Amanda Lovelace’s writing is beautiful as always and the artwork is gorgeous, but I have to say that I didn’t love this one.

It felt a little too generic, for lack of a better word. I didn’t really connect to any of the poems in this one like I have with other ones she has written.

I’ll still buy a copy when it’s released but I don’t think this one will have as many dog eared pages as her previous collections.

3/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC of this.

Book Review: Unlock Your Storybook Heart by Amanda Lovelace

Release Date: March 15th 2022

My Rating: 5/5 stars

My Thoughts: Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an eARC copy of this poetry collection to review! Amanda Lovelace is easily one of my favorite contemporary poets. And this collection is one of my favorite ones! I felt like these poems were written with me in mind to the point where it was actually scary how much I related to them. There was one poem that spoke to me especially that was on page 38. I loved it and even teared up a little bit.

I think lovers of contemporary poetry will love this! Especially lovers of Rupi Kaur or Nikita Gill (both who I love as well).

Amanda Lovelace has a fantastic way of curating words that cause you to stop, ponder and question the way you think about the world and your life. We are given so many ideas as young girls and I have found her words help to unravel the way I think about myself and the female experience in life with regards to love, friendship and the stories we tell ourselves.

"know that when you speak aloud, they listen to every word; you need only trust what you hear back from the silence."

I don’t think I will ever stop being moved by Amanda Lovelace’s poetry. This latest book is a tribute so self-love, self-care and taking the time to find yourself, and I believe everyone can find a small piece of themselves in those poems if they read it at the right time.
Not all the poems have found an echo in my personal experiences, but those that did really stayed with me for a while and the gorgeous illustrations were a poem in their own right, really emphasizing the journey undertaken by the protagonist of this book.
This was a perfect softly empowering finale to the "you are your own fairy tale" series.


<i>Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-ARC.</i>

This is exactly what I needed right now. I could relate to someone of the poems and it made me feel less alone. I have read it more than once already.

This collection has been beautiful beyond words! <3

I genuinely enjoyed witnessing Amanda Lovelace's play of words and how some of her work really hit home. This collection explored topics such as finding strength within oneself, mental health, and romance, and it was all just exceptionally written.

It was so hard to select my favorite one, but this really spoke to me: "if you avoid all the stormy chapters, how will you ever find meaning in the rainbow-filled ones? "

Huge thanks to Andrews McMeel's Publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This was a really stunning poetry collection. Amanda Lovelace really finds her stride in this one. Having read her work over the years, I’ve gone from not loving it to really appreciating how she’s been able to inspire the reader with her own voice. While you can see where she finds inspiration from other contemporary poets, Lovelace creates a place for herself and her story. The end of this collection is reflective, powerful, and ultimately hopeful. While at times she strays a little toward the dramatics for me, I think that will go over well with younger readers. I really enjoyed the collection and sharing snippets of it with my friends. Thank you to the author,Andrew McMeel Publishing, and Net Galley for an advance copy of this collection!

"Your story may seem like it has
far too many pages,
but by the time you're finished,
it will seem like far too few."

This is my first experience reading one of Amanda Lovelace's collections and I absolutely adored it. This collection focuses on self-love, feminism, loss, and embracing who you are and becoming your own hero(ine). I bookmarked many of these poems and most resonated with me. I felt like this book of poems was a breath of fresh air that I didn't realize I needed.

"it's okay to pick a calmer, quieter life."

While not every poem hit my heart like some, I can seem how they could affect others going through a difficult situation or a season of uncertainty. I will be picking up more by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date (3/15/22)! This in no way affected my review and opinions are my own.

This is the best of Lovelace's collections. I was so fortunate to receive an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review, and as one of Amanda Lovelace's BIGGEST fans, I was not surprised by how much this collection touched my heart. It is about love in every sense, from romantic love, friendship, parental love, to self love, and more.

"For she understood the enormous importance of being your own true love as well."

