I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting me have an early copy of this book for an honest review.

Smoke & Mirrors falls in the 2.5 range for me.

I picked this book up because of the cover and got caught up in the poetry easily. It was relatable and heartbreaking and really made me want to keep turning the page. Faudet did a wonderful job of putting certain feelings into so few words, but as soon as the poems turned into short stories momentum I had slowed down. It was harder to get back into the flow afterward. The short stories didn't pack the same punch for me that the poems did and in my mind, that made the book lose some of its luster.

I didn't know this going in that the author will write erotic things, so when that came up in this book that was another turn off for me as that simply isn't my cup of tea and that scene was fairly detailed.

Overall, I thought the poems were good, but this isn't a book that is going to stick with me for very long.

I'm a big fan of poetry book and have read all Michael's poetry books. And this one ain't disappointed me at all. I love the books. :)

This not-so-thick book contains poems and proses, mostly poems. Reading it, in general, I liked it. Very much a big fan of the author's writing style, and the publishing house's editing and proof-reading. All in high quality.

I like reading poems with/from different perspectives. Most poems show various aspects of love in the era of modernity. It could grow deeper, broader.

I have a love hate relationship with Faudet but reading his poems is always a guilty pleasure.

I’ve been a fan of Michael’s work since the release of his first book. Smoke & Mirrors delivers the same quality of writing from the author and features similar topics from his previous books. The book covers a variety of themes from the sexual to heartbreak to melancholy to love with some happiness thrown in. Some of my favorite parts of this book were the stories that were included. I really liked the way the author told the stories and created a storyline that that was complete and impactful in a short amount of time. If you’ve read and enjoyed one of Michael’s other books, then you will not be disappointed with Smoke & Mirrors.

If am not wrong, this is the third book of poems by the Author. I loved the previous books that I've read by him 😍. ..while the debate about new age poets and the traditional poets is on an all time high, Micheal is one poet that I really enjoy amongst others... The poems are sensual and have a hint of magic in them! The book has poems ranging from two lines to two pages and there are little stories - making this book a wholesome entertainment 😍.. I have shared some poems on my stories, and there are some that will stay with me for a long time 😀
If you enjoy poetry that is raw, sensual and magical - read Poet's books already 😀
"Dappled light plays hide and seek,
With summer leaves
Of rustling green..
The restless swan in rippling pond,
Your hand in mine where it belongs..
A pale blue sky with red balloons,
A coffee stirred with plastic spoon,
A park side view our kisses sent- from trembling lips and melting hearts... How lovers pass a perfect day .."

Beautiful and captivating. I read it twice, it was so moving.

"Love is a little like religion. You need to have faith before miracles can happen."


this is just full of heartbreaking truths that are just so dam beautiful.

I am trash for poetry books but I am more trash for Micheal Faudet poetry books. It's all so eye opening and makes me heart ache in all the right ways that I am surprised I am still breathing right now.


"poetry can only be written by the heart"

Smoke & Mirrors is a collage of erotic encounters and graphic recollections that refuse to conform or apologize for its existence and honestly, I don't want it to, Faudet's poems are sound reminders of the unique and yet, connected experiences we all face. They're infused with guilty pleasures.

The main downside to it is the length.

Smoke & Mirrors is provocative, blunt, and an invitation to get under the skin.

Smoke & Mirrors is a poetry collection full of poems, prose and short stories about falling in love, depression and heartbreak.

Smoke & Mirrors is yet another amazing poetry collection. This poetry collection has so many beautiful poems, prose and short stories. I like Smoke & Mirrors so much because it’s not only poetry but also so much more. It tells us a lot about love, broken hearts and feeling sad and depressed. It’s also special in a way I can’t describe. I read Smoke & Mirrors in one day because it was that good!

I cannot wait to read more of Michael Faudet’s work and here are the titles of my favourite poems:
Anticipation
Just Hold Me Tight
I Wish
Why Clouds Cry
Damaged Goods
Careless Words
The Love We Share
Perspective
Death
The Love You Give
The Words You Say
You Lived For Books

Thank you Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was meant to be a POETRY book and I ended up with a book relating a man experience with sex, orgies, promiscuity and vulgar acts and language.
Totally NOT for me.

It seems that today anything that comes to a person's mind, it is written down and called "poetry".

I was a bit disappointed. It could have been so much more. The poet's voice is not lively. His poetry, a bit dull.

