Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for sending me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

"I am alone....I am unremarked."

Wow. This was a lyrical, poetic novel seemingly set around a butterfly who wants nothing more than to be beautiful and adored. The story itself was good, the writing really quite beautiful but what really caught me was the lyrical analysis of the role beauty plays in our society and for women.

"is it still beautiful if there are no admirers?

The writing itself was very clever and the kind of poetry that will become a classic. The format worked well with the story as did the illustrations, which were simple but very detailed. I had a great time reading this and it is the kind of poetry I will be thinking about for weeks.

4 stars.

The collection of poems are thought provoking & somewhat interesting but unfortunately didn’t hit the spot for me.
Thank you to NetGalley & Kayla Stone for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I wanted to like this poetry collection, but I just couldn't. It felt like the poet used a thesaurus throughout, there were words that were inserted into the verses that felt off and disjointed from the rest of the poem, so much so that it made me laugh out loud sometimes at how ridiculous a word was. It really felt like the poet wrote the poems, picked a few keywords out, opened up a thesaurus, chose a random synonym, and then placed it in the poem.

Metamorphose was filled with beautiful prose and lovely imagery. As someone who loves poetry with themes of death and moths, this was right up my alley – and I'll recommend this to others looking for a quick peruse into the world of insect-poetry.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Metamorphose is a thought-provoking collection of poems that focus on the beauty standards females today have to live up to for them to consider themselves and also be considered as beautiful.
The author focuses on a butterfly fluttering through life, believing it's ugly, unworthy of love, and affection, although it craves for both. When the butterfly gets the opportunity to fulfil this desire, it leaps at the chance not understanding or realising fully what this will cost her. The artwork, although all in black and white, is absolutely stunning throughout this book, and although only a short read, it really makes you stop and think, assess, and process the messages the author conveys through each poem.

Imaginative.
Beautiful.
Interesting.
Delicate.

This collection is amazing and I look forward to owning a copy for my bookshelf. Kayla Stone is able to convey emotional depth and complexity in such a way that intrigues.

4.5 / 5
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy/early read opportunity!

A beautifully delicate collection of poems. Unfortunately my kindle formatted it all skewy and on the side, but on reflection I can only believe that it enhanced my reading experience, reading it sideways like a butterfly squished on the pavement.

As someone with three butterfly tattoos, I feel connected to this.

This is a highly poetic poetry, with delicate vocabulary and creative formats. Very imaginative and beautiful that it's so mesmerising. Full of longing yearning and passion, loved it and will recommend!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC!

Metamorphose has an interesting concept for sure. A butterfly moves through life thinking it's ugly and unworthy of attention or love

This is definitely meant to be a commentary on beauty standards and how women are taught to chase them at all costs of their own sanity and self-worth, even when they are, objectively, beautiful

I thought this was a beautiful collection of poetry. I’m so grateful I was able to read this. Some of the poems really hit me. This author poetic writing was incredible.

Metamorphose by Kayla Stone was well thought out and written. I enjoyed Kayla's words and found myself nodding my head in agreement with her feelings. Her writing was thoughtful and eloquent. I will definitely be reading more of her writing in the future.

This poetry book is undeniably beautiful, showcasing a remarkable complexity and emotional depth. The abstract nature of the poems adds a unique layer of intrigue. However, despite its artistic merit, it is not the type of poetry I personally connect with.

This is a book of poetry that uses the evolution of a butterfly to describe the evolution of self acceptance while exploring loneliness and pain.

The poetry is beautiful, but it does use uncommon language that even as someone with a degree in English, I did not know. The having to constantly look up words takes away from the pieces. I did love the accompanying artwork.

The air wafts the smell of dung.
The wind shrieks the call of death.

Well this starts as it means to go on, doesn't it. I will start by saying that I love the formatting, the poet has taken good care to make the inside formatting as beautiful as the verse. I always appreciate that.

There's some lovely prose in here. Some doesn't work as well as others, muddying the imagery somewhat, but perhaps that is just personal taste. There are some very short poems, or even prose couplets, to break up the longer verse, which is always interesting.

My beauty.
My solar ray of effulgent beams.

I get the impression the poet has happened upon this word and fallen in love with it as they used it a few times. Correctly, that I saw, but still.

Yet,. there are some very nice lines.

I am hideous.
A grotesque splat on cooked pavement

Was a personal favourite. I love visceral, simple verse. It's my thing, I cannot deny. Sacrifice was a nice offering, if you'll pardon the pun, and the Weaver. The use of negative space and complex, careful verse, makes this a poet to watch. I think she will touch many hearts.

Metamorphose by Kayla Stone was a very interesting little book with little words that had a strong meaning to them.

