I have really liked all the poetry and writing by this author. I think this is the fourth or fifth book I have read that has continued to be good, engaging, and thoughtful.

For some reason I was automatically drawn to this book and I'm glad I gave it a shot. I've read Amanda Lovelace books before and until now I had a love/hate relationship with her poetry. Nevertheless, this book really made me change my mind about this author. Let's start with the fact that I love fairy tales (they're my weakness and guilty pleasure kinda), thus I had my hopes up for this book but I didn't expect it to love it as much I did. Cinderella has always been one of my favourite princesses so I've loved every inch of it. I'll definitely keep on reading the "be your own fairytale" series. I'm looking forward more life lessons shaped as books.

<i>all you can do is give them all the kindness you have, & if they don't return it, then they aren't worth your sugar</i>

This is a collection of poetry that is also a retelling of the fairytale 'Cinderella'. In this book, Amanda Lovelace promotes self-love and feminism. She also speaks about mental abuse from family and others, along with bullying. Due to some of the issues mentioned, I found it to be quite relatable.

There are some poems that are actually advice given to the main character from the Fairy Godmother, they were some pretty good advice and I'm definitely going to try and follow them.

For me, it was a pick me up and a motivator. therefore, this collection is perfect for those who are currently feeling down and has low self-esteem.

This is another powerful poetry collection from Amanda Lovelace. Focused mostly on female empowerment, she delivers Ann overall positive message about self care and personal development. I love how it follows the premise of Cinderella, with encouraging poems from the view of a Fairy Godmother alternating with the darker themes. I appreciate the recurring theme in nLovelace's work, that a woman does not need a prince or king to be a powerful princess or queen. She reiterates over and over that women have the power within them, which I think is a crucial message for young women (and all women) right now.

I highly recommend this collection for fans of Lovelace's other works, as well as readers of poetry and those looking for a strong female empowerment message.

I’ve been a long time fan of Lovelace’s writing and this was yet another amazing poetry collection. This covers themes of toxic relationships, fatphobia, mental illness and more. This collection is based on Cinderella and being your own Prince Charming. As always, each short poem packs an emotional punch. This is an empowering and all too relatable collection. I look forward to seeing the other fairy tales that will be tackled in this series. *ARC provided by NetGalley for review.

I enjoyed this about as much as I have her other collections. Some things deeply resonate with me. Some things read like bad tumblr poetry. But for me, the good outweighs the bad and I keep finding myself reading her works. Would recommend to those who have read her other works.

This maybe Amanda Lovelace’s best work. I loved it so much. It was subtle but so powerful at the same time. It was all about body positivity and loving yourself first before accepting the love of other people.

This is my favorite book Amanda Lovelace has published. It's not only beautiful and lyrical, turning the Cinderella story on it's head; but it is empowering and inspiring. Words have the power to change people, and Amanda's words can change the world. I connected to this collection of poems more than her other collections, and I think that's because everyone has pictured themself as a Cinderella at some point in their life. Amanda takes the traditional story of Cinderella, and gives Cinderella the power to be whoever she wants to be, not just be who a man wants her to be. Truly inspiring.

Break Your Glass Slippers is a poetry collection full of female empowerment and feminism. They’re what every girl and woman should hear everyday. It advocates for self-love and independence as well as letting you know that it’s okay to be selfish sometimes.

I liked how the poems were organized so that one poem is a woman’s inner thoughts of fear, doubt, failure, etc. and the next will be one from her fairy godmother sending messages of self-love and empowerment.

Amanda Lovelace has done it again. Her poetry is gorgeous and empowering. Every negative thought in this books is counteracted by positive self-talk and I love it for that.

This was really for the readers. So often modern poetry falls into a negative spiral of vengeance and rising above it. Instead, Lovelace turns to her readers and shows them how to navigate betrayals, loss and drama through a retelling of Cinderella - or at least of Cinderella as a character. I really liked it.

The majority of the poems are about finding strength and accepting that other people and their misjudgements or lack of appreciation for you is definitely a "them" problem and not a "you" problem. She does this cleverly, often using Cinderella, and branches away more often from romantic love to incorporate familial or friend love which can be exactly what you need when you hit the bottom, or exactly what you're entitled to avoid if it's unhealthy. It was legitimately empowering, and I think Lovelace struck the perfect balance.

The illustrations are my favourite from her collections so far (admittedly because princesses, crowns, smashed glass slippers and bright colours are probably always a winner!). They add a unique dynamic to the poetry, rather than feeling decorative as so often happens.

Break Your Glass Slippers is the most impressive anthology of poems and encouragements I have seen so far from Lovelace; I look forward to the next one!

Thank you for the opportunity to review break your glass slippers!

WHAT I LIKED:
The first section of poems. The work in this movement read as very genuine, honest, and raw. The message that love is not a cure for internal struggles is so pertinent. I enjoyed the subtle nods to the Cinderella fairytale, and appreciated how the poems here incorporated subtle nods without being direct references. Lovelace struck a nice balance of fairytale and reality.