I have posted a YouTube video review where I compared and reviewed this poetry collection with Peluda and I wore my blackest hair. This was the most different from the other collections, and also my favourite from the author. I found parts cringy and overly sexual. I wouldn't recommend this if you didn't enjoy his previous work. I didn't enjoy the fact that he tried to amalgamate short stories, quotes and poetry. Overall it was a pretty average collection.

2.5 stars

Not as good as his first book, but better than his second one. I feel like his first collection was cool, but he never really created new poems. All his poems tell stories about the sexy escapades he's had with women. His use of language is sometimes creative, but it's not consistently pretty or thought-provoking. I'd recommend his first book, but the other two don't really do much for me. I started skim reading most of the longer pieces because they're repetitive and of average quality.

Meh...I don't know, after Rupi Kaur I think there is an inflation of this "twitter poems" all around. As I'm far from being a poetry expert I cannot say what really bothered me about this book, but mostly I got this feeling that I could have written something similar on my diary when I was an adolescent, but some I found good enough. Mixed feelings in the end.

Veramente non saprei che dire di questo libro, dopo il successo di Rupi Kaur ritengo ci sia in giro una vera inflazione di questi "twitter poems", ma siccome non sono un'esperta di poesia mi limito a dire che c'é qualcosa, in questo libro, che mi porta a pensare che qualcosa di simile fosse scritto anche sul mio diario di terza media, ma alcune poesie invece mi sono piaciute. Alla fine direi che ho dei sentimenti contrastanti a riguardo.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is an emotional roller coaster! It explores those feelings of being in love so badly that it hurts and then the even more painful heartbreak that follows. This is sure to make you ache and cry.

"She was a muse
cursed with melancholia,
her tears the ink
on my typewriter ribbon."


I read this book in one sitting not because I enjoyed it but because it was a short read. It has a lot of erotic poems you can feel the steam but I think it is quite toned down. The Kitty Club was not new for me I feel I read a story similar before.

I love poetry, I really do but I guess this was not for me.

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

I enjoy Faudet’s work and enjoyed Smoke & Mirrors.

What I like about his work is that it usually contains a mixture of poetry and prose and Smoke & Mirrors is no exception. I’m all for poetry, having written over a thousand myself, but sometimes you need a slightly larger form to get the message across.

I felt the work in Smoke & Mirrors was a lot more narrative and story-like that his other collections Bitter Sweet Love and Dirty Pretty Things. His work has a new depth and maturity.

I really enjoyed the work in Smoke & Mirrors. This collection is split into themed sections and my favourites were A Beautiful Conundrum, Black Stockings, A Morning In Paris, Damaged Goods and Far Away.

Smoke & Mirrors by Michael Faudet is the poet's third collection of published poetry. Faudet is a bit of a mystery and there is some question as to if he is actually a creation of Lang Leav. I don't subscribe to that explanation but there is a similarity between the two in writing and the fact that they are partners may add to that speculation. Faudet does seem to follow R.H. Sin in not providing personal information. The style of the three poets mentioned above does seem to follow the same format of short poems about a single loved one.

I read Faudet's Pretty Dirty Things last year and found that he had a talent for pushing limits without the reader knowing that he or she are crossing any. Faudet's poems do tend to be a bit longer than the two or three line "song lyric quotes" that have been unbelievably popular with the younger hip crowd. In this collection, there is a rather lengthy piece of prose near the middle. The prose is, again, like many poems, more of an adult fantasy story. Between the sex and love Faudet inserts quite a bit of vodka.

Some poems reach for more like "Freedom" and others like "Fame" are basically teenage dreams. "A Long Distance Relationship" is a prose poem chronicling the end of a relationship. In this poem, Faudet concludes with a statement outside of the poem much like a moral in a fable -- Absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. Sometimes it just teaches us that we can live apart. Singling out my favorite would have to be the story "The Missing Sock." It's conclusion, although rather simple, is a small revelation of the truth.

Smoke and Mirrors is a well-mixed collection of prose and poetry.  I was glad to see poems that were more than a few lines long and a variety of styles.  The title poem was actually very good too which is a bit of a rarity.  This is a collection that the younger crowd will enjoy.  The success of this collection, again, is in the mix of poetry and prose and the rather adult subject matter will hold most readers attention or imagination.