Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is a simplistic poetry collection that tackles complex subjects in an accessible manner. It denotes the growth of feminine beauty as flowers, and then sets those expectations on fire.

I've enjoyed several novels by Lovelace, but unfortunately, I did not find this one quite as riveting as the others I read. Some of the poems felt very unoriginal and slap-dash, more of a recycled version of her previous books. Much of Flower Crowns desires to embrace and uplift the complexity of feminism, yet fails to match that complexity. Some poems felt totally unambiguous and bland, more suited to artsy Instagram captions than anything unique.
Exhibit A)
"he's all cloaks & daggers.
he's all smoke & mirrors.

like a novel with chapters
that always end on a cliff-hanger,

i never know what he's going to do next
& i'm nothing short of obsessed.

-i can't stop turning his pages."

A lot of the feminism that was explored in this felt very surface-level and shallow. When reading Lovelace's previous work, I would get the feeling of being swept up into something bigger than myself. This felt more like it was catering to a self-righteous individual.
Exhibit B)
"horror movies are her favourite,

but it's not because she wants someone
to come put their arm around her
& protect her during the scary parts.

it's because she likes being frightened
by something so much less dangerous
than walking alone to her car at night

-a movie could never murder her"

Although I did enjoy some of the poems, I was also off-put by the same two pictures which repeated over and over again. Don't get me wrong, they are very beautifully done, but their continuous repetition reduced the enjoyment of the poetry.
I would've loved if Lovelace had focused more on her original Persephone theme rather than jumping around themes. The juxtaposition is beautiful in theory, but felt poorly executed.

Disappointing to say the least. I've always loved Amanda Lovelace's poetry but it feels like they aren't even trying anymore. I'm giving 2/5 because the art is beautiful. I just wish the words inside were more.

I enjoyed Lovelace’s other works and this one does not fail to live up to the others. The collection was strong and thought provoking and overall very beautiful. The prose is memorable and gorgeous.

The poems feel too predictable and too overly-familiar, like she's recycling some of her previous works, or taking poems that didn't go into the final copies of her previous books into this one. Some of them read as tweets or as tags underneath an aesthetic tumblr post (considering this was the very platform in which Ms. Lovelace gained popularity on). Having read 5 books from her now I will say I'm getting tired of some of the things that repeats in her works. This isn't the last straw, but if the next book is exactly the same as this one, I'm gonna have to say goodbye to her works forever.

The artworks were nice, at least.

This novel was a great read! I really enjoyed the characters, the plot, and the all around world building. Definitely worth picking up!

This is my first poem collection by Amanda Lovelace. I’ve seen many others talk about her poems before and saw this available as a “Read Now” on Netgalley. I decided to give it a go and was a bit underwhelmed. The cover and the artwork are gorgeous.

There are trigger warnings at the beginning, which is awesome. Take heed because they will definitely be warranted. While this was supposed to show a collection of fierce and weakness parts of femininity, I didn’t quite get that. Some pages felt like I was reading tweets or one-liners on an social media post. I could have sworn I’ve seen/heard some of the things before. I think I was looking for a little more depth to this book. There are some really great and hard hitting poems but they were few and far between.

Overall, there’s not too much to say. It’s very short and a very fast read. I don’t know that she quite accomplished what she wanted to with this one. I will still try one of her others.

More poetic magic from Amanda Lovelace! I've loved each of her books and this one was no exception. The feminist themes and nature imagery made these engraved in my memory.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

as always an incredible poetry book by amanda lovelace. i have loved amanda's work for years, and she just gets better book by book! i could not recommend amanda lovelace, or this new book, enough.

Flower Crows and Fearsome Things is Amanda Lovelace's latest collection of poetry. Fans of her raw prose will not be disappointed. She provides great insight into the experience of being a woman.

The poems are spare, yet eloquent and meaningful, the kind that makes you pause to give them a second read. I have read all of her previous works, and am a loyal fan of her work. As with her other titles, she writes from a feminist lens that is authentic and easy to relate to. The poems are interspersed with illustrations that add to the beauty of the text.

I devoured this book in short order, and look forward to reading more of her titles in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love Amanda's writing style, as I've read all of her collections, but one. Her style feels familiar and like a 'hug' in a cold autumnal afternoon. In this collection she touches upon subjects of feminism, abuse, trauma and healing. However, I do feel as if the book wasn't structured properly like her previous ones and her poems while lovely, most of them felt rushed, or at least the result of the book felt rushed. I do appreciate the illustrated flowers and the main influence for this book, which is Persephone, but unfortunately for me I was expecting something more.
It's a great book nonetheless and to anyone that's interested in poetry of this kind, you'll definitely enjoy this one. It's short too, so you'll finish it quite easily. I can't wait for more collections by Amanda in the near future!

Another instalment from Amanda Lovelace. Just like her previous poem collections, this was short, sweet, modern, angsty, and a great introduction to poems for beginner fans (just like myself).

While her earlier books might have focused on impactful (angry) poems only, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this one had both angry and compassionate poems, presented in somewhat alternating pages with different accompanying illustrations to indicate the moods.

