Amanda does it again! A beautiful collection of poems that are not only relatable but empowering. She has this special way of creating poems that hit the hard truths but also show the power of overcoming challenges.

Not much I can say about Amanda Lovelace that fans of her don't already know. She's an extremely talented author. Break Your Glass Slippers quickly became a favorite of mine. It is a female-empowering book with a message of self-help and a trigger-warning in the beginning, which I appreciated. It is a reminder to women that they are enough and how important self-love and self-preservation really is. Her Cinderella-themed words made this book extra special for the young princess in all of us. Reminding us that we don't need a prince to save us, we already possess all the necessary tools to save ourselves. "No wand necessary."

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

I love Amanda Lovelace's poetry, but of all the books of hers I have read this one is my absolute favorite. I am so glad to have the ARC, and I have already pre-ordered the physical book for several women in my life.

This book is perfect. Every bit of it resonates with me as a woman who has struggled with weight, acceptance, unhealthy relationships, self worth issues, and finding my voice. I am now in a place where I honestly don't care what people think about the decisions I make to keep myself healthy, sane, and thriving. But it took a long time to get here. This book embodies the journey I took from people pleasing, insecure girl grasping at any man who gave me a shred of attention to a self-assured, confident woman who isn't afraid to say no (and doesn't care that they call me a bitch if I dare to put myself first sometimes and stand up for what I believe in).

I don't care what preconceived ideas you may have about poetry or feminism or fairytale retellings. This book is powerful, meaningful, and will be one of your top reads all year.

"fairy godmother says:
you are not a thing
that can ever be
claimed, conquered,
or irreparably ruined
by someone else's hands
he may like to think
he wields that much power,
but he doesn't."

200,000 years since modern humans evolved and I live in the same time as Amanda Lovelace adapting fairytales to explore their moralistic essence through poetry!

Retold through poems, Lovelace explores the well-known fairytale that every girl grew up with: Cinderella. As the first instalment to 'you are your own fairytale', 'break your glass slippers' is about overcoming those who don’t see our worth, even if that person is sometimes ourself. She adapts the fairytale to address: in the epic tale of one's life, we are the most important character while everyone is but a forgotten footnote. Even the prince.

One can already imagine how epic of a collection this would be! Narrated through various characters like Ella of Cinders, Prince Charming and Fairy Godmother, each narrator speaks through the rightful tone that connects with readers on an emotional level! It is so important for women who grew up listening to fairytales that suppress women into the stereotype of 'damsels in distress' waiting for their princes and knights to come and rescue them from whims of those who are evil.
She talks about realising our self-worth and loving ourselves so we can gather our courage to move on by our own to explore the right kind of love with the same magical touch the fairytales hold, even though they do not talk about half of what Lovelace does. This is an ethereal collection meant to resonate with one's soul in the right way possible!

I loved all the poems and all of them made sure to caress my heart; the illustrations accompanying them felt so nostalgic and made my reading experience so profound! I cannot wait for the future collections in this series and I hold a tiny ember of hope that it will explore all the traditionally known 12 fairytales! I will not be surprised if this turns out to be her best work!

Recommended: This is an important collection for young girls and older women alike. Anyone wanting to explore a new type of collection can pick this one, as long as you love poetry and fairytales...!

"I am my own God damn fairy tale."

"Break Your Glass Slippers" is a collection of powerful poetry on womanhood intertwined with the classical Cinderella story. Don't be deceived by Amanda Lovelace's choice of simple words, they express something so painful and powerful that I am sure every woman can relate to them at some level.

"There is a girl who
dances only when
every curtain
is closed.
like most girls,
she's been learning
the trait of invisibility
since birth."

The existential suffering of our gender is equal in all cultures, all around the world. We consider it like an isolated issue, that our culture and society is the worst of all but women suffer more or less equally in every part of the world. You encounter abuse, violence, toxic behavior, body-shaming, sexual harassment and trauma everywhere regardless of geography. Lovelace touches those buttons with balanced pressure. I really liked the short poetry and her manner of expression. The fact I selected this book for Women's Day created the expected effect.
At times, I felt as if she was a little too angry or felt too much resentment and the poems are the channels she poured her melted heart out, and I hear her, loud and clear.

A decent collection of poetry, but the themes and ideas feel old by midway through this collection, and downright ancient if you've read other collections by Lovelace. I'd love to see her explore different ideas and themes in her poetry.

