Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This collection is out today!

Thoughts:

This was my first Amanda Lovelace poetry collection and I really, really, liked it. This is a standalone collection that plays with the Persephone/Hades myth a bit, as well as just the idea that women can be both fierce and gentle.

Personally, I think I will get more enjoyment out of a physical copy of this over the audio. Lovelace narrates and does a great job, but for me, sometimes I need to read work like this in order to connect with it. This was one of those times. Lovelace also contributes a kind of "behind the scenes" narration into her writing process with this one and while it was so incredibly interesting (I live for that stuff) it took away from the poems a bit for me.

Overall, I definitely recommend, especially if you like poetry. I will order a physical version of this for sure, and check out her other collections!

I've previously enjoyed Amanda Lovelace's poetry, but this was the first time that I've ever listened to poetry in audiobook form. There's definitely something to be said of listening to poetry as I feel like there's a certain flow and cadence to each entry that often bears being spoken, in this case, things are helped along by being read by the author herself.

Amanda Lovelace tells readers (listeners?) straightforward that Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things takes a lot of inspiration from Persephone and her dual natures as the Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld. I liked the duality of the poems. People are multi-faceted, we are not only one thing or another, but it's all the aspects - happy, sad, angry, etc. - that form us into the people we are. It's our dreams and desires, going against the grain without sacrificing our autonomy. All of this converges into a whole and I really felt like the poems brought this idea to the fore very nicely.

The added commentary by Amanda Lovelace was interesting. I like hearing the insight into the passages and how her process or thoughts are similar or different to my own while listening. Although I will admit, in audio form, oftentimes I struggled to figure out where one poem ended and another began. I don't know if this was intentional or just a consequence of the medium.

Overall, I found the tone to be empowering. Kind of giving Persephone back a little more of her agency and by extension helping the listener / reader feel that agency as well. It still deals with some tough subject matter, but I felt it was a bit lighter than previous poetry collections I've read by Amanda Lovelace.

𝐷𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦.

𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑠 & 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 is the new standalone poetry collection by the bestselling and award-winning poetess Amanda Lovelace. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Greek goddess Persephone, revered simultaneously as Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld - "𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒", the collection explores the complexity of femininity through alternating wildflower and wildfire poems.

Two firsts for me: first time to finish an audiobook and first encounter with Amanda Lovelace's work. I have her previous books but for some reason, I haven't gotten around to reading them and now they're buried deep in my TBR pile.

I finished listening to the audiobook first and frankly, given that this is a poetry book and the author is the narrator herself, I expected more. I don't know, maybe more feelings, more energy in delivering the lines? She sounded flat and monotonous.

The poems were broken up with the author's commentaries explaining the thought process behind each section. Although I appreciate the author's notes, I felt that they disrupted the flow of the poem, failing to sustain the connection with the readers. I found it hard to distinguish between the commentaries and the poetry itself because they sounded the same to me.

When I learned that there's an available ebook version, I read it and that's when I appreciated it better.

Overall, it's still an interesting read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a short yet thought-provoking breather from reading longer novels.

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑁𝑒𝑡𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑀𝑐𝑀𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑃𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝐴𝑅𝐶 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤.

"she is equal parts of glitter & hellfire"

I’ve read most, if not all, of Amanda’s previous poetry collections and always either fall absolutely in love with her words and message or just pleasantly drift along for the ride and respect her craft and overall goal. This piece definitely fitted into the second category.

I loved how she drew on the story of Persephone and her duology as both ruler of the underworld and child of nature. As always, Amanda looks at key figures with an appropriately brilliant feminist outlook and modern-day relatability with a personal touch. For example, she mentions how COVID influences some poems and I’m sure many readers will be able to relate. For me though, unlike ‘break your glass slippers’ and ‘the witch doesn’t burn in this one’, I couldn’t relate enough to feel passionately propelled by her words. There was also so much to explore with the character of Persephone that I feel like in such a short collection, it really just dips its toes into what it could talk about on the subject. But this is an aspect of poetry being very personal- both in what we take from it and how it makes us feel, as well as, in how it came to be written.

