Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A short lovely read.
Not the most complex poetry, but still enjoyable.
I found that I couldn't relate to a lot of the themes anymore, but they would have really struck me if I had read it as a teenager. About 1 in every 10 pages resonated with me, and even then I felt like the idea was there but the execution was a little elementary. Not bad, just not very profound.
The second half of the book picked up and I adored the LGBT representation and pretty much every poem that referenced the author's knight.
Overall I feel like I am not quite the target demographic for this style of poetry anymore, but I remember enjoying it very much as a teenager who hadn't quite found her place in the world.

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.
I appreciated the themes, but I couldn't help but feeling that something was missing here. Amanda covers familiar topics in a fresh and original way, which was always the case with her previous collections, but I felt a bit detached from her writing in this one. Maybe it's something about the topic, because this felt like a self-love manifesto instead of a careful character study.

In all of her series there is relatability, there is the common and sometimes common but silent plights of individuals displayed on these pages which I never find fault with.

Poetry is a fluid medium with collections such as these accessible to younger or less poetry oriented audiences;it is the beginning.

However, these poems are laid on haphazardly, with no rhyme nor reason but common threads of themes that are consistent overall but not in this anthology. In addition, the poems themselves suffer from the same plights Rupi Kaur often does which is write prose but with sharp sentences endings to make it poetry.

These sound like self help paragraphs, with many of the poems sounding the same. There is nothing wrong with this, as i know that when I was much younger and much sadder, this would have been the perfect fit for me. Every book has an audience, however it just did not do anything for me as a young adult in her early twenties.

There is little substance but very pretty art and a heart to be shared by the author which is always commendable.

Thank you NetGalley and Andres McMeel for the advanced copy.

A swell departure from their previous work, I would say that this poetry collection is one of Amanda Lovelace's finest works of poetry. In this riveting, adventurous new poetry collection, we are met with new and refreshing stories that follow the same pathway as their other poetry collections based on fairy tales.

This collection is a swell evolution from their work prior to this, with works that feel like actual poetry. I read her most famous works, <I>The Princess Saves Herself in This One</i>. I felt that in that there was nothing special about it, nothing fresh and exciting that I'd never heard before. It felt like an aspiring poet wishing to get work out and in order to do that they needed to aggressively hit the enter tab. There were no major themes or plotlines that were interesting.

However, in this new collection, Lovelace presents us with a plethora of new topics and themes to discuss in her poems. Their poems weren't five words each with their own line break, but actual poems with similes and metaphors and hyperbole and genuine meaning.

They brought us with things we can think about and sit with. They made poems about things you can connect to your own life and take as advice.

Although I did enjoy this, it felt quite bland. This is quite contradictory to what I previously said, and everything I said was true. Yet the topics discussed in this were overly discussed. Now I understand if that was the intention when writing this and if it is I take back what I said. But if it isn't, I wish to have seen more topics discussed. I wished to have seen more connections to their mother, more relationship happenings. It kind of felt like they were giving very vague situations when I was expecting something much more subjective.

All in all: this was alright. Not the best but much better than Lovelace's other works.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for this Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a beautifully written, sapphic book of poetry. While it is the third in a series, it can be read on its own and is just as beautiful. I look forward to purchasing it when it is released.

"...despite what you've been led to believe, you can have beauty as a brain. you can have so much more than that, too. go on, keep confusing them. keep making them flustered by how much you are."

I've read my first Amanda Lovelace book at the beginning of this year and I was instantly drawn to her writing. I was excited to read this one and all I have to say is that it didn't disappoint but it also didn't measure up to the one I've read. It isn't my favorite but still good in its own way.

I highly recommend anyone who likes poetry or is starting to read it to try Amanda's books, she has a way with words and the words have a way of reaching you even after you close the book.

3,5 Stars.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an arc.

This may be my favorite of the series. You can feel the authors love for her partner. I would totally read a whole novel based on the keys.

The illustrations added such texture to this book. Wonderful all around.

Friends, Lovelace has done it again! I’m always impressed by her poetry collections and how she can truly put how I am feeling onto the page. This one doesn’t come out for a little bit, but when it does, I encourage you to pick it up!
As soon as I saw this was available as an ARC on @netgalley I knew I had to request it because I’ve been waiting and stalking for this book to be released!
This one does wrap up this poetry collection trilogy, but I’ll be looking to see what else Lovelace has in store!

i loved this collection! i have read the previous works of Lovelace and i’ve enjoyed them both so I expected nothing less of this one! my favorite poem was the so called resting bitch face!

