I decided to give this one a read after reading Amanda Lovelace's tweets about it. I read her book last year and if that was anything to go by I knew Cyrus' book was going to hit me right in the feels.

The book is seamlessly split into two sections: the first being his life before Amanda. It tells a story of abuse and pain. The second being the time after he meets Amanda, which is a true tale of love, self-discovery and healing. I felt every work in the book and actually had to give myself a little time to process what I was reading before moving on.

DROPKICKromance was raw and honest. Something I always struggle reviewing as I feel that this is someone's life. They've shared something so person, what right do I have to rate that? What I can rate though is how this book made me feel: broken, alive and hopeful.

Another thing that I love about this book is the love foreword written by Amanda. Her love and support for Cyrus is so evident that I could not help but smile!

If you're a fan of modern free-flow poetry, if you enjoy the likes of Amanda Lovelace and Rupi Kaur, then I suspect that you will love this too.

Actual rating: 1.5 stars

It turns out I didn’t enjoy this collection as much as I’d hoped.

What immediately struck me about this collection is that Cyrus’ writing style is almost identical to Amanda Lovelace’s: enjambed poetry that mostly ends with a tagline. I don’t always enjoy enjambed poetry, but sometimes it really works. In the case of Cyrus’ work, it didn’t really resonate with me. Sometimes it read more like a journal entry, so I see what he was trying to accomplish.

As I said, this collection reads like a journal that cover a period of time from a toxic relationship and the damage it resulted in - low self-esteem - to finding love again and healing. Most of the book focuses on the toxic relationship and thus it felt quite repetitive. I’m just going to be honest, most of the poetry didn’t resonate with me or affect me, so I struggled to get into it. However, his poetry about falling in love again are simply lovely. I also appreciated the references to books and reading. Since the collection is in chronological order, I liked following the journey of him falling in love.

"DROPKICKromance" is ultimately not my cup of tea. The writing style is too similar to Amanda Lovelace’s style, so I didn’t feel that Cyrus really had a distinct voice. I just did not enjoy many of the poems. The poems about falling in love were beautiful, though.

I don't read poetry as a rule. But I've heard a lot about DROPKICKromance and feel quite honoured to have had not only this early insight but this insight in general on the life Cyrus and Amanda have built together. It's a beautiful thing to witness and it is clearly born from a darker past. This collection of poems made my heart both soar and sink. This was a great first foray into reading poetry for me. I look forward to reading more from Parker in the future.

Once again, a poet that I don't know, but I read through this book within a night. There were many poems which rang true and which really came from the heart. I'm interested to see what else this author produces.

Honestly, this felt like another Amanda Lovelace volume of poetry. I think that if Parker wants to establish himself as a new poet, he will have to differentiate his poetry from his wife’s. That being said I think that I have some young male students who would probably really enjoy this.

I was anxiously awaiting this book from Cyrus Parker, and my wait was not in vain! Parker writers eloquently, and really pulls you in to the moment. His poetry evokes incredible emotion-reminding you of the past, of heartache and people you miss before turning around and giving you a reason to hope for the future. I especially liked " From the broken, we'll make art" #107 which really encompasses the idea that from something broken or terrible, something beautiful will come!
Parker is a fresh new voice of male poets, in a world of men obsessed with nothing but the female figure- he really shows you that it's okay to be in touch with your emotions, and I can't wait to see what comes from him next!

The road between us
was fractured beyond repair
but we refused to let it
crumble away into dust,
so we tarred up the cracks
and hoped it would
be enough.


