This was a great poetry book. I always absolutely enjoy their work and I can't wait to read more in the near future. I highly recommend it.

This was a really beautiful collection of poetry. If you love reading modern poetry, I highly recommend this! I'm looking forward to more work from this author in the future.

This definitely does not read as a debut. I've read this several times, and it never fails to amaze me. I absolutely adore Cyrus Parker's writing style, and I really look forward to any and all things they publish.

“blowing up bridges
is always better
when someone else is
pushing the button
with you.”

I have a confession to make. I am a sucker for the gentle side of tough individuals. Nothing compares to them bearing their fragile soul to you. For too long, these individuals were told that they have to be strong. That it is a weakness to share emotions. It is not. We all have brokenness at one point or another.

That is probably a huge reason why I love DROPKICKromance by Cyrus Parker. This collection tells the story of abusive first love, breaking free and finding love after abuse. I was easily wrapped up in this collection from page one and cried several times. Parker’s voice is alluring. They have the ability to weave heartbreak and ugliness into a beautiful tale of love and burying the past.

The writing style is similar to many modern poets. If you enjoy that style, odds are you will enjoy this. The poems felt deeply personal and not something they wrote to sell more collections. Never were the poems trying to be relatable. Parker was just telling their story and they owned it beautifully.

I received this book from Andrews McMeel Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think a lot of people will relate to Parker's words, even if I quite couldn't. They speak from a place of the heart that has known disappointment from a failed relationship, and from the hope of finding themselves again.

It is quite reminiscent of Lovelace's writing style but the author's voice remains their own. I am intrigued to see what else they will write in the future.

Omg the ups and downs of love. This took me all the way. The insecurities, the betrayals, the heartache. The discovery of selflove and being able to let someone love you back. Cyrus and Amanda are a dream duo.

The anthology is split in two. A before and after if you will. The before being about a bad relationship, and the after is about love, finding that person who understands you, who knows you. And you feel the heartbreak, in the first half; and then in the second half, you feel the love. The second half also focuses on building a new life and creating new stories. It made me hopeful and just like the first poem says – I’m lacing my boots with my words and dropkicking the world – I’m ready to face the world head on.

Parker is one of those poets who paints pictures with the words in the poems. As you read their poems, it’s like you’re not simply reading anymore, you’re more floating gently and listening to the words. If it makes sense. This is the first poetry book I’ve read from Parker and I’m definitely wanting to read more.

Favourite Quotes:

her shadow:
what is more innocent than a girl and her cat?

I’m not sure if the next quote is considered an official quote from the anthology but I do like it very much:

I’m lacing my boots with my words and dropkicking the world.

a web of hopeless romantics:
we have the entire world/at our fingertips,/so why should we limit ourselves/to only what’s around us?

DROPKICKromance drop kicked my heart with it’s use of emotion. I found myself relating to so many poems Cyrus wrote. It is an easily accessible poetry book to read. I believe this is great for anyone who has gone through a toxic relationship and found help in another relationship. I’ll be looking forward to future collections from Cyrus.

This collection ended up being a really lovely read. It is split into two parts. The first part deals with a relationship Parker had that was quite harmful and toxic. The second part focuses on his current relationship with fellow poet Amanda Lovelace—a much healthier and loving relationship. His story is a fascinating one to hear and this format works very well to convey the deepest emotions he experiences during these events. His words are raw and powerful as he gives his readers a very personal look at his life.

It is incredibly brave when a poet delves this deeply into such personal matters and I commend the fact that he went and put himself out there like this. I believe his words will inspire and benefit many readers. The messages within each poem are not solely autobiographical—they serve to remind us that we are all human and that, thought we may feel alone in our journey through life, we are not. I am definitely a fan of Cyrus Parker’s work and I look forward to reading plenty more of it in the future.

Was fortunate enough to access an advanced copy of DROPKICKromance through NetGalley. Cyrus hit me right in the feels many times. His poetry is raw, emotional, inspiring, and frankly beautiful. I strongly reccomend this book!

I did enjoy this but sadly it didn't leave me as emotionally moved as I hoped to feel for poetry. They felt very hit or miss to me, with some being amazing and I ended up loving and others leaving little to no impact.

Even though I am not the biggest fan of poetry, I knew I needed to read DROPKICKromance since Cyrus Parker is married to Amanda Lovelace, author of the princess saves herself in this one. Parker's debut poetry collections is full of healing, honesty, and vulnerability. He excellently weaves words together to create an emotional ride for the reader as he takes us through two relationships—an abusive one and a healthy one.

I tendo to enjoy short poetry because I get easily distracted, but this was so good I wished a lot of the poems were longer. The hurt and longing were so raw and real I was in tears for half the book

I have to say, I really enjoy this book. The story took me on a journey of finding and losing love and re-finding it again all in small verses. you were able to get a dose of each process of their rediscovery. you were able to feel the heartbreak and get excited for the new love they found. you were able to relate whether it be from past experiences of love or just losing and finding yourself again.

The poet was able to keep me engrossed and wanting more of the story with each verse. I would definitely recommend it as a read.

I'm sorry but this is a DNF. Did not finish. That tells everything of what I thought about the book. Again, I apologize.

It's impossible for me to think of this separate from Amanda Lovelace's work, so let me just say they pair very well together, both the people and the poems.

