i started out this book and the first section i wasn't enjoying too much; it was a little too het for me. however, as we got into the rest of the collection, i think it came together very nicely, and i ended up having a really nice time with it.

my decisive one

i need you to make a choice;
you either stay
or you go.
you don't get to just have me when you want me;
not everything is on your terms.
no more MIA for three days,
then
when she's not responding,
you miss me.
i don't deserve that.
because if this is how someone treated my friends,
that would be exactly what i'd tell her-
you don't deserve that,
pretty girl.

I received an audiobook copy of My Greenhouse by Bella Mayo from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this poetry collection. The poems are reflective and contain just the right amount of emotion. The narrator, who is also the author, keeps a rhythmic pace as she reads through the poems, which helps with becoming immersed in them. Overall I highly recommend reading or listening to this book, as it is a quick read that is also an emotional rollercoaster!

I requested this book because it felt like everyone was reading poetry, and I wanted to play to. It is made up of what feels like thousands of short poems, each beginning with the title "My" something. Most of them are all about how she loves this boy, and he isn't good enough. They are very short, and read like the diary scrawling of a 16 year old. They are also full of bizarre phrases "like art you melt in my hands" for example.

She refers to him and "baby" and "boy". She talks a lot about love, but I don't see any love here, nor any real poetry.

I got a free audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was read by the author, and she has one of those American accents when you don't pronounce the "ts" and it made it even harder to take this book seriously. I'm so sorry I didn't like it more.

Many of the poems in this book are about heartbreak or healing from the end of a romantic relationship. Mostly I found them boring and repetitive. This is not the type of poetry that resonates with me.

I thought the narrator's voice was very clear but somewhat dull in emotion. But I did appreciate that the author read her own poems!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of the audiobook via NetGalley.

"How brave it is to fall in love knowing you're at risk of hurting."

My Greenhouse is a short collection of poems filled with love, growth, and heartbreak—a must-read for young hopeless romantics. It was hard for me to connect with the poetry, but the writing is beautiful and well crafted. Bella also did a lovely job with the narration. Bravo!

It is clear this work comes from a genuine place in the poets heart. I can feel the ways she is working through her thoughts on past loves and heartbreaks. This work is raw and real.
The poetry is rather bare and I believe it could use more attention to language and metaphor. The narration of the audiobook also lacks the feeling these words deserve

1.25 stars
I think towards the end of the book there is a line which says that "I can't keep up with this anymore", and at the same time i remember sighing and thinking, neither can I do this anymore, like can this book just end already? I think that some people will appreciate the youthful feeling of this collection, but I want to feel wiser when I finish a poetry book.
the use of chapters of poetry to create an overarching storyline is an interesting approach, but the poetry itself left something to be desired. the language felt slapped on a page, the imagery was unimaginative - if there at all. I did not truly like the book, as it was a mess of feelings and emotions that never get to the reader.
The most Gabbie Hanna-ish poem that was there (and i do not mean it in a good way) was
"I'm. so. over. you.
until tomorrow"

*review in spanish*
MALO MALISIMO. tan malo que me da ganas de morir. y realmente no quiero ser mala porque ya de por sí el contenido es paupérrimo, pero la autora (que narra el audiolibro) 1. no modula absolutamente nada 2. habla como un varón en segundo grado cuando les hacen leer en voz alta. o sea posta me gustaría poder insertarles un pedazo de audiolibro para que me crean. pésimo.

I’m not one who is usually into poetry but I am songwriter so I’m been teaching myself to fall in love with it more.

I do like this style of poetry as it is much simpler and clearer for the reader, in this case the listener.

It follows the story of the authors first love and heartbreak.

Definitely recommend if you interested in getting into poetry as this is great segway into understanding the meanings and symbolisms within poetry.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

***AUDIO BOOK VERSION***
My Greenhouse is a sweet book of short poems by Bella Mayo. I enjoyed the poems in this collection, and they took me back to my youth in the times of first loves and heartaches. Even though the poems were sweet, I don't think the author did it justice on the audio version as it sounded like she was reading from a script and the poems didn't seem to be spoken with passion or rawness which is what was needed to give this book an edge. I'd recommend reading a physical copy rather than the audio of this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Audio for the chance to listen to this audiobook!

