This is an absolutely lovely piece of art, the illustrations as well! Hoffman questions a lot throughout, it's a journey of healing, realising, knowing and growing. Written so poetically, there are lots of points where I stopped and reflect, and savour.

"Does one become strong by biting the thorns off roses, or does that make me, a masochist?"
"when Mind falls silent
and so Love is just here
waiting for Mind to start breathing"

The idea of changing our world with empathy is so warm to me, almost like it is embracing me. Will recommend this!

Thank you netgalley for the advanced arc.

I loved this so much! It really touched me, and brought out some emotions I didn't realise were hiding away in my soul.

“Somehow, I became Responsible For you choosing not to live For your inadequacies, your mistakes, Your emotions, your petty fucking grudges; I cannot hold anything of my own”

“It takes a lot for me to feel safe; I almost never do, So I’m quiet.”

Beautiful collection of poems that had me feeling so many things.
You could feel the emotion from these and I often found myself taking a few moments after a few poems to really just feel what it made me feel.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc💚

I received this as an arc. Honestly I really needed this book, and loved it. It touches on so many emotions and thoughts. From a feeling of hopelessness to hopeful. From anger to peace; and learning how to deal with grief of all kinds. Letting go, especially of the things out of our control. #BitingThornsOffRoses #NetGalley

I will start off by saying I don't typically read poetry as I feel I have to be in a certain head space. When I do read it, it tends to be a couple poems here and there.. With that being said I did not finish the whole book. What I did read was impactful and emotional. It really was a stronger feel to poetry I have read in the past which I appreciated.

Beautiful poems. I enjoyed reading this, it was just beautiful. No more words needed. Definitely worth a read. Looking forward to read more of your work.

I received this ARC via NetGalley and Victory Editing in exchange for an honest review.
This poetry collection is a nice selection designed by an author for their first collection. Hoffman's poetry feels truthful and her candor is delectable in what is currently a highly-saturated field. Personally, the work is good for a first collection, but the organisation of the piece reads ill due to formatting issues, blank pages and other issues with the format across different readers (phone, kindle, laptop etc). The poet reigns in consistency of ideas, but could use some more editing, as many poems feel intangible, messy and could use some finesse.

Beautiful and resonate poetry, the author is very evocative and I fell into this book. It explores emotion and how we frequently choose to present ourselves to the world in a way that doesn't necessarily line up with our inner journey.

“And maybe I wish they would have told me before I got here;
Who’d have thought there’d be such a heavy price to pay for your own life-
Carrying the weight of a heart.”

These poems open up your mind to realizations that are necessary in the world we live in today. They make you stop and think about your existence and purpose and the little things we take for granted.

Powerful messages are portrayed through the words of the author in a simple way of understanding yet there’s so much depth and beauty in the poems on the pages. Many topics are discussed and dissected in a raw and honest voice that I’m looking forward to hearing more of.

The simplicity of the sketches within the book are delicate and pair very well with the intentions of the poetry.

I received this ARC via NetGalley and Victory Editing in exchange for an honest review.

I really love reading poetry.
This book's a really great collection of powerful poems💗✨

Thank you netgalley, the publisher & the author for the eARC

“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒆’𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔.”

“Biting Thorns Off Roses” by Megan E. Hoffman is an captivating and raw collection of poems. Hoffman mainly explores humanities flaw in masquerading as perfect beings rather than embracing who we really are and freeing ourselves from this burden.

Through beautiful imagery, Hoffman depicts the peaceful aspects of nature and how it does not discriminate or stive for refinement, it is simply here to be. She questions why we carry so much suffering around with us while failing to truly understand it and use it to grow. She also portrays how the life humanity has constructed for itself seems to take away from us what really matters and ponders on how different our lives as a species could have been.

A lot of themes are present in this collection but the one that stood out for me was the power and freeing-quality of introspection. Hoffman depicts her own experiences in this and I feel a lot of readers could relate to looking deep within yourself to face the more challenging feelings our souls tend to hold.

This book was such a lovey read and I highly recommend it.

Publication date: 14th October 2023

I received a ARC e book and I have to say, this book talks on some very great subjects, and writing style, but, in this arc copy I recieved there were a lot of blank pages I felt were randomly thrown in there, which made it hard for me to follow along in the book.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the chance to review.

Reviewing poetry is always hard for me as I understand the level of personal writing that goes into It. So take this with a grain of salt.

Biting Thorns Off Roses is an interesting poetry collection but it feels awfully reminiscent of the early 2015-2016 Rupi Kaur style poetry that is resting on spacing rather than the prose itself. it is quite simple in its message and really made me feel emotional from time to time but the rest of the poems felt bland and it might also be the digital format that made chapter brakes harder to access and quite hard to spot where one ends the other begins.

Thank you NetGalley and Megan E. Hoffman, the author for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an exquisite collection of poetry and prose that is so raw and honest. Biting Thorns Off Roses is about the facade we put on to to protect ourselves from the world, how we process and deal with trauma and mental health in our life, embracing ones true self and turning our hopelessness into hope. What a powerful and heartfelt book that evokes emotions that everyone can relate to on some level. 💓💓💓💓

"Maybe hope, is our human superpower"

"I know I've been away a long while;
I tend to live in my head; people are lovelier there"

"It's easier to miss you, Than to be near you
And if that isn't the saddest statement I've made
I don't know what is"

"Space to b r e a t h e; to feel; to understand.
Perhaps you'll find that at the end of the day,
seeing yourself is all you really need"

This is a beautifully written book!! I can wholly.relate to the author of this book. An up and coming poet in this time is hard and I am quite certain if she continues he's to.write.poetry like this, she would be a very popular poet. When I read.this book the fourth time,.I cannot help but wonder of she is talking about everyone in the world. I came to the conclusion.that that was what she was doing even though its based on het experience. As of right now she is in the top five of my most favorite poet. I hope to.read more of her poems so . its a must read!!

I.received a free copy of the book and is voluntarily leaving a review

I loved this.

It felt very relatable and very inspiring. It shows that there is always hope despite how dark the challenges can be.

I'll definitely be getting a physical copy.

In her powerful poetry collection, author Hoffman fearlessly explores the complex range of human emotions and exposes the masks we wear to protect ourselves. Through beautiful language, she takes readers on a deep exploration of self, questioning traditional views on trauma and mental well-being.

In this collection of poems, the author provides profound observations about what it means to be human. Through her skillful use of language, she guides readers from feelings of despair to feelings of hope, offering comfort to those who feel overwhelmed by their emotions. Every verse by Hoffman touches our souls, encouraging us to embrace our true selves and step out of the shadows with new strength.

In summary, Hoffman's poetry demonstrates the power of embracing pain and finding hope. "Biting Thorns Off Roses" is a compelling book that delves into the human mind and offers a path towards healing and self-discovery. It is highly recommended for those interested in a deep exploration of the human experience.