The strong sense of empowerment and the message that you can be your own hero. This concept is something that really stood out to me as an important and terribly relevant theme. These poems tell readers that love comes from within, and a partner should complement your life instead of completing your character. You are enough in your current state; you are always enough.

The illustrations. The images that accompany the poems are absolutely stunning, drawing on Cinderella's classic blue. They juxtapose fairytale whimsy with items and images we're accustomed to seeing every day, creating a sense of magic in the mundane.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

The second and third sections. That's not to say that these sections were bad, but I wanted more imagery and imagination as I saw in the first section. Some of the poems bordered on being preachy rather than empowering, and I felt like we lost the sense of story. Maybe that was intentional though; the break from the Cinderella narrative could have something to do with empowerment and writing your own story.

I didn't really connect with any of the poems as much as I did with previous Amanda Lovelace collections I have read before. I did like the message this collection brought over. It's mainly about self-love and it does so in a great way. I also liked the fairy tale metaphores these poems had. I'm curious to see what the rest of this series is going to give.

This is an amazing thought provoking collection of poetry once again these poems are so relevant in today's society bringing Cinderella's story into modern day poetry talking of love and heartbreak between family, friends and with ourselves as we can hate not love so much about our bodies most of the time as it's easier.



A fabulous new collection of poetry making the classic tale of Cinderella a modern time relevant story through the poems.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

"Break Your Glass Slippers" is the first book in the new series by celebrated poet Amanda Lovelace. As the name hints, I began this one by hoping it to be a poetic retelling of the Cinderella tale. The first part (there are a total of three parts) goes as expected. The later parts want us to stop believing in fairy tales, but instead write our own life story. A powerful message indeed.

It is also a tale of feminism and misogyny, poetically explaining the two terms and subtly pointing out how, sometimes, when one tries to be the former, intentionally or unintentionally becomes the latter.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

I truly enjoyed this poetry collection so much. It came right in a time I needed it. It thought me so much about self love and taking care of yourself. Most of the poems were so soothing to me. I absolutely love Lovelace’s writing style.

I keep reading Lovelace's collections in the hope that I can recapture the magic that I felt from the first two in her "Women Are Some Kind of Magic" series. Unfortunately, there's just something missing for me. Right off the bat, this new set of poems is way too short (it took me less than 20 minutes to read) and many of the poems are just one or two lines. I understand this is a stylistic choice, but it ended up feeling like the collection is not substantial enough. I appreciate Lovelace's fairy tale theme in most of her collections, but it felt like the motif wasn't taken far enough in this one. There's only a faint thread of Cinderella instead of a strong connection to the story. (For a more successful version of this, check out Nikita Gill's "Fierce Fairytales.") I'll probably still read Lovelace's works in the future because I do think her work is honest (especially when she's drawing attention to toxic relationships, trauma, eating disorders, etc.). I just hope that she's able down the line to really dig into these issues with poems that make me want to read them again and again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Break your glass slippers is the best Amanda Lovelace collection I’ve read yet. I feel like I say this with each new collection but I honestly feel this one trumps my love of her other collections. I’ve loved everything she’s written so far, but none have spoken to me quite like this one. Break your glass slippers is about self love and overcoming those (even yourself) that don’t see what you’re worth. It’s a beautiful uplifting collection that offers advice and words of strength to bolster yourself when you forget that you’re worth more.
This book is also beautifully illustrated inside.

Amanda Lovelace never Disappoints. She only exceeds my expectations.
With every book I read of hers, I not only feel connected to the author but I feel more connected with myself.
Her work always makes me realize; 1. I'm not Alone; 2. Yes. I am worth it; and 3. I should never feel sorry for being me
I highly recommend not only this book, but Amanda Lovelace's work in general.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

I love how many of the poems read like affirmations, like things you should tell yourself everyday, to remember how to take care of yourself. There's a lot of gentle (but also fierce) love from the author towards the reader, and that's a wonderful feeling to get from a poetry collection.

The poems about 'him' could all be read as very romantic, until you saw the title and then they mostly turned that feeling on its head, which was quite clever I thought, but it also made them seem slightly bitter sometimes. They reminded me a bit of Rupi Kaur (which is a very good thing in my book).

I felt the fairy godmother sections seemed a bit too much like they were trying to explain things? I quite like how they would come after a darker poem, to make sure the reader was alright, but sometimes it felt a bit too much like a self-help book. It's a fine line to walk between caring and self-help, but most of the time, this book manages it just fine

I have to say I loved the illustrations. They are so so beautiful and give you a bit of time to absorb the poems. It can be a very quick read, so it's good to take breaks and let the poems sink in.

Would definitely recommend this to fans of Amanda Lovelace, but for new readers I would recommend reading 'The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One' first.