Sea of Strangers

Lang Leav continues to impress with this stunning collection of poetry that reveals how love can be transformative in strengthening the human heart to persist even in the wake of turmoil.

Wow. I've read other books by Lang Leav before, but this one is my new favorite. Her poems are so beautiful, so full of feeling. Absolutely love it.

Really loved this book of short poetry and prose. It was an easy but deep read with a lot of poems/prose that I could relate to. I've loved a lot of Lang Leav's previous work so it's no surprise that I loved this latest one as well. She captures love and loss and sadness and happiness so beautifully and says things that I've thought before. Definitely a recommended read. I was so excited that I was able to get an advance copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review, all opinions are my own.

A magnificent journey from the insecure young writer to a more confident and content poet.

Lang Leav poetry is the kind you see endlessly posted on young women's Instagram and Twitter feeds, or pinned to thousands of Pinterest boards. A poetry snob may sniff at the sort of poems that flood social media, but when something resonates this loudly its because it touches something inside people. See, most of the poems that young women today have read in school were written by men or women decades, sometimes centuries, before our time. They're lovely and worthy of course, but there is also a gaping hole that Lang Leav fills with her work. Sometimes it feels like your best friend telling you a mournful truth or giving you wise advice. Other times its like reading a diary late at night when everyone else is asleep and you are full of ache and restlessness. And still other poems are like going for a drink with a friend and confessing something you've kept locked inside. Sometimes the more narrative works come off as juvenile, but there are certain poems that reek of lessons only learned with experience and budding maturity. This isn't poetry like a full course meal but it isn't' quite poetry like dessert either. Sea of Strangers is like espresso after dinner, something that leaves you warm and satisfied after all has been said and done.

I don't usually read poetry and I'm not sure if I am the best person to review it but I really enjoyed it. It was so powerful and so full of emotion. Really heartbreaking but empowering and must read

**thank you Netgalley for providing me an ARC on exchange for an honest review **


I loved this book so much, I was having fun too reading this. It absolutely is one of my fav poems this year. Also my fav poem book from Lang Leav. It tells a lot about our daily life like love, hurt, etcetera. Over all, this is such a good book to read. Highly recommended !!

Lang Leav's Sea of Stranger is definitely my favorite so far from all her poetry books. I especially like the shorter ones because they speak stronger, deeper meanings for me. Readers can easily relate to both the poems and prose since they all speak the same language: the beauty and tragedy of love.

Also, some poems also talks about one's own journey on finding oneself and being content and happy to live in this world.

Lang captivates emotions so beautifully in her words. The poem will make you realize the different aspects of love and sadness like you've never think of before.

Poetry is something that I've just gotten into reading fairly recently, and I credit Lang Leav as the writer who peaked my interested in the art.

In Leav's previous published book of poems The Universe of Us, I felt like there was this sense of vastness that peppered the poems throughout encompassing, as titled, The Universe above us.

In this new work, I felt like the different poems took spread out more along the horizon and less in the cosmos. Their tone shifting from dark and moody, to light and happy, as the tide shifts back and forth along the coast. In and out. It's a wonderful flow about it, but I enjoyed - what I felt as I read - was the more awe-inspiring tone of it's predecessor.

Sea of Strangers has, as mentioned above, a moodier tone. More reminiscent of Leav's first full-length book Sad Girls, a book that I've started but wasn't able to finish yet.

There's nothing wrong with being more contemplative on the aspects of love lost and / or a pining kind of love where you want to be in that light and happy place, but events decided to turn in another direction. There are many beautiful passages of contemplation on this subject. Maybe there's a reason why the cover is blue and the figure on the front in glancing down. I don't know. But I felt the tonal shift from Leav's previous work and while I appreciated the shift as indicative of the fact that this is a different set of poems. I can't help but long for more places of hope.

Something I did really enjoy this time around, which I don't remember feeling in Universe was the idea of certain passages, mainly the longer more contemplative, feeling as though Lang Leav was reaching through the book and speaking directly to the reader conversationally. It felt very personal.

As always, I loved Lang Leav's penchant for making huge statements in such a small amount of words. Those are typically my favorite poems from her.

While Sea of Strangers didn't have the same impact on me as The Universe of Us, I am a devoted fan, I am committed to reading anything / everything Lang Leav writes.

In her book, Leav opens her heart and gives us a lot of poems about love and strength. It touched me, as I could recognize myself in countless poems.
I loved the different formats of the poems that kept it moving and interesting. Also, they sometimes gave us something more than a poetry book can.