When I tell you that this collection ripped out my heart and then restored my faith in everything good in the world, I mean it. The release of this stunning collection on March 15th could not come fast enough!!! I cannot wait to officially add this book to my shelf!!!

If we're splitting hairs, part i gets 5 stars and the rest gets 4.5 - 4.75 stars — not because it's worse, even by comparison, but because part i just really, really resonated wtih me. But anyway, a lovely conclusion to a lovely series of lovely poems.

I love Amanda Lovelaces work!! So I was super excited to see her new one on here!! I loved this one! It really put power behind us women and helped to give us our power back! I love her writing because edit flows so well together! I like taking quotes to remember we from her work but more and more lately I just love it all!! Such a great poet and cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of whatever she writes!!

✨Book Review✨
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I am beyond excited that I got the chance to read this ARC of unlock your storybook heart by the incredibly poignant Amanda Lovelace. It is the third book in her “you are your own fairytale” series. This one was based around Beauty and the Beast which is my favorite fairytale.
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While short form poetry may not be for everyone, I personally find Amanda Lovelace to hit a part of my soul and experiences with her poetry that I haven’t found the same way in other modern poetry. Most of her collections deal with trauma and come with TW for abuse, grief, and sensitive topics. And even with these heavy topics, there is always a layer of power weaved into the processing and healing.
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In unlock your storybook heart, I found a lighter and more hopeful tone to the poetry than usual. There were many entries that followed more of a paragraph style compared to poetry formatting which allowed for a contrast between what society expects vs what power we can find within. There were also a lot of poems focusing on healthy love and balanced relationships which was nice to see.
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I gave this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 because it didn’t hit me as strongly as some of her other collections. I still think it, and all her other collections, are worth reading, and I do plan on purchasing when it is released March 15, 2022! Swipe to see some of my favorites from this collection.

It's been a long time since i've given a poetry book more than three stars but this book deserved it. This poetry collection explored more than just romance, like so many other modern poetry books do. Instead this book covered a multitude of important issues. The way Lovelace explored mental health and finding strength in yourself was beautiful and definitely worth the read. Her poetry collections are always among my top recommendations for poetry and this book was no exception.

I really enjoyed this poetry collection. Lovelace touches on themes in the beginning of the book that I really connected with like setting expectations for yourself that are impossible to look up to. She also discusses developing a healthier relationship to one’s body, which I think many women can relate to in some way. Finally, part 2 of the collection is mostly about finding a healthy romantic relationship. I appreciated the discussion of gender that Lovelace included in this section.

From start to the finish this gave me all the feelings! I've been a fan of Lovelace for sometime now, and every time I pick up her work it feels as if she is writing just for me, this is no exception.

While I appreciate Lovelace's style, and do enjoy it compared to a lot of other contemporary poetry, it's starting to feel...not stale,but increasingly repetitive. The "fairy tale" izing of her own life was interesting for one trilogy, but for two? I didn't see the Beauty and the Beast connection besides the...books? And other fairy tales involve books too. I like her poetry, but I'm hopeful she branches out into something that feels different for her next collection

I have already read the other books by Amanda Lovelace, so I was quite excited to dive into this book. There were a lot of really nice and relatable poems. However, I think I liked her other collection a bin more. The book felt a bit redundant in some places. Overall it is a good poetry book though and I'm happy that I got to read it.

I sped through it like I have all of Amanda Lovelace's other books. I didn't love it quite as much as her Women Are Some Kind of Magic collection, but this feels a bit lighter so that might be good for some. I started out thinking that I couldn't connect to it, but at a certain point it started to draw me in and had a lot of beautiful moments.

A beautiful set of poems, covering some wonderfully hard hitting themes.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC of this book to read and review

I love Amanda Lovelace books so much and this one is no different! This finale to the “be your own fairytale” trilogy was perfection and while I didn’t relate to all of the poems, there were so many that made me feel seen in ways that I needed. I will read everything Amanda releases for the rest of my life.