Wowowow I absolutely adored this. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't pull myself away. I have read all of Amanda's works and each one shares a new story. This one is definitely up there with my favorites by her, but also probably one of my favorite poetry collections of all time.

The writing is incredible, of course. Amanda always writes incredible poetry. But her ability to tell a story with her poems is unmatched. Every time I pick up her book I expect greatness, but I am always given perfection.

I seriously can't think of any way this book could be better (except if there were more of it!). If you've never picked up any of her books before, you 100% need to. You won't be disappointed.

Trigger Warnings: child abuse, grief, death (of a parent), self-harm, eating disorders

Let me start off with saying. Amanda Lovelace hasn't let me down yet! I was jumping for joy when I was able to read another one of her works. This collection is a continuation of "to make monsters out of girls" that deals with the feelings of confusion, grief, and loss after the death of a loved one (her mother specifically). What always stands out to me in Lovelace's work is that she is able to capture such raw emotion in such small spaces in words. The lines are never over-flowery or pompous, but never boring and repetitive. As the reader continues through this work they get to see the recovery and strength that comes with navigating through hardships. This is a great work for teens and up!

An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read anything by Lovelace before, and I am floored. This is beautifully written and the illustrations throughout are amazing.

This collection of poetry focuses mostly on the relationship between Lovelace and her mother, who sadly passed away from cancer. It was not relatable to me in that aspect but there were several passages that touched me in some way.

I believe that it takes a lot of courage and strength to present yourself openly like that to the world. I think Lovelace did an amazing job expressing what it can feel like to lose a parent.

Highly recommend.

I loved this new work from Amanda Lovelace, the poems were hopeful, painful and beautiful and bittersweet as she explored the relationship with her mother who has passed away from cancer. I enjoyed the third part of this collection the most, easily five stars.

This ARC copy of To Drink Coffee with A Ghost was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

to drink coffee with a ghost info
Author: Amanda Lovelace ( Instagram )
Pub Date: September 17, 2019
Series: the things that h(a)unt duology
Genre: poetry

Thoughts…
I’m a big fan of Amanda Lovelace’s previous books, including The Princess Saves Herself in This One, The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One, The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One, and To Make Monsters Out of Girls. To be honest, I had already pre-ordered To Drink Coffee With a Ghost… before receiving an ARC through NetGalley.

In to Drink Coffee With A Ghost, Amanda dives deep into the relationship she had with her mother who died of cancer. It also gives a deep view of the relationship she has with her sister. Amanda’s poetry is deep and thoughtful. A lot of people call it “instagram poetry,” but I honestly prefer it. Its down to earth and extremely relate-able.

Personally, this book was less relate-able to me just because I didn’t directly identify with the relationship she had with her mother. I do however identify with the relationship with her sister. There are definitely some poems about her mom that I could more relate to my relationship with my father. Relate-able or not, the poetry is beautiful, thoughtful and flowing. I especially love the last line of each poem, which I consider to be the title. It completes each poem so well. I also love how there are some poems that are in parts, which in the hard copy version will be on pages opposite each other.

Overall, I give this book 4.5 stars. I greatly look forward to Amanda continuing to write.

I am coming to the conclusion that I would be read anything Amanda Lovelace writes. I had the pleasure of reviewing this author's earlier works and it was my pleasure to read a digital review copy of to drink coffee with a ghost. Here is experience, memory, and emotion -- all powerfully wrapped up in verse and decorated with attractive images.

Recommended literary reading for a wide audience. If you enjoy poetry, check out Lovelace's work.

With her new poetry collection Amanda Lovelace delivers as always. This collection in particular deals with mother-daughter relationship, the toxicity and anger as well as love and forgiveness. A couple of the poems took my breath away, but now as many as I usually expect from poetry collections,so 4* from me.
Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As much criticism as "Instagram poets" get these days, I'm actually a pretty big fan. I think poetry can be inaccessible sometimes, and what Lovelace (and other current poets like Nikita Gill) get right is making poems easy to understand. Although I always appreciate Lovelace's unfailing honesty and willingness to put her pain on the page, her recent collections haven't had the same impact on me as her first two ("The Princess Saves Herself in This One" and "The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One.") Her early work felt so fresh, creative, and powerful; I often marked many pages to come back to at a later time so I could revel in them all over again. "To Drink Coffee With a Ghost" feels too rushed to me (it took me less than 30 minutes to read), and I didn't find any specific poems that really spoke to me. Since this collection focuses on Lovelace's complicated relationship with her mother, there was plenty of insight and moving emotion throughout. However, I just wasn't able to connect as much having not gone through similar experiences. I'll still be a fan of Lovelace's after this book and I'll still check out her future work. This one just sadly missed the mark for me.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book of poetry is primarily about grief for the passing of the poet's mother, who was at times the poet's best friend and at times very toxic. I loved the way that this dichotomy was explored, and how the grieving process was depicted in a myriad of different ways—reminiscing, anger, fear, love, hate, sorrow—it was all very real and raw, yet magical throughout. No feeling was too big or too small, too personal or universal to include, and I always appreciate that about Amanda Lovelace's writing. I'll definitely keep reading whatever she writes!

to drink coffee with a ghost explores Amanda Lovelace's relationship with her late mother and all the things she did not have time to say while she was still with her. I enjoy every one of her books and I look forward to reading more of her works.

