Content was a bit unexpected - the structure of the book made it difficult to follow what the author was trying to covey. May be enjoyable for others who like this genre.

Couldn't really get into this one but it was generally a quick read. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys the genre and is looking for a short read.

It is a collection of "occasional poetry", and I like the poet's keen eye on details. However, there is always a thing with "getting too personal". Poems are condensed emotions etc., but the numerous nuances documents, photo copies of letters received, handwrite etc. in the book gives a feeling of sloppiness somehow, and the literary aesthetics got reduced a bit. Liked the dog slaughter poem in the middle.

Thanks to the publishers, and NetGalley, for providing me with a free eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Warning: this book contains discussions of racism, and the unfair trial and subsequent death sentence of a young boy.

Unfortunately, I find myself struggling to give this book a proper review. First, I would say this: pay heed to the word 'occasional' in the title. The majority of this book is prose vignettes, or prose poetry. This book, for me, is primarily a memoir, or perhaps a homage to the author's father. The writing itself is certainly competent, and often touching. The piece that stood out to me the most was one right towards the end, titled "Black Boy with Cow: A Still Life". This piece was by far the most emotionally of the book, mostly due to its subject matter, but also due to the portrayal it offers of the author's relationship to her father.

This was what I enjoyed about the book. However, I struggled to get involved in many of the prose vignettes, and I was often left wondering if what I was interpreting as prose poetry due to the line breaks was actually a formatting issue. There were many formatting issues with this book, to the point where I was often unsure if something was placed in error or intentionally. I hope this issues are resolved before the book is released, as I would be disapppinted had I paid for this, especially as I felt distracted from the writing itself by the errors with which it was riddled. With better formatting, and error corrections, I do feel as though this book could potentially gain an extra star, but the errors were too distracting for me to enjoy the writing as I perhaps could otherwise.

Rating: 2.5 stars, rounded to 3.

A stunning collection of prose, poetry and treasures all round: in words and in pictures and in their connections to each other and the author's experiences. Vibrant, creative and deeply potent.

Disclaimer - I received a free digital download of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If I am to speak honestly then I must say that the digital copy of the book that I received seemed to have a lot of formatting problems unfortunately and for me it’s very difficult to look past when trying to read and review a book. I also found a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes. I hope that all of the above issues are modified prior to publishing.

I was intrigued by the opening statements of ‘Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry’ as it defines something called ‘occasional poetry’ - a term with which I am not familiar and goes on to stipulate that the poetry contained in the book is of the occasional persuasion meant to be read individually as if each poem were a performance.

The poetry in this book is of the long hand prose variety and are enjoyable to read and immerse yourself in. You follow the tales of Love Child and her favoured memory’s. Bearing witness to her last days with her grandmother, struggles with and the death of her father and remembrances of her mother from her childhood days.

The prose goes on to tell stories of different times all rooted in African American culture and history. It was an interesting journey to partake in and explore the authors thoughts and expressions via her written word.

This book includes both poetry and prose. It feels like a memoir and it's interesting that the author added various pictures throughout the book. However, I felt lost while reading it and it didn't really appeal to me. The author's writing is good, but I did found myself pushing through the book in order to finish it. Rating: 3/5 stars

Love Child’s hotbed of Occasions Poetry reads like an autobiography written in short stories. Nikki Finney writes so descriptively that it’s easy to feel like you are walking through the memories she shares as they take place. Themes of parental adoration, black intellect, and growing up in the south, frolic in her “stories” sometimes hand in hand. This book does not read like a poetry collection. It did not fulfill the poetry itch I was looking to scratch. Though I did appreciate her writing I did find myself forcing my way through most of the book. The photos and letters included in this e-book are distorted and illegible , I’m unsure if it’s going to be this way in the hard copy, but if not, it may make the physical book more intriguing.