I’ve been reading Amanda Lovelace for years, so I was very excited by the prospect of a yet another chance to see her work. And frankly, after how good some of her previous books were, this one just let me down. There were some good elements, beautiful artwork, and a decent storyline but nothing stood out quite as much as any previous work and it ultimately felt a little shallow.

Like Lovelace’s previous works (that I’ve read), the poems follow a general storyline based off of both their life and a sort of classical story. This particular book seems to be based off the myth of Persephone in Greek mythology, also incorporating Hades and Demeter as far as I could tell. There were times when it was clear the poems were referencing these myths (re: pomegranate seeds), and some more subtle moments that I actually liked (re: mother destroying things to save the child). Ultimately, the theme felt a bit heavy handed in some places and too performative in others.

In terms of the actual poetry, Lovelace has always used a more unique style than the technical poetry taught in highschool English classes. I don’t have a problem with this specifically, although there were times where I didn’t even feel like I was reading poetry but just...a sentence. This might just be personal preference but overall it just made things feel more stilted and forced than usual. This continues with the overall emotional themes. Some poems hit me hard and clearly spoke to more specific instances, while others just felt like they were generic inspirational quotes on a generic feminist Instagram account. I understand these themes are still very present in life and I don’t fault Lovelace for wanting to express that, but ultimately I felt like I was reading a sort of Empowering Women inspirational book rather than a poetry book. This doesn’t discredit the poems I did enjoy and that I’ll definitely go back to again, but it sometimes felt like the good started to outweigh the bad.

This might be personal preference but while the art was beautiful and I understand the symbolism of it, the repetition of only two pieces between every page just ultimately felt like trying to stuff the book so it would seem longer, and in my opinion took away from the cohesiveness of the storyline that Lovelace usually achieves.

In the end, if you see this book at your library or borrow it from somewhere else, it’s a relatively quick and short read with a few gems scattered throughout. If you’re expecting something very like Lovelace’s previous works or with consistent emotional depth, this might not be it for you. It’s not bad, but it’s not that great either, and I still have high hopes for any future works.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

God, I loved this. I think this may be my favorite Amanda Lovelace to date. It hit me in the feels in all the right ways. I just adore this so much that I don't even know what to say.

This might be my favorite collection of Amanda Lovelace's work yet. The illustration is beautiful. "flower crowns and fearsome things" explores the dichotomy of modern femininity, how we're supposed to perform strength and softness but only each in specific ways, lest we be vilified. The structure of the book is great, it alternates between 'fierce' and 'soft' but without ever losing the point that the two sides cannot ever truly be separated. I do believe they begin to dovetail a bit in the end, as the 'strength' gets softer and the 'softness' grows fiercer, but it's possible I'm over-reading into it.

My favorite poems are the two that bookend the collection, "goddess of spring" and "show them who's queen". This is a truly inspired collection of poems that I read twice through before reviewing, because I wanted to both sit with it a bit and read it straight through without breaks for a fully immersive read. Lovelace doesn't disappoint. I'm extremely excited about this book.

My thanks to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel, and Amanda Lovelace for the opportunity to review an e-ARC of flower crowns and fearsome things.

I'm not one for contemporary poetry. I don't at all dislike it, but I'm more of a medieval Ango-Saxon kind of girl. But I'm trying to expand my horizons, and Amanda Lovelace's collection "Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things" was a great place to start. As I'm sure most women would say, I resonated with the ideas and feelings found here. I love the interaction of the artwork with the text. I will definitely be reading more of Lovelace's work in future.

I tend to be fond of Amanda Lovelace’s work, and “Flowers and Crowns and Fearsome Things”, did not disappoint. In this book of poetry Lovelace describes the cycle of love and loss, of finding one’s own strength when it would be destroyed. She seeks equality in a world of shining knights and evil villains. All in all, an excellent book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.

I think I've read everyone of Amanda Lovelaces poetry books and this one just didnt do it for me. I didn't real feel anything wjgb this collection to be honest. They weren't really cohesive. Most of these poems did seem like they had a theme even though it was talked about persephone at the very beginning. It just felt all over the place. I didnt particularly care for the illustrated pages in between each poem. I'd much prefer the pages to be blank honestly if you going to do something like that. It just interfered with the flow of everything. This isnt necessarily a bad collection buy I wouldn't recommend it. Her work is usually sooo much better than this.

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is another brilliant poetry book by Amanda Lovelace. A devastating topic written with heart and feelings poured onto each page. A beautiful book to savor and enjoy countless times.

Poetry isn't usually my genre, but I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover and wanted to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised! Through short but powerful verses, the author addresses the joy and pain of life as a woman. The topics covered a wide range, from self-compassion to abusive relationships to love. Some were a little difficult to read, and I appreciated that the author included trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.

