SOFT THORNS VOL.II is thoughtful, relatable, and filled with beautiful illustrations. I enjoyed the theme of relationships, of love and loss, and trauma. And in terms of writing style, it's consistent, sparse, and confessional. Some of my favorite poems from this collection were in the WHERE YOU LEFT ME section.


I think overall, it offers insight into one's own experience with those subjects, but I also think that is part of the struggle here: it's so personal, at times, it's difficult to connect to or understand where the poet is coming from. Most of the poems fell flat with me; even though I mentally knew I could relate, I was unable to connect with it emotionally, if that makes sense. Some of the poems were random lines. Others were pretty passages, but I personally felt most weren't...well...powerful? They just didn't hit me with the impact I expected.

End of day, SOFT THORNS VOL.II will resonate with readers who like simple, blunt confessional poetry that is broad enough to let you interpret it however you want. It's not a collection I would reread time and again, but I do think others would find it enjoyable for the reasons listed.

CW- sexual assault, rape, toxic relationship
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I thought that this was a lovely poetry collection. I enjoyed the illustrations throughout, and overall it was a fast paced impactful read.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow!! These poems are so beautiful. I highlighted so many favorite quotes. I'll probably re-read it many times. We can actually feel the author's emotions on these pages. At some point, I thought I was going to cry. Personally, I enjoyed this second volume best.

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 3.5 stars

A while back I read the first Volume of Soft Thorns and even though I didn't end up liking it that much, I was still curious to check out the continuation.

Soft Thorns Vol. II explores the journey from dreaming about meeting a person and starting a relationship to facing the realization you have to leave that person because they've changed you into someone you don't like.
The poems deal with trauma, trust issues, the fear of letting go of something because of nostalgia and all the good memories that overcloud the reality and toxicity of the relationship.

I liked some of the poems, while others felt like a random sentence or two that were separated in parts for "aesthetic" reasons and I found myself feeling bad for the whole page/the paper that was wasted.
I definitely enjoyed this volume more than the first one. The illustrations were quite beautiful, I do wish they were more frequent.

I went through a break up a few months ago, and this expressed my feelings so accurately. I loved this so much. The illustrations were beautiful too.

I enjoyed this, though I found it very similar to other modern poetry and was not able to pull much really deep meaning. It just felt a lot like much of the other "life lesson" kind of poetry I've read.

I really enjoyed this book of poetry. I know this type of poetry isn’t for everyone, some people don’t even consider it poetry, but personally, I think it’s very enjoyable and to each their own. Just let people enjoy what they like and focus on the types of poetry you do like!

Devoue is very open and honest with her poems. I felt a lot of her pains and struggles throughout and could relate. You can see the real journey here from beginning to end; the book is divided into five parts (Where you left me, Love in the chaos, The art of destruction, The final goodbye, and (Re)finding the light). Each section of poetry really matches the theme of each so you can choose to read beginning to end or maybe whichever section you feel you need the most. I particularly enjoyed the art of destruction section.

There are some beautiful illustrations to accompany many of the poems by Laura Klinke. These really added to the poems and were very well done.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy. All thoughts are my own).

Though the poems weren't anything too special, the illustrations were STUNNING and definitely made up for them. There were definitely some poems I related to, some that were pretty heart-wrenching, and some that were beautifully written, but they didn't blow me away. I still enjoyed this reading experience though!

I wish this was around a couple years ago. I really connected with what she has been through. Can’t wait til the next volume!

I loved Soft Thorns and was excited to see a second volume! This was a heartfelt and enjoyable collection of poems, accompanied by powerful and haunting illustrations. I found the first half of this book more refreshing and relatable. Looking forward to the author's next collection!

Soft Thorns Vol. II by Bridget Devoue was a beautiful collection of poetry.

I found so many of them relatable and beautiful. The ones featuring sexual assault and similar topics were difficult for me to read. The sexual assault poems were beautifully written, but not my cup of tea.

The artwork was a nice little bonus to this book, and I love when illustrations are included with poetry.

I will read more by Devoue in the future, and this book has earned a place on my very small and selective poetry shelf.

