Member Reviews
I love poetry, but this one, I didn't fully connect with.
The cover art is stunning and there was some additional artwork in the book, which is always a treat. I did like some of the more lyrical poems, but some read like diary entries and instructions and I just couldn't get over that.
Two words. Horror. Poetry. I never thought I would use those in the same conversation let alone talking about the same book. This was awesome. Can horror poetry become a big thing, please?
A fantastic theme for an anthology, and almost overwhelmingly intense by design. This isn't one to read in one sitting, put it that way,
A really nice, thought-provoking collection of poetry about the feminine experience and some of the horrors associated with it. Like all poetry collections, not every single poem resonated with me... but that's okay. Each person brings their own experiences to this, and will get something different out of it.
A very interesting concept with graphic exploration of body horror. The poems were deep and were well written, many of them hitting very close to home in the way they examine human emotion through autonomy.
Thanks to the NetGalley and publisher for the oportunity to read this book early.
Honestly I am not a big fan of poetry, but this particular collection was so beautiful and great. I fell in love with everything about this poems - style, writing, messeges - literaly everything.
So I reccomend this colletion to every poetry lovers, especially to those who loved Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
DNF @ ~25%
This may be a book that I return to - I loved the writing and I adored so much of what the stories were portraying. I am obsessed with anything that depicts strength and growth and beauty and the ability to overcome, without shying away from the gruesome parts of the world.
But this is a collection that should be read slowly, given time to breathe, and explored with the chance to take a step away. It is dark and incredibly intense. And while I appreciate that wholeheartedly, this isn't a collection I will finish right now.
This anthology explores motherhood, womanhood, and the sacrifices women make. I adore the front cover and the dark, emotional take on these themes. Thank you to the publisher and poet for an advanced copy.
Under her skin is a chilling collection of poems that hit under my skin. (Sorry bad pun). Some poems were really strong while others I plan on adding to my favorite quotes of the year. I didn’t know what to expect with a horror based poetry collection, but this surpassed all expectations. As someone who is familiar with medicine, I thoroughly enjoyed how these poets constructed their work around the body. I can also see why it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Thank you NetGalley and black spot books for sending me this copy to review. All thoughts are my own.
4 stars
This is a collection of horror poetry from women, trans women, and non-binary folks about the female body. It can be gritty, lyrical, or in the form of a story. I love poetry and I enjoy reading collections from the horror community recently. I did get burnt out on poetry in April cause I read so many in April due to National Poetry Month and it took me a while to finish this one. I did eventually get back into the groove of reading these poems and it's a collection I plan to return to. I think I will purchase a copy of my own to reread and mark up so that I can fully immerse myself into this collection for a better full scope and appreciation of all of the themes.
Thank you, Netgalley and Black Spot Books, for providing me with a copy of this collection in exchange for an honest review.
FASCINATING. THE REPRESENTATION. THE COVER. EVERYTHING ABOUT IT WAS FANTASTIC. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Though much of the poetry collected retreaded the same themes over and over (which is, admittedly, a potential drawback to any themed collection), almost every poem was well-written. I wanted some to go deeper into the horror, but that's probably just my taste in horror poetry coming through. Overall a worthwhile collection, particularly if you want to support women writing horror.
A riveting and raw collection of poetry, UNDER HER SKIN is a feminist exploration of motherhood, womanhood, the sacrifices we make and the different ways love and grief manifest in our lives.
Under Her Skin was an amazing collection of dark, feminist poetry by a collection if poets. Thr poems are deep, raw, and can be emotional. As with poetry, there were some that stood out to me more than others, but there's something for any reader. The cover is dark and beautiful!
I really enjoyed this collection of very feminist poetry. Some of them went over my head, but a lot of them made me stop and think. I loved how each one was about women and sacrifices we make, whether it is for our children or society, or even our lovers.
It is a beautiful and haunting collection, that I will be sharing with my friends and other women. To hopefully make them stop and think about each choice we make in life,
Thank you to Netgalley , the authors and Black Spot Books for the advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review of Under Her Skin! It’s a collection of dark poetry by women. I’ve been slowly savouring the poems and definitely have some favourites already. And this cover 😍 I will say, some of the poems are a bit explicit so this collection is not for everyone but I really enjoyed it and know others will too if they like unconventional/not typical poetry and expression.
Such a great collection of stories and so much talent wrapped up in one compilation. I loved the theme and found the writing raw and real!
"We’re not what you wanted, are we?
We’re not the perfect beings you designed
Our bones don’t taste as you planned
And our dreams are dark and decadent."
Such a beautiful and powerfull poetry collection from cis and trans women about what it means to be a woman, all the pressure and pain from society and its beauty standards and expectations and gender norms. It's also about exploring their gender identity and sexuality. It's beautifully written but at the same time there's a spooky atmosphere surrounding the topics around womanhood and that is reality. I loved this feminist texts as well as the witchy vibes of these poems.
Thank you so much for this eARC. I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it for poetry lovers.
This is a book that speaks dark truths about the visceral and ephemeral things that dwell under the flesh of women as they travel the many paths and inroads that make up womanhood in a world where her very spirit and the very flesh that contains it are picked at and chewed apart in favor of an unattainable ideal. It would be easy to call it body horror in poetic form, but it goes much deeper than that, maybe to places that are too dark for some and terribly familiar for others. It certainly has a weight and purpose, heavy with dread and certainty from voices that all too rarely get to speak in their many tongues. Definitely for fans of dark poetry, women's horror, and emotional complexity.
This one was beautiful and haunting, but with much of the same themes being used for all the entries, it did start to feel a bit repetitive after a while.