I really loved the floral artwork throughout the book and thought it complemented the poetry really well! This was a short collection, and each poem is only a few lines long and easily digestible, so it's very approachable for people who are usually nervous to read poetry. It was a little on the simple side if anything, so those who like really deep poems that they can analyze critically may find this less appealing. I'm glad I picked this up- thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Amanda Lovelace is definitely one of my favourite poets of all time.

Of course, there are always poems I can*t relate to but some poems just get me.
She puts things into words I've been thinking about for years but somehow couldn't express, I think that's a talent only a few people have.

I also always love the illustrations in her books that just make the poems even more beautiful and makes the whole book feel like art.

I never read a whole poetry book in one sitting. I usually open them from time to time and read one or two poems just to get the whole meaning and understand the feelings.

I hope I can read even more poems of Amanda Lovelace in the future.

I always enjoy amanda lovelace's poetry collections, and this was no exception. I had a digital ARC via Netgalley and the copy was still visually stunning, I'm sure it will be even more so in person. I loved the idea of using Persephone as a muse, amanda always does such a fantastic job taking well-known stories and making them relatable to modern life. What emerges in this collection is a powerful tale of a woman coming to realize her life is worth more than what her current manipulative (if not abusive) partner values it as, and taking her life and happiness into her own hands. While amanda has dealt with similar themes in the past, viewing this through the different lenses that she does (Persephone, in this case) allows her to approach the subject in a way that feels authentic to each muse and each collection. I'll definitely continue to follow amanda's poetry and get excited every time she has a new collection releasing!

I’ve loved everything else I’ve read from Amanda Lovelace, but unfortunately this collection just didn’t work quite as well for me. I wish the poems would’ve leaned a little harder into the Persephone theme, I feel that would’ve been better. This collection didn’t feel as cohesive as previous ones and while I still liked the poems, I just didn’t love them.

I've read six other poetry collections by Amanda Lovelace and those were all four star reads except one (three stars.) This one feels different than her others, it's not as cohesive. Each poem is separated from the next by two illustrations which interrupts any chance of flow while reading. Usually her collections have a strong theme but this one felt all over the place. And while I appreciate the undertones of anger present in a lot of her work, here is feels bitter, like some of these poems were written for revenge purposes. Perhaps if I was in a different stage of life, this might have landed differently. It's not necessarily a bad book but her work is usually so much better, I can't say I'd recommend this one.

I really like Amanda lovelace's work, I raced through her other poems and love them.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, the illustrations throughout were gorgeous however I felt the poems weren't as strong as her previous work. There is still a good mix of social commentary and you can feel the heartbreak and strength but they seemed a bit token and for the masses rather than truly heartfelt. I can imagine an Instagram influencer posting these and they didn't feel as powerful as her previous work.

Overall I enjoyed reading them and thank you for the arc.

I know these poems were a bit shorter than the usual ones but I still found connection in them. I liked the overall inspiration for them, and how they drew from the current world as well. It gave more material to relate to.
The art, although beautiful, got pretty repetitive and was a pain to scroll past over and over again.
The set up of the same art made this feel like one of those gift books that you can just flip to any page to read an inspirational quote, rather than a collection of poems to be taken in and felt.

This is one of those books you have to take your time with. With it's simple style Amanda Lovelace really cuts into what it can mean to be a women sometimes. Pause for a moment, because you felt what she wrote. Pause because you got tears in your eyes remembering a pain from a long time ago. The growing pains of a women honestly never ends.

That being said writing that can make you feel something is always worth checking out.

This is a collection of poetry from a great author. Young adult and adult readers alike would enjoy this book. I recommend it.

This is my first book by her that I loved and enjoyed reading! I related to this book so much, especially with the hot topic surrounding what woman should do with their bodies. My favorite poems were titled “it’s not up for debate” and “marked”.

This is a tricky one to rate for me. The fact I read it in one sitting bumped it up a star but most of the poems were too short or didnt flow just right. there were two that i really liked but the majority it felt underdeveloped

Another great collection of poems! Many were relatable, some moreso than I probably would have liked. These pieces touch on many subjects, love, sexism, abuse, self-worth to name a few. Several of my favorite poems from the collection are:

At Last
She's so done with reality
Commit to putting out more fires than you start
Being the dependable friend is difficult sometimes
Never shall I fall from my throne
Hope is essential

I recieved this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review...

Amanda Lovelace does it again!
I have read all of her work, and this definitely did not disappoint!
If you have not read any of her previous works i HIGHLY recommend them!

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things flows so beautifully.
Every poem is hard hitting emotionally.
I devoured this book in one sitting, It was that good,
It had me laughing, crying, and feeling(which is something i try to avoid),
It made me reflect on my own life and situations.
Its given me a strength i've been searching for and reminded me that
I am the hero/heroine of my own story.