E-Arc Book & Audiobook Review
unlock your storybook heart, by Amanda Lovelace
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Book Release Date: 03/15/22
Audiobook Release Date: 03/15/22

**These books (e-book and audio) were provided by NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for free in exchange for an honest review. **
**There are multiple trigger warnings discussed at the start of the book. Tread carefully. **

Synopsis: unlock your storybook heart is a collection of narrative poetry themed loosely around The Beauty & The Beast. This is the third book in her poetry series called you are your own fairytale. In this collection, topics such as eating disorders, mental health, trauma, grief, queerphobia, and more are explored.

Review:
Things I loved -
* I loved how the poetry is themed, but Lovelace isn't afraid to veer from the traditional story and add commentary about her life and experiences.
* I loved that many of the topics within this collection are incredibly relatable and easily understood. It's easy to connect to content that is easily digestible, which isn't often the case in poetry.

Things I didn't love about the book -
* In previous additions to this series, I found there was a more uplifting, albeit superficially inspirational veneer, but I didn't find that in this one, which makes it less memorable.
* The collection didn't feel as well put together in this one. Although I did appreciate that she attempted to interject more on her explorations of grief in terms of losing her mother, it made the collection feel more sporadic and less organized.
* The poems were more specifically about her life, which made some of them harder to relate to.

Audiobook Review:
* Lovelace's voice was monotoned throughout the entire collection, which is normally fine in a poetry collection, but as this was a more narrative collection, more vocal inflection would've helped me, as the reader, stay focused on the collection rather than falling asleep.

Rating: 2.5/5 (My rating is only in relation to her work and not comparatively to the work of others.)

Overall, I didn't enjoy this poetry collection as much as others I have enjoyed from her. Because the audio/reading experience was only about an hour long, I don't regret reading/listening to this collection, but if I were to recommend her poetry, this collection would not be the one I would recommend.

I wasn’t expecting the amazing journey Amanda Lovelace took me on in her newest book of poetry called “unlock your storybook heart.” I’m a big poetry buff and enjoy reading a few poems at a time and then putting the book aside to contemplate, BUT I found this compendium of poetry to be so compelling in its storyline & storytelling that I couldn’t put it down. I ended up reading it in one whole sitting, which I hardly ever do with a poetry book. BRAVO!

I haven’t read the first two in this series. However, it’s not needed to understand or to enjoy this volume. But I do intend to circle back and read the other two because I enjoyed this one so much with its poetic and creative storytelling. It definitely kept me engaged and interested.

I liked that the poems worked together to tell an overarching story - a modern fairy tale with twists of inclusivity, feminism, and being true to yourself.

There were also a lot of poems that I bookmarked and highlighted to refer back to as standalone pieces of encouragement. The author knows how to speak with her words and get through to us readers who are struggling with mental illness, loss, death, and feelings of uncertainty.

Would I recommend? (Reason for rating)

5/5 Stars: I highly recommend this book of poetry based on its ability to keep the reader engaged in a creative storyline that is not only inclusive but encourages talk about mental health, death, eating disorders and being true to one’s self.

It also shows that there are needed realistic alternatives to fairy tales and gives a great storyline for one that is real, enjoyable to read, and has quotes and parts that one can look back on for reflection and guidance.

Thanks to Netgalley, publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Listened to this as an audiobook over the weekend--While I find a lot of value in things that the author says, the trilogy of these poetry collections has become a bit repetitive. It feels as though there is not enough variety between the topics within the stories. I think there is a variety of topics the author could potentially write about relating to feminism and growing up, but I didn't find that variety throughout the collections.

On it's own, however, I really enjoyed this piece. Some young girl out there will find a LOT of value in this, and I personally will be gifting it to my little sister.

Reading Amanda Lovelace's new collection of poetry is a trip down memory lane of a place I wish I was from. Beautiful and lyrical.

i’m genuinely mad that i haven’t connected to any of these poems. the subjects are very relatable, but this feels more like something i would read on one of those self-help pages on instagram. that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but i maybe had higher expectations.

the collection follows the same “feminist”, “you’re your own saviour” patter all lovelace’s previous works featured as well. i wish we finally saw something new, something fresh, but nope – it’s repetitive. i have to give credits where credits are due – this one has a lot more paragraphs than the rest, which was nice to see. however, it didn’t really work for me as a lot of these written parts weren’t that impressive. truthfully, it read like advice rather than poetry.

the art pieces featured in this one were really pretty – they fit the book very nicely. i truthfully didn’t really get why the collection started with this princess as a main character and ended as a love letter from amanda to her partner. maybe i just don’t understand what this book was trying to do, but it seems like it wanted to do a bit too much and it didn’t quite land on any of those things. every subject covered was only touched on a surface level and then we quickly moved on to something else – which makes this collection severely underdeveloped.

