I’ve been following Amanda Lovelace, aka ladybookmad, for several years, even way back during her Tumblr days. She’s so kind, honest, and empowering, and I was SO excited for, and ended up really enjoying The Princess Saves Herself in This One. So, when I found out about book #2, I really wanted to read it. Even though I don’t read poetry very often, I’m still happy I was able to read this book!


Like I said, I don’t read a lot of poetry, but despite that, there’s just something in Amanda Lovelace’s writing that is just so readable and relatable. Her writing is so honest, raw, and personal. This book, along with book #1, really allows you to get inside the author’s head. I felt what she felt. The anger, the pain, the hurt, the hope; I felt it all.

Because of how personal The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One is, though, it makes it difficult for me to review. Every person experiences things differently, and so while I do not agree with everything the author wrote about, and the way she handled certain things might not be how I would react, this book is honest and true to herself. For that, I appreciate it. That being said, I do not think I enjoyed this book as much as her first one. I, personally, just could not connect as well. There were several poems that really stood out to me that I adored, but the rest of them just didn’t grab me the same way as they did in The Princess Saves Herself in This One.

I think this book is not for everyone. I will say, though, that I think this book really will speak to, inspire, motivate, and touch someone. So, even though I didn’t love it, I know that someone else will. I would recommend this book anyone who is a fan of modern poetry, or is looking for something different to read.

The way I rate poetry depends entirely on the emotional response I have. Usually with books, I look at the writing, the main character, plot developments. Poetry, on the other hand, is much more complicated and I am not by any means a master (nor am I with books, but obviously nothing is stopping me). So, I usually just go with whatever reaction I have. If I have no reaction, then most likely I will rate it low. If I do, then well it depends on the emotion evoked and my interpretation of the written words.

If I had to give a emotion to what this poetry book made me feel, it would be empowerment. While Lovelace’s last book was enjoyable it didn't have me respond like this one. I read this in one day because I wanted to keep the feeling alive. I fully believe this is the type of poetry book you can skip to any page everyday and love what your reading, while feeling like a women building herself up to great feats.

I am a 30 year old women and it's somewhat refreshing to still became so open to a non self help book and feel this way (although, this is a self help book in it's own way). While there formatting was a slightly bothersome I really loved the book. A must read for any girl/women who need encouragement and support.

I really love Amanda Lovelace's poetry. I loved her first book (review linked above), and I follow her on twitter - she's great. So when I saw her second poetry book, a continuation from the first, though reading Princess isn't necessarily necessary, I immediately requested it.

I think I may like the witch doesn't burn in this one better than the princess saves herself in this one. I liked the more prose sounding poems, and I thought this one had better organization and flow than the first. The imagery and symbols were interesting, and you could tell she was speaking/writing from the heart. Also: inclusive feminist, always a positive.

I really recommend this volume. Especially if you liked her previous book.

Revolutionary, revengeful, raging poems are what The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One has to offer. I really enjoyed and loved The Princess Saves Herself in This One that is why I was so pumped to read this one. Surprisingly and sadly, I felt like the poems in the second collection in the Women Are Some Kind of Magic series just lost their impact on me.

First time around, I felt nothing and I had to go back to the very start from 43% just to give this another shot. Second time around, it was almost just the same. I was really struggling – my mind, specifically – and I desperately need something or someone to cheer me up, encourage me, or even just entertain me to let this mind be relieved from the anxiety and stress. That’s why I decided to read this book as my savior. But I wasn’t saved. I felt like I would probably have been saved if I read another collection instead. It was disappointing.

Don’t get me wrong, I know many loved this. And it’s not totally bad. But re-reading this, I couldn’t even recall the poems I was rereading because of how unremarkable they were. I remembered only the metaphors but not the poems or even just the thought of the poems. Some of the poems were just like lines passing through my eyes. I got the thought, but there just wasn’t any feeling. I should have been greatly impacted by the poems full of rage, of revolt, and of revenge, but I wasn’t. I also didn’t like the writing. I simply liked and felt only some of the poems.

If you want feminist, Lovelace won’t disappoint. I am also disappointed with its “feminist” theme. Yes, there were tons of empowering poems for women BUT I can’t help but feel like there was something off while reading some of the poems. It focused so much on “revenge”, too much that I can already feel the misconception of feminism. I couldn’t help but get the message of turning the tables around, of making women superior and men inferior. Of not fighting for equality but just getting revenge on the boys with matches.

What I only loved was the metaphors used because *obviously* I have this thing with fire and magic and stuffs like these. Still, this is so far from what I thought I would get. The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One isn’t as feisty as it seems.