The description drew me in, by also made me wary to read since this is my first time enjoying Lang Leav's work: "Sea of Strangers by Lang Leav picks up from her previous international bestselling books including Love & Misadventure, Lullabies, and The Universe of Us, and sets sail for a grand new adventure."

This is a collection of both poems and prose. There are quick and to the point pieces, as well as ones that are a little longer, but worth every word. These poems were written with emotions that you can feel as you're reading.

Another set of poems that I would recommend for anyone who collects poetry!

I received a digital ARC of Lang Leav's latest poetry collection, Sea of Strangers, via Net Galley and Andrew McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I've perused the pages of Leav's other collections on a number bookstore runs, but nothing I read ever spoke to me enough to purchase her books. Sea of Strangers managed to shift my opinion of her work - this collection contains some genuinely gorgeous poems. I've come to expect simplicity and banality from modern poetry, but I didn't find that here - well, at least not often.

I'd say I related to and marked off about 50% of the poems in this collection. I especially enjoyed the pieces that spoke of writing, such as Shelter and Writing and Poetry and Prose. There were also a handful of poems that discussed family, depression, and life in general. These are the ones that kept me flipping through the pages, eager to find more like them.

As always, the poems about love and heartbreak just didn't connect with me. Existential angst is more up my alley when it comes to poetry topics. But regardless of whether the poems touched me on a personal level or not, I was still able to find value in most of them. The language and metaphors Leav uses, especially when speaking of nature, are so powerful that it's difficult to read them without feeling awe.

Of course, there were a few of Leav's works that came off sounding like clichéd Facebook quotes. I'm sure some readers do enjoy this type of poetry, but it just isn't my jam. That said, these poems were few and far between, so I wouldn't judge the entire collection based off of them.

I gave Sea of Strangers a 3 out of 5 star rating on Goodreads. I recommend it to fans of modern poetry, and especially to those who enjoy reading about matters of the heart. While every poem didn't resonate with me, I think there's something for everyone to relate to in this collection.

Another fantastic book by Lang Leave. Here poems are extremely accessible, and you can't help but sit and read it in one continual sitting. Her words come from the heart and her feeling and emotions feel as though they are your own.

I've read 3 of lang leav's books within the past 3 months and I can definitely see how much stronger her writing has gotten. I really enjoy this one! It was so beautiful and (as always) pulls on the heartstrings. I feel like this collection talked about other themes besides love/relationships, and I really enjoyed that. I found that even the ones about love weren't as sickeningly lovey dovey. I really do like poems/collections about love, I just don'y like ones that make me want to barf lol. But I really did like this. This is my second favorite right behind the universe of us. Overall I gave it 4 stars and I'm happy to say I'm officially a fan of Lang Leav.

"There are days when the melancholy settles on you like a sudden change in weather.The kind of sadness that is intangible.Like the presence of an ache where you can't pinpoint exactly where it hurts,you just know it does."

I enjoyed this collection of prose and poetry a lot! I had read two of her previous collections and I was disappointed, so I didn't have high hopes when I picked this one up. Honestly, I think that in this book the writer shows more of herself. Each poem and piece of prose is well written and raw. Her writing is definitely more mature! My favourite poems were Strength and Smoke & Mirrors and the prose piece that stuck with me was "Writing".

I definitely recommend it to her fans and anyone that wants to read about love and heartbreak in a poetic form.

Sea of Strangers is a poetry and prose collection about love, breakup, loss and your fragile heart. Sea of Strangers is a beautiful poetry and prose collection and also the first collection that I’ve ever read written by Lang Leav. I really like Lang Leav’s writing style and I cannot wait to discover more poems written by her!

I could relate to so many poems, so here are the titles of my favourite poems:
You Had Me Once
Witness
Moving On
Anything for Love
Strength
Smoke & Mirrors
About love
The Nature of Love
Bloom
Love poetry
How Much Love

I have always loved Lang's poetry, ever since I can remember knowing it existed. I used to read her work over and over as a teen, getting lost in how emotive and haunting it was. When I saw that she was releasing a new collection, I couldn't wait to read it, and was so grateful to get my hands on it. She's been sitting on some of this work for a decade, but man, was it worth the wait.

Greet the world with no expectation.
Love as though you have never been hurt or betrayed.
Let go of the ones who take so much from you
yet offer nothing in return.

This is how you take back your power.

Lang writes of love and loss, grief and healing, power and weakness, and she switches flawlessly between poetry and prose. Her words are full of impact across every single page, and unlike many poets I enjoy, I never find her writing to be repetitive. She is confident and wise in much of this collection, offering gentle mentoring that we all need from time to time.

