry!

I have not read any of Amanda Lovelace's poetry collections but after reading this one I would for sure pick up more of her work. I found shine your icy crown to be a great feminist collection of poetry. I liked a lot of the mantras and poems in this book, I found many to be relatable and relevant to my life. The poetry collection is telling a fairytale where the princess becomes her own queen, as well as a big sister offering advice and the little sister growing as she listens to this advice. I found the "big sister" poems got a little repetitive but enjoyed the overall message of being a strong, independent woman who makes the choices in the life that are right for her, not to please those around her.

The book is told in fairly short poems and accompanied by some great illustrations, I got very witch/princess vibes from these and loved them. I found many of the poems to be relatable and can see many people, particularly women, enjoying this but I think anyone who wants a good reminder of self-worth and choosing your own path could like this book. This is more of the modern and online style of poetry, which is what I prefer over more classic forms of poetry. The small snippets of poems that make up the book do flow nicely and build to a wonderful collection of reminders that you are worthy and to build your own life for you.

There are heavy themes dealt with in the poems, such as depression, eating disorders and self harm. Please keep this in mind if you choose to read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

YES! LOVED IT! This is the second collection of poetry in the 'You Are Your Own Fairy Tale' series and I think this might be my favourite of the two, although I'm not completely sure because the first one was also exceptionally good. Among other things, this collection discusses anxiety, depression, self-harm, bulimia, self-love, self-growth, and feminism. I loved how all of these themes were brought up through the use of a so-called 'sister' who teaches us valuable life lessons. Further, I loved that Lovelace dedicated a couple of pages to teach us how to be a feminist while pointing out the don'ts and the wrong ideas some might have when they think about feminism. Moreover, the illustrations in this collection were again beautiful and I appreciated that they included different races and body types.

All in all, I just really really loved the messages this collection teaches the reader and the way through which they are conveyed. The only reason why I decided to rate it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it did not always feel like I was reading poetry. The 'sister' chapters mostly read like a small piece of encouraging text instead of poetry, but this certainly did not take away the impact of the whole collection and its beautiful message. I'd definitely recommend. this collection to all modern poetry lovers that really want to be touched by poetry and take something away from reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

"She's so tried of men/telling her how strong she is/-she already knows."

I have been an Amanda Lovelace reader since, I guess, even before she published her first poetry collection.
Her books are always so empowering and everything she writes becomes art.
These poems are written by a strong woman for her fellow women friends, and while you're reading it, it feels like she's friends with you as well.
One thing that bothers me a bit about this collection - and I think I've been saying this since the last book as well - that it feels like sometimes these poems are written from a perspective of a woman who tries to empower the ones who don't know their worth... the truth is, a lot of us do know it. We are already strong women, we don't need a constant reminder of the fact people think we're incapable.
Even though there's this one thing I have a problem with, I'll give this book a 5 star review because I think we really can never get enough of women supporting women, and it is so, so important.

I really enjoyed and related to quite a few of these pieces, but it became confusing at times and somewhat repetitive. Parts of the book seemed like generic tweets pilled into a book, but others were beautifully written and gave me so much to think about about my own experiences and traumas and my feminism. I appreciate the overall message and the storyline aspect was very unique and cute.

This book was beautiful. I will forever support Amanda and all of her poetry, but this one especially connected to me. It felt as though I was reading a book I wrote for my own sister. And I will definitely be buying my sister a copy to read, too.

I saved so many of the poems because I want to be able to go back to them over and over. You can open this book up to any page & find some words of encouragement or a reminder to yourself. There were just so many important lessons in this collection.

Also, the illustrations were gorgeous.

Another great work of poetry by Amanda Lovelace. This work made me feel strong, powerful, and capable in myself, my abilities and my feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this available.

I previously had read the 'Women are some Kind of Magic' series, I honestly hated that series, so to see that Amanda Lovelace had a new series 'You are Your Own Fairytale', I was hesitant to read it.

I'm so happy I did! I really loved this book, it was uplifting and I absolutely loved the big sister poems.

Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really like Amanda Lovelace's writing style and I feel like I can relate to the poems. I love fairytales which is probably why I love the fairy tale references in Lovelace's books. This book was no exception.

There were some instances where I felt that some poems were repetitive of others that I read from her but I didn't have a problem with it. I think I actually like this series better than Women Are Some Kind of Magic.

there is a girl who
loves fairy tales
more than anything.

but no matter
how hard she searches
for an answer.

she can't understand
why there even
needs to be a prince.

"why doesn't the princess just
marry herself?" she asks,
to which they all reply.
"but that wouldn't be romantic."

I loved the theme of feminism and the celebration of girl power even though there wasn't anything groundbreaking in the poems. Still, I did feel connecting to the experiences we have as women. Plus I feel certain issues still need to talk about and we (women) need to hear certain truths more times.

What I especially adored was "big sister says" advice. This idea of women supporting women was interwoven throughout the book and I loved it. Everyone should have their big sister who is there for them.

This is not classic poetry. It is a modern take on poetry in an Instagram poetry movement. If you enjoyed Lovelace's previous book I think you will like this one as well.

Poetry is subjective. So I will say that this collection of poems wasn’t for me.
I’ve read some of her other works, and I always end up with the same feeling. Even if I like that the poems followi a bit of a fairytale storyline, and that they are very feminist, I didn’t feel anything reading them. Only one I thought was well said, but otherwise, they left me cold.
As I said, poetry is subjective, so you might like it. They just weren’t for me.

This is a poetry collection every woman should read. In the best way possible, I finished this feeling like I came out of a very successful and much needed therapy session. This was so good for my mental and emotional state. I felt empowered, understood, accepted, represented and comforted.
I saw myself in so much of this poetry book and a lot of it made me feel less alone. There were things in this book that I needed to hear- that all women need to hear!
I felt that the topics discussed were handled very well and I loved that it was done in a fairytale-esque way. An absolutely stunning and clever collection! Highly recommend this poetry collection. Especially if you need a little boost.:)
I also wanted to note that I really appreciated the list of trigger warnings at the beginning. More books need to do that!
Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing for the arc copy!!