I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it was not for me. It didn't feel realistic even with an interesting premise

I don't typically read poetry but this was beautiful. I could feel all of the emotions of a heartbreak, I really enjoyed it.

Such a beautiful and raw book. You really have to appreciate her vulnerability throughout the entire book. I finished it within a day, it was that amazing. Definitely a book to reread when you're going through hard times, or just need a comfort book.

A debut collection exploring the experience of first love and heartbreak through poetry, from actress and artist Bella Mayo. My Greenhouse is a collection of poems inspired by the author's first romance, beginning with the seeds of infatuation, blooming for a time into real love, and then eventually dying back, making room for new growth. The pieces evoke the feelings of enchantment, uncertainty, pain, and ultimately healing that come with your first love and heartbreak.

These poems are incredibly personal to this author but also very relatable, and something anyone picking up this book will likely have experienced. I found these poems to be raw, beautiful, and powerful. They brought up a lot of nostalgia, and also memories from my own experiences, and poetry is amazing when it can move its audience to feel.

Die - im allgemeinen eher kurzen - Gedichte in diesem Buch handeln von allen Stadien der Liebe: von den ersten Schwärmereien, über die glücklichen Momente in einer Liebesbeziehung, bis hin zur schmerzlichen Trennung. Insbesondere die Gedichte, welche von den gemeinsamen romantischen Momenten und liebevollen Gesten handeln, haben mir sehr gefallen. Die Autorin widmet sich in ihren Gedichten auch immer wieder Fragen wie bspw. ob man die Liebe verdient hat, ob die Trennung richtig war und wie man es schafft, eine Beziehung hinter sich zu lassen. Die Gedichte sind dabei teilweise sehr allgemein gehalten, was es dem Leser allerdings ermöglicht, seine eigene Situation darin wiederzufinden. Ich mochte die Struktur der Überschriften und der Gedichte, hätte mir aber gelegentlich noch etwas mehr Abwechslung gewünscht.
 
Fazit:
Insgesamt hat mir dieser Gedichtband gut gefallen. Ich vergebe empfehlenswerte 4 Sterne.


In English:

The - generally rather short - poems in this book deal with all stages of love: from the first crushes, through the happy moments in a love affair, to the painful separation. I especially liked the poems that deal with the romantic moments together and loving gestures they shared. In her poems, the author also repeatedly devotes herself to questions such as whether one deserves love, whether the separation was right and how one manages to leave a relationship behind. Some of the poems are kept very general, which allows the reader to find his own situation in them. I liked the structure of the headings and the poems, but would have liked a little more variety on occasion.

Conclusion:
Overall, I liked this volume of poetry a lot. I give a recommendable 4 stars.

Go to IG: @entre.mi.libro.y.yo to see the complete review.

I am not a huge poetry reader, but I have read good poetry and when I read it I like to feel SOMETHING, sad, happy, inspired, in love, anything.
This book didn´t feel like that all the time, but I did like some poems that were really good.

In conclusion, I wouldn´t recommend this book as the best poetry book ever, but it´s cute and significant and I liked the way the author puts her heart into it.

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Increasingly I'm discovering that poems that are straightforward, unadorned languages just aren't for me. While the emotional range in this volume is nice as is the way the author examines love and relationships through the lens of her expectations and growth (and narcissism? every poem's title starts with "my"), the language, as in poems like 'my greatest surprise' doesn't do much for me:

i looked up,
and before i knew it, we were falling in love.
i was so focused on everything else
i didn't even see it.
i didn't have to try.
i didn't have to wait for you to call me back and wonder if this was what i wanted.
it just happened.
i just knew it was what i wanted without a thought in my mind.
you were unexpected
and quick.
but isn't that exactly how it's supposed to be?

The main thematic of "My Greenhouse" is the author's first love and heartbreak. Even though, I completely respect the nature of that theme and take into account how young the author is and the fact that this is her debut collection, I found the poems to be way too simple. I didn't find anything memorable or unique in them and felt like the themes were explored a bit superficially and just way too simplistically!
This really wasn't my kind of poetry but I know a lot of people really enjoyed it and I can definitely say that if you enjoy simple, Rupi-Kaur-like poetry, you should pick this book up!

This book of poetry hit me emotionally. There was parts I deeply connected with and made me think of past experiences. I enjoyed this so much! 5* rating from me.

This is one for those who have fallen in love, and then sadly fallen out of it as well. Mayo speaks to all of us who have dealt with the relationships we never want to let go of.

