Garden of Ravens has been both excellent and corny at times. I actually found quite a few that I liked that were different from your typical poems. They resonated with me in ways that I really liked. The themes of heartbreak, then not giving a damn, and then sadness again was good. I liked some of the poems that had like mythology added to it like "I, Medusa".

My favorite ones were
"I, Medusa"
"Wolves"
"For Us" (my favorite)
"Scarred"
"Abandoned"
"Darkest Night"
"Shadows of Silence"

Some poems were in likeness to Emily Dickinson and being that she is my favorite poet I found myself enjoying this one. I always have a hard time rating poetry books because there is always poems I like, love, and then the ones follow a common language and flow.

I received this from NetGalley for reading and reviewing purposes.

Thank you Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for sending me a digital arc of this book.
3.5 stars.

I don't read poetry often but when I saw the description of this book that promised me dark twisted fantasy, folklore and myths, I was highly intrigued. Unfortunately I did not get much of that. The poetry in this book seems like a compilation of the author's personal thoughts and feelings. But I am not complaining because I really enjoyed this book.

Garden of Raven is divided into seven section - each sections dealing with themes like mental illness, lost love and pain. Some of the poems are very dark; especially the ones about depression and self loathing; so here is a trigger warning for those who are not too comfortable reading about it. I certainly enjoyed the writing style. The emotions conveyed in this book hit too close to home.

However, some of the sections were quite boring too and I had to skim through them.

Overall, this was a nice collection of poetry and it does not take much long to read. I look forward to reading more works of this author.

In my opinion, poetry is the second most personal form of writing (memoir being first). My review for Garden of Ravens is not a review of the author of their personal struggles that may have influenced this collection of poems. My review is on the collection itself. The title and cover support the book's description: A collection of dark poetry that journeys through folklore, twisted tales, mental breakdowns, and depression. When I first saw the cover and read the description, I was excited to read twisted poems, dark tones, folklore...horror, dark metaphors or spine-tingling poems. What I found were poems that had more meaning to the author than the reader. Some were two lines long, some longer. None were that remarkable, dark, twisted, or anything. Many left me saying, "Okay, I guess." If someone opened the book expecting twisted tales or dark poems, they will feel cheated. I just cannot recommend this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and The Narcissistic Rose for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.

A few of the poems I did feel, but the majority, I felt, was not for me. Or, at least, not in this particular mindset that I have, right now.

I'm sure the author truly felt everything she wrote about and these poems spoke to many, but not for me.

I voluntarily agreed to read an early copy via Netgalley. 2.5 - 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Garden of Ravens by Krystal Jane Ruin was a collection of poetry split into seven sections. The first section, titled Garden of Myth and Lore, had me believing we were off to a great start. I love poetry, fiction, whatever inspired by mythology and folklore. It was a great section and I enjoyed the pieces in it. Then it ended and went into the next section and the style changed and I wasn’t feeling it anymore.
Garden of Ravens is a deeply personal collection. You can see it in the writing, you can read it in the words. I’m not knocking that. The collection overall just felt a bit unrefined and I left not really feeling it.
I think there are plenty of other people who can and will still find enjoyment in this piece. Unfortunately I was just not one of them.

Although there were several poems I feel in love with, there were many others who got me out of the spell in a second. So many ups and downs made it hard to keep focused on the book, although I liked th ideas and the style. There is a dark charm in all of the poems, no matter if you like them or not.

Full review published (July 24): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2019/07/resena-review-garden-of-ravens.html

2.5 ⭐️’s
#GardenOfRavens #NetGalley

I recieved this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

First off, four of the poems in this collection I truly felt. They spoke to me. And in that case I really felt power and connected with the collection. The writing style was so dark, yet kept me entertained enough to keep on reading and I’d like to read more poems like this in the near future. However, the lower rating is because out of a collection of poems, only being connected to four is quite low. The themes of the poems were about self images, depression, love... just to name a few.

To leave on a good note I’d still recommend this collection to my friends and family because I think it can show what goes on inside the mind of people.

Thanks Net Galley for the e-copy to review.

While this book of poetry wasn't completely my cup of tea, there were a few poems that struck me as memorable favorites I'll return to this book and read it again, and hope to discover new favorites. It's dark, its depressing, but it has a certain beauty to it as well.

