I loved the poems, and I loved the illustrations. The style of the poems is simple but beautiful, and the language is not complex, which makes the reading easy and fluent.
The content of the poems is relatable to young people as well (and primarily) to women. It points to issues from personal life and society, making the reader eager to continue and an easy feeling of identification.
I will encourage all my friends to read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for providing me with an arc of this book!

I wish I enjoyed this more. The idea behind it and the message it is trying to go for is great but the poems…were not poems. A lot of this was glorified tumblr posts and it seems to be a trend in poetry lately which is frustrating because that’s not poetry. Writing tweets in a book is not poetry. There are nice messages in here but I wouldn’t qualify any of this as poetry. I couldn’t really connect with many of it because it just felt so preachy. I’ve read previous books by this author and this one seems the most off base.

On a positive note, the art was beautiful between the pages. .

Amanda Lovelace continues to create powerful work. She manages to weave several tales into one overall tale. The way she handles triggering topics is done with such care and consideration. This reminds me I need to get back to her back list.

I've read almost all of her works in the past and I truly appreciate her writing style. This, unfortunatly was not her best. In a world where is seems everything is a social media status or tweet, this losing something in it's simplicity. Maybe I was expecting to much depth. There were a few good ones but most left me feeling nothing.

4 1/2 Stars

Amanda Lovelace just speaks to my soul. I can identify with everything she writes. I have felt what she has felt; I've lived the same experiences. For me, you don't always need a lot of fluffy words and exaggerations to say what you need to say and I personally enjoy how beautifully she does this. Her words, her titles have such an impact. What I love most though is knowing there is someone else in the world that has felt the same thing I felt at one point or another. It gives you hope that you aren't alone in this crazy world right about now.

I haven't been the biggest fan of this author in the past, but it's been a couple of years since I read a poetry collection of hers and I decided to give her another chance; this turned out exactly like I had expected.

The book is separated into two sections: spring and underworld, just like persephone. These two parts are separated with illustrations and they are really cute; one has blue skies and a sunny field with grass and flowers, and the other has night time and roses in flames. Can you tell these two illustrations were my favourite part of this book? I honestly don’t know what my problem with this author is, and I don't want to hate on her, but I just don’t like her poetry. I can get behind some of her ideas and intentions, but not her execution. Some of her poems literaly look like tumblr posts.

I like [book:Break Your Glass Slippers|52945057] very much and I expect so much from this one. Unfortunately, this book disappointed me beyond repair. I feel like it's trying to be empowering, but the result is just a mess of contradicting Pinterest poetry. The author tries to mix in serious topics (sexual assault, domestic violence, ...) with things like "folding clothes is an act of affection" and the result is very unnatural and overdone.

<i>NetGalley provided a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions posted in this review are mine</i>

What can I say about this book apart from saying that it is a completely work of art? I loved every single page of it, every word. The day that the concept of Persephone/Kore is used in this, is absolutely a masterpiece. The illustrations are also to die for, matching all the words inside. It speaks for women, in a way that needs to be spoken about. It explores the complexity of the feminine world and how we´re trying to break the mold that society put us in. If I were to describe it in one word, it would be "Ethereal". One of my favorites of this year, without any doubt, truly recommend it to everyone!

This is my second book by Amanda Lovelace (my first was 'The Princess Saves Herself In This One')

Once again I've realized that I like poems a lot more than I did in school. I think a lot of that is to do with the fact is that writers like Amanda Lovelace write about things that I can personally resonate with.

As I was reading, I was taking note of poems that particularly stuck out to me and a couple of them I went to just move on to the next one and stopped to think, "I get it. I feel that. Why did I pretend I didn't?" More than a few of these really made me think about myself.

I highly recommend this book if you're looking to explore the concept of femininity and finding your place in the world (especially if you don't fit neatly into societal norms). The complementary illustrations are stunning and really help inspire and compliment the poems.

