She followed the moon back to herself was a good collection of poems but none of them really stood out for me.

In her latest poetry collection, 'she followed the moon back to herself', Lovelace offers a captivating narrative of personal growth, self-discovery, and resilience.

If you enjoy Instagram poetry, this is likely right up your alley. That being said, Lovelace provides the following warnings about sensitive material in her preface: body image issues, eating disorders, self-injury, alcoholism, misogyny, religion, suicide, death, trauma (and possibly more). If any of these upset you, please tread carefully.

Lovelace's dedication sums up the book's themes nicely: "to the woman going through the darkest night of her soul — don’t give up yet. it gets better. it always gets better."

arc read! :)

I used to be a huge fan of Amanda when she made her debut in 2017, so I was extremely excited to see her new collection come out on NetGalley! I even used a quote from her first book as my high school graduation senior quote—I loved it that much. This book had a lot of self-reflection and self-love poetry that I gravitated towards. I especially enjoyed the poems on body positivity. No poem exactly stood out to me, however, which is reflected in the 3-star rating.

Thank you, NetGalley and Amanda, for this arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me to receive an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

she followed the moon back to herself by Amanda Lovelace is filled with self love, personal growth, and acceptance. I have always been a big fan of her work and this is no exception! Thank you so much for sharing this part of yourself with us!

2.75 stars

It is so hard for me to rate and review poetry, because I feel like as a reader it either hits you or it doesn't. There was nothing structurally wrong with the prose, or the content, but it just wasn't meant for me at this time in my life, and that's okay.

I did find it a bit... lacking? Which is only why I dropped it slightly under 3 stars *for me*. It felt like it was just scratching the surface of some thoughts/feelings/topics that I could have related to, but didn't actually get into anything deep enough to grap my spirit.

With that said, there were a few poems that I bookmarked because I felt them, and if they were posted on Instagram I would absolutely share to story. But will I remember this in a few months or a year? Probably not. And again, that's okay.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, but I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Poetry has always been my go-to during reading slumps, and Amanda Lovelace’s words can pull me right back into the joy of reading. She writes with such beauty and vulnerability, weaving her signature fairytale themes into the journey of self-healing and empowerment. It made me appreciate the small, magical moments in life that we often overlook.

Although I couldn’t relate to every poem, they made me wish that those who need these words will find them. There’s something deeply healing about her writing—it feels like stepping into a fairytale where, despite the struggles, you know there’s hope on the horizon. Even the poems that didn’t resonate with my personal experience reminded me to look beyond myself and appreciate the different paths others are on.

Amanda’s poems are a reminder to embrace the beauty of transformation, and her work leaves you feeling stronger and more connected to the world around you. I highly recommend this collection for anyone looking for something to inspire and comfort.

This book was a tad too Instagram poetry-vibes for me. I enjoyed some of the poems. Most were just okay. I loved the themes and the art. Overall, the book didn’t have that many poems. I was able to read the entire book in about 30 minutes, which I don’t think would be worth buying yourself unless you plan on rereading it a bunch of times.

Trigger warnings (as stated in the preface):
Body image issues
Eating disorders
Self-harm
Alcoholism
Misogyny
Religion
Suicide
Death
Trauma

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have always found it very easy to immerse myself into Amanda’s poetry, even if poetry was something I hated in school. The way they write makes it very easy to understand and relate to. The only part I struggle with, is that it seems to be the type of poetry I would’ve found on tumblr in the 2010s. Which is neither a good or bad thing.

Thank you NetGalley for sharing Amanda Lovelace’s latest book. I adore Lovelace and regularly share her other works - I am the friend that will push poetry on you even if you say you don’t like poetry. I’m a poetry peddler.

If you like Lovelace’s work you’ll enjoy she followed the moon back to herself. This reads very much like her other books in style, tone and subject matter. For those reasons I loved it. I also would have loved to see a little more growth, a take on a different angel, something that seemed a new. So I loved, this is a strong 4 star but it falls short of the 5 star for me because there’s a promise of more right around the corner.

First, a big thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC of Amanda Lovelace’s poetry collection “She Followed the Moon Back to Herself" – “the tenth poetry collection from Amanda Lovelace deviates from the well-worn path of fairy tales & myths, instead bringing readers face to face with the person behind the poems that have made her beloved.”

I will start by saying I love Amanda Lovelace - I have been following her and her work for a while and have loved everything she’s created. I believe that I own quite a few of her works. She is the poet who really got me into reading poetry more often.

The content of this collection is about learning how to accept and love oneself. Her poems are uplifting, encouraging, and it shows understanding on a deeper, more complicated level. This is definitely a collection that you can read any time of year, and especially when you need to reconnect to yourself. This is a beautifully written, powerful collection that is honest and self-reflective.

As always, the illustrations in the book are also amazing and fit with the poems. Definitely a must buy for me.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"She Followed the Moon Back to Herself" is an autobiographical standalone poetry collection that follows a woman's journey of self-discovery. Amidst heartbreak, struggles, and life's messiness, she felt lost and disconnected from her true self. Each bite-sized poem illuminates her experiences and how she overcame them, offering hope and a touch of magic to readers joining her on this journey back to herself.