It feels reductive to say Amanda Lovelace's latest is a modern retelling of Cinderella, because that's not quite what this is. Instead, Cinderella lives!—in small glimpses, discursive fragments. What's most surprising is discovering that those fragments are mirrors. I didn't expect to be seen—read, really—with such discernment and tenderness. I didn't realise it was something I sought when I opened the work.

This brings to mind my favourite definition of a myth: It's a story about something that may or may not have happened, but is most certainly happening all the time. And there is plenty of space between the poems—for glass slippers, or for stars—so that the words decant, settling onto your skin like spells. You can feel the moonlight.

It isn't just Cinderella who sharpens into focus. Between Lovelace's fingers, the trope of evil stepsisters becomes startlingly recognisable, a cultural tragedy instead of a dusty allegory: “There are sisters who see each other as lifelong rivals / when they should be seeing each other as lifelong allies.”

And what joy the fairy godmother was! She's the wise woman you meet at work, or the aunt other aunts avoid. Maybe she’s actually your mother or godmother. In any event, she is your ally in the forest: She will teach you consent, female friendship, and love. Yet the wisdom of this tome lies in the way Lovelace so delicately and powerfully demonstrates it is one thing to hear such advice, and another to finally feel it in your bones, letting it ripple under your skin and transform you, like rags becoming a ballgown.

I'll conclude with a piece of wisdom directly from the source: We are our own goddamn fairy tale.

An absolutely incredible collection that will resonate with so many people especially now. It makes you think about yourself and those around you, especially how they treat you and your own worth. Every single poem in this collection is beautiful and thought provoking. I loved it.

This was so beautiful, and Amanda Lovelace's best work yet! Her writing is enchanting, and I could not put this down. I love her feminist take on Cinderella's story and her message on loving yourself first, and how that's enough. This is definitely a book of poetry that I would recommend to anyone with its uplifting message. It sparked joy in my life and I can't wait to be able to buy a physical copy of this!

Thank you to the publishers for the gifted review copy!

I really enjoyed this collection of poems. I could relate to some of them and some really stuck with me. As always Amanda Lovelace writes empowering pieces and this one is definitely my favorite of the author!

This book is amazing. It’s written in the simple poetic style of Amanda’s previous books. Not only is it well written, but there are trigger warnings in the beginning are so helpful. That’s honestly why I continue to read Amanda Lovelace’s work. She also talks about self care before and after which is important for such dense topics. Amanda finds a way to talk about such hard dense topics, and make them less tabo. She finds away to help reads to connect to hard topics, but also know and understand that they are strong and can get over them. The book is a fairy quick read but reading slowing and taking breaks when it gets tough is recommended. I can’t wait for the second installment of this series.

A new poetry collection to love!
Cinderella was my favorite princess as a child. The idea of turning the original fairytale into poetry about self love was so well executed. The illustrations throughout the book were a lovely addition.
This was my first book by the author but I will soon check out the rest of her works.

I can imagine that fans of this author will also enjoy her newest collection. But for readers who are new to poetry this is a great start. It is easy to understand and the fairytale well known. The topic of self love and not losing oneself within a relationship can be relatable to all genders and most age groups. I highly recommend this especially if you need a little pep talk about self love in form of a book. Within these pages you will find a fairy-godmother and let me tell you this book feels truly like one.

I wish I liked this one a lot more, but I felt like it was just kind of meh. There were some poems that hit me, but for the most part, they were nothing special. This makes me so sad because I loved Amanda's first two poetry collections so much.
There isn't much to say about this collection because none of the poems went deep enough.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @andrewsmcmeel for this advanced reading copy. This the first of lovelace’s new series called you are your own fairytale. It focuses on female empowerment, self-worth and self-care. It uses the trope of the “fairy godmother” as a woman’s conscience who knows that she is not treating herself as she should by being in a toxic relationship and being taken advantage of by other people in her life such as family and friends.

I enjoy poetry that focuses on self-worth and female empowerment. I hadn’t read lovelace before but I did like her work. My all time favourite is Rupi Kaur and she still remains on top. I liked the messages behind lovelace’s poetry, but I found she could have used some more figurative language/imagery. I leave you with one of my favourite snippets from her anthology:

“some days,
your body will feel like a cage.

on those days,
Lace flowers through the bars.”

This book carries a beautiful and very important message:

she is her own goddamn fairy tale

All of what is the author saying is so important and should be taped on the walls everywhere, so we would finally start to take care of and love ourselves. The book is divided into two main parts, in the first part, we can see the story of a girl and the advices from her fairy godmother. The second part talks about what happens when the girl breaks her slippers and starts to love herself as she is.

