I love Lovelace's poetry, but this book hit especially hard. The love, the hatred, fighting with your feelings because people tell you that you aren't allowed to feel that about someone who has passed on. All incredible poignant.

Disclaimer: I was given an advance reading copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity.

Amanda Lovelace has done it again! I keep falling in love with her poetry and I can now say that I'm really adding her to my favorite poets of all time! to drink coffee with a ghost was written in the same style that really screams Amanda Lovelace!

This time she lets out another side of her to the world. It's personal, moving and emotionally-driven. I wouldn't be shocked if others will also relate to her and her words. This is one of her best works and this deserves a spot on my shelf!

I requested this arc, because I already owned To Make Monsters Out of Girls and thought I could just read them both then. I then read the first one in this "series" last month and with that already I realised these are deeply personal stories that just won't be relatable to everyone.

I can't say which one of these I enjoyed more. I definitely felt more emotion in this one, so if you wanted to check out one, I suggest picking To Drink Coffee with a Ghost. This is a truly touching story about a difficult mother-daughter relationship, and how these kinds of things can affect us forever.

The messages in this book weren't at all relatable to me, since I have a very good relationship with my mother, but I could get into it and understand where the author was coming from.

If you like modern poetry or just enjoy Amanda Lovelace in general, I can definitely recommend checking this poetry collection out. There are quite some beautiful poems in there and the illustrations are stunning as always.

I really liked this book and the duology in general. It definitely made me feel a variety of emotions and even brought a tear to my eye a few times.
I didn’t entirely connect with each page and each poem but I felt a strong connections to the poems that I did relate and connect to.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and Amanda Lovelace’s writing. I’m excited to see what else they have in store in the future!

3/5 stars

[Review will be posted on Reader Voracious Blog on 9/17/19.]

This is going to be a far more personal review than I ever thought I would be comfortable sharing, but here we are. This poetry collection hit me right in the feels and I shed many a tear while reading it. There is something about Lovelace's poetry which resonates with me and I need to have a shelf dedicated to her work.

Just as I needed the mermaid's voice returns in this one, I needed to drink coffee with a ghost. "What happens when someone dies before they're able to redeem themselves?" is the main question that Lovelace investigates with to drink coffee with a ghost. I think it's safe to say that we are all haunted by some parts of our past: people who caused intense and lasting hurt or events which changed us forever.

"lately, it seems like everywhere i look, i find daughters haunted by something their mothers did to them. we tell each other we would raise our daughters differently. we would do this while wondering if our mothers made the same promises to themselves.
- ghost-mother"

This duology's installment explores Lovelace's complicated relationship with her now-deceased mother. While my own mother is still alive on this planet, her general disinterest in being a mother and subsequent abandonment when I was thirteen has largely shaped my life. I don't know that words will ever adequately express the twenty-two years of pain and feeling like something was wrong with me. I just wish that I had some positive memories, too. But complicated we have in spades, my friends.

"the little girl was so desperate to feel loved, to feel like she existed at all, that she took anything that she could get, even if it was nothing but a bunch of make-believe.
- don't accept scraps"

When a toxic person is no longer in your life, either through death or just cutting them out completely (or them running off), there are a lot of unresolved feelings. What ifs. Thousands of conversations you would have if given the chance. But at some point we become shackled by those unspoken words and decades pass us by, irrevocably changed.

While I loved the entire collection, I particularly appreciated sun showers and the hope that comes from acceptance. The fact that we cannot change what has happened but do have control over our own futures is something I need to focus on more in my life.

There are illustrations by Munise Sertel throughout the collection which are absolutely stunning, I love their art style! I also really loved how Lovelace's love of books and adventure through them is a running theme through the three sections of this collection. I think a lot of us read to escape the pain of real life.

Lovelace's poetry collections speak to me on a very deep level, unearthing hurt long since buried and healing as I read. That's the thing about trauma: it stays with you, shapes you and your life, with or without your recognizing it. And while my experiences never edged on the abuse she writes about, I see myself and my suffering through her words.

Content warnings: (provided by author) child abuse, eating disorders, sexual assault, self-harm, violence, cheating, death, gore, blood, trauma, grief

Many thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me an eARC via Netgalley for my honest review! Quotations are from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change in final publication.

Amanda Lovelace does it again! This series is still not my favorite next to her women are some kind of magic series but I also just can’t get enough of her words and this series is still amazing no doubt about it!

"the ways in which they suffer themselves is not an excuse to make you suffer in return."

This book! Wow! I am never more thankful to Netgalley than I am now. Her previous poetry books immediately went on to my to-read list. As soon as I saw this book on NetGalley, I took it! I finished this in 20 mins but every single second with this book caught me in a spell and kept me spellbound!