This is also the first audiobook I’ve read/listened to by Amanda. I strongly believe that poetry is best enjoyed read aloud and listened to. The rhythm and emotion behind the words work so well when someone is there giving it life and energy. Part of that was lost with the author’s notes dispersed between the poetry, breaking with that loosely connected overarching plot thread and general rhythm. Additionally, despite enjoying the fact that having Amanda read her own work gave it the intended passion and pace, her voice failed to differentiate between the notes sections and actual poetry and without signposted structure, it made it really hard to work out what was poetry and what wasn’t. I was always a few seconds into the next section and taking time to work out what was going on while trying to take in the words.

Although I did appreciate the author’s notes, it was so interesting to see the thought process and development. Especially after studying so much poetry at school and when you have to write all these essays on what the poet was thinking when they wrote the piece that’s thrust in front of you, and you’re thinking how the hell you should know, especially when poetry feels viscerally personal. To have an author’s classification feels a bit of a relief sometimes.

Overall, this wasn’t my favourite piece of work by Amanda but, again, poetry is incredibly personal, I couldn’t connect but you might be able to. Plus, if you enjoy works that creatively explore a character such as Persephone with feminism at heart, you’ll most likely want to get your hand on this beauty.

"If every other girl is queen anne's lace then I ​am poison hemlock."

This collection is classic Amanda Lovelace. While it is definitely stronger than her past work, much of it feels rushed and underdeveloped. Sometimes her poems are beautiful and lyrical, sometimes she is just stating facts on the page. I did enjoy the connection between Persephone and this collection, it helped me acknowledge the hypocrisy of the human experience, that I think Lovelace was trying to point out.

I listened to the audiobook version, so I did miss out on the illustrations that have enhanced her work for me in the past. I will certainly flip through a copy of this book the next time I'm at a bookstore. One element that I found very helpful with the audiobook version was Amanda's commentary after each section of poems, it helped me understand what she was going for with her work.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the advanced audiobook.

I have read several of this authors work and I would say this is my least favourite, it is a bit shorter compared to the previous collections, the poems are short and lyrical but I didn't find them as hard hitting as their previous work. That being said I still really enjoy the authors work and if you do as well I would recommend giving it a go.

Very short cycle of poems reinterpreting the myth of Persephone. Terse and punchy like Lovelace's other work. The poems are bracketed by commentary by the author. On the one hand it was nice to get more insight into her intentions; on the other hand these commentaries took me totally out of the flow of the poems.

It was a bit confusing not knowing if what the narrator said was a poem or the authors thought behind a poem - I guess that would be easier to distinguish if reading the book. Other than that, I absolutely loved the poems with the different oppinions - I agree with both and think we can all be both. The only negative thing I have to say about the books content is that it was very short - I felt like I was just about to get really into it and then it was over.

Format: audiobook
Author: Amanda Lovelace ~ Title: Flower Crowns & Fearsome Things ~ Narrator: Amanda Lovelace
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars

This is my first collection of poetry by Amanda Lovelace. Comments, where the author explains some poems, her thoughts while writing them, are interesting. But some readers might have different views and would interpret them differently. The poetry collection is about duality, how women can be soft and fierce at the same time. Persephone from the Greek mythology inspired these poems.

I read an ebook and listen to an audiobook at the same time. The author reads this audiobook, which is always welcome. I like that. I like also the book version also because of the illustrations.

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Audio the for the ARC and the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

I think this is definitely a case of a book not being for me at all. I've heard so many good things about Amanda Lovelace, and have always been drawn to her covers (especially this one, stunning!) Plus the Persephone inspiration was really intriguing to me. I also thought it would be good to listen to this rather than just reading, as sometimes I feel like poems need to be spoken aloud for them to have their full effect, particularly when read by the poet themselves.

But I really didn't like this collection! The poems were all really short and boring, and the messages were all totally in-your-face and tweet-like. No nuance, or interpretation, or interesting imagery to mirror our society. I hated the way each poem was broken up with Lovelace explaining why and when she wrote them - it felt totally unnecessary, and didn't allow her words to speak for themselves (and it felt like the authors notes and trigger warnings were longer than all the poems!) I don't feel like I'll remember anything from this collection, or take anything away from it, and it didn't even feel fresh or new (even the poems written during the pandemic) as it was all the kind of thing I've heard before, posted all over social media.