There were some pieces I really loved, as:

"you are limitless.

you can have the lipstick.
you can have the sword."

or

"there is nothing
unfeminist
about the girl
who chooses
the ball gown
& the prince.

there is everything
unfeminist
about those
who try to
shame her for
her choices".

I absolutely loved the message of this book and find it so important.

But what I didn't love was the execution. The poems sometimes didn't feel like the poems at all, just like the inspirational slogans you can find everywhere on the internet inserted in pretty and deep mystical pictures.

Like:

"so often we are our own true love"

or

"being called fat is not an insult.
being called skinny is not a compliment".

or

"my value doesn't go down when my weight goes up.
- they are just sizes."

I am not saying they are not wise words that everybody needs to hear, just... I expected a bit more from the book of poetry. More depth, more metaphors, more of beautiful writing that makes me feel a lot? And this book did not deliver that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy. Opinions stated are completely my own.

Firstly, I would like to thank Amanda Lovelace, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

“My value doesn’t go down when my weight goes up.”

“Withholding forgiveness can be a form of self-care.”

Amanda Lovelace is one of those authors who knows how to dig a spot deep in your soul, settle there, and nourish you. I believe this book should be made a required reading for all women; teens to grown ass women. I’m currently at year 24, and every single page of this beauty resonated with me. I was so sad when I finished it.

I cannot express how important this book is. The illustrations were such a gorgeous surprise! They brought the fairytale to life even more so than just having unadorned pages.

This is a masterpiece that will teach you that it’s okay to want the ballgown and the boy, and it’s okay to want to be left alone. You are the author of your own fairytale, and your own destiny. Nobody else. Practice self-care and always put yourself first. There is nothing wrong with that.

This is most definitely getting 5/5 stars. I’d give it 100/5 if I could. It will definitely be a book I pick up again and again when I forget the wisdom that was imparted in its pages.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me an ARC

I have loved all of Amanda Lovelace's poetry books. This one is no different. Most of her books have a running metaphor throughout the collection that ties everything together. This one focused on Cinderella. The metaphor is a lot more obvious in this collection than her other ones. This one contained such beautiful illustrations. I can't wait to see a finished copy. My ebook probably didn't do the artwork justice. I loved this and can't wait for the next installments in this series.

“you are limitless
you can have the lipstick
you can have the sword”
(pg. 27)

I find it very strange to give a rating to poetry. You either connect with it or it leaves you cold. It either speaks to your soul or it is hollow. Judging by the popularity of Lovelace I think she has tapped into the common female experience in a way that many women can relate to. It certainly resonated strongly with me. As a 40 year old woman I have learned some of these lessons the hard way and I wish that someone had put this book in my hands as a teen. It would be a kindness to get this to every girl in your life and discuss it with them. Fairy Godmothers don’t exist so it’s our duty as women to share our knowledge and words of wisdom with the young. We are the fairy godmothers. So tell the princesses in your life that they are valuable and perfect just how they are and that they don’t need anyone to be their prince. As the author says be your “own goddamn fairy tale.”

I have to note that this book is beautifully illustrated with line drawings and the most gorgeous starry blue sky and moon. It really is a lovely presentation. I’m impressed and I’m reading an e-arc so I can only imagine that the final version will be incredible, especially in print. It’s such a meaningful book which deserves to be as visually beautiful as its message.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

After reading Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace I struggled to write the review. Simply because I cannot begin to put into words the beauty in this book and the power in its minimalist format. This was my first book by Ms. Lovelace and surely not my last. I have not read poetry in what seems like decades, but this collection quickly transformed me into a poetry fan.

Throughout the story, the fairy godmother succinctly and beautifully prescribes adages that I found myself revisiting before even finishing the novel. The themes within this poetry collection of: feminism, self-care, and self-preservation are so timely and necessary in today’s divided society. For this reason and many others, when my daughter is old enough I will add this book to her collection. Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I look forward to purchasing a hard copy for my collection on publication day.

it was cute and inspirational, but nothing stood out for me. and we've heard all these poems before. I really appreciate the intention behind this, it's a beautiful message that girls need to hear but I guess reading one of these kinds of poetry books is enough, because I really enjoyed the author's previous works. I guess after a while it loses its power. anyways, it was motivational and i respect that!