I liked the concept of the book, and some general ideas in it, but the execution wasn’t what I expected it to be. I felt it was trying too much at times, and not enough at others— leaving the reader confused in both instances. I’d recommend it if you enjoy non-traditional poetry, this book is only meant for an specific target audience, and unfortunately I wasn’t part of it.

This book just didn’t hit the way I was wanting it to. I DNF-ed it shortly after starting because it just wasn’t my specific niche of poetry that I like. It might be more suited to someone looking for an ominous toned poetry collection.

Just like all other books of poetry each poem is very much up for interpretation by the reader so this makes reviewing a book of this nature a little on the hard side however I will do my best. I really enjoyed how the author/poet didn't make the poems to long but most of them were short and sweet, right to the point. There were plenty of metaphors and symbolism however it wasn't peppered with unnecessary words and flourishes by the author even if the whole entry was left being just two sentences. Every poem was very different than the last one some were happy, and others were quite dark. This was a nice change up for the reader and showed nice diversity from the poet. This was a short book however it still managed to pack quite the punch in the amount of time the author had. Very nice read and I'm very glad that I was given the opportunity to check it out.

Overall (Un)tethered by S.V Segal was an okay read. I adored many of the poems, got lost in others but also found some to be very tedious and confusing.

I like to think i’m a smart person, but I won’t lie my brain could simply not compute with some of the sentences strung together here. And although poetry isn’t always about the plot itself but also the feelings it invokes, it’s extremely hard to relate to experiences or the emotion trying to be show when you have to stop to wonder if most of what you’ve just read even makes any sense.

Some poems were difficult to understand, and many, particularly the poems written for specific people, alienate the reader because you have absolutely no idea what’s going on.. Just like inside jokes don’t make sense when you’re not in on the joke itself.

I will say though the the ones that stuck left a lasting impression. “Ouroboros”, “Crimson”, “Rigor Mortis”, “No face”, “Golden Strings” and “Heavy Rain” in particular were definitely it for me and I will be revisiting these poems again.

The most powerful poems engage the senses, elicit emotion, and transcend personal experience. There are pieces that Segal has shared in this collection that do so and others that miss the mark. However throughout the lot, the imagery is often vivid and Segal's voice clear.

I could read "A Thousand Paper Cranes" a thousand times over. I loved that it played with language in a different way than most of the other pieces, leveraging more casual wording while still really resonating with me, such as in the following stanza:

If being happy is a sin,
The call me holy
Cuz I ain't got no devil in me.
I got nothing in me.


I found myself strongly compelled by so many stanzas in the collection, but particularly one near the closing of "Bloody Mirrors":

You want to learn how to hold hands,
How to float between stars,
And wave across a train station goodbye.
But instead, you learn how to breathe smoke and cough dead constellations,
How to dance across lifelines and speed limits,


"Interchange" is amazing. And I'm haunted by these lines:

And I let you
Because your love language is
Giving everything including yourself
And my love language is
letting my physical form
Tolerate tangible existence


There are occasions where Segal is unnecessarily wordy. I like to consider my vocabulary relatively well developed, but there were occasions, particularly in "Caliginous Ashes", where word choice made reading and comprehension difficult. Having to turn to dictionary or thesaurus to ingest a poem detracts, for me at least, the ability to immerse myself in the piece, to let it tug at my emotions, and allow me to share a secret with the poet. I was able to do this many times while reading these poems. There were more than a few that I read and reread to continue to dwell in the weight of their gravity. When Segal keeps the language simple, the effects are poignant and powerful. I truly hope to be able to read more from the poet and wholeheartedly recommend taking the time to explore this collection.

Trigger warnings should include illusions to suicide, and perhaps even suicide ideation.

Thank you to River Grove Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am so thankful that I was approved to consume and digest the powerful prose that is written down by S.V. Segal in "(Un)Tethered. This collection of poems is set to publish on April 18, 2023, and I am so excited for the author and publication for the hype to come!

I feel fairly neutral about this collection; I think that’s one of the tricky things about poetry or short story collections — the individual works can average out the finished collection.

Firstly, I’d like to mention that the titles of these poems grabbed my attention immediately. Titles like “Glass Frog,” “Cotton Candy Syndrome,” and “Bubble Snail” felt really unique and made me excited to read them.

In fact, “Cotton Candy Syndrome” ended up being one of my favorite poems in the collection. There’s a lot of good imagery here, like the first stanza, “There’s a carnival in town with big neon signs / sugary highs and adrenaline spikes / give birth to laughing children.” I felt like I could really put myself into this poem and feel like I was experiencing it.

However, there were also times when I found the writing to be a bit clunky, like in the titular poem “(un)tethered.” It opens, “You always thought you wore / various rings because aesthetically / it was pretty / which it is.” I think some additional editing could be done here to cut back on extra words. Words like various and aesthetically don’t add anything here except to make the lines longer. The phrase “which it is” could also be removed, as it is something I think the reader could infer without having the words directly there on the page.

I also felt like I would’ve enjoyed this collection more if the author hadn’t felt so removed. Most of the poems are written in second-person, favoring the use of “you” over “I,” even when it seems the poem is about the speaker’s experience. This is likely just a stylistic choice, but the poems I felt most drawn to were the ones in which the author talks about their mother and we get a glimpse of the author’s feelings in a more personal way. This is something I wanted more of. The use of “you” made me feel more detached to the poems.

This is not a bad collection by any means, but I don’t think it was a collection for me. It is the poet’s debut and I look forward to seeing their writing grow and develop with future projects.

Untethered is one of the most raw poetry collections I have read. Every poem was like getting a glimpse at the author’s soul. These glimpses aren’t through windows, though; it felt like I was seeing through rips and tears. These poems were open wounds, and they resonated with me on a deep and personal level. The language used throughout this collection varied on the complexity spectrum, and that variation made the poems that much more impactful.

My favorites were Alcoholic, A Thousand Origami Cranes, Serenity, Space Firefly, and The Deep Dark Woods in the Middle of Nowhere. Notably, Serenity was so short but packed a strong punch, and The Deep Dark Woods in the Middle of Nowhere held a note of hope after so many poems that conveyed hopelessness and despair.

I liked the utter brutality of the poems; they were gritty and sharp, and this is what made them so impactful. I would not recommend this to anyone who wants a lighthearted, easy read, but when you are in the mood for poems that might lance at your heart, this is what I would pick up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Very well written and easy to understand. Didn’t sound pretentious like most poetry books .5 stars I particularly liked the shorter poems though

I’m usually not a huge poetry reader, but for some reason the description and name of this book pulled me in, and I decided to give it a go.

I thought this poetry book was beautiful. Full of feelings and emtions. Raw and hard. Even though it’s a short book, it leaves an impression, and I’m sure I will take a lot of powerful quotes with me.

I enjoyed this collection of poems by S.V. Segal. A lot of the metaphors/comparisons were clever, and the writing was precise. I got confused at times about who each poem was focused on, but I think that's the beauty of poetry. Being able to look at the words in a different way and coming up with an entire new meaning. This poetry collection wasn't anything lifechanging by any means, but I liked reading it and will definitely be picking this up when it releases!

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful, dark, and dramatic. A little too embellished for my usual taste in poetry, but well-done.