Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of Amanda Lovelace's newest in exchange for an honest review!

To begin, if you enjoy Lovelace's poetry, you'll like this. It can also definitely be read separately from her other collections, which is what I did.

I can see this having strong appeal for a younger reader, or when just starting to read poetry. I ended up reading it in one sitting, which is a testament to its quick pace and immersive ability. Written and arranged accessibly, "unlock your storybook heart" is loosely based off the tale of Beauty and the Beast, with a modern twist. Their poetry has a unique brusque and direct syntax, and one that leaves little to derive. Though I can respect that I may not be the target demographic for this collection, I admire its inclusive messages; there are a lot of poems in here that I wish I could have read when I was younger.

I had a few issues with this collection still. Its disjointed pacing makes me question the quality of some poems. A lot of individual poems just feel like filler, lacking strong emotional precision and making the plot-concentrated moments feel oddly forced. There are a dozen poems creating the main character, and only one poem to fill out the role of the beast; the collection's connection to the original tale is minor at best.

tl;dr, 3/5: some strange pacing choices and it didn't quite resonate, but has strong messages.

Rating: 5 🌟
First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this poetry book.

who convinced you that you needed
to be this hard on yourself

treat yourself with gentleness, lovely
even when you feel like your life
is one big mess after another.

you're trying your very best
& you deserve all the credit for that.🤍

From its start to the finish, this poetry book gave me all the feelings and emotions. For me, everything was flawless. Every single word was intertwined into me, and the effect was unimaginable. It is without a doubt one of the author's best works I had read.

I pretty much read every Amanda Lovelace's poetry. Unlock your storybook heart was about self-help and self empowerment. I love that the poems were simple and meaningful at the same time. Also, the illustrations were amazing as well too. I'll keep recommending Amanda Lovelace to anyone who wants to start reading poetry. Thank you for this early copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't my favorite from Lovelace and I was a tad disappointed. This felt a little like a self-help book which is fine but I came into this wanting poetry and not advice about how to love myself. The advice was great but still, this just felt so different from Lovelace's usual style. Overall I would still recommend it because I did enjoy it but fair warning that it's definitely different from her previous works.

This collection feels rather different from the author's previous ones. There were some poems that I liked, but most of it read like Courtney Peppernell's work and Thought Catalog articles instead.

Overall, it lacks Amanda Lovelace's distinct style and punch, and feels more like filler. Not her best for sure.

Unlock your storybook heart by Amanda Lovelace was a wonderful read. This collection has beauty and the beast vibes that draws you into your own story fairy tale. I highly suggest reading the trigger warnings before going into this collection thought.

Some messages spread through this collection were powerful to me. Mainly the poems on self worth and grief. At times the writing felt like it was dragging, which is interesting for a poetry collection with short poems.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys poetry or needed a reminder of their own value in life.

4 stars!

Unlock your storybook heart is the perfect book of poetry to read at the beginning of the year and even more so if you feel like you're stuck in a battle - work, relationship, self, etc.

I felt like Lovelace was speaking to me with every word, telling me things I wish I had heard years ago, and will keep repeating to myself for years to come.

With love and kindness, she reminds us that we can do anything we want! And she talks about cats and pixie dust. It's a win all around for me!

Could this be one of my favorite books of 2022?
I can always go back and read some of the quotes to put me in a better mood.
I think that’s magical. I need a physical copy so I know it’s there when I need it.

Amanda's poetry is always a pleasure to read.
I'm a sucker for illustrations and short, powerful poetry punches.
When I'm feeling down, when loving myself becomes too difficult, or when my long-standing demons knock on my door, I can count on Amanda's poems to lift me up.
This is probably my favourite of the trilogy, and it's a fantastic way to wrap things up. I enjoyed the storytelling and the emotion that each poem elicited.
If you've been following their work or are curious to know more about it, I highly recommend this one.

I absolutely adored Break Your Glass Slippers and Shine Your Icy Crown, the first two books in the You Are Your Own Fairytale trilogy. So when I saw Unlock Your Storybook Heart, I was super pumped to read it. And while I did like it, I must admit it wasn't quite as great as the prior two in the collection.

I have the utmost respect for authors, who are able to pour their mind and soul into beautiful stories and works of art. And you can see that beauty reflected in Lovelace's poetry. But I must admit, that while it was enjoyable, it didn't grab me like so many of her other books have.

Will I still rush out to read everything Amanda Lovelace publishes? You bet!

I’ve read all Amanda’s books and I loved all of them, and this one probably is my second favourite out of all of the books. This one dealing with friendship and losing someone close was so well written, but it always amazes me how she can express powerful emotions through a few words.