I've read multiple collections of Amanda Lovelace's poetry, and I really want to like it, but I can never get into it. I liked the duality of life and death in how she was expressing what it means to be a woman, but it felt like it was being forced as an idea instead of the concept developing naturally throughout the poems. The art was pretty, but it became repetitive.

I feel this collection is a bit shorter compared to the previous collections.

What I feel about the poetry content:

💯 The lines are authentic and express the signature style of the author

They are short and lyrical yet hard-hitting. That would be when you can relate to the lines word by word.

This is the first time I feel all the trigger warnings given at the beginning of the book apply.

There's hint of abuse.


Regarding the illustrations:

They are repetitive. I find them colourful and beautiful yet I still prefer the previous artwork.

Overall, a good read and something not to miss if you need some self-love and motivation.

Thank you, author and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

📙 This is my fifth experience reading one of Amanda Lovelace’s poetry collections, which goes to show you that I am definitely a fan of her work! In this collection, specifically, Lovelace alternates between Wildflower and Wildfire poems, which are supported with artwork.

The poems really worked and resonated with me, for the majority of her work. More so than prior collections. And what I thought was fascinating is the use of duality between fierceness and softness. I feel like it’s important, especially for women, to recognize that channeling each ends of this spectrum can be useful and does not necessarily need to be feared, or avoided. Rather, accepting the intricacies of one’s personality ought to be celebrated and explored.💫

💬 Needless to say I enjoyed this one quite a bit! Although I did enjoy the alternating sequence between wildflowers and wildfires, sometimes it was a bit difficult for me to move through the poems sequentially. I’m sure I don’t speak for the majority of readers, but I think I may have felt a bit more grounded reading a wildfire section, and a wildflower section. Or, something to break up the consistent alternating sequence. But it may have been that the author wanted a buffer so that the reader didn’t feel overwhelmed by the intensity of some of the poems.

Regardless, I enjoyed this collection! Many of the poems are new favourites in this collection.

Olivia 🐈 and I rate this poetry collection a solid ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.75 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrew McMeels publishing for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

CW: sensitive material relating to intimate partner abuse, SA, cheating, child abuse, trauma, death, violence, misogyny, body image, ED, alcohol, fire.

This is my second book by this author, the first being To Make Monsters Out of Girls and I think Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things will be my last.

Before I go into the negative I will say that I really appreciated that within the first couple of pages there's a list of trigger warnings and a warm reminder to practice self care. Poetry is a means of connecting with others but sometimes that connection can bring up past negativity that the reader isn't prepared to deal with. The inclusion of trigger warnings was very thoughtful and my favourite thing about the book.

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is Tumblr poetry. The writing is very simplistic and there's little structure. There's a lot of obvious statements that, I suppose, some depressed or lonely individuals will relate to but are a far cry from anything I would consider original.

"the boy is tall & pretty & sad.
-needless to say he stole her heart right out of her chest."

The author states that she was trying to essentially capture the duality and complexity of being a woman but the actual lack of thought-provoking writing just made her contradicting statements seem lacklustre at best or hypocritical.

The floral illustrations are nice. However, considering this book is under two hundred pages and every other page rotates between the same two illustrations, you're not actually getting that much poetry.

Maybe I've outgrown this style of writing, or perhaps I'm not the intended audience and it's meant for a younger age group? Poetry is cheaper than therapy so maybe someone else would get comfort out of it. I think the person that I was in high school would have enjoyed it a lot more than the woman I am today.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is the newest poetry collection written by Amanda Lovelace. I'm not someone who has read a lot of poetry, but I heard good things about Lovelace's previous books, so I decided to try it out! This book is inspired by Persephone and wilflower en feminity themes are used throughout. It was a quick read and I really enjoyed exploring something I never read, would recommend to people who like to read poetry!

What an absolutely stunning set of poems! Talk about female empowerment. Amanda Lovelace is such an excellent writer and her words really speak to me. These books should be mandatory for girls growing up to teach them self love, the importance of saying no, and that strength comes from within and not social media.

A sincere thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy.

