Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley. I read everything Lovelace comes out with so I was pleasantly surprised to see she had new work coming out. I really liked the illustrations and her poems kicked butt! I like how it is equally sad and positive.

I've read Amanda Lovelace's work before, but I must say that this one is just as good as every other. Self-empowerment was my favorite aspect of this poetry. The way she wrote it was INSPIRING.

who said you can't
wear a flower crown
& still remain
a fearsome thing?
- make Persephone proud.

Aside from that, the floral artwork was pleasant.
Last but not least, I'd want to express my gratitude to Netgalley for offering this advanced reader copy.

This is a standalone poetry collection that explores femininity, and the concept of being both "soft and fierce". The collection alternates between soft and fierce poems, which are enhanced by the corresponding wildflower and wildfire illustrations, which I think are beautiful. The titles are located after the poems, which is an interesting and fresh aspect of this collection that I enjoyed. It took me a little while to get used to it, but the titles really act as punchlines to the poems, which I think really enhances them.

While I enjoyed some of the poems, I never truly felt connected to any of them. The poems, especially the short ones, almost just felt like regular, non-poetical sentences that were split into stanzas. I know a lot of people do enjoy Lovelace's poetry, but I just don't think it is the kind of poetry that I enjoy to read unfortunately. That being said, I can appreciate this poetry and the messages behind it. I have read some of Lovelace's other collections, and this is my favorite from the bunch.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early access to this gem!
I really enjoyed this poetry collection and I appreciated how certain themes were faced.
I also appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginnings, sometimes we underestimate them but they’re really important.
Lovelace told in a beautiful, fierce way and in a few lines a story that thousands of girls unfortunately go through

"𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛
𝑈𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛
𝑁𝑜 𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝐵𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑡 "!

Thank you netgalley & Andrew's McMeel Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC.

Having read some of her other poetry collections when i saw this book i knew i had to read this! Just look at the cover, How beautiful it is! And the title? It's soo punchy!

But To be honest, i didn't like this poetry collection THAT much. i had more expectations from this but unfortunately it didn't work out. I felt the author was trying to put more intensity in it but i didn’t feel connected. Nonetheless, I liked some poems in between. I loved the way she described to be soft and fierce when it's needed. To be Strong and to feel Strong. And the two illustration represents the whole meaning of this book. The fire on flower ; To be Soft and to be fierce!

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

Wow...

Amanda Lovelace has really stepped up her game. I didn't enjoy her first few books as much, I didn't feel like she had a direction in which her written was going. After reading this book, I think she has finally found her voice and I love how far her writing and poetry have come! I can't wait to see more from her!

Another beautiful, empowering collection of poems from one of my favorite poets. Full of affirmations about body positivity, not letting men put you down, standing up for yourself and learning to move on from abusive relationships. There's something for everyone in this lovely collection. Also included are gorgeous illustrations. LOVED this one and can't wait to buy my own copy to add to my shelves. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this title! This was my first experience with reading Amanda’s work and I truly enjoyed it so much. I found her writing to be very on point with the theme they chose to have throughout this collection and was eager to see what she was going to bring across in the next piece. I found a few favorites where I went back to reread them and I don’t know, I think when you’re going back to see what someone’s words have to say you’re going to hold on to them and I love experiencing that!

One more book from Amanda Lovelace, always bringing feminism perspective (which i love so much). Some of the poems were just not for me (like in the "The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One"), but some poems were like: "man, what's going on here?".

I had only one more problem with this book especifically, that made me take back one star from the rating, that was: exist some poems in this one, that seems so weak and predictable, that i was being sad during the reading :(

But the book is a 3 out of 5 stars, which means is a good and quick read :)

I am a HUGE fan of Amanda Lovelace, which is why I eagerly swallowed this book in a very short time and was NOT disappointed.

Every time I read her books I'm uplifted, I feel strong, and yes I teared up but it was good tears. There's poems here about toxic relationships, about dark subjects like sexual assault, and yet in the end I feel stronger for having read every word.

Read this is you're struggling at all because you won't be disappointed. You'll feel like you're the fearsome thing that people should be afraid of but the most beautiful of all.

Thank you for this book. I'm gonna go read it again.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

I keep reading Lovelace’s books in hopes I’ll end up liking one of them, but this was another disappointment to me.
I didn’t connect with any of the poems, they were repetitive and felt like the author was trying too hard to write something „deep“.
My e-copy also had more illustrations (always the same two images) and empty pages than actual poetry, so there’s that…

I was given access to an electronic advanced reader copy of this poetry collection by NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lovelace’s poetry collection is about being soft and fierce and how both states of being are a show of strength. The two themes are emphasized through art of flowers. Prior to every poem, one of the two pieces of art are shown to represent whether it’s about softness or ferocity. One is a peaceful scene of colorful flowers with a pastel color-scheme and the other is a scene of red flowers on fire which seems to demonstrate ferocity. This poetry collection is beautifully written.

A text feature I strongly appreciate is a list of trigger warnings at the beginning of the poetry collection. Some of the trigger warnings include sexual assault, abuse, eating disorders, trauma, child abuse, and more. Readers should consult the trigger warnings prior to reading this poetry collection.

5 out of 5 stars for this powerful poetry collection.