Maybe this just wasn't the best place to start, or maybe I'm just really not the target audience, but I wanted to give it a try and was very disappointed!

AMANDA LOVELACE HAS DONE IT AGAIN! Amanda's words once again have truly spoken to me, when I normally read poetry the words always seem great but quite hardly stick with me however this audiobook has stuck. Maybe it's that I'm listening to the words rather than reading them but I truly feel more connected to the words/message Amanda is telling. Amanda's poetry collections are always so good but this one is something else i say!!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to get a first glance at Amanda Lovelace's new poetry collection - "Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things"

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things may be my favorite collection by Amanda Lovelace to date. I love her uncanny ability to rewrite the fantastical with the gritty reality of the real world.

I loved how she took on Persephone, the pandemic, and the interwoven nature of females to be both soft and sharp.

It is a collection I will want to revisit when doubts creep in or I question my endurance. Fate may rule outcomes but we can always change our reactions.

Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Audio for allowing me to listen to this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC of this (ebook and audio) in exchange for my honest review.

I’m not always a poetry person, but Lovelace is one poet I am always excited to see new collections from. I really enjoyed this take on Persephone, though, to be honest I also find the retellings where Persephone has choice and Hades isn’t just an uncomplicated villain to also be exciting and empowering. I think the poems did a good job of showing how women can be two things, can be complex, while remaining easy to read and take in. I loved that the audio had commentary from the author, and I continue to be a fan of the art style used for illustrations, though I would’ve maybe enjoyed more illustrations in this one. Definitely recommend this if you’ve liked the other collections put out by this author.

It was enjoyable. I appreciated my reading, though I wouldn't say I loved it. Sometimes it felt like thoughts, discussed aloud, but not poetry. Which is both good and not good, depending on the reader. To me, it was pleasant!

I'm not sure I appreciated the passages where Amanda Lovelace explains her poetry, I'm afraid that, for some readers, it will narrow their interpretation of certain poems which, as she puts it at the beginning, is normally open to each of us's interpretation. I think it would have been things to discuss during, let's say, a conference or after an open performance.

On another note, I love the themes she tackles in her poetry, and some sayings were pretty. All of them are, without a doubt, very empowering and feminist. I loved the fact that she was inspired by women in Greek mythology, and especially Persephone. I think many women out there will relate a lot to her poems and the interpretations she gives to them.

Her work made me think of Rupi Kaur's, in some ways, so I'm sure some readers of this poet will love Amandla as well!

I believe I wouldn't have enjoyed it that much if Amanda wasn't the one who read it, because her voice conveyed many emotions. Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this audioArc of Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things!

I listened to the audiobook the author narrates poetry that was a collection about the side of femininity of Queen of the underworld, Persephone: Forgiving and forgetting, Believe and loving herself, Respect to women, and being vulnerable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is my second Lovelace book, and I *think* I like it more. About half of the poems I absolutely adore. The other half were just a brand of feminism that’s not for me. I love her healing and her beauty and her strength that she shows through her poems. There are just a few that don’t sit with me is all. I know a lot of people out there will love this tho.

I appreciate the trigger warnings presented at the beginning of this book. I listened to this audiobook style, with no preconceptions of what to expect. The writing is beautiful, and I love the connections to Greek mythology and female empowerment. This would be a great poetry book to keep on your shelf, to keep a reminder of our strength and inner ability to conquer the world one day at a time.

Flower Crowns & Fearsome Things by Amanda Lovelace is a brief, empowering collection of feminist poems that represent the duality of softness and fierceness in Persephone and in us all. Some of the subject matter included expectations, double standards, and misogyny. I think it would have resonated more with me if the poems were more autobiographical. They were often more about general experiences. It was a good collection, but I wanted more depth and vulnerability. The illustrations and layout are beautiful, so you may want to pick this one up in paper form. I listened to the audiobook, which is well-narrated by the author and the author adds some insight to poems and topics.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.