Thank you for the advanced copy, I loved every single page and I devoured it as a little child. Amanda’s books are probably the only modern poetry that I appreciate and like to the fullest.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Amanda Lovelace's poetry has a special place in my heart, and this collection was no exception. I loved the lyrical poems, not to mention the gorgeous illustrations scattered throughout the book. I do think I need to do a reread of the first two books in this series, as binging Amanda Lovelace's books is always my preference; it allows me a more in depth and enjoyable read. 3.5 stars.

So I'll start by saying I liked this book a lot. I have enjoyed most of authors books to be honest. For me personally there were only a few aspects I didn't like. In part one every other page had the beginning line of "her books say" that got repetitive an a bit ehhh for me. Also in the version I read on netgalley there were random bookshelf picture pages... but didn't go with any of the flow of the book.

I LOVE Amanda Lovelace art in her books. I loved that this had lots of boom related poems as well as love.

#unlockyourstorybookheart #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley for opportunity to read this book

If you follow Lovelace, just buy this book. Complete auto-buy.

Unlock Your Storybook Heart is the third installment of her "You are your own fairytale" series of poetry. With inspiration pulled from Beauty & the Beast, Lovelace tells snippets of her own life- the knight, the aging father, the ache for her mother, the adoration for the written word in a bound book. Written in 3 parts, each section touches on love, relationships, grief, self image, personal growth, and a slew of other timely, relative topics. I found myself taking note of a few poems/statement paragraphs, and sharing my thoughts on them with some friends as they were so relevant to recent conversations between us.

How does it rank among her other collections? Well if I must be honest, I don't think I related to as much of Unlock Your Storybook Heart as I related to her other collections, nor was I as inspired. But let me be clear, I like being in Lovelace's poetic world, and I always enjoy reading her work. So I stand with my opening statement- buy this collection to add to the rest. <3

Another wonderful, uplifting, empowering collection of poems from one of my absolute favorite poets! I loved the illustrations, I loved the themes of self-worth, self-care and grief over the loss of loved ones. Amanda Lovelace can do no wrong in my opinion. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!! I will be pre-ordering this immediately!

<i>(Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review)</i>

I have never read any of Amanda Lovelace's poetry before but I decided to try the final book from her series (also because it could be read as a stand-alone). It was a comfortable and quick read.

The poetry was told in the form of the main character inspired by some of the famous fairy tales we know and the feelings and thoughts of the main character (which are mostly Amanda's thoughts). I liked the illustrations, especially that they are with colours. Thought they were repetitive I did find them cute. As for the writings, I also found some to be repetitive.

I also like that she included a trigger warning page at the start so please be sure to read the themes.

For someone who hasn't read a poetry book in a hot minute, unlock your storybook heart was a wonderful poetry book to get me back into reading poetry. She talks of self-image, self-love, feminism, loss, and embracing who you are. I loved that it revolved around LGBTQ+ themes as well. I found myself resonating with many of the poems written here. At the beginning of the book, there are trigger warnings which are helpful for everyone who is planning on reading this as it tackles deeper topics. I adored the illustrations done in this and I can imagine how much more beautiful they are in the physical copies.

This is the first book I'm reading by Amanda Lovelace and I can't wait to read the other poetry books they've written. If you want something that will heal your heart and comfort you, this poetry book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing for sending me over a digital ARC copy!

Not my favorite of Lovelace’s collections. This collection of poems borderline in self-help advice. And my thought have always been, don’t take advice from someone who’s ________ you don’t want. Well considering I don’t know anything about her personally (nothing against her per se, just don’t know), these self help-ish poems make it a little difficult to know whether or not I’m enjoying the collection as I read. “Hmm that sounds lovely but it also sounds like advice I don’t know that I would take.” Kinda like a Taylor Swift song, ya know…(but not quite as good).

Amanda Lovelace has done it again. This collection speaks on healing, growth, “embrac(ing) what gives you joy” and to “not sacrifice your authentic self to appease others”.

Check trigger warnings for this collection, which is always included in the front of the book. Which is another reason I love these collections.

I always find their work relatable, some more than others, and this one was no exception. If you have enjoyed any of Amanda Lovelace’s work in the past you will enjoy this as well.

Amanda Lovelace can do no wrong and I will read anything they publish. The fairy tale collections has been my favorite work from them - and this final compilation was exceptional. So many of the poems resonated with me - they made me feel empowered, loved, and ready to take on the challenges in my life.

Additionally, the illustrations always add so much to the collections and thing these books are just gorgeous.