Seriously folks, this book hit me hard in the feels, and it kept hitting me at unexpected times throughout the entire thing. I would think I was past the things that were going to strike a chord, and then another one would come along. While I’ve followed Cyrus Parker on social media for at least a couple of years, and have seen some of his poetry in that time, I was not at all prepared for this book or for how much I would relate to some of the poems. My tablet died halfway through reading this, and I was happy about it because it forced me to take a break and pull myself together before diving back in.

I went through a lot of emotions while reading this, and it wasn’t a bad thing. It was kind of cathartic, actually. I felt some anger, sympathy, empathy, hope, happiness, nostalgia, and sadness, and honestly sometimes I think I felt all of those at once. Weirdly, I only got teary-eyed during the first half of the book, but during the second half I was ugly crying all over my tablet. I think those were mostly happy-tears, though.

This collection is so brutally honest and heartbreaking (at least in the beginning), but beautifully written, and I can’t remember the last time I went through a poetry book so quickly. (I usually end up reading one over the course of 2-5 days in small chunks.) If my tablet hadn’t died when it did, I would have read this in one sitting for sure.

I’ve been anxiously waiting for this book for about a year, and it was so worth the wait. I was looking forward to it, but also nervous and worried I wouldn’t like it, or wouldn’t love it. Those fears turned out to be completely unfounded, because I. Freaking. LOVED this book. It’s definitely made my list of all-time-favorite poetry collections (and probably books, in general), and I’m dying to get a physical copy.

Do I recommend it? Heck yes I do! Cyrus Parker is a talented poet and I’m looking forward to reading more from him in the future.

Cyrus Parker’s debut poetry book is beautifully written and will dropkick you right in the heart with all of the feels. I have long been awaiting the day that Cyrus would finally release a poetry collection, and I was not left disappointed.

Cyrus clearly poured his heart out in this collection, and it shows on each and every page. This book managed to break my heart and put it back together, all in one sitting. So much emotion bleeds in every poem, and in the first half of the of the book you can feel all of the heartache and pain that he endured, while in the second half, you can see and feel the love brimming off of the pages.

This book encompasses everything that poetry about. Its heartbreaking. Its hopeful. Its moving. Its inspiring. It makes you feel.

The first half of this book tells the story of a toxic long distance relationship, while the second half of the book takes you on a journey of self discovery and healing, and is not only about piecing back together the pieces of a broken heart, but also about finding love again, both with self and with another.

Something that I found to be really delightful about this book is the fact that the girl who Cyrus finds his happily ever after with (aka the girl that inspired the second half of this book) is Amanda Lovelace, the author of The Princess Saves Herself In This One (Which is also an amazing book of poetry and one that you should definitely read if you haven’t yet, just saying.) Parts of this book are definitely a nod to Amanda’s book, but this book still holds its own weight, and I would have still been just as moved by the words Cyrus wrote even if I had no idea of who she was. Amanda also wrote the beautiful forward to this book, and it made it that much more touching.

Relationships are hard, and sometimes devastating, but they can also be be beautiful and magical, and Cyrus really captures all of that in this collection.

I myself have been through the pain of heartbreak, and I could relate to the pain that Cyrus expressed within this book. But I can also relate to the happiness that comes with finding love, the type of love that was described in this book, not just with another person, but also within myself.

This book was raw and beautiful, and I recommend it to anyone that is in a dark place and is in need of a reminder that happiness is out there, waiting to be found.

The prince found the princess…but he also found himself too.

This a beautiful poetry collection. It is so sad and honest. It tells the story of a struggle of being true to yourself while being true to your partner.

I saw lot of myself in some of poems. In the end I find the most enjoyment out of poetry when it makes me feel something and this collection definitely did that!

DROPKICKromance is a collection of autobiographical poetry about healing and learning to love again from professional-wrestler-turned-poet, Cyrus Parker.

The first half of DROPKICKromance focuses on a toxic, long-distance relationship the author was involved in for several years, while the second half focuses on his current relationship with poet Amanda Lovelace. Ultimately, the collection tells about a profound journey of healing. (via Goodreads)

I received an eARC of DROPKICKromance via Netgalley, thanks to Andrew McMeel Publishing, in exchange for an honest review.

DROPKICKromance tells Cyrus Parker's story, from its beginnings in an abusive relationship to becoming himself to finding the woman he married last year.

His wife's name will be a familiar one to poetry fans and tumblr/twitter folks as Amanda Lovelace and ladybookmad, who wrote the princess saves herself in this one and will be releasing the witch doesn't burn in this one on the same day as DROPKICKromance releases.

DROPKICKromance is a hard read in the beginning, and I had to take it a few poems at a time. However, the further you get into it, the more you really get a feel for who Parker is as a writer and as a person.

One thing I really loved about this book is that you see the changes in Parker through where the poem is on the page - they start left-justified, and move to the middle after he leaves, later moving to be right-justified when he writes about Lovelace. It goes back to being left-justified whenever he writes about his ex. I think it's a brilliant decision on the designer's part.

I think that my favorite poems from the collection were big bang theory and you are my favorite place. Thankfully both approved made me laugh out loud, and i owe my voice to you made me tear up.

I really enjoyed DROPKICKromance and look forward to whatever Parker has to offer next. I recommend picking up a copy from Amazon or Indiebound!



Disclaimer: All links to Indiebound and Amazon are affiliate links, which means that if you buy through those links, I will make a small amount of money off of it.