I received an arc of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"i wonder what my life would have been like if there had been girls like me in the fairy tales i read growing up"

I'm actually really disappointed by the fact that I didn't like this book. I've read some of Amanda Lovelace's books before and I enjoyed them, so I expected I would enjoy this one too. I wouldn't say this book is bad, and poetry is always subjective - but it really didn't work for me.

tw: eating disorders, mental illness, self-harm, sexism, queerphobia, death, grief, trauma (these are included in the book)

This book takes a format of a fairy tale, and in the usual Amanda Lovelace style, it is divided into parts. The themes of the book are the ones I extremely relate to - but I failed to connect with the subject at hand. I've read some of Amanda's books before, and the previous books I read felt very raw and very personal, and I think that intense emotion is what I related to. Not to say that this book lacks emotion - but the format feels more like self-help, or like reading advice and affirmations. Again, not bad, but also not something I was hoping for.

The book touches on a lot of topics, maybe too many - it felt like this collection wasn't very cohesive. I wouldn't usually be the one to point this out, but with a lot of these poems, I felt like I read them before. And I haven't, obviously, but the way these themes were explored felt slightly repetitive (especially when you consider their other poetry collections). A lot of poems felt more like filler content and wouldn't stand very well on their own, which I think is a shame.

Overall, this book wasn't for me, but I think a lot of people will enjoy it. If you are someone who loves affirmative poetry and enjoys Amanda Lovelace's work, you might enjoy this more than I did.

This gets one like for the cat poem and one like for the art. I read a lot of Lovelace’s early poetry from the princess saves herself in this one to to make monsters out of girls. I remember really enjoying all of those so I was ecstatic to have gotten this arc! I don’t know what’s happened in recent years or if it’s just this one, but it’s really lacking the magic the others had. There was a whole poem about putting your hair up sometimes now. It’s boring. The only thing I like now is all the very pretty art that accompany the poems! Why not put some of that gorgeous art on the cover?

Unlock your storybook heart is a short and sweet self help book that promotes living the magical life you want to live and that everyone deserves special love. It was cute and I liked a few of the pages a lot but I didn't learn or gain anything new from it. It was nice to sit and read it for a little while but not as innovative, interesting or impactful as some of Amanda's other work.

“Unlock Your Storybook Heart” by:
Amanda Lovelace

In all fairytales, at least the older traditional ones, the handsome male knight saves his damsel in distress and they ride off into the sunset happily ever after. But what if? What if the knight is actually a woman?

Societal expectations can be overbearing yet insidious. In her prior works, Lovelace covers these expectations and the impossibility of perfection because we will never be perfect to everybody but need only be perfect to ourselves. (Not, you know, in a Narcissus kind of way, but in loving yourself as you are, flaws and all.) In this book she covers how amazing it is to meet someone who loves you that way as well. Right now what I hear in my head is the initial lyrics from, “The Love Boat”, because she talks about how exciting it is to meet the person you can just be with, and be yourself with. Love that is, indeed, exciting and new.

As a bisexual woman myself, with my own self-esteem issues, it is amazing to find understanding in the words of another. Children are inundated with heteronormative fairytales where the cisgender female waves her hands in utter incompetence as she waits for the cisgender Prince who will save her. As a child, admittedly even as a young adult, this is what my romantic heart sought. Lovelace challenges this outdated idea and says that it’s ok to love someone your heart calls you to, and what a gift it is for them to love you back. To spoil the ending, she thanks her wife for her support in writing the book. Well, that’s not spoiling the ending it’s just telling you that she has gotten her happily ever after. This gives much hope for the rest of us.

The entire purpose of this trilogy is to teach you to seek what makes you happy and to ignore those who would tear you down for it. Nourish your soul, your body, and your heart. You deserve it.

This was my first Amanda Lovelace book, so I went in not knowing what to expect. Maybe because of her style with no capitalization, or maybe for other reasons… but initially this gave me a bit of ee cummings vibes! There were pieces in this collection that made me feel allll the feelings and were just profound! and then there were parts were I was a bit bored and confused at dramatic changes in mood and voice in the pieces. Overall I’m giving this book 3.5 stars, but there are definitely some 5 star standalones within the collection.