Amanda Lovelace pens her second poetry collection about women, marginalization, misogyny, sexual abuse, and so much more. This time, we’re indestructible.

I love these collections. There’s something so incredibly empowering about them. The whole time I’m reading them, I just want to post every single page on Instagram. I’m hoping she releases another special edition hardcover of this one so I can get it in hardcover. I’m also definitely buying these for the library because I want some teenage girls to feel the power I felt while reading these. Must read!

I don't know why I wasted my time with this one. "the princess saves herself in this one" was AWFUL, but I thought I would give Amanda Lovelace a second chance. She disappointed. This collection is somehow even worse.

I’ve rated this poetry collection according to what it’s about and the issues it focuses on instead of the poetry itself. That doesn’t mean the poetry is bad, just that, they didn’t always gave me what I expected. Somethings are for aesthetic purposes while some are just the poet’s style (called the free verse)--which I’m greatly impressed by.

The collection covers a wide range of topics from abuse to stigma against menstruation, and like any other poetry, a few can relate to me while a few can relate to you. That’s just how reading perception differs and should be treated in a healthy way. Without deviating from the review any further, let’s get back to the good and bad stuff.

There’s a raw honest in each of the poems. No, I haven’t read Amanda Lovelace’s poetry before this (not the every so famous Princess Saves Herself In This One) so it was a surprise to see a poet’s emotions jumping at me with a great leap. This makes the poems empowering and all the more real.

The poems speak up against trivial things that aren’t actually trivial. I remember one poem spoke about politeness and how being polite shouldn’t be something a woman should do always by default. Especially not when the other person isn’t polite in the first place. The poem ends with a line: ‘get up, you’re nobody’s doormat.’ It’s the little additions here and there that pop out and make me feel stronger.

The structuring is gripping and reflects a more woven together collection with four parts: the trial, the burning, the firestorm, and the ashes. It reads like a story when you can read each poem separately as much. The formatting is well thought out and I’m all for aesthetics so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the red colored font garned extra points.

There are rants about rape, physical abuse, misogyny, body shaming, and just about all the things that women have to go through despite of coming so far in time. I appreciate the poet for fulminating about such saddened issues and for bringing intersectional feminism into the pages of a white and red collection.

However, some ideas are too straight up generalized and that’s something I can’t fully support. I don’t believe that all women are right and all men are wrong (that’s not what the poems are all about) so it’s hard for me to read about boys being completely generalized as the match-boys and being submitted to a collective rage. Basically, as much I’m against misogyny, I’m against misandry too--after all, feminism isn’t about hating men.

Overall, it’s a really good book that I would definitely recommend for poetry differs with taste and you might love this so much more than I did. Plus, we need more feminism oriented literature so let’s push up the few do have.

Trigger Warnings: misogyny, misandry, rape, physical abuse, body shaming, transphobia, child abuse, intimate partner abuse. Violence, fire, menstruation, sexual assault, eating disorders, trauma, death, murder.

This was fantastic. The concept and the metaphors were mind-blowingly beautiful. This was pure perfection.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book contains moving poems about women. I could not recommend this enough to women in my life.

After reading Amanda Lovelace's *The Princess Saves Herself in this One,* I was hooked on her poetry. Needless to say, I eagerly awaited the arrival of *The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One.* This collection of poetry was well-written, well-executed, and clearly driven by passion. It surely satisfied my craving for feminist poetry, as well as tackling a variety of issues, including sexual assault, female empowerment, and body positivity. Although it was a quick read and some poems were relatively short, they were packed with deep meanings, themes, and strong words. Collectively, I went through a range of emotion while reading. The poems were able to evoke a very strong, raw feeling within me, as well as inspire me and motivate me. Once again, Lovelace has proved herself as a strong voice in contemporary poetry and I greatly look forward to her next release.

Thank you to Amanda Lovelace, ladybookmad, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy of “the witch doesn't burn in this one” for an honest review.

I continue to be madly, head over heels, in love with all of Amanda Lovelace’s poetry. From the Process to the witch, I love the empowerment her books talk about. Wrenching women from their roles and putting power back in her life, and all those who read her works.

I will continue to recommend her to my students, and purchase her for myself and my poetry loving friends.

When I saw that Amanda’s second book was up on NetGalley I jumped at the chance to read it.From the get go I was impressed simply because the font was also red. I wanted to love and cry over this book as much as her previous one.

However this wasn’t really the case. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed this poetry collection, in fact I’m sharing two of my favourites that I picked out for you, it just didn’t have the same grip for me that her first book did. No doubt I’m still gonna buy a copy!
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I enjoyed how powerful they felt and how its very true to what a lot of women have to deal with.