Of note was ‘because that’s what everyone deserves’ - snippet:
“to everyone who has a bad day
& tries to take it out on me:
i send you love & light
…
“
I liked this one very much because of its positivity.

The collection itself wasn’t a masterpiece and it wasn’t as strong as Lovelace’s other (earlier) books, but I could see that certain poems would hit right in certain situations for the audience (especially the younger generation).

I gave this a four out of five stars. I really enjoyed this poetry collection by the authors. I usually really enjoy most of the authors works. I can’t wait to read more from them. The author makes me feel so many things and o can relate to a lot of what they write.

Amanda’s poetry always fills me up from the inside, poignant, strong, heartbreaking, beautiful and healing.I always go back to Amanda’s poetry during different seasons in life. Loved this one as much as previous

I’ve read all of Amanda Lovelace’s poetry books and I’ve enjoyed them. This particular selection of feminist poetry was no exception. Each poem left me thinking about the words and I often found myself rereading the poems. Her poetry always touches on difficult topics which could be triggering for some readers. I thought the illustrations throughout this book were beautiful and I can’t wait for her next poetry book!

Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
⭐⭐⭐

Because the cover is awfully pretty.

I'm rather certain I'm not in the right demographic for it. The 'poetry' is straightforward and direct, it doesn't make you think. I wasn't really engaged in it.

STYLE
It feels more like a verse novel than poetry. It's introspective rather than concrete, which is fine, but it veers too much into melodrama for me (ymmv).

CONTENT
For a book about women, I found that it glorifies one type of women - you know the type, 'strong and kind' female character - and blames other people for the way she feels.

I'm not sure I like that approach generally. While it is important to believe in yourself passionately, it is absolutely necessary to realise your own faults.

THEMES
Empowerment

Empowerment means shifting the control to the user, so I guess she does that successfully.

SIMILAR
to Rupi Kaur.

God, I love it when a new Amanda Lovelace poetry collection comes out. It's my favorite thing ever. Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is the first standalone collection from Lovelace in a while, and I really enjoyed it. I liked the contrast between softness and strength. The artwork in this one is also very good. Definitely recommended!

This is the book of poetry I think so many people are looking for in their lives. Beautiful prose combined with powerful manifestos, Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things had me saying "wow" out loud many times. Amanda Lovelace writes with a masterful use of language interlaced with grit. All of this combined with beautiful artwork and florals throughout make for a work that is not to be missed. This book would be an ideal read for lovers of poetry as well as those who are just getting started with the genre. Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is a shining example of the power of poetry.

I was given a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 / 5 Stars

Funny enough, this was my first book by Amanda Lovelace. I heard about her most famous one and thought about picking that one up, but was told that the style might not be to my liking. And you see, the person that told me that was not wrong. Lovelace has an interesting way of writing verse that is not always what I want from poetry. Not all of them are written that way. Some are really great and hit deep, but most of them are written in that style of theirs that you either love or don't connect with. There's no inbetween. So I guess, If you didn't pick up their books because you were skeptical about the style, nothing's changed for you.
Nevertheless, there ARE a bunch of poems in there, that still manage to win you over even though they are written in her style. I'd say that speaks volumes about the talent the author has.
My favourit poem had to be one of the very last in the book, were she manages to form a connection between the Persephone theme that she was trying to build up and the real life abuse woman experience. At first I read it only thiking about one of the two layers and then I read the title and was like: Yes! This one! That's my favourit.
The poem I'm refering to is called "Pomegranate". 10/10 poem.

I feel like you can tell, how much love and passion was put into the collection as a whole. Even if I personally didn't like some poems or the style, I could still see and feel how important those were to Lovelace.
The message is at times sad, at times uplifting, at times relatable and at times just plain inspirational. Combined with the godess Persephone, it makes for a really great collection.

To top it even more, the book includes a CW and THAT alone made me smile brighter than any of you can understand. Thank you.

PS: The inside is - by the way - as aesthetically pleasing as the cover. Just saying.

To conclude my review: Great book!

Five out of five stars doesn't quite seem like enough to give this book. Honestly I would double or triple this rating and it still wouldn't express just how fantastic this poetry is.
This book is about femininity and how it is both soft and hard; kind and harsh; loving and cruel all at the same time. As a feminine person, reading this book is simultaneously the easiest and the hardest thing to do. You can't put it down because it is so clear and relatable, but now you see what you go through in a whole new light.
Selecting a favorite poem from this work will probably be close to impossible to any of its readers as it is certainly impossible for me.
The only thing that I can say to close out this review is if you are looking to expand your library with some poetry, this is truly the best book to do that with.

The latest poetry collection from Amanda Lovelace explores the complexity of femininity through alternating wildflower & wildfire poems, but unfortunately most of it just felt shallow. This read more like inspirational Instagram posts that sound like they should be really meaningful but when you think about it there isn't really that much substance.
I still have a great appreciation for Lovelace's early work, but this latest collection just didn't hold up.