I struggled to find anything particularly poetic about this collection. There isn't a nice flow to the collection or a clear organization to the poems. The writing really came across as a mixture between an Instagram caption and a self-help/inspirational lesson about relationships. The poems look aesthetically like a "classic" modern poem, but the line breaks don't add emotion or tension; they just seem to be there because that's what a poem "should look like".

Each poem is short and sweet and to the point, so if that's your cup of tea... I will say that every few poems there was a line that made me stop and appreciate it, but they were few and far between. Perhaps if I was going through a breakup or having a rough time and needed motivation, this would hit differently.

The cover of this book really drew me in, but there were random pages (at least in the digital ARC I read) of what I can only describe as Tumblr posts - random half-naked women and inspirational quotes written in calligraphy - that took away from my overall reading experience.

"I plant roots so deeply
in the people I love
that I always lose a piece of myself
when they go."

Uplifting and positive. This little book of poems is very organic and well written, I can really appreciate the beauty of the words and messages. A sweet combination of love and earthy prose.

Cover: 5/5 - can't resist a sun/moon combo.
Audience: adult
Poetry, love, earth, relationships, nature
Overall: 3.5 - my fault really I just have a hard time with poetry.

Inspirational and instructional poetry in the vein of advice from people who have never experienced severe depression, who think that everyone believes in god, and that their own experiences and slight reworkings of cliched phrases are valuable. The prose poem about sex could have been lifted from a bad Cosmo column from the 1980s, the constant "pick yourself up/change you life/embrace joy" maxims are tired and wearying, and the language is pedestrian, with sentiment off in the maudlin woods far too often to entrance.

"as far back as i can remember, i have searched for the hidden magic in things"

that line -one of the first- really reflects what this book holds. this was my first beau taplin book, and i'll sure read his other works after this.

Beau Taplin writes the most inspiring poetry collections and this was no different. There are so many that you find yourself instantly connecting with. I love that his words just resonate with you. I either love a poetry book or I don't and his collections are the only ones I know I'll end up loving. Definitely looking forward to more!

Poetry can be a hit or miss for me and this one was a hit! There were some very lovely poems in this and some of them I had to re-read because of how much I liked them. I will definitely check out some of the authors other work!