If you're a fan of poetry, if you're someone who's loved and lost, or even if you're just looking for a book to make you feel, the emotions that Lang describes are universal, powerful, and her delivery is perfection. I highly recommend picking this collection up.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I feel inspired by books like this. This is the very first book that I read by this author, and I am sure there will be more to come. A fast read like this in the morning really brightens up your entire day. I do recommend this book for those who may feel lost and can’t find the sense of love anymore.

“if i have learned anything this year, its that I won’t ever be ready for what life throws at me."


the poems are pretty much bittersweet with a touch of nostalgia. and if not that, something that you can relate to on a level so deep the mariana trench got jealous.

officially my favortie lang leav poem book even though most of the poems are still about love as per usual. thank you and goodbye.

I read this book recently, and I haven't had the opportunity to review it sooner. I have read almost all of Lang Leav's books so far, and it would be no exaggeration to say that I really like her work. Though I still stand by the idea of contemporary poetry being a bit shallow as compared to traditional poetry, Lang is always hitting the mark with her simple words and touching poetry. Among all her contemporaries that I've read, she is the one that I relate to the most. I kept wondering why that is, but finally I was able to deduce the link with this book.
She often relates her life, emotions and events to nature, to the changing seasons. Her words might not be sensuous but they have a beautiful link with the world around her. She compares life's changes with the changes in the world around her...she talks about autumn like it's an event in her life than a mere season. And this is why I seem to be in love with her work. This has always drawn me to writing, the kind of comparison she draws.
Overall, I think this is my favorite book by her so far!

Sea of Strangers is quite easily one of Lang Leav's best poetry collections, as she captures all the feeling that surround love and turmoil beautifully and perfectly.

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

Finished my first book for 2018. In Lang Leav's new poetry collection, Sea of Strangers is about love, breakups and healing. These topics are common from her previous collections and delivers each prose with emotions. Gladly she explores inspirational and empowering poems. It's refreshing and I like it. Overall, this is good but cliché (Especially about breakups. Majority of them are monotonous)

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

This collection of poems hit me like a freight train. There were so many of these that I related too and made me pause to collect myself before I could move onto the next one. There were poems in here that made he realize I had been feeling exactly like that and didn't know it.

This collection was exactly what I needed right now.

Leav did more than make me feel the emotions that she was trying to convey, she let me know that I'm not alone. She made me feel empowered. She let me know that I shouldn't be embarrassed about any of it and for a collection of poems I couldn't ask for more.

I feel inspired by books like this. This is the very first book that I read by this author, and I am sure there will be more to come. A fast read like this in the morning really brightens up your entire day. I do recommend this book for those who may feel lost and can’t find the sense of love anymore. Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC via NetGalley!

I love how soft her writing is, yet it can hits me all the same. The collection felt like a personal story and I really enjoyed being part of it. Some of my favorite poems are An Impossible Idea and Take Back Your Power.

Sea of strangers is the first poetry book I’ve read written by Lang Leav and I do really believe that Lang Leav words is powerful and magical. Her words were deep and beautiful. Sea of Strangers is listed now on my favourite books. The whole content of the book was too relatable and was very familiar. With those inspiring and deep words, you have this feeling that some part of you had experienced the happenings in it.

And one thing I’ve really realized on reading this book is that reading poetry books is a kind of magic to your body and soul because it touches your heart and I was about to cry with those deep words. And I promise to myself that I will buy a lot of poetry books including other poetry books written by Lang Leav and I will definitely say to myself and to everyone that I am a real hopeless romantic. And this poetry book really deserves to be heard and read. This book is simple yet so amazing.

When I was reading this book, I felt like I was floating in the air, it’s just like it’s me and the book that I’m reading. It felt like I am the only person that is existing in this world. I am really thankful for those deeply magical words that Lang Leav brought in this book, those words inspired me so much and I felt that I was really existing. Lang Leav’s poetry and prose entries were just close to my heart.

Beautiful and poignant, I'll be thinking about this collection for a long time.

Sea of Strangers is a great collection of poetry, delving into themes of self-discovery, love, loss and so much more. Creating a vivid portrait of life, I found myself eagerly devouring each of these poems. I'll definitely be checking out more of this authors work in future.