Amanda definitely knows her target audience, knows her fans, and writes amazing poetry for them. I’m definitely somewhat included.

I felt a few poems were noticeably weaker due to the over use of hyphenated words as they made the flow of the poetry difficult to read for me. I know the repetitive use of these words were part of the aesthetic and highlighted the themes to the poems but for me it just didn’t work and lowered my enjoyment.

So whilst this wasn’t a favourite of mine, I still enjoyed most of the poems and will continue to read whatever else Amanda creates!

Keep up your hard work Amanda, I know you’re a huge inspiration to many people.

I was able to borrow a copy of this book from a friend, and I really enjoyed this collection. I connected with a lot of Amanda Lovelace's works in the past and I wasn't disappointed by this one. Highly recommendable for avid fans of the genre.

I love the poetry created by Amanda Lovelace and this collection does not disappoint. I enjoyed experiencing the storyline and emotions throughout the poems and feeling somewhat closer to the writer through shared thoughts. I would always recommend Lovelace to anyone, poetry lovers or not.

The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One is a follow-up to Lovelace's previous poetry collection titled The Princess Saves Herself in this One. These are poems full of vim and vinegar, full of fury and rage. There are poems that rail against how women are treated in general, how men attempt to keep women down, eroding confidence, about how women are seen as 'not good enough’. These poems, they promote women's confidence as well. They lift women up, pushing against stereotypes. There were a few of the poems that left me uncomfortable. Ones that dealt with murder of oppressors. Still, this is an important collection that everyone would benefit from reading.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

After reading and loving the princess saves herself in this one last year, I knew I would need to read Amanda Lovelace's next poetry collection. The witch doesn't burn in this one is full of so much anger and intersectional feminism. It is feisty and fierce, and it is perfect for the #MeToo movement.

I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. Due to the general hype around Milk and Honey, I've kept away from poetry books because I just didn't get it. But with The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One, I do. I get it. It conveys such important messages and I want everyone to read it and learn something from it.

What I liked
- The structure was adding more meaning to it and made it easier to read a portion of the poems at a time, while that portion was still a coherent set.
- It was incredibly artistically pleasing and I think most people would agree.
- It deals with so many important issues that everyone should have thought about at least once in their lifetime and try to change themselves for the better in order to make this world a better place for everyone.
- I don't think I've missed anything by reading this one first instead of starting with the The Princess Saves Herself in this One.

*eARC kindly provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley*

Very short, a little repetitive in some places, but also super enjoyable and relatable. I love poetry, and I appreciated this a lot, and it has so many pretty, fiery words. I just don't have a whole lot to say about it! I'm still getting used to how poetry collections are generally published, so I wasn't always sure how well the structure worked out here. And I do think the criticisms of it are valid. However, I think it's worth a read! It's super quick, and female-focused, which I love.

some destruction is beautiful.

Rating: 3.5 Paw Prints!

Unfortunately, this collection of poetry ended up really disappointing me. After the fantastic first collection, The Princess Saves Herself in This One, I felt rather let down by this one. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it quite a bit, but I didn’t think it was on par with Lovelace’s previous work. Her first collection tells a story of her life—a personal journey of discovery with messages that evoke intense and relatable emotions. Alongside these poems, there is a loose fairytale-type narrative going on at the end of each section, and they reflect every part of her journey.

That same format of the background story is true for this collection, but the poems deal with broader topics, so they don’t have that same intimate quality as her previous poetry. Lovelace deals with some incredibly tough matters here, and she does so in a very eye-opening way. However, though I of course applaud the fact that she is speaking out on these subjects, I just personally did not feel as emotionally invested in the poems, and I found them a bit repetitive at times.

One of the things that still rings true in this collection is Lovelace’s incredible talent for writing beautiful and impactful poetry. Though these particular poems did not resonate with me quite as much as her others, her words are still extremely powerful and relatable. Everything she has to say is thought-provoking and empowering, but the messages she is trying to convey come across as somewhat one-sided at times.

She has a very strong feminist voice, though I felt that she approached the topic in more of an all-or-nothing style rather than speaking in an equal and balanced way. Feminism, and any type of empowerment movement in general, should not focus on being dominant over others, but should instead focus on creating equality among all. I still do very much enjoy Lovelace’s poetry, so I definitely plan on continuing to read her work in the future.

To be honest, I prefer the first one. This, for me, came out too strong for my taste. Rough and angry instead of peaceful and soft. But that's just me. Apart from this, I manage only to read maybe half of the book, did not finish it. It felt as if the author was very angry and I maybe that's how it suppose to come out, so it wasn't my cup of tea. Some passages were great but overall, I would give this book maybe 2 out 5.