Metamorphose is the stunning new collection which confronts, in both rhythmic lines and beautiful illustrations, the age-old questions surrounding beauty, self-acceptance, and the lengths to which we will go to obtain our greatest desires.

A delicate butterfly, an enchanting flame, and the promise of a life of beauty beyond imagination. Who was uncertain of herself and loathing her outward appearance, a little butterfly moves throughout her world, longing to be beautiful. Drawn one day to a flickering flame within a lone lantern, she hears the fire speak to her. It tells her that it will make her deepest, dearest wish come true. She can join with the flame and finally be beautiful – but it will come at a terrible price.

Metamorphose by Kayla Stone is a stunningly beautiful blend of lyrical prose and illustration, and is, ultimately, a transformative journey toward self-acceptance.

A butterfly, questioning her own worth, flies too close to a flame following the promise of a single moment of beauty. The cost, of course, is too great, and she is damaged, leading us to question just how far we, as a collective whole, are willing to go in our own quest toward acceptance.

I look forward to reading much more from Ms Stone in the future. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an ARC.

Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC!

<i> I am beautiful.
I am beautiful.
But I am alone.
Is it still beautiful, when there are no spectators? </i>

I wasn't a huge fan at first, but as I read on, there were parts I really loved. There were some parts that just felt too abstract to me, though.

There are many lines that are incredibly beautiful, but in that, lots of strange words I've never even heard before that required a lot of Googling (which got a little annoying, having to tab out every few lines, since the NetGalley app doesn't allow you to highlight & lookup words). This included a word where the only Google results were pages with unscrambled answers for Scrabble (naidr pg. 38?).

I also came across some typos:
- In "Sacrifice" pg. 34 ("Your have placed" = You have placed?)
- In "i" on pg. 39 ("ambonation" = abomination?)
- Missing spaces between periods on pg. 44. ("You are a wasp.I am just...")
- Two poems that trail off which may have been intentional but I found awkward enough to question it (pg. 34 & 44)
- In "I abhor beauty" (pg. 44) "can not" and shouldn't "tick ridden" have a hyphen in between?
Maybe some things were intentional, but they had me questioning.

Overall it's an interesting concept, but there were some segments where the underlying idea/themes on beauty became lost on me.

That said, there were parts in the last few pages that really spoke to me. ~I'm in my f--- beauty standards era~ right now and stopped wearing makeup to work recently. I am still shocked to the point of shuddering everytime I see a glimpse of my reflection, because in my head I'm always imagining myself walking around as the "prettified" version, not my actual, bare-faced self. I've never felt empowered by makeup or found any joy in putting it on, it has just always felt like something I had to do in order to not appear ugly. At almost 25 I'm just now realizing how uncomfortable I've felt in my own skin for the last 10 or so years. Parts of this little poetry book allowed me to reflect more deeply on that.

From "I abhor beauty", pg. 44--
<i> I abhor beauty. Beauty left me to decrepit waste. (...) I yowl and wail to be free from her talons. (...) You have encased me in your cocoon and now I am melting to become what you have crushed me to be. I am a monster. You have jumbled up my thoughts and tricked me to believe in your definitions of beauty. (...) It is true. I have descended into madness and joined you in this tick ridden chasm when you have sucked every scintilla and left me with gaping holes. (...) I can not tell where my thoughts have become knotted within your words. I am lost. I am alone. </i>

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the chance to read and review Metamorphose by Kayla Stone.

Metamorphose has an interesting concept. a butterfly moves through a place believing it's horrifically ugly and unworthy of attention or love, Its belief in it's own unworthiness leads it to join the flames to be beautiful for some time, but afterwards realises that the brief moment of beauty cost far more than it was worth when it loses its wings and the ability to follow the sun.

This is meant to be a commentary on beauty and how women are taught to chase it at the cost of their own sanity and selves even when they are, objectively speaking, beautiful. After all, who amongst us can look at a butterfly and think it's ugly; and yet this one was willing to set itself on fire. The butterfly's own internal voice seems incredibly masculine in its obsession with beauty, think Du Bois double consciousness, but with women looking at their bodies through the male gaze.

That being said, this is not going to be my favourite read. While the concept is an interesting one the language was a bit strange and I was a bit bored. I personally feel anyone using the word ochre has issues.

Very raw and intimate look at loneliness, lust, and love. This is a beautiful piece of poetry that quickly evolves-- or should i say morphs, into a beautiful and heartwarming ending. I enjoyed how the feelings of loneliness and ugliness turned to I AM LOVED and I AM BEAUTIFUL.

Hauntingly beautiful prose supported by stunning illustrations. Felt like wandering through a magical forest and I loved getting lost in this short collection. I especially enjoyed ending with The Weaver.

Will need to read more by this author!