Amanda Lovelace's debut book of poetry is both painful and cathartic as she takes us through the stages of her life, from an abusive mother and bad boyfriend to self-acceptance and a healthy relationship. Some of her poems are on point (see her poem about beibg an English major, and the one about growing up surrounded by books) while others are too descriptive, too much showing. I think this would bw the perfect book of poetry to give to a 16 year old girl that has an interest in writing. Thinking of myself at that age, I'd have enjoyed it much more. Lovelace gives a "Happy ending" spoiler in the beginning, and I think as a teenager, I'd have appreciated that-knowing that it does get better.

This collection worked in that I didn't put it down and enjoyed the style and organization, did not work in some of the poems themselves. However, poetry is certainly in the eyes of the beholdet, and I can see how it would be healthy for her to write then and others to read them.

This was such a beautiful book. I loved the writing and it almost felt like I could FEEL what the author felt when she wrote those words. Absolutely magnificent!

I'm
tired
of
people
thinking
poetry
is
hitting
the
space
bar

I just didn't like the poetry.

The poems are absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking. I can't wait to buy a copy for rereading over and over again.

so so so so so so beautiful!
if you like Rupi Kaur, you'll love this collection by Amanda Lovelace

I have been hearing “The Princess Saves Herself in this One” for some time now, never quite knowing what it was exactly and honestly never had the time to do even the quickest of Google searches to find out. When I saw it on NetGalley and found out it was poetry I decided to give it a try. I’m not very experienced in poetry, it was never a focus in my English class (which I’m sad to admit) so I’ll only be reviewing what I thought of it and not critiquing the writing or anything somebody more adept in these things could do a better job of critiquing.

The book is divided in four sections: “the princess, the damsel, the queen and you”, and while you could easily read each section separately I found each section flowed smoothly together. There was a clear progression of emotion and there were many sections that brought tears to my eyes, resonating deeply in my heart.

"where
do all the
memories go,
the ones we
hide away
with
lock &
key yet
continue
to shape
us all the
s a m e

– did it really happen if I can’t remember it?"

Most, actually almost all, of this book was in my opinion written as a catharsis for Amanda herself. But she thankfully decided to share her beautiful words and all of her deepest emotions with the world. My favourite part of the entire book was the part for “you” the reader, it had many of my favourite (and admittedly less sad) pieces.

"if you ever
look at
your reflection
& feel the desire
to tell yourself

you’re not
good enough,
beautiful enough,
skinny enough,
curvy enough,

then I think
its about time
you smashed
that mirrior
to bits,

don’t you?

– use those fragments to make stepping-stones to your own self-love."

Disclaimer: the format of the above quotes is not exact as
it may be in ARCs or in the final published pages.

For my first foray in the world of poetry I’d say it was a success and I’ll definitely be interested in reading more pieces of poetry in the future.

I can't remember the last book of poetry I read, so I don't really have a good basis of comparison for this book. I was intrigued by the idea of poetry that followed the author overcoming a difficult past and writing feminist poetry, but to me it didn't feel like any kind of poetry I'm familiar with. I did get something out of some of the writing but at other times it felt like a few sentences broken up with the "enter" key, more so than profound thoughts. I can see the appeal and I can appreciate the catharsis the author seems to have gotten out of writing this, although I'm surprised this book has as much widespread appeal as it seems to.

A very short and quick read (I got through it in one sitting easily) and worth a shot for those interested in this one.

Not what I had in mind. Just short sentences and a lot of space.

Perhaps I'm too much of a purist, or too old-school, but I like my poetry to feel like poetry. I want poetry that when you read it out loud, the words feel luxurious on your tongue and the air in the room electrifies. To me, sadly, this poetry collection did not do that. The poems felt mundane, banal even when the subject matter was dark and painful. The language had a lot to do with that. I won't go as far as to say that this was not poetry because, really, what is modern poetry? But most of the poems felt amateurish, they barely scratched the surface. You could tell, in between lines, that the author had experienced pain but none of it transcended the page. I was left mostly tepid.

Why give it two stars and not one? Because some of the poems were nice, not great, but nice. Something I'd reblog on tumblr or repost on Instagram. I liked them, I just didn't feel like they were poetry-book material.

I'd heard great things about this book, after all it's a Goodreads 2016 winner, but I can't help but think that there must have been other more deserving poetry books out there. As I said, I'm not much for modern poetry, preferring the classics or at most the Latin Americans like Dario and Neruda and perhaps it's me who's disconnected from modern poetry. I love poetry, though, I even use to recite poetry in contests as a child (nerd alert!), but this one didn't cut it for me. Speaking it, didn't make me feel like other poetry does: glad to be alive, less alone, more human. This book fell short of my expectations.