— the wound closed but the bleeding didn’t stop”



OOH LORD THIS WAS GOOOOD.
I went into this with decent expectations. I had heard about Cyrus a little bit on twitter and when I saw he was coming out with a book I got pretty interested. This was really great! I’ve been reading quite a bit of poetry lately and this stood apart from the crowd. It wasn’t too much of anything. It wasn’t over the top, preachy, whiny, lovesick. I really dig his writing. It felt different and not generic. This collection bounces from talking about breakups to falling in love again and the process in between. I really loved how this was formatted! I tend to complain about that sometimes, how it feels like it’s not a cohesive piece of work or that it’s almost confusing, but this definitely was a win for me! I loved how he wrote about heartbreak but not in a bitter way. It felt very raw and genuine and not just flat out anger (which is perfectly fine and is still good in certain books/formats). I can’t wait to read from Cyrus in the future and DEFINITELY am planning on buying this one!

It is definitely my favorite poetry collections from what I've read so far. I loved the fact that there was also a visual difference between the past and present. I adored the writing style. It just made me feel something.
I don't know, it just really clicked with me. I would love to read more from the author in the future!

What a brave, brilliant, and open collection of poems. By open I mean autopsy table exposed, I mean flayed to the bone honest. I’ve been used to reading hyper masculine poets who focuse on beer, whiskey, beautiful girls ( or boys) with the occasional deliberate glimpse of vulnerability before falling back into smug pretentiousness. THIS IS NOT THAT KIND OF MAN!
I salute you Mr Parker.

I would have loved to have seen some more wrestling metaphors intermingled with the heartbreak.
The first half is a beautifully crafted story of a love gone wrong, and a man learning to be gentler to and more forgiving of himself. But, man, do I want to know about the other half of his life, the athlete/ artist/ warrior/ performer getting into the ring for a living.


I deliberately read this book at the same time as I read Parker’s spouses 2nd collection. It was interesting to see if I could find similar rhythms.
The second half of the book focuses on the relationship between the two, and it is so beautifully intimate that it’s almost hard to read without feeling like I’m peeeking into windows. It is also just so full of simple blossoming joy. Thank you and good luck.

To the both of you, I like to imagine that your poetry journals creep down from their seperate shelves in the middle of the night to meet and mingle their pages, smearing each other’s inks, leaving little traces that you both sense in the morning.

I wish I could read this poetry book I've been waiting for, but it's only available to read in PDF format, which my computer nor phone can open. But I've heard amazing things about it from my favorite poets, so I have no doubt Cyrus Parker wrote a stunning poetry book. Thanks for the chance, though. I'll be sure to pick it up at the local book store once it comes out. I can't wait!

This is a poetry debut I was highly anticipating and I wasn't disappointed. A beautiful poetry collection about love lost, and love found. This was a very honest and personal story for the author, and i was able to empathize with everything he went through. He writes from the heart and I'm really looking forward to more of his work.

Even though I knew before hand what the poems in DROPKICKromance would be about I was still somewhat in the dark as any writer could tackle these themes in many different ways.

I think Cyrus did a really great job of portraying his struggles with an abusive relationship, growing the strength to move forward and accept he can have more, and finding home within himself and his new love.

Something I really appreciated was the composition of each page. The poems that focus on the past and the previous relationship are all aligned on the left of the page.

The poems that are about him taking the steps to make a change in his life and focus on growth are aligned in the center of the page to indicate a movement towards where he's at now.

And, of course, the poems that showcase he's accepted this change, that he's grown and learning to stay more positive are aligned on the right of the page.

I've included two of my favourites below to further illustrate this composition choice. I really appreciated this design aspect!
[image 1 and image 2]
Plenty of these poems were powerful and you could feel what Cyrus felt. The one that touched me the most was when asking Amanda's father for his permission to marry her. It was perfect.

Another poem that stuck out to me is the one he wrote about Ohio. It such a powerful one and highlights, to me at least, how one place can have such different connotations for different people.
[image 3]
My heart is in Ohio. (The amount of friends I have in Ohio is growing a lot this past year. I'll be meeting 4? of them in March)

Anyway I was really impressed with this collection and I will happily read more of Cyrus' work in the future. Now off I go to pre-order a copy so it can sit next to The Princess Saves Herself in This One.