The second in the duology of 'the things that h(a)unt', to drink a coffee with a ghost unravels the memory of the complicated relationship the author had with her now-deceased mother. She talks about how her mother was not present to her in the time of need, and now, her mother is gone before she can redeem herself and maybe, forgiven by her daughter. The book is divided into 3 categories: ghost-mother, ghost-daughter and sun-showers. Every poem has a sense of pain, strength and hope. Ghost-mother explores the complicated relationship with her mother, ghost-daughter explores the sense of healing and becoming her own person and sun-showers explores the healing, embracing love and freedom.

I am literally in the loss for words for this book! The illustrations are so pleasing. I loved the imagery and metaphors. I loved how each poem struck a chord in my heart and intrigued me. I found this book to be empowering, mainly the third part which had some really remarkable pieces, one of them being:
"to underestimate women is bad enough by itself, but i imagine anyone who does must not know many sisters - together, we are strong as hell." I love how every writers, artists and cast/crew of the movies are focusing on this sort of empowerment in women because it is needed! Everyone tries to get us against each other but we have to stand united, we are strong as hell. It feels like the world is becoming beautiful, bit by bit, day by day. This is the content I live for! I found the first two sections relatable of to an extent and it made my journey through this book a magical one! I also loved the part where she talks about books. That turned out to be the most relatable poem! I have said this before and I will say it again: I love it when I get to have a glimpse of something personal in writing. It reminds me that everyone suffers in a way and to be a gentle and kind soul. This book made me feel more of that!

Lovelace says so little but has the knack of saying it compellingly. She is definitely one of the best writers of our time. I feel like she is so underrated! I will surely be reading her other works now. This book has scored a place in the nooks of my heart! This is just the best! I love it!

Recommended: To every single one of you out there, read this! This might be the book which you would have not known it is needed until you read this! It has triggering content and it is mentioned at the beginning of the book.

In "To Drink Coffee with a Ghost", Amanda shows once again her power to transform memories and feelings into beautiful poems.

Like her other books, this isn't an easy one to read, I would recommend you to take your time with it, and not attempt to read it in one sit because there is a lot of heavy, emotional content that could be a lot to take all at once.
One thing that caught me by surprise in the best possible way is the gorgeous illustrations by Munise Sertel (@mns_art ). They look so alive and full of colors. This was a great addition to an already amazing book.
a couple of my favorites poems are:
-what’s truly important -life is not a pass or fail
-your own future -finding new meaning
-the letter i cannot send - not before i mend my own wing
-this has always been the secret to our survival
-because you’re never truly alone with a book
-never will i forget again.
-sun-showers.
-chasing emily.
-maybe that’s why i write.
-my ledger

This was by far my favorite, and in my opinion, Amanda’s best poetry collection as of yet and i have read and loved them all!

There wasn’t anything that I didn’t love about this book. I mean, what’s not to love? The writing, the illustrations, & did I mention the writing?

I have always loved Amanda’s writing and poetry, and something from each of her books has stuck with me in some way, but I feel that this collection really shines a spotlight on just how good of a writer she is, and shows that she has only gotten better at her craft.

This collection is written in an ethereal and raw manner and is centered around grief, family, trauma, love, complicated mother/daughter relationships, and the ghosts that haunt and affect us.

This is very obviously a deeply personal collection for Amanda, as it is about her own deeply rooted trauma and life experiences, and because of that, surely, also a very cathartic writing experience. As a reader, I have to say that it was a very cathartic reading experience for me as well. While my past, trauma, and ghosts may differ from Amanda’s, I still related to this book so much and there were so many instances where I felt like Amanda had read my innermost thoughts and felt everything I had ever felt during the worst of my grief and bled them onto the pages of this book.

This book, just like her previous ones, was so inspiring, and while it may sound like this is simply a very dark poetry book about grief and all the horror and sorrow it brings, it is also equal parts about healing and coming out of the darkness and finding both yourself and happiness again.

Grief is suffocating. Grief is heavy. It is a ghost that will follow you around in one way or another for the rest of your life, But that doesn’t mean that you have to let it consume you and take over your life. You are allowed to be happy and find peace, and this book is a hopeful reminder that healing is real and it is possible no matter what trauma may lay in your past.

Thank you for delivering yet another uniquely, beautifully written poetry collection Amanda, and i cannot wait to see what you have in store for us next.