This collection of poetry had a lot of interesting themes, and the ideas behind the poems were very fascinating. But I think some of the poems became a little repetitive and lost me somewhere along the way. Overall, a very intriguing, dark collection of poetry, though

What a disappointment 😩

I was so excited to read an anthology of dark poetry and though I pushed to read 71% I was thoroughly bored all the way throughout only enjoying 2 or 3 poems 😭 so for the first time in a while I had to DNF (did not finish) 🙁

My main issue is that it was described as "collection of dark poetry that journeys through folklore, twisted tales, mental breakdowns, and depression"
It felt nothing like that. It felt like a stream of consciousness of teen angst which I wouldn't mind if I knew that's what to expect (though I wouldn't have chosen to read that)

There is plenty of content regarding breakdowns and depression but as someone who lives with mental health issues herself and is also a lover of dark literature this fell short on both accounts. 🤷 the depictions lacked depth and felt juvenile. It felt more like whinging and less like exploring or explaining those conditions and the situations that trigger that in the author.

Maybe with my PTSD, depression, anxiety and panic disorders I am so used to the darkness myself that I find it harder to relate to those that aren't necessarily on my wave length? I generally find I'm quite empathetic but something in this collection just did not click and felt fake.

Literature itself is so hard and poetry even more so as it's so subjective so full Kudos to the author for writing and collating this collection 👌 Unfortunately, given only a couple of poems I read followed any traditional structures or rhyme schemes it was hard to review on technical skills so this is the best I feel I could do.

Garden of Ravens is a unique collection of poems. I enjoyed a couple of the poems ,but I was not blown away by them.

3.5 stars.
This was quite the unusual poetry collection.
The dedication reads "for the overthinkers" and i think it fits really well. some of the poems felt like the kind of nightmare that's foggy once you wake up, other felt like the thoughts you get right before you fall asleep. some of them felt like what my brain does when i'm in the middle of an anxiety attack. it's different and a bit weird, the style is nothing new or outstanding, but i really liked it.

I always have such trouble reviewing works of poetry, especially knowing just how deeply these works go for the author. Some of the things that I really enjoyed about most of these poems where the dark fairy tale feel to them. It was honestly one of the things that drew my to this work, but there were some that I didn't connect to as much as the others. It was still a good book of poetry and definitely worth picking up.

"Garden of Ravens," the book of poetry by Krystal Jane Ruin is an interesting collection of personal and dark fantasy poetry. Her poetry is deep and engaging. There are some that really resonate with me and others I was somewhat disinterested in.

All in all, there is something here to discover and connect with. This poetry has its own unique voice. Some of the works are also repeated in both English and French. Several of the poems have multiple parts or continuations into additional poems. Some of the themes expressed throughout include moving on from a relationship, being haunted by past relationships, co-dependence, and other relationship-related themes.

I think the target audience for this collection would be high-school-aged young women.

I received this as an eBook from The Narcissistic Rose via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review of the title. I did not receive any compensation from either company. The opinions expressed herein are completely my own.

I hate to review poetry. It is written from deep within. It comes from the soul so reviews are more angst ridden.
Suffering from depression myself I felt some kinship with the writer. These poems are raw and cry out but in a youthful unpolished voice.
Bravo to the poet who made the effort to illustrate pain with words. Just needs some refining. Perhaps that is my age speaking.

Where is the meaning to my life
Where is the ending to the grief
Where is the sunlight for my eyes
Will I ever smile again

I have mixed feelings about this collection. I really enjoyed the idea of weaving together this dark fantasy vibe with a little light horror, tied into a narrative of mental illness and love gone wrong. That said, while some of the poems worked well for me, others didn’t hit the mark.

You don’t deserve to be in peace
After all you’ve done
So I will help you find your place
Among the dust

One thing I’ll say for sure is that this poetry style was very… nostalgic. It reminded me a lot of the popular poetry we used to read on MySpace/Xanga/LJ back in the day, and that was a nice little trip down memory lane. If you enjoyed that writing style and want more of it, this is definitely the collection for you.

TW: self-harm

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved the way Krystal Jane Ruin uses poetry to explore speculative realms. Garden of Ravens collects a wide number of poems, written strongly. Ruin has a way of combining words to create imaginative images.

Really liked the dark tones of the poems. The cover and pictures inside are gorgeous!! The pictures were like a poem in itself.