I received an eARC from Andrew McMeel Publishing through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

Divided into 5 parts, this book follows the reasoning of a narrative, to understand the story she wants to tell, but the bad thing about it is that it seems more of a story than poetry itself, take a narration and separate it between 'enters', this is what I felt reading this. At least the illustrations were really cool ...

Summary:
Where you left me - many metaphors with roses for my taste :/
Love in chaos - we are 2 fused psychologically, come and hug me
the art of destruction
The final goodbye - All the people who pass in our lives leave marks
(Re) finding the light - Combo of motivational messages and overcoming

Well I wouldn't say I saw anything new here, the same moral and motivational lessons of instapoetry (loveyourself baby yeeh). I think she addressed a little bit about demisexuality around here or was it my illusion? well I liked that

Music recommendation (I thought about it during that book): Blame Game - mxmtoon

I found myself connecting to some of Devoue’s poems like the introduction suggested, but for the most part I thought they were too short to form a connection with. I also thought a lot of the poems were too general. I read a lot of poetry that covers the same topics, and for the most part, this did not feel new. With that being said, there were some longer poems which seemed more personal, and I really Ed enjoyed those. I also loved the illustrations throughout. Overall, I do not hold any negative views towards this book. I think it is a great read for someone just getting started with poetry and looking for something similar to milk and honey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In this five-chapter book of poems, the author takes you on a journey of love, lust, heartbreak, abuse, and recovery. She dives into the vulnerabilities that so many of us face, and gives words to the feelings. As it is so eloquently said in the description, "This book won't give you a life boat, but it will show you how to swim."

I really enjoyed this collection, and the illustrations by Laura Klinke were stunning. I was able to relate more often than not, and I loved the flow within the poems. It didn't feel strict or like I had to read it a certain way to "get it."

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this available..

I read the first one in this series a few years ago and I enjoyed it, so I was excited to read this one.

Vol. 2 takes us on another up and down journey, from dealing with Love, heartbreak and s*xual assault. I really enjoyed seeing Bridgett's writing grow and become even more beautiful.

'We never know how fragile someone is until they break

Safe to say I can't wait for Vol.3!

I received this book for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Wonderful, moving and just what I needed. The writers use of wars is extremely unique and moving all at once I'm so glad that I picked up this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Soft Thorns deals with themes of love, sexual assault, abuse, heartbreak, and self love.

I love poetry, so I was very excited to read this. I definitely enjoyed this collection. I thought it was a very good expression of the feelings that come from the above themes. I found something I could relate to in most of the poems. I really enjoyed it. I also really liked the artwork included in the book. I thought it added a nice touch to some of the poems.

I'm glad I requested this book of poetry, it gave me an understanding of how the world of love, relationships, abuse, and loss works. How to deal and overcome barriers.
It's definitely suitable for a person who has gone through a messy breakup and needed that relationship support. Or even a person who is lacking self confidence. Or someone like me who just needs to hear some down right out truths and dark positive sayings. I also love the drawings in the book by Laura Kline.
Thank you to Netgalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Bridgett Devoue for allowing me to read and review this poetry book.
Book is out 4th May but you can already preorder it. I know I'm definitely grabbing one for myself.

A gorgeous collections of poems, emotions, and artwork. I really enjoyed reading this book and will definitely be reading more work from this writer. The artwork added a wonderful touch to the book and I would highly recommend this poetry book!

*Thanks Nethgalleyb and Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Poetries always have a way of getting to me. Until last year, I would shy away from poetries but this year I’ve discovered so many beautiful authors that now it’s such a fun genre to read.

“it’s incredible
how hidden deep within me
lies the ability
to love someone else
yet loathe myself completely”

Soft Thorns Vol. 2 is a beautifully written book by Bridgett Devouse which talks about several themes like abuse, pain, heartbreak, hopeless love, lust and healing. Some of them were so relatable that it almost made me feel overwhelmed. I enjoyed reading these modern poetries and this one has really beautiful illustrations.

Poetries is a really personal account and naturally there were some poetries I loved more than the others and some that didn’t resonate with me. Also, the fact that the author has really taken the courage to write about so many things like toxicity and pain and assault is what made this book even more worth it for me.

If you liked reading the works of Rupi Kaur and Amanda Lovelace, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book as well.