I knew very early on in the book that it was going to be a new favorite.

The content warnings in the book are a big plus for me! The best thing about them were the page numbers, so that you could skip certain parts if you wanted to. I think more authors should implement that.

Reading this poetry collection somewhat felt like reading someone's diary. It felt like an intrusion on someone's privacy and like being told a secret. A lot of difficult topics were addressed. But since all of them were personal topics, the way they were addressed was very good.

I found every single poem to be deeply moving and beautifully written and formatted.

Many thanks to NetGalley for this eARC!

Beautifully written poetry by and author I have NEVER heard of but will now be searching for in books and online inspiration. I think poetry is really about feeling and emotions described in words that make you pause, think and process your own life experience. I LOVED this work of art.

-Disclaimer: I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.-

Love this writing style!

Short poems tend to say absolutely nothing or everything. I can say this is a successful collection. It covers a range of experiences/emotions that can be difficult to put into words.

I liked almost all the poems. One thing that could've made it better is if there were more illustrations to add to the experience. The cover is beautiful. Adding "find her. keep her." to my favorites shelf!

Loved these poems especially:

"they treat
weakness
like a death sentence
like once you fall
you lose the ability to rise
like strength be easy
knowing it's rare
to have one without the other"

"i thought I finally had
love that loved me back
and it made
everything
forgivable"

"if i tell you
i love you
it means i accept the way you treat me
and
i
don't"

I was excited to read this one but unfortunately no matter how much I try, I cannot seem to open the book! i tried different methods after downloading but I could open it to read it and it didn’t show up on my nextgalley shelf. I’m sure it’s full of beautiful poetry though

This was a good collection.
It started off strong with that beautiful cover, and a page for trigger warnings.
There were a good amount of poems in this collection that I was drawn to, with some beautiful writing and important topics. I look forward to seeing what Williams creates in the future.

✨BOOK REVIEW ✨

📚find her. keep her. - Renaada Williams📚

This is such a beautiful collection of poetry with stunning prose and an effortless flow. It is a journey of self-love, so raw, honest and relatable - I truly felt like I was reading the diary of the author.

Whilst the passages are short, Williams manages to tackle a wide range of important themes including race, sexuality and acceptance, in such a thought-provoking, powerful, but still gentle way. Not to mention the cover is just stunning!

This was my first collection by @renaadawilliams but I will definitely be checking out her other works if this is anything to go by.

Favourite quotes:
- “Surround yourself with people who can interpret your silence rather than those who come around and can barely understand you when you speak.”
“I am constantly working on the person my inner child needs me to become.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to the publisher and @netgalley for sending me this to review 🙏🏻

Another in a long line of "instapoetry", work that consists of a few lines that read as unedited stream of consciousness with no refinement or deeper thought. Some of these poems would work better as off the cuff tweets, and some of them could be good if someone took a red pen to them and worked on refining the craft that seems almost or totally absent. the section "two americas" had the most potential, with the most important and interesting things to say, and the least aimless, pointless rambling, but it was still lacking in power. Unfortunately any insight that went into this writing is clouded by the clumsiness of the single-sentence, "hit enter at any point to make it a line break" poems.

"I am not meant to be fixed, there isn't anything broken about me"

The whole collection is raw and relatable. Renaada did an excellent job talking about several heavy issues. However, some of it sonds like inspirational tweets.

While I enjoyed many poems in this collection, this style of poetry just isn't my thing. I'm not a fan of poetry that contains less than 4 lines; I find them to be very cliché, cheesy or too much like "inspirational quotes" than poetry. While there are a few exceptions to this, even in this collection, they are few and far between. It's incredibly difficult to create short poems, and while I commend everyone who attempts this, it's just not for me so the poems that I enjoyed in this collection were mostly the longer ones. This collection was separated into 6 sections, and the 2 sections I felt were the strongest were searching and two americas. Overall if you enjoy this style of poetry, short snippets kind of like Instagram or Tumblr poetry, then you would really enjoy this.

So good!! Sweet and nostalgic!!! Brings me to light and has an effervescent feel to it! Soft spoken and romantic. This was light and airy and had a magical, mystical sense!

Naturally, I read this in one sitting. The prose and presentation were truly beautiful. I've been leaning into loving poetry collections, and find her. keep her. is no exception. Williams delivered so much emotion that I found myself tearing up throughout nearly the whole thing.