While I understand that this was about someone’s first heartbreak, I’m not sure if someone older than 15 will also want to read or listen to these poems. They’re incredibly simple, to the point where I don’t know if you can call them poems, and they didn’t make me feel very much.

This is one of my favorite collections of poetry. I related to almost every poem, whether it be from past relationships or my current one. The author's writing was truly beautiful as well.

I actually really liked the narration also. I typically struggle with poetry audiobooks because of the music in the background, so it was refreshing to not have any music in this one. It was a lot easier to focus on the author's voice and words, which I appreciated.

This is a really sweet book of poems of love and relationships. Bella did a great job narrating this as well. This would be perfect for YA teens as well to all the way up. Loved the bits of nature in them and the ending of moving her greenhouse!

My Greenhouse by Bella Mayo is magnificent! It is the heartfelt expressions of poetry written when she was just a 15 year old teenager (now as an adult author a time of reflection). A beautiful book of romantic innocence in poetry form.

My Greenhouse is raw, intense, honest, mature... just plain magical in producing empathic emotion in what the author was experiencing. Loved each and every one of the poems written! Also, very much enjoyed the end acknowledgements and closing credits as it provided a hidden insight as to this author's personality.

Bella Mayo narrated her own work. She has a pleasant voice, but as a narrator, sounded as if reading script - her own words, yet not with the raw emotion those words would have if she had been "speaking from the heart" with the emotion she obviously felt when she first wrote them down. (Perhaps, she is now devoid of all the emotion those words initially produced.). The reading was consistent, fairly monotone, but NOT unpleasant. It just lacked pitch, pace, power. That said, the poetry was so good, the rating I give this book is solid.

4.5 Stars rounded up to 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My thanks to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Audio, and Bella Mayo for an AAC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really like that the audiobook is voiced by the poet herself. I do think it’s important to have the poet voice and read their own poems, as they know best how the stanzas should be read. There is so much significance in the way words are stressed (or unstressed), rhythm, and meter. It contributes greatly to finding meaning in poetry. However, I think the overall reading experience might have benefited from a professional narrator, or if the author had some training, as in my experience they provide a smoother and higher quality listening experience.

Keeping with the theme evoked in the title, I like that the motif of nature is carried throughout the collection. From the garden, the moon, the sun, the colours of nature, and the tide. Relating their love to nature is interesting when considering the title of ‘my greenhouse’. The greenhouses provide the perfect environments for plants to grow. It evokes the sense that, through their love, both individuals have found the perfect person and reason to grow as people for the better. They are each other’s safe place and, like a greenhouse protects the plants housed within, they protect each other from dangerous outside forces that would inhibit their growth.

Overall, I liked the premise of the poems and the connections between the poems in the anthology. I also liked some of the imagery and symbolic meanings I was able to extract when listening. I think it’s definitely a great start and the poet has a lot of potential. I would love to see how Mayo develops as a poet in the future and it would be great to see her take her poetry to the next level.

These poems tell a beautiful story about heartbreak, growth, and loving again. It was a little hard for me to connect to an audiobook version of poetry but the narrator herself was pretty good. It has a lot of shorter poems too which I personally like.

3.5 - This was a really sweet poetry collection, and I think Mayo achieved her intentions with this debut. She has a lot of promise for the future, and I look forward to seeing what she releases next. I think that this collection could have been improved by further editing and attention to some poems - for such a short audiobook it dragged in parts. In regards to the audiobook, Mayo self-narrated. I think it would be beneficial for Mayo to potentially undergo some narration/audiobook research and training, as I found her narration to be quite bland and took away from some of the poems. I appreciated the encouragement given to the reader to apply the poetry to their own life and reminisce on an intense, fleeting teen romance. I think that overall this was a super cosy read.

This is a really sweet, easy read of beautiful poetry. It is straightforward but I loved how things were compared to beautiful things in the world - the ocean, butterflies, greenery, the sun.

This is a great collection for women and would be great for young girls as well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My consistent love.. was my favorite.
Love is choosing and rechoosing.

This book of poetry is absolutely incredible. It instantly transformed my 32 year old mind back to the mind of my teenage self, and the toxic high school relationships of my past. If you look at it through that younger, more naive lens this book is absolute gold. I laughed, I cried, and I had goosebumps at the very end. This is perfection and something that I think just about everyone will be able to pull something from. It is a quick just under an hour listen, I highly recommend making the time for it.