I've read all of Amanda's previous works and I've always been a fan of her writing style. I must say that "To Drink a Coffee with a Ghost" is by far my favourite of her publications. I was really excited to get an ARC for it and it did not disappoint!
This book deals mainly with the topic of losing a parent prematurely. It also explores the intricate relationship the author had with her deceased mother. On a deep level, Amanda Lovelace puts herself in a vulnerable position for the greater good. She shares with her audience the conflict of loving her mother while resenting her for being an abusive role-model.
She also shares the hopeful and joyful moments she felt and how to navigate the ups and downs life has to offer.
I connected even more with Amanda Lovelace as she was able to put into words some of my past experiences.
I've always had a profound appreciation for Amanda and this book confirmed it even more so!
I would 100% recommend anyone to read this.

This was a beautiful collection of Lovelace's poetry touching topics such as grief, abuse, self-harm, and trauma. I really enjoyed this collection. The words of Lovelace touch my soul. She writes in a way that pulls the reader in especially if you've been victim to any of the experiences she illustrates. Her poetry is tragically beautiful. Lovelace is an auto-read author for me because of how emotional connected one gets to her words. If you have trouble connecting to your emotions, just read an Amanda Lovelace work and you'll find your connection real quick.

In Amanda Lovelace’s new poetry collection she explores the relationship she had with her mother and the grief of losing her. If you’ve ever read any of her other poetry collections then you’ll know what to expect. Her formula hasn’t changed but that doesn’t lessen the heart of her work.

There were a lot of poems that spoke to me. Poems about the mother/daughter relationship, poems about sisters, and poems about loss. This book is a beautiful exploration of grieving and healing after the loss of someone you loved dearly when that someone had also hurt you deeply.

To Drink Coffee with a Ghost is due to be released on September 17, 2019. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was beautiful and needed. As someone whose very loving parent became a literal ghost early on, but who is also partnered with someone & also parents a teen who both have figurative and objectively bad 'ghosts' as bio parents, the duality of the author's grief hit me straight in the guts. Thank you, Amanda. I will be sharing this.

I just loved this book. This was definitely my favourite of the series, maybe because I lost my mother many years ago. The writing was beautiful and the illustrations were gorgeous. I imagine this to be a book to take off your shelf and read parts over again and again, and maybe even to just look at the pictures. Beautifully done.

Another great collection from amanda lovelace. The illustrations are beautiful (and less creepy than the ones in the other half of this duology). The deep and conflicting emotions in all of these poems resonated with me. I have never seen eye-to-eye with my mother, and this collection has awoken a sense of warning in me; to fix things before its' too late. It seems that amanda lovelace can cover any subject she sets her mind to in a unique and powerful way. I'm eager to see what she does next.

*Thank you Net Galley, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This is as lovely as all of Amanda Lovelace's other collections, with vivid (figurative) imagery and gorgeous autumn-colored artwork and raw emotion. It didn't resonate with me as strongly as some of the others have — in part because I have been fortunate not to experience toxic familial relationships or losing my parents or this specific kind of siblinghood — but it has that unmistakable honest vulnerability that characterizes Lovelace's work, at least in my mind.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Amanda Lovelace is EVERYTHING. She is talented. Her work is beautiful. And her books NEVER disappoint. to drink coffee with a ghost is no different. Amazing.

* I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange of my honest review *
So I basically read all Amada lovelace's works and ... well the last two were such let downs . The first book in this series is probably on the top of my favourite poetry collection so I was anticipating this and waiting for it to come out . I got the chance to read it before the release date so I was lucky .
This rating is not in any criticising or judging what this author have been through , it's just that It was as if I was disconnected from the collection . I was just reading it not feeling anything which I guess from me not necessarily from the content. These last days , reading modern poetry has become a torture and a waste of time . I feel like the language is very average and that it's just some random thoughts that the author collected in a book . I felt it reading this book as well eventhough the poet evoked a very personal experience. I will recommend it for people who loved her works , I guess they will adore this one . For me it's I guess the last book I read from this author.

Poetic, simple, emotional, dark.

The novel's written with snippets of poetry or paragraphs of thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It would seem the writer is working with an Ouija Board, having a conversation with multiple ghosts. I found the stories interesting and emotional, yes some could be triggers but in light form, not violently heavy.

I liked the book overall, just not the idea of playing with an Ouija Board, and I would've like to read options or resources for someone suffering from these types of debilitating thoughts.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the electronic download.

I got this book as an eARC from netgalley to review.

I have read a few poetry books by this author in the past and while they were good, they never really stuck with me. This book however really be deep in my heart. I haven’t lost a parent but even the idea of it stings. I could feel the grief Amanda experiences. I marked so so many poems that really stuck with me. Now I will have to go back and read the first book in this series because this was so good.