I absolutely adored this book. I have one poetry collection by Lang Leav but I haven't had the chance to pick it up yet. This was a good book to start with because it was so relatable. I could feel all of Lang's words, and the emotion was so strong. It is so powerful and is all about female empowerment. It was an amazing collection, and I am so glad I was able to read this ahead of time. I know I will be buying the physical copy soon!

I think this is by far my favorite Lang Leav book of poetry to date. Her poems and prose of love and heartbreak continue to consume me and I find myself thinking of her works long after I’ve put the book down.

This is a solid book of poems and there are several lines in here that took my breath away. I am looking forward to watching the growth and future work of Leav, there is great talent here.

Lang Leav is not an unknown name in the poetry world, which left fans with a certain amount of excitement and anticipation leading up to her newest release. I, too, was eager to read Leav’s latest work since I’d been following her career from the days when she’d only been publishing on Tumblr. What Leav gives readers in her latest collection is what they’ve come to know from her: a story of love, love lost, and glimmers of hope that things will get better.

The word “sea” in the title Sea of Strangers is used symbolically and literally in Leav’s work. There is a sense that the narrator is working to cleanse herself of a love that she cannot let go of. As much as the narrator wants to let go of a love she cannot, she also searches for the recognition from other poets that what she felt was real and that she isn’t the only one who has ever felt like this. In the prose piece, “Witness,” Leav writes:

“It’s the mark of a great poet to write words that feel as though they stood witness to your most intimate memory of love.”
(p. 13).

“Witness” is one of the pieces that takes the reader out of the love story the poems create and into what could easily be the narrator’s journal. But where the pieces of prose act as a way for the narrator to understand herself better, the poems show us what she really wants: her former lover back. In the poem “Borrowed Love,” the narrator speaks directly to her former lover’s new partner:

“Kiss him if you want to,
But keep this in mind — 
You are a tourist here
I was his first love
And I will be his last.”
(p. 141).

The feeling I was left with once I finished Sea of Strangers was that I’d read two separate collections. On one hand, it was a eulogy for a love lost that the narrator was struggling to be able to let go of. On the other, a feminist call to action directed at young writers and poets to keep following their dreams. This is what makes Leav’s collection stand out: its authentic humanity. As we progress through stages of grief just as the narrator does over the loss of her love, our thoughts and feelings aren’t contained to one specific aspect of theme. Leav expertly brings myriad topics together and leaves the reader with their own “what ifs.”

This is the second book I read by Lang Leav.
I didn’t love the first one but this being the first poetry book of hers I read, I was hopeful.
And I was right to be.

I enjoyed it. It was both some prose and poetry.
Some of it were more powerful to me than others, but overall, I breathe through it and felt a lot reading it...

Thank you for sending me this galley, however unfortunately I was unable to access this book on my e-reader.

This is so beautiful. There something so serene about her words. It calms you down. There is this hidden hope and realisation.

This was a really great read! I've never read Leav's poetry before but now I might check out her other works as well. On top of being relaxing to read it was also really quick. I definitely recommend this to Leav's fans and other poetry lovers. 4 Stars

I adore Lang Leav. I have been a fan of her work for many years, and have read every one of her books (many of them more than once), and each time I finish one, I am left feeling a whirl wind of emotions. No matter how many times I read her poetry, I am always left in awe by her writing. Something about her writing is so serene and her words flow together beautifully.

So much of what she writes deeply resonates with me, and I often find myself thinking back on her words when I am going through a difficult time. Her poetry is such a comfort to me, and I am endlessly grateful for the existence of her poems. Even though all of her poetry in collections are similar in nature, I still find each one to be unique and beautiful in its own way.

I have actually had a copy of Sea of Strangers in my possession for a while now, but it wasn’t until recently that I finally picked it up and read it. I now realize that I was meant to wait to read it, as I am currently going through a difficult time, and once again, Lang Leav provided me the exact comfort that I am desperately in need of.

Sea of Strangers is an emotionally beautiful and empowering collection of prose and poetry about love, loss, healing, and self-discovery. This collection was incredibly moving, and I definitely had tears in my eyes when I read some of the poems.

I highly recommend this book (along with all of her other books if you have not yet read them!), especially to anybody that is going through a tough time and is in need of healing.

Lang Leav is truly a gift to the poetry world, and I am impatiently awaiting the release of her next book!

Aside from Lang Leav’s usual theme of poetry like love and heartbreak, this book has more poems about empowerment and self-discovery which I absolutely loved reading. This would probably be my favorite poetry collection of Lang Leav. Always looking forward to the next one!

The evolution of Lang Leav and her writing is obvious in this book! Her poetry is amazing and I can't wait to see more of her