I liked this collection of poems. They were simple and well organized which made my reading easier. I enjoyed the different themes covered and the author's choice of words which was often very accurate. I didn't expect the few pop culture references, but it helped give the poems a contemporary touch. My biggest disappointment was that I couldn't really connect with this collection, even though grief is a topic that is particularly affecting me right now. I felt like there was still too much restraint on the author's part in some places.

“A careful study on estrangement and loss, The Price of a Small Hot Fire excavates the archetypal horrors of monstrous motherhood, from abandonment and unsteady reconciliation to the grave. Experimental and intimate, E.F. Schraeder’s collection gives voice to a semi-autobiographical examination of a griefscape from a queer lens.”

I enjoyed reading this poetry collection, the writing was beautiful. But in the same time I don’t feel like I could connect to the poems in a deeper level.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

🔥 Publication Date: July 13, 2023 🔥

Thank you NetGalley and E.F. Schraeder for allowing me to read your book.
The collection to me went hand in hand. The poem were simple yet still thought provoking. Beautifully written.

Beautiful writing. Fluid and evocative. These poems invite thought and contemplation to distill their essence.

Narnia, mothers, knitting, Frankenstein, and mirrors all tumble around in Schraeder’s collection.

Nostalgia and grief were the prevelant emotions for me as I worked through this collection. For the most part each poem feels like it fits in this collection and my personal favorites are the ones that lean in assumed elements of pop culture and laugh at how that isn’t true in the poet’s own life (particularly Narnia and Frankenstein).

This collection keeps it simple but rooted in life’s tough moments - good or bad decisions made.