This is a heavy book of emotions and the journey through grief.

I liked the way the poems were set up. The poem first and the title in italic underneath.

While I couldn’t relate to many of these poems there were a few that I found a connection to and really appreciated the message. I also really liked the pictures. They were beautiful.

Poetry is such a personal experience. Some you’ll connect to and some you won’t.

I am a huge fan of poetry and I can honestly say that Lovelace is one of my absolute favorite modern poets. There is something about her poetry that strikes a chord with me. Lovelace’s critics have accused her of being a hack and overly simplistic, but I would argue that there is an authenticity to Lovelace’s poems that is so deeply raw and real that it resonates with thousands of people who have survived some form of brokenness or trauma in their own lives.

The experience of grief. So is the appeal of Lovelace’s prosaic verse.
Lovelace’s ouevre is not for the faint of heart and her latest offering is no different. In this collection, she explores her feelings surrounding the death of her mother. How does a person mourn the passing of someone who caused them both physical and emotional harm? What does it mean to be shaped by a history of abuse? How do we at last lay the past to rest and find peace?

The process of mourning is complicated. Lovelace helps readers to process their pain by turning their anguish into art.
Even readers who are not survivors of trauma will be able to appreciate Lovelace’s story. Her poems are deceptively simple. Although her writing seems straightforward, she manages to pack a great deal of emotion into just a few words. Sometimes books come to us at just the right time in our lives. I recently lost a loved one with whom I had a very complicated relationship. Like Lovelace, I prefer to find my solace in the pages of a book. Although Lovelace’s story is not my own, reading about her journey from heartbreak to healing helped me to begin to find words to process my own grief. If you are fan of modern poetry, especially poetry with a feminist/womanist emphasis, you will appreciate the haunting beauty of Lovelace’s latest book.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love this. Having recently lost my mom, many of these pieces resonate with me. Thank you Amanda Lovelace for your writing. And - Thank you NetGalley.

Every one of Amanda Lovelace's books make me cry and this did too. The writing was so raw and absolutely brilliant. She is a person who knows how to play with words and write her story with the most interesting style. Loved the book and would definitely recommend it!

I just finished this collection (I haven’t read the first book but I will) and I’m I so much life reflection it’s scary. This book is about pain but also about perseverance. It’s about Grief, but also joy. It’s about Love but also hate. It was so heart felt and there was one that really got to me.

“i’m afraid i’ll be just like you,
i’m afraid i’ll be nothing like you.”
-my empress in reverse

Just . . . This woman, Amanda Lovelace, has no idea how impactful she is. She digs up your memories, she makes you cry but in the end . . . You laugh.

This was beautiful and painful and hopeful and made me feel so much.

To drink coffee with a ghost focuses mainly on toxic mother-daughter relationship. Even if I personally couldn’t relate, because I won the lottery in case of my loving and caring mum, these poems touched me somewhere very deep.

“i only ever wanted to keep you safe,“
you screamed.
“then why didn’t you?“
i cried .

- lucid

The book is divided into three parts, ghost-mother, ghost-daughter, and sun-showers. First part talks mainly about painful relationship with the mother, second about reality of living without her and slowly becoming your own person and the third part (my favourite, even if the whole book was incredible), about letting go, about sisterhood, loving yourself and being free. It felt like I got to be a part of this family story, to have a look behind the doors, to get to live all the pain and worry, but also the healing and love.

Even if I couldn’t relate to mother problems, I definitely related to having a sister, having other half of me I unconditionally love. I had tears in my eyes while I read these poems.

when i think
of my life
without a sister,
i suddenly
understand
what they mean
when they say
people can die
from broken
hearts
- the worst tragedy of all


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.

The book also has gorgeous illustrations which makes the feel of the book somehow complete and magical. I will definitely be buying this book when it is published in September.

Thank you so much Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for letting me read this amazing book sooner. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.75 Stars

In this new poetry collection author Amanda Lovelace mostly explores the relationship she had with her mother, who has passed away from cancer. All the poems about this theme are quite bittersweet since her mother is a person she loved but in part she also hated. I particularly enjoyed this new book by Lovelace and I must say I liked it more than some of her other works.

Amanda Lovelace turns her attention to her relationship with her mother and with herself in this book or poetry. What does it mean to lose someone you love and loathe? How do you change? What changes do you make and how does it effect your future relationships? These are all topics that Lovelace faces head on in a collection which is a soul bearing love letter that doesn’t hold back the punches. Even if you have an awesome relationship with a very alive mother, there are poems in this book which will speak to your soul. They are aside a smattering of beautiful illustrations. Worth a read and spot on any reader’s shelf!