These poems are like a peek into someone’s journal. Raw. Emotional.

A truly beautiful poetry collection that weaves together nature, love, and pain. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys modern poetry.

This poetry collection is basically a love letter to the author's partner. Whilst, some poems were great and touching, the whole collection felt a bit under reviewed and edited. However, given it's her debut collection it's far better than some other collections written by famous people.

When I read that this was Bella Mayo's debut poetry book, I was astonished. I could honestly believe that this was a book from an accomplished poet. The poems were heartfelt and I could feel the emotion from each of them even if I had not personally experienced the type of love that was the subject.
The titling of each piece was something that really provided a new depth to the work. Starting each title off with the word 'my' already invokes a feeling of it being very personal to the reader.

I absolutely recommend this book and I will be purchasing it myself as well as soon as it publishes.
There is a more extensive review of this book available on my blog.

4 Stars

I'm so over you, until tomorrow.

I totally enjoyed Bella Mayo's collection of poetry. It was a fantastic mix of heart highs and heart lows - and I was here for all of them. For me, it was a walk through so many of my past relationships and the range of feelings you have - whether it lasts a few months or a few years... and how crushing the loss can be. Love can be a rollercoaster and Bella perfectly conveys this in this collection.

My Greenhouse was a simplistically written but ever-so-lovely poetry collection to read.

The author articulately explores the many intricacies that come with going through the stages of heartbreak, loss and love. Poems such as "my secret heartbreaker" eloquently capture the power of nostalgia in memorializing - often with a rosy tint - past moments in a relationship. Although these poems are apparently written about the author's personal experiences, the feelings they evoke transcend through the page and feel universal. Something I, and I'm sure many other readers can relate to.

While the poetry collection about love and heartbreak in this style has been done before, the sheer honesty in the writing and the unique greenhouse metaphor provides a fresh feeling to this collection. I only wish that perhaps the symbolism of the greenhouse, sun, wildflowers, clouds etc. could have had a consistent meaning throughout all the poems to better add depth to the poems.

My Greenhouse was a relatable poetry collection with short, modern poems that made me pause and reflect on the meaning of the words. I quite enjoyed reading it and plan on gifting copies to friends in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

this piece told a story of love, how it is exciting and makes you giddy at first, but can wind up in heartache and uncertainty. The prose is beautifully well done, but the components of this book that resonated with me most was the pieces that focused on the fear of letting them close once more while simultaneously being afraid to not let them back into your life.

Truly a piece of literature that will stick with me as it feels as though the author was able to look into my own experiences and translate that to paper

Focusing on mainly love and heartbreak, some heavy content is included in this one, specifically toxic relationships and self hate. Bella focuses on her experiences with heartbreak and her first love, and you can feel the emotions coming out of the page. It is entirely relatable, the feeling of heartbreak can be devastating and life-altering. I’d highly recommend this if you’ve recently gone through a breakup or know someone who has, i feel like this could’ve helped me lots ❤️

A big thank you to Net Galley for providing me with a copy in exchange of an honest review. "My Greenhouse" is a poetry collection that tells the story of Bella Mayo's first love. All titles of the poems start with "my", which is generally a very nice concept, as it makes the content seem more personal, but by the time I was almost at the end I grew tired of it. The title concept and the repetitiveness of the poems were my two main problems. I could not connect fully with the poems, so the lack of an emotional pull is one of the main disadvantages of this book. "My Greenhouse" has more of a realistic ending, which made the whole poetry collection come together. The trigger warnings include mentions of cheating, break-up, etc. All in all, I did not truly like the book, as it was a mess of feelings and emotions that never get to the reader.

🌷My Greenhouse
In this debut poetry collection, Bella Mayo reflects on the author’s first love and heartbreak. Overall I enjoyed this poetry collection. The poems were quite sweet and the themes explores were fairly relatable. The poems themselves were not overly complicated, but I feel that that might have been intentional, as they were meant to explore the simplicity of young love.
The truth is that my twentysomething present self didn’t connect that much with the poems. However, while reading them, I couldn’t help but think how much my teenage self would be obsessed about this collection. I truly think that this poetry collection would be great for a younger audience, one that is experiencing love for the first time.

Thank you to @netgalley and @andrewsmcmeel for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed reading this book, as I could relate to it. It talks about love and failed relationships. It talks about learning to live without someone who was everything for you, and moving on. Rating: 3/5 stars.