"Go on and reign over the very flames that were meant to be your end,
Wear them as a crown."
This is by far my favorite among all her works. However, whenever I read her work, I feel like am crossing past poems I've read before (in her past work.) it was extremely fast paced, but not the most memorable. She always explored the same themes, which is not necessarily bad but it only feels too familiar.
I love her simple style and believe she can craft excellent poems using it.
I believe in the magnificent abilities this poet possess, so I will not give up until she drops THAT POEM.

"She's equal parts glitter & hellfire once unleashed you wont be able to contain her."

Amanda Lovelace is back with another lovely collection of fragments made up of brilliantly connected words designed to inspire, to give a voice to those who haven't found theirs, and to not only tell us, but make us believe that you don't have to give up softness for strength or vice versa. We are both, moving fluidly between the two as circumstances and events play out.

"Even if it’s uncomfortable, even if it hurts. from this day forward, i vow to let myself bloom freely— even if others see me as an annoyance, even if they see me as a weed."

So many pages seemed written from the feelings in my very own heart expressed through the capable hands of Lovelace, but the passage above is a thought I've seen buried deep within not only my own core, but the hearts and souls of so many others who have thus far been afraid to own this statement, to demand our rights to bloom in to the people we were meant to be.. Seeing this piece amongst many others makes me feel more valid than I thought possible before experiencing Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things.

Whether you've been following Amanda Lovelace since the beginning (as I have) or stumbling upon her for the first time, this book is for you; You will walk away from this with a different view of yourself or your friends and family than you had going in. Just bear in mind there IS a Trigger Warning at the beginning of this book and I strongly urge you to make sure you are in a mentally safe space before continuing on.

Thank you Netgalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and of course the talented Amanda Lovelace for putting this collection in to the world, and for gifting me a digital arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

flower crowns and fearsome things is a poetry collection that explores feminism laced by the concept of wildflowers and wildfires to resemble softness and fierceness side by side.

much like amanda lovelace's other works, the poems assembled here are short, lowercased sentences that some like to call "modern poetry," which i don't consider myself a fan of... however! i was obsessed with the women are some kind of magic series , also by amanda lovelace, back when i read it almost 2 years ago. because besides getting a strong point across, they told a story - with characters and a plot and events moving forward - a story that not many would pick up on and its nuances.

so i expected this new standalone would not fall short from that, but unfortunately, it disappointed me beyond it. the "feminism" explored in these poems felt shallow and surface-level to me. none of them offered any depth, nothing further than what was taken word for word, nothing deeper than outdated tweets and tumblr posts, and poorly recycled if that.

sadly i just found this book frustrating to read. if i saw those early 2000's tweets on my timeline i would mute their accounts, so reading this book was not an enjoyable experience. if you're new to the concept of feminism and/or women empowerment, or maybe you happen to be a time-traveler from a decade or two ago, you might enjoy this book.

— digital arc provided via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm not against the "Tumblr Poetry". I enjoyed Amanda Lovelace's previous poetry collection "The Princess saves herself in this one". Unfortunately, "Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things" felt like it had something missing.

In an attempt to be "edgy" and write something deep most of the poems missed the point of feminism. Feminism=gender equality not women supremacy.

The way the poems were arranged in basically no specific order made it seem like the narrator was screaming at a brick wall the majority of the time.

I don't know how "nobody can see me mouthing/go to hell/with my perfect lipstick mouth" escaped the editor, My problem isn't that it doesn't rhyme, it just sounds plain bad.

It's just so sad to think while reading poetry "This could've been worded better".

I know repetition is often used as a stylistic choice to ensure a point but It gets tiring if it's used to this extent. If it felt weird hearing it from my internal monologue, how am I supposed to recite it?

Overall the book can be summarized as "The concept was great...but the execution..."

Havana, ooh na-na (ayy)
Half of my heart is in Havana, ooh na-na (ayy, ayy)
He took me back to East Atlanta, na-na-na, ah
Oh, but my heart is in Havana (ayy)
There's somethin' 'bout his manners (uh-huh)
Havana, ooh-na-na (uh)