I think the overall message of this poetry collection is so important and necessary for everyone to hear, but younger girls especially. However, at times I found the prose paragraphs to come off as a little preachy. There were many instances of telling vs showing. The illustrations were beautiful and I think they were a great addition to the text!

*1.5*

As someone who would generally describe themselves as a "poetry lover" I was interested in dipping my toes into what the contemporary poetry world has to offer and was sorely disappointed by what I found. I have never read any of Amanda Lovelace's other collections, but the other glowing reviews I read across platforms had me excited for what to expect. Let me start here -- if you are a lover of the classics like Plath, Louise Gluck, or even Emily Dickinson, or Robert Frost -- this collection is not for you.

This book is definitely a part of the ongoing and growing ( :( ) trend of what is dubbed "instagram poetry" where the "poems" are short, on-the-nose thoughts that are presented as sentences split into multiple lines to make it look like a poem. While there are a lot of good thoughts and good messages (albeit a bit cliched) that I think could benefit little girls during those painful, confusing stages of growing up, none of it really feels like poetry. And I'm not trying to be a gatekeeper here -- and sorry if I'm coming off that way -- but many of the "poems" in this book felt like the note you would write down when you have an idea for the core message/theme that you want to build you poem around, bolstered with metaphor and wordplay and other literary devices that allow the reader to come to their own conclusions and glean multiple things from it with each successive read.

"the only time
a boy ever
asks her out
is for a laugh.

after so long,
she begins
to see herself
as the joke too.

-punch line."

"'you'd be so much prettier if...'
you'll never get a boyfriend if you don't...'

-what they tell her."

Neither of these poems leave room for personal interpretation. They are simply thoughts that exist that many of us have thought before. Sure, that makes it #relatable, but is it profound? Is it "beautiful" (as many reviewers have described her work)?

As I said before, there are a few great tidbits of wisdom that many of us learn as we grow up and mature, and I appreciate the feminist messaging, but it saddens me a bit that this is what we are calling poetry today. It would be better labelled as a self-help book of positive affirmations for little girls.

I realize now that I am not the intended audience for this book, but these are my honest thoughts while reading. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in return for my review.

This is a beautiful poetry collection highlighting feminist topics and learning to love yourself as you are. The art in this book is beautiful and I think all of the poems flow together really well within the fairytale theme. There is a warning at the beginning that certain sensitive topics will be discussed, which I also appreciated greatly.

The latest installment in Amanda Lovelace’s poetry collection, shine your icy crown, is absolutely stunning. The collection glitters with beautiful art, short and sweet poems, and an elegant balance between the voice of a younger vs bigger sister. I like that you can really interpret the voice of the big sister however you want: a friend, sister, kind inner voice? My favorite poems were the ones which encouraged bravery, kindness (to yourself and others), and independence. This would be an excellent collection for someone looking to learn more about poetry or for a Lovelace fan. Shine your icy crown releases on January 26, 2021. Thank you to Amanda Lovelace, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For the publisher: My review will be posted on the publication date and I will publish it on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble etc.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this work of poetry. I have read everything from Lovelace and I was very excited to see she had a new book coming out! Just like her others, I LOVED it. It is all about the reasoning that a princess does not need a prince. I really like the messages coming from this one. Definitely recommend.

I have seen Amanda Lovelace's books EVERYWHERE. (I mean, who hasn't.) And the simple covers have always drawn my attention. Then the titles. Just so creative in their simplicity.
This, however, was my first read of hers.
I like that they are not just individual poems compiled into a book, but that they are in fact a story. The first part especially is a story of two sisters: one who has learned hard lessons that she is trying to pass on to her younger sister, and one who is learning...but not from her sister's mistakes, but by listening to the lies and voices of others. It's really creatively put together. It's almost like the two sisters are the two sides of every girl. The one who knows the truth, and the one who hears and believes the lies around us. I felt like I related to both sisters at different times of my life...or my day.
Some of the poems were outright stunning.
Some of them were too in your face feminist for me, too in your face agenda-y. But that's the lovely part of poetry. Poets get to do that. They get to bleed on the page and be in your face, because of the nature of the writing.
Some of the poems were just two lines. Some filled the page. Some were prose.
Many of them were just pieces of advice. Not in a bad way, but also not necessarily in an original way. She just so happened to put them in poetic format and coin them as her own.

I don't know if I'll read another of Lovelace's poetry collections. It intrigued me. And it still does. But I don't know if I'll read through an entire collection again.

I was hoping for more.

I'm going through a rough time, so a feminist poetry night with scented candles and hot cocoa was felt like the ultimate comfort. Unfortunately, shine your icy crown didn't work for me. I am fully behind its ideology - however, the content was just not satisfying. There two or three passages I highlighted and sat with for a while, which is not quite enough. The rest felt superficial to me.

This was my first book by Amanda Lovelace and I'm really nervous about reading her earlier work - although I'm pretty sure the first book will be good.