Lovelace does it again with her extremely relatable and delightful feminist poetry, this time paired with the prettiest of flower images, alternating between the beautiful and soft, and the fierce and fiery. The concept image of Persephone, both soft and fierce, goddess of spring and flowers and life and death, fits perfectly with the feminist style of Lovelace's poetry which must ring true for many. Fans of Lovelace's work will certainly enjoy her most recent work, deeply reminiscent of her previous works yet made floral and new.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC copy of the work in exchange for this review.

These new poems were beautifully fierce and the book itself is fiercely beautiful.
The figure of Persephone embodies perfectly the duality expressed in the book and it’s nice to have some insight as what the author used as an inspiration and narrative thread.
An accurate word to describe Amanda Lovelace’s poetry would be “empowering”. This book is filled with poems about anger and self-healing and self-worth and self-confidence, Lovelace’s poetry is a poetry of owning your feelings and emotions.
I read this book in one sitting and I loved every second of it, I wish it had been longer. A few of the poems lacked the powerful punchlines that Lovelace can write, but all of them were powerful statement of independence.

Amanda Lovelace is one of my favorites in the modern poetry game- and she did not disappoint with Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things. Another highly relatable book of quips and poems and button style poetry. I do appreciate her trigger warnings up front- so anyone who does have a trigger reading certain topics, its listed right up front. I'm excited to add a physical copy of this one- the illustrations on the ebook were beautiful. I leave poetry books casually displayed for others to look through and this will be one of them!

I always love amanda Lovelace’s poetry collections, and this one is no different. I love the softness and the fierceness presented back to back, and the way trauma also leads to healing. I can see how Persephone is kind of the inspiration for this collection, and I loved the nods back to her myths. There are several poems that hit my soft-squishy bits, and I love them for that.

This is an inspiring and empowering poetry collection accompanied by beautiful fitting motifs. Each alternating page has either poem befitting of the flower crown or the title of a fearsome thing. This was an easy read and I will continue to return to and dip in and out of the book.

‘Who said you can’t
Wear a flower crown
& still remain
A fearsome thing?’

A collection of poems to kindle that fire in your heart.

This is the first of Lovelace’s collections that I have truly adored. I am passionate about women’s rights so I loved reading beautiful poetry that screams ‘fierce woman’.

Amanda Lovelace is back with another fiery feminist poetry collection, one that manages to be as soft and delicate as it is fierce. This one centers around the myth of Persephone, and the imagery the words invoke packs a powerfully remarkable punch.

I have been following Amanda Lovelace, both professionally and personally, for many years now, and it has truly been a wonderful thing to see her flourishing as an author. I first read her self published version of her first book, The Princess Saves Herself in This One, and instantly fell in love with her writing, because I not only felt as if I was reading words pulled straight from my heart, but also like I was having a conversation with an old friend over a cup of coffee.

Reading an Amanda Lovelace poetry collection is like diving into a book of fairy tales and becoming the princess turned queen who triumphs all. It’s like listening to a Taylor Swift album on a crisp fall day while snuggled up in a quilt with a cup of steaming coffee with Gilmore Girls on in the background. I draw comfort from her words, and feel understood and seen. Her poems are a safe place and a source of strength when i’m struggling to make sense of everything going wrong in my life.

It is clear that Amanda has been through so much in her life, yet she has managed to persevere, and her strength and hopefulness shines through in her writing, and lights a path for those of us still struggling to overcome our demons and find our way through the darkness.

I love each and every one of Amanda’s books, and there are so many poems that I have taken to heart that it’s difficult to say which is my favorite amongst them all, but I will say that I absolutely loved her latest collection of poetry.

Flower Crowns & Fearsome Things is as majestic and powerful as the title suggests. Just as I did with her other books, I snuggled up in my favorite quilt with a big mug of coffee (with Taylor Swift’s Folklore album playing just in case anyone was wondering) and immediately devoured the entire collection in one sitting. I went into this one feeling down and angry at the world because of the tragic current events taking place every day, and I finished feeling like a badass warrior queen brandishing a sword, ready to fight all of the injustices of the world.

Amanda’s poetry shows strength through vulnerability, and her empowerment of women through her words is something that is much needed and appreciated in this day and age.

I could probably write an entire novel length review of this collection alone, but I feel that poetry is a very personal thing, and means something different to each and every one of us, so you may interpret how I view the collection completely differently. But if you are a fan of Amanda’s previous collections, I feel very strongly that you will love this one just as much.

Absolutely stunning collection of poetry from Amanda yet again. She’s truly a gift to the poetry community, and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next and continue to slay dragons alongside her. Just like Taylor Swift sang, I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.

Grab a cup of coffee (or your favorite beverage of choice), polish your crown, turn on your favorite album or tv show, settle in comfortably, and dive into this collection!

I stumbled across this on the “read now” section of Netgalley and thought I’d give it a go. I’m not a massive fan of Amanda Lovelace, but I’ve found a few of her poems to be gems, and I liked the premise of this new book. When I read The Witch Doesn’t Burn, I felt like she was a little too tyrannical even for a strong feminist like myself. I like that this book was about being soft and rising above—that being strong and soft are not two mutually exclusive ideas.

At the start, one or two of the poems struck me, so I was hopeful. But each poem felt almost repetitive of the last—she kept going in circles and it felt like she didn’t say anything new. To be frank, a lot of the poems reminded me of 2012 tumblr posts. Something someone jotted down and thought it was profound. What happened to poetry that people agonized over? Poetry that was carefully constructed line by line, word by word, letter by letter? I can hardly believe that she spent more than ten minutes on any of these poems.

This collection of poems wasn’t strictly “bad,” just wholly uninspired.