I highlighted so many passages; there's no way I'll miss the opportunity to go out and buy a physical copy when it releases!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful collection of poems!

The poems are short but powerful ranging all sorts of emotions and experiences around love, relationships, and self. It's a thought provoking read that is both haunting and relatable.

“i’m starting to feel like love
is only in fairy tales after all
however
i believe in magic”

The first thing that comes to mind after reading this book is raw. The portrayed emotions seemed real, at times I even felt as if I was reading a diary.

What kept me interested was the poem structure, the playfulness with which the author illustrated her thoughts. All poems, while covering difficult topics, were written in a nice, gentle way.

Even with that, there wasn't a particular thing that I loved about the collection. I flashed through it, but something there was missing.

Overall, it was an enjoyable piece of literature and I would definitely read more books of the author.

Yes, this did make me cry!!! This is the perfect collection of poems for those who don't want to feel alone in their heartbreak and emotional struggles. These poems reminded me that it's okay to feel things in a big way and it's okay to struggle with things that others seem to not struggle with. So devastatingly beautiful, emotional, and vulnerable. I feel like I really got to know the author through this. (NetGalley ARC)

I was immediately drawn to this poetry collection by the cover and the description. The cover in STUNNING and the synopsis made me want to hold this collection in my hands and dive in.

From the beginning, the author even includes a page of trigger warnings, of which I am a huge supporter. It's important, especially for emotional and triggering topics, to be expressed at the beginning of the novel as it is here. Williams goes the extra mile and includes which poems may be triggering for some readers, allowing more people to read and enjoy her poetry without potentially harming themselves in the process.

As for the actual collection, I really enjoyed reading Williams' poems and I blew through them. They cover very difficult and complex topics, but in a lovely way, written with a caring touch. There were many poems that particularly stood out to me that I immediately bookmarked to return to and read again.

This is another good example of the "internet poetry" genre, much like the works of Rupi Kaur and Amanda Lovelace, If you like any poetry like theirs, you will enjoy this poetry collections and poems by Renaada Williams.

Though I enjoyed the poetry, not enough stood out to me for me to give this collection a higher rating. Therefore it's a 3 star collection for me, but I'd still recommend anyone interested to check it out.

The only real critique I have for this collection is that the poetry section titles are written with a typeface that can be hard to read, and may prove difficult for many readers to read the title of the sections. I think a less cursive title may benefit the collection. It's beautiful, just not the most accessible.

Rating: 3 stars

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for access to a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This poetry book was one of my favorites. It felt like I opened up Renaada's diary. She put her heart and soul into this book. It made me emotional, it broke my heart and it really made me want to give Renaada a big hug. The main themes of this book are sexuality and acceptance. Her words were beautiful, thoughtful and genuine. Very much enjoyed this poetry book.

Very well written and evokes so many feelings. Really enjoyed this book of poetry.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own

I really loved the author's use of repetition and of varied line forms in these poems to create writing that you could hear just by reading it. Renaada Williams writes, and then rewrites herself in this collection so many times, and carries you with her along to each of her stories, each new poem.

"i don't want something else to remind you that i exist" (second thought)

Ranging from one line punches to carefully woven pieces, "find her. keep her." is a masterpiece navigating both the personal and the profound.

I really loved the Records of Self-Discovery section, I think I highlighted portions of every poem in that entire section. The section that I think is easily the strongest is Two Americas. It was absolutely rattling, Williams has an incredibly powerful voice that roared off the page during these poems. The entire Snatch section as well had so much woven into it, pain and pleasure both shouting to be heard from each piece. I also really enjoyed the illustrations scattered throughout!

I honestly can't wait to read more by Renaada Williams, what a powerhouse and strong collection! As a fan of Trista Mateer, Amanda Lovelace, and Rupi Kaur - this touched on so many similar themes but breathed new life into each one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel for providing me with a copy for an honest review!

"i'm starting to feel like love / is only in fairy tales after all / however / i believe in magic"

''i am a force to be reckoned with''

'Find her. keep her' is not a profound masterpiece, but Renaada's writing makes up for it. I enjoyed some parts of this collection more than others, and yes, I liked some lines more than others, and some poems hit home more than others. But it doesn't mean that it's not good.

In short: If you like short poems, you'll like this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an e-arc in exchange of an honest review.