This was my first book by Amanda Lovelace, and I have fallen in love with her poetry! Not only were these poems written so beautifully, but they resonate with so many people for so many different reasons. These poems make you feel like you're getting encouragement from a friend! The book contains simple yet meaningful words that convey lessons of pain, resilience, and triumph. It serves as a reminder that individuals have the inner strength to overcome challenges and save themselves. I fell in love with the cover and fell even more in love with the work behind the cover!

I have been following Amanda since her self publishing days. To say I am obsessed with her writing is probably an understatement. Each poem has a way to radiate with the reader to make them think and feel. While her writing isn’t always technical, it’s raw and it real. Which is what makes her incredibly talented at connecting to her readers.

Amanda Loveless has a special place in my heart ever since I grabbed her first book by chance at a local bookstore. Her poetry continues to be awe-inspiring and relatable. She mentions at the beginning of the book that the collection of poems in her newest book comes from a poetry challenge. While I love it, you will notice that there isn't an overarching theme unlike her other collections. I couldn't get into this book as easily as her other ones mainly because the tone of each poem was different and the content/overarching themes changed from one page to the next. Love the concept behind this collection, but I do find it easier to get into a book when you know what the expect.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying the cover and artwork are stunning. They capture the essence of Lovelace and her writing exceptionally well. The author greets you with a gentle trigger warning as the poems bring up difficult topics with raw honesty, something i appreciated as a reader. Lovelace shares her healing story of accepting and finding themselves, and you follow the author in her journey of self-acceptance within topics such as body image, trauma, and religion. However, while the poems expressed the empowering feelings of self-acceptance, they felt at times too shallow to resonate with me.

I had no difficulties with her empowering story; but most often than not it felt elongated. some poems had minuscule differences with each other and felt at times.. repetitive. with this said, this collection wasn't for me. if you feel like you would like to delve deeper into the struggles of being a woman and how to save yourself, i would recommend reading her prior poem collections.

I LOVE Amanda and have almost all of their books on my shelf already, so it was super exciting to have this as an ARC!

As always, Amanda has put together a real, raw, vulnerable and true collection of poetry. Some hit hard, and were extremely relatable. This specific collection felt like a weight of their shoulders and im so glad they shared this!

Definitely recommend the read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher & Author. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Years ago I read Amanda Lovelace's debut poetry collection. I liked some of the concepts, but it didn't truly resonate with me. Still, it's been a long time and nine other poetry books since then, so I decided to give it another go and see if we can find common ground. Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Poetry is hard to review because it's even more subjective than prose. I also recognize that this book of poems was personal and probably cathartic for the author to write, and that comes across pretty obviously. The overall message/theme is that of self-love, confidence, and not caring what others think of you. And also killing your enemies with kindness. And also being happy in your fat body (those were actually some of my favorite poems).

But I didn't vibe with it. I'm definitely not a purist who says that "true" poetry must rhyme or have a fixed structure, but I do expect some kind of rhythm or musicality. Often these poems felt to me like simple, a bit clichéd sentences with line breaks. I couldn't truly feel either the poetry or the originality, and after this book I think it's better for both of us if I accept that Amanda Lovelace doesn't write poetry I personally resonate with.

I liked the illustrations at the beginning and end of the book, though.

I was super excited to read this! Due to the trigger warnings, I was unable to read this. Thank you so much Amanda for listing the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book!

Thank you NetGalley, Amanda and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!

Thank you to Amanda Lovelace, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Netgalley for this free advanced reader copy of "she followed the moon back to herself" for an honest review. Lovelace is one of the great confessional poets of our age, and I am so glad to be here at the dawn as Amanda returns to her memoir-based poetry and closes the chapter on all her fairytale series. I was glad to see her owning so many of the demons that have touched her internet words at times, but also the triumphant reclamation of her space, her body, her marriage, her right to her voice in her writing. Bravi. I loved it.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!*

Unfortunately, this poetry collection is not for me. To be perfectly honestly, I don’t think that this collection is very well-written or meaningful. I could have seen any one of these poems on Tumblr circa 2007-2016. The entire collection took me about 20 minutes to read and I didn’t find a single one that had any sort of depth or meaning beyond the surface level picture. It seems to me that this collection was published because of name & popularity rather than the merit of the work being published, which does seem to be a recent trend.

If you enjoy this collection or find connection in it, I’m happy for you. But this read to me like a teenagers journal entry first attempts at poetry, not a successful, well-known poet.

Amanda Lovelace’s works have always made me feel less alone and greatly inspired, she followed her self back to the moon was no exception to that.
Very early on into reading this collection I could tell that this was going to become a favourite of mine.
This collection brings Lovelace’s work into a more self-assured and mature light then previous volumes.
She followed herself back to the moon is self aware yet still gentile, kind and understanding to her past and traumas.
Reading this collection felt like giving a hug to ones younger self, a love letter sent to your younger self who didn’t quite understand herself yet, who felt alone, and scared.
She follows her self back from the moon is a display of living life past the expiration date you had set and finding beauty in the life that exists beyond your breaking point.
This collection touches upon topics such as body image, self acceptance, depression, anxiety, heartbreak, womanhood, spirituality, Grieving, being Queer, and finding success in such a delicate yet bold and mystical way.
The art scattered throughout the book was the perfect touch to this collection. The art is gorgeous and it perfectly encapsulates the feelings the poetry brings to the reader.

The one thing I can say I didn’t fully enjoy was the occasional use of slang and cuss words tended to feel ill fitting and unnecessary. It made an other wise good poem feel messy and incomplete.