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me a copy in exchange of my honest review.

This poem collection is a perfect example of poetry in time of internet. Those poems are not complicated, there are no big words, sophisticated constructions. Those poems are simple, they are easy to understand and to feel. And this is the perfect poetry for me, because I want simple, I want something I can understand immediately, something I can feel, not interpret.

In case of collection of poems, it would be very hard for me to find one that I could rate more than three starts. Because I think it will be impossible for me to love the whole collections so much. I loved few poems, I liked and enjoyed some more, but half of them didn't speak to me. For me, this is the beauty of poetry - you can always find something for yourself. In every collection, it is highly probable that there will be this one gem that speaks to you, no matter how awful other poems were.

the princess saves herself in this one is an amazing collection that many will love. And many already did love it, because after it was self published, it was so successful that publisher picked it up. Amazing! Well done author and publisher :)

Gorgeous writing! Beautifully crafted...Raw, inspired, honest... painful to read but such truth and soul! EVERY young woman MUST read. Moms and daughters need to have honest open dialogue. Read through NetGalley but will absolutely be buying my own copy. I cried tears of sadness and joy. My first real connection and appreciation of poetry!

This is exactly how poetry should be. Every word chosen with such care to best evoke emotion in the reader. This collection cut me to the bone, and then I convinced everyone I know to read it in order to make them share my suffering. This book is so important. I have already ordered in copies for our bookshop, and recommended it far and wide.

I absolutely LOVED this book and it has completely turned me back on to poetry. It helped that I really related to the themes of most of the poems but also that they were so beautifully written.

I absolutely loved this poem collection! Great for empowering and encouraging women of all ages!

This is an emotionally charged poetry collection that explores the life of the poet and deals with love, loss, grief, abuse, and finding and being true to yourself.

My thoughts:
This book was a little hard for me to rate. I loved the poetry in this book and I zoomed through it very quickly because I couldn’t get enough. But this poetry was also personal. It was so personal and so raw and true and vivid that at times I felt a little uncomfortable. I felt I was stepping into a personal zone that I ought not be. But at the same time, I liked that about the author. I love how true and personal and how “real” her poetry is. I like how she doesn’t mince words, how she uses metaphor, and how the author finds hope, inspiration and some empowerment through her journey. I also liked how this poetry wasn’t cliché, because I feel like anymore nowadays, things fall into that realm much to easily.

the princess saves herself in this one is book of poetry that's making a powerful impact on many who read it, even becoming a Goodreads Choice Award for Poetry winner. Its thoughts in short bursts cover topics that range from abuse and relationships to learning how to love yourself.

I had to do a bit of research before writing this review because I immediately saw the resemblance of this work to Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't the only one that saw the similarities, and I was curious to see which one had been published first. The problem with these two books being so similar in style is that it's hard when one piece of work has had such an impact for the other work to not look like an imposter.

Lovelace's poetry is short and sweet in style, heavy in subject, but tends to overdo the explanation endings

-because the reader should be told what the author meant

This is also a style form used by Kaur, but more sparingly and not as explanatory. It's not to say that one is better than the other when it comes to an overall impact on a reader. I really enjoyed the first few poems and much of the last section of this book. It is definitely a case of which one you read first. I read Milk and Honey before the princess saves herself in this one, so I prefer the first one. Other reviewers out there who have read both prefer this one over Milk and Honey because that's what they read first.

No matter which one appeals to readers more, can we all just rejoice in the fact that these fierce writers are getting people to read more poetry?

I’ve found reviews bashing this type of poetry, comparing it to “classic” poetry; and I’m not going to talk like these poems are really deep and intellectual… Because it definitely isn’t the same as what those people are comparing it to; but that doesn’t mean that these poems are not meaningful!

This poetry collection is divided into four parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, and you. There were poems that got me thinking so much, I had to drop the book for the rest of the day and just think about it. So no, this was not something I could “devour” in one sitting, because it kept me thinking too much.

I’m not talking about how I interpreted the poems; because poetry can mean different things to everyone; but I did enjoy the poems and you could see how the author grows from the “damsel in distress” to an empowered woman/queen.

At times, I found myself reading the same poems multiple times before feeling ready to pass the page. While there are some poems that hit home, regarding family and self-love, my favorite poem was about our generation; the millennials.

Overall rating: 3.75 stars

This book of poetry was so emotionally connected and relatable. Lovelace talks about death and grief and abuse and mental illness and love in ways that make your stomach flip. Her ability to wield emotion in such few words is truly incredible. Please read this.

I really wanted to love it but I simply could not. It did not sit well with me. One of the reason is probably me being used to an old-style poetry instead
of lines
divided by
enter key.

I do think that the texts were good but it is not really a poetry to me. So I struggled to connect.