This review reflects my own reading experience, not the author's talent, thoughts, feelings, beliefs or experiences.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this one. It is about empowerment, feminism, being authentically you. It talks about self-care, anxiety, depression, feeling out of sorts, losing yourself to your mental illness and how that can be okay sometimes as long as we can get ourselves out of that place.

I’ve read Amanda Lovelace’s poetry before and I had some favorites and some I disliked, in this collection I loved all of them.
I want to start by saying I really appreciate the trigger warning list at the beginning of the book, and I still defend that all books should do this.
Also I adored the art work in this book, it is very fall, and it seems the perfect book to ready at this time of year. I related to a few of the feelings expressed in this book, and I appreciate this collection so much.
I believe this is one of my favorite poetry collections

“the princess who wore a crown of her own making...”
Another gorgeous and empowering collection by Lovelace. I was particularly thrilled with the structure of this set, made even better by the beautiful illustrations found throughout. The alternative fairytale endings and strong princesses speak to what we all need to hear. Some of these poems will be sticking with me far beyond this first reading.
Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley!

This was incredible. As a baby sister, the first half of the poems really resonated with me. I could hear my sister saying all of these things to me, and I found it extremely moving - to the point of tears. The second half was empowering. I want all of my female high school senior students to read this. I want ALL of my female students to read this. We need more empowerment. We need to support each other.

**I receiver an ARC from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

**This book has sensitive subject and may be a trigger for some people**

I loved this! It's full of so many feelings. Her words are very relatable and it just touches you.

I am still loving Amanda Lovelace's writing. Additionally, Shine your Icy Crown has beautiful art work! The poetry is empowering and magical. I finished it really quickly and as usual, her poetry leaves some food for thought.

***I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Lovelace’s conclusion to the 'you are your own fairy tale’ series does not disappoint. I really loved the overall theme of this collection; self-love. Lovelace makes many references in her metaphors to princesses and fairytales in a modern and realistic way. She encourages you to be your own person, your own role model & love yourself. She uses the overall theme of self love to remind the reader that you are more than what people think of you/tell you to be. She encourages the reader to stand up for themselves and not lose their voice. This was a strong collection that I would recommend to anyone who has fallen in love with any of her books. This is a strong ending to this series and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

You may think what you want about modern poetry, you may like it or not, but this book definitely has several messages that NEEDED to be said.
For all those who have followed the author for a long time, they will not be disappointed with her new collection of poems, and those who have never read it before will be able to realize the messages and the style of the author, in which for me it is one of her best books.
I LOVED it, thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #shineyouricycrown and remember that although everyone may or may not, the style of the poems, the most important thing, at least for me, is the feeling during and after read it what matters most.
A feminist collection of poems, which encourages self-love, self-respect, and more.

Beautifully written and laid out. Self hope, self love, anxiety and depression mixed with self doubt. I felt like this book was speaking to me and for me. It was so beautifully written and resonated to my core. Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I've read a few of Amanda Lovelace's poetry collections, and they're always gorgeous.

Firstly, I have to say that the art in this book is absolutely incredible! It fits the vibe of the poetry so well.

I really enjoyed a lot of the poems in the collections, especially in the second half. Amanda Lovelace always does a great job discussing feminism and mental health in a way that makes progress feel achievable, and not like some out of reach fairytale.

My only issue with this collection is that some of the poems just felt a little similar to those in past collections, which I think is par for the course when discussing so many similar topics.

In Amanda Lovelace’s latest collection of poetry, she hits the nail on the head with short and to the point poems that every woman can relate to on a ‘been there/heard that’ level. Tales of struggle, underestimation, empowerment and unequivocal honesty that most women know all too well. She has many poems that start “big sister says” and those are the true gems of this collection. I immediately thought of my older sisters and wanted to run out and buy the book for them.

However many of the poems were things I have all heard a million times just laid out slightly differently. It didn’t feel particularly new, refreshing or groundbreaking. This isn’t the type of poetry book that will distroy you with its beauty, but it will make you feel like you have a feminist ally giving you a pep talk which is sometimes what is needed.

If you love Amanda’s previous work, you will enjoy this one as well.

3.5/5

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A lovely collection of poems and affirmations for young women. Would buy this form my sister or some friends.

Thank you for the trigger warnings at the beginning, though they set my expectations for heavier writing than I found (then again, I don't have many triggers). The illustrations were pretty, cohesive and just the right amount.
Writing wise it was average but still enjoyable and I think messages young women need more of.

I read a few poetry collections this year that just didn't work for me.. they were either too pretentious or just a bunch of random everyday thoughts. Lovelace hit it right though!

I could relate to the poems and topics and her mix of style and media worked very well. It did get a bit repetitive with the girlpower theme halfway through but I didn't mind too much.

A great collection of poems with a strong message for any woman out there feeling like she's never enough on her own. You are.