DROPKICKromance is a poetry book that read as a story. Cyrus Parke writing is addictive. I read this in just two settings. He style is a joy that pulled me in. I bookmarked many lines because they were just that good. My favorite ones can towards the end of the book. Along with the poems about writing and books, made me feel because I can relate to the passion for words. His poems are truthful, clever wordplay and moving. His poetry is a joy to read.

Watch out Faudet-Leav, Lovelace and Parker will kick your butts.

DROPKICKromance was surprisingly really good! Cyrus Parker has this raw and honest voice that will lure you in and will make you want to stay and just hear his words. This book exceeded my expectations and although it's quite simplistic, there's just something that makes this book stand out from the rest of the books in its genre.

Although the book does not have divisions that separated the themes of the poems like in The Last Time I'll Write About You, the contents flowed really well and were expertly sewn together the seams felt invisible. The poems present two relationships: one, that was toxic and abusive and the other, a respectful and fulfilling one. You can clearly see how the poems connected the past and the present feelings of the author and presented itself as this one, big journey of love and self-discovery.

Amanda Lovelace and Cyrus Parker is definitely a team to be reckoned with. In my opinion, Michael Faudet and Lang Leav have nothing on this husband and wife team. They're both exceptionally good and produces unique pieces that will surely be a hit.

I highly recommend this book!

Excellent poetry collection that is both heartbreaking and hopeful. A peek into life and it’s turns in the Road.

I am gutted in the best possible way. 6 years of college in a writing program couldn't get me to enjoypoetry as much as the duo of Cyrus Parker and Amanda Lovelace.

DROPKICKromance takes you on a journey of self-discovery, diving into a codependent, toxic relationship where you survive to find true love and strength. I feel like I was there, through every tumble and fall, amongst the joy and the sorrow. I'll be on the lookout for more from Parker, who is a talent and a voice to be heard.

Very akin to "The Princess Saves Herself in this One." A little middle of the road, content -wise, but quite enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this collection of poetry. It was powerful, heartfelt, and very relatable. Cyrus Parker brings a lot of freshness to the ways he approaches his poetry, in large part (I suspect) because his background isn't in literature. I found the collection charming, heartwarming, and romantic. The only reason that it isn't getting five stars from me is because I felt like a good portion of the poetry was a bit repetitive or, at times, a bit too simplistic in comparison to his really powerful poems.
I'm definitely going to continue to follow his poetry career.

2017 was the year I discovered poetry, and in 2018 nothing seems to stop me from reading new poetry collections.
I discovered Cyrus' book only recently through his Amanda Lovelace's Twitter, and ever since I only had one thought: read it. So when I found out you could request a copy of it, I jumped on the occasion.

The book starts with a few words written my Amanda, and she said something that followed me throughout my whole reading. She said “he is so talented a weaver of words that when he aches, you will ache, when he falls, you fall”. And that's exactly how I felt. You can feel every raw emotion when you read a poem, and it's not an easy task.

This collection of poems is clearly divided into two parts: the before and the after Amanda. There is no particular need for anything to notice it. From poems about abuse and an unhealthy relationship, you go to poems about meeting Amanda and the beginning of a healthy relationship that allows him to start healing.

This is Cyrus' first book, and I honestly hope he won't stop writing because his words reached me like very few manage to. So until the next one, I will definitely stay on the lookout for any news on an upcoming book.

I wasn't sure what to expect going in to this, but the idea of a professional wrestler writing poetry was too interesting for me to resist. Parker's verses definitely reflect some of the work of his wife, Amanda Lovelace, but manage to remain his own. He's got some great allusions and turns of phrase, and in this case the simplicity of language serves him really, really well. The journey from a bad relationship full of hurt and mistrust to a new, healthy one is a familiar story and probably biased me a bit toward enjoying this collection. Despite that possibility, it's a book I will probably revisit again in the future.