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. "unlock your storybook heart" is yet another wonderful read by Amanda Lovelace. At the very same time it was also very empowering and inspiring, it pushes you to be yourself and embrace yourself, to be kind and not take things for granted. This book was very authentic and comforting, it felt like a warm hug by a good friend. Amanda Lovelace is known for her raw and strong style and she used it in these poems in a very fascinating way.The never-stopping flow of positivity that is still very realistic and absolutely not idealistic by any means makes this book the perfect one to read when you have a bad day. Happiness in "unlock your storybook heart" is discussed not as a process which will someday simply end, but as a constant battle, a path you take, knowing that you should enjoy every second of it, without hoping and thinking about arriving at your destination. The trigger warnings include eating disorders, sexism, trauma, grief, loss of a parent, mental illness, self-harm, death, queerphobia, etc., so please keep those in mind before picking up the book. "unlock your storybook heart" by Amanda Lovelace is an true masterpiece, which I truly recommend!

Amazing collection of poems, loved the way she writes and makes the reader feel special. In this collection she writes about self love and that accepting yourself is more important than letting anyone else make you feel less than you deserve. Will be rereading this one when I feel I'm being hard on myself or need some guiding words. Love her!

Objectively speaking, this was (unfortunately) a pretty meh poetry collection for me. Maybe it's because I haven't yet read the first two books in the You Are Your Own Fairy Tale trilogy (which I still plan to do), but I was expecting something else. I wasn't sucked in and, while I did relate and connect with some the poems, most of them I felt indifferent about.

That being said, there is something about Amanda Lovelace and her writing that I can't quite pinpoint but makes this a 3 star rating instead of 2 stars.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Once again, Amanda Lovelace has written a masterpiece.
I love this Author and her works, and this one like all the rest did not disappoint.
You can feel the heart and soul the Author put into this book and these words.
This book is definitely a book you can pick up on a bad day and just feel better.
The positivity and hope within its pages radiates like sunlight.
Whether you are sad, lonely, grieving, angry, Etc. this book has a piece of it to give you to find the light.

This book spoke to me in so many ways and is something I plan to keep on hand.
Thank you to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel publishing, and Amanda Lovelace for allowing me to review a copy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Actual Rating: 2.5

Please read the TW listed at the beginning of the book!

I feel like this series just depreciated as it went on. The “poems” become more and more repetitive and stale. However, I am giving this one a little higher rating than the second because it did have the good lesson of loving yourself (and who you want to love) in spite of the world’s homophobia and heteronormative media.

I think this will be the last of her books that I pick up. I might give Flower Crown and Fearsome Things a try, since I did enjoy her first poetry trilogy and then disliked this one, so maybe that can be the tiebreaker.

While I enjoyed some of the themes of self care in this poetry collection I found that the writing style didn't grip me as much as in her previous instalments.

Would still recommend, however I don't think I had any real stand out favourites from this newest collection.

4 ⭐️ // I’ve read three poetry books by amanda lovelace now, and I think Unlock Your Storybook Heart is my new favorite! I feel so honored to read this book before it hit the shelves.

The author’s words are always inspiring to me, but this book resonated with me more than the others. I would recommend the author’s poetry collections to all young ladies, and this book was full of positive words for perfectionists.

As an enneagram 1W9, I related to numerous poems from the collection, and I cannot choose a favorite. I loved the parts about fairytales and lessons from books, and the illustrations were beautifully tied into the poems.

I would say the poems in this collection were more “feel-good” than the other two books I’ve read by the author. It’s not a bad thing, but I can see how some readers may wish to see more struggles than the encouraging and positive words that filled this book’s pages.

Read this book if …
🧚You enjoy fairytales
🫖You appreciate good cups of tea
🌈You like LGBTQ+ representation
👌You are a perfectionist
💗You’ve lost your mother

TW: death, heartbreak, body shaming, eating disorders

Thank you, NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing, for providing me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love amanda lovelace!! I’m so honored I got a chance to read unlock your storybook heart before it hit shelves, especially because this book resonated with me more than any of her others.

This poetry collection is based on the fairy tale of Beauty & The Beast, but of course, with lovelace’s twists. Our main character is a perfectionist, held to high expectations, a reader and an academic. She lost her mother and works through pain by binging. Destined to find her soul mate by finding the match for the keyhole in her heart, she escapes into books to stave off real life until she finds her knight in shining armor…who isn’t who you would expect.

amanda lovelace’s collection of poetry has always been one of my favorites. I’ve loved reading her evolution in attitude toward herself and the world, and how it’s gotten lighter and more hopeful over time. And that’s why I’ve chosen to use this prompt, based on a real person, because there’s a little piece of amanda in every collection – as she states herself in the author’s note.