I've said it once and I'll say it again... Amanda Lovelace is a treasure.

unlock your storybook heart is a collection about perfectionism, abuse, love, and healing. This book covers some dark themes and I found it to be fulfilling. It takes you through the entire range of feelings and it sits with you long after you've finished the last piece of poetry. Even though this is a difficult collection, I found the overall vibe to be encouraging and soothing; It's an odd sensation and one that Lovelace delivers flawlessly.


I decided to read this over a course of a few days and found myself so eager to continue... I can't wait for this to be out in the world for all other readers!

Big thank you to Netgalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars (I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review)

Honestly I never have read a bad collection from Amanda Lovelace, I just tend to prefer her more emotionally charged and intense collections. But this more love focused collection just warmed my heart, with cute light green themed illustrations. A nice soft ending to the You Are Your Own Fairy Tales Series.

it's a curious thing, isn't it,
how an artist can turn their hurt into
something so stunning that
it has the power to save strangers,
but it doesn't have the power
to save the artist themselves?

Even though I really enjoyed this collection, I have to admit, it's the weakest one so far. This is the final installment in Amanda Lovelace's You Are Your Own Fairy Tale series, inspired by Beauty and the Beast, and focusing on topics of perfectionism, self-love, and living outside of expectations placed by society. It was highly anticipated, but still a bit disappointing for me.

I appreciated the themes, but I couldn't help but feeling that something was missing here. Amanda covers familiar topics in a fresh and original way, which was always the case with her previous collections, but I felt a bit detached from her writing in this one. Maybe it's something about the topic, because this felt like a self-love manifesto instead of a careful character study.

All in all, I would still highly recommend first two parts of this series. And I'll be patiently waiting for Amanda's next release, hoping that I'll like it way more than this one.

what's that one thing you would do for yourself
if only you could muster up the confidence?

- now go do it anyway.

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"you don't have to pick the big job in the big city if that's not what you want. it's okay to pick a calmer, quieter life. it's okay to pick the small seaside town where everyone knows a little too much about everybody else. it's oaky to pick the job where you get to place your favorite books into eager hands all day long, only to go home & read all night long. no life is inherently more important than the other. the only thing that matters is that you pick the life that makes you excited to greet the morning sky each day."

3.5/5 stars

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this poetry collection, out in March!

Respectfully, I think Amanda Lovelace and I are parting ways. I really mean that in the most kind, gentle way possible. Their poetry collections were there for me in a time where it felt so good to feel seen, heard, represented. I found solace in her works. I've noticed that, as time goes on, I've started to lose that connection with them, and it's not Lovelace - it's me. I think I've grown as a reader, and I don't read the pages of her poetry and have that swelling in my heart like I used to.

Don't let me stop you from reading their works, though. Amanda Lovelace is a truly gifted contemporary poet, and I think there's a reason they have such a loyal and loving fanbase. I wish them all the success and happiness.

I’ve already read (and loved) four of Lovelace’s previous poetry collections, so I am super thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of her upcoming poetry release in exchange for an honest review!

This collection is the last installment in the “You Are Your Own Fairytale” poetry series, and it focuses on topics like combating perfectionism, experiencing queer love, healing from grief, and finding self love!

I don’t give poetry star-ratings, as I always connect with some poems more than others. While this was also the case for this collection, I really enjoyed it as a whole, and I was actually on the brink of tears a few times. It made me feel so seen, and I’ve never related as closely to other poems as I did to some of the ones in this collection.

Lovelace’s style is very simple, which I do generally enjoy, but this one definitely has the most straightforward writing of the collections of their’s that I’ve read, and I did miss a bit more lyricism at times. At some points the poems felt more like diary entries than poems, but I appreciated how deeply rooted in her personal experiences this collection clearly is!

She clearly writes from the heart, and the combination of the beautiful illustrations throughout the collection, her simple style, and impactful messages makes for a lovely, comforting reading experience.

When it comes to poetry, what people like and dislike in terms of style and themes is so personal, so I highly recommend this to anyone who’s been the “gifted kid”, wants to read poetry about queer love, and/or enjoys poetry without unnecessary purple prose.

This is the conclusion to the You Are Your Own Fairytale series. I really enjoyed the first two in the series, but this one fell short for me. I still liked the book, but it didn't seem as connected to the other two books. I am looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

The illustrations, as always, are very pretty.

Thank you to Amanda Lovelace, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.