While the witch doesn’t burn in this one has always been one of my favorites, lighting a fire in me for change and anger with the way things are, unlock your storybook heart spoke to who I am and to the advice I typically get and never heed. It was an artful reinterpretation of who I am and who I could be, and it’ll be amongst my favorites now. Beauty and the beast is one of my favorite fairy tales. I liked the play on our princess’ character as not only a reader and academic but a perfectionist and “gifted”. lovelace has a talent for twisting these tales to show you a new side of things.

Also, these illustrations?? Stunning. The addition of illustrations to her novels has been amazing. I loved in particular when they were fan-created, but these were stunning and cozy all the same. It just adds a touch more magic to her poetry and helps visualize the fantasy element of her art. It’s just the bump the pages need.

I sometimes find myself feeling lovelace to be repetitive; she can drone too much on the same thoughts in her stories. This one wasn’t as bad, but you can still see it in here. All the same, I really like her work and I would highly recommend it, especially to young women – there are a lot of themes in her stories that you can resonate with. However, there’s a trigger warning in just about every book, and be sure to be mindful of those as needed.

Even as not-a-huge-poetry-fan, I love amanda lovelace, and I loved unlock your storybook heart. Thankful to NetGalley and Andrews-McMeel for the advance readers copy! You can get a copy of your very own on March 15th, next Tuesday!

This is the first time I have read any of Amanda Lovelace's poetry. I will now search out more of it. I found this to be a profound and relatable book. Many of the poems evoked familiar emotions and the spare language made the points all the more focused. It gave me a lot to think about and I am looking forward to seeing more of this author's work.


My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

ive been reading amandas books since her tumblr days and even have a copy of her self published version of princess! it has been an honor to watch her writing style grow. always a big fan

This is the third book I’ve read from Amanda Lovelace - I loved the first and really didn’t like the second, so I had no idea what to expect going in to this one…

This one was quite different to the previous 2 in that it read a bit more like a self help book with advice on being your true self rather than just poetry, but even so I did really enjoy it and it has renewed my interest in reading the rest of her works!

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

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the advanced reading copy of Unlock Your Storybook Heart by Amanda Lovelace.

This poetry collection is different from anything I’ve read from Lovelace. I have read Amanda Lovelace’s previous works (the Women Are Some Kind of Magic trilogy, Things That Haunt duology, and the previous two You Are Your Own Fairytale). The You Are Your Own Fairytale trilogy is my favourite collection of poetry I’ve read so far. I can’t wait to read everything she publishes in the future including her previous work Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things. Out of this trilogy I think this collection is slightly weaker than the previous two. In saying that I still really enjoyed this collection of poetry.

Unlock Your Storybook Heart was inspired by well known Western fairytales, mainly Beauty and the Beast. Sprinkled in was Amanda Lovelace’s personal life experiences.

I highly recommend this and all of Amanda Lovelace’s work to any and all poetry lovers.

3/5 STARS

I’m kind of sad over the fact that I didn’t really enjoy this poetry collection. I’ve read and loved all of Lovelace’s previous works, but for some reason the poems in this one fell short and flat for me.

Regardless of this, “Unlock your storybook heart” is such a beautifully crafted book and I found it very aesthetically pleasing. Nonetheless, I will continue to read Lovelace’s future work and I keep the hope that I will continue to enjoy those.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this early.
Unlock Your Storybook Heart is a magical, lyrical, and all around lovely book by the incredible Amanda Lovelace. I have read all of her books and their writing never ceases to captivate me.
I am looking forward to the release date so I can buy a physical copy!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of Amanda Lovelace's newest in exchange for an honest review!

To begin, if you enjoy Lovelace's poetry, you'll like this. It can also definitely be read separately from her other collections, which is what I did.

I can see this having strong appeal for a younger reader, or when just starting to read poetry. I ended up reading it in one sitting, which is a testament to its quick pace and immersive ability. Written and arranged accessibly, "unlock your storybook heart" is loosely based off the tale of Beauty and the Beast, with a modern twist. Their poetry has a unique brusque and direct syntax, and one that leaves little to derive. Though I can respect that I may not be the target demographic for this collection, I admire its inclusive messages; there are a lot of poems in here that I wish I could have read when I was younger.

I had a few issues with this collection still. Its disjointed pacing makes me question the quality of some poems. A lot of individual poems just feel like filler, lacking strong emotional precision and making the plot-concentrated moments feel oddly forced. There are a dozen poems creating the main character, and only one poem to fill out the role of the beast; the collection's connection to the original tale is minor at best.

tl;dr, 3/5: some strange pacing choices and it didn't quite resonate, but has strong messages.