Soft Thorns Vol. II

A gorgeous collections of poems, emotions, and artwork. I really enjoyed reading this book and will definitely be reading more work from this writer. The artwork added a wonderful touch to the book and I would highly recommend this poetry book!

*Thanks Nethgalleyb and Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Poetries always have a way of getting to me. Until last year, I would shy away from poetries but this year I’ve discovered so many beautiful authors that now it’s such a fun genre to read.

“it’s incredible
how hidden deep within me
lies the ability
to love someone else
yet loathe myself completely”

Soft Thorns Vol. 2 is a beautifully written book by Bridgett Devouse which talks about several themes like abuse, pain, heartbreak, hopeless love, lust and healing. Some of them were so relatable that it almost made me feel overwhelmed. I enjoyed reading these modern poetries and this one has really beautiful illustrations.

Poetries is a really personal account and naturally there were some poetries I loved more than the others and some that didn’t resonate with me. Also, the fact that the author has really taken the courage to write about so many things like toxicity and pain and assault is what made this book even more worth it for me.

If you liked reading the works of Rupi Kaur and Amanda Lovelace, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In this five-chapter book of poems, the author takes you on a journey of love, lust, heartbreak, abuse, and recovery. She dives into the vulnerabilities that so many of us face, and gives words to the feelings. As it is so eloquently said in the description, "This book won't give you a life boat, but it will show you how to swim."

I really enjoyed this collection, and the illustrations by Laura Klinke were stunning. I was able to relate more often than not, and I loved the flow within the poems. It didn't feel strict or like I had to read it a certain way to "get it."

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

I read the first one in this series a few years ago and I enjoyed it, so I was excited to read this one.

Vol. 2 takes us on another up and down journey, from dealing with Love, heartbreak and s*xual assault. I really enjoyed seeing Bridgett's writing grow and become even more beautiful.

'We never know how fragile someone is until they break

Safe to say I can't wait for Vol.3!

I received this book for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Wonderful, moving and just what I needed. The writers use of wars is extremely unique and moving all at once I'm so glad that I picked up this book.

I'm glad I requested this book of poetry, it gave me an understanding of how the world of love, relationships, abuse, and loss works. How to deal and overcome barriers.
It's definitely suitable for a person who has gone through a messy breakup and needed that relationship support. Or even a person who is lacking self confidence. Or someone like me who just needs to hear some down right out truths and dark positive sayings. I also love the drawings in the book by Laura Kline.
Thank you to Netgalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Bridgett Devoue for allowing me to read and review this poetry book.
Book is out 4th May but you can already preorder it. I know I'm definitely grabbing one for myself.

I loved Soft Thorns and was excited to see a second volume! This was a heartfelt and enjoyable collection of poems, accompanied by powerful and haunting illustrations. I found the first half of this book more refreshing and relatable. Looking forward to the author's next collection!

Soft Thorns Vol. II by Bridget Devoue was a beautiful collection of poetry.

I found so many of them relatable and beautiful. The ones featuring sexual assault and similar topics were difficult for me to read. The sexual assault poems were beautifully written, but not my cup of tea.

The artwork was a nice little bonus to this book, and I love when illustrations are included with poetry.

I will read more by Devoue in the future, and this book has earned a place on my very small and selective poetry shelf.

I received an eARC from Andrew McMeel Publishing through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

I wish this was around a couple years ago. I really connected with what she has been through. Can’t wait til the next volume!

I really enjoyed this book of poetry. I know this type of poetry isn’t for everyone, some people don’t even consider it poetry, but personally, I think it’s very enjoyable and to each their own. Just let people enjoy what they like and focus on the types of poetry you do like!

Devoue is very open and honest with her poems. I felt a lot of her pains and struggles throughout and could relate. You can see the real journey here from beginning to end; the book is divided into five parts (Where you left me, Love in the chaos, The art of destruction, The final goodbye, and (Re)finding the light). Each section of poetry really matches the theme of each so you can choose to read beginning to end or maybe whichever section you feel you need the most. I particularly enjoyed the art of destruction section.

There are some beautiful illustrations to accompany many of the poems by Laura Klinke. These really added to the poems and were very well done.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy. All thoughts are my own).

I went through a break up a few months ago, and this expressed my feelings so accurately. I loved this so much. The illustrations were beautiful too.

Wow!! These poems are so beautiful. I highlighted so many favorite quotes. I'll probably re-read it many times. We can actually feel the author's emotions on these pages. At some point, I thought I was going to cry. Personally, I enjoyed this second volume best.

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I remember reading Bridgett Devoue's first collection of poetry as soon as it came out and loved it so much! after receiving this ARC of vol. 2 of soft thorns i went back to my copy of vol 1 to read through the poems I had highlighted, the poems that have impacted me as a poet myself. Bridgett's writing is soft yet impactful and filled with emotions, it has everything i love about poetry. although I have stepped away from poetry the past few years, I appreciated everything I've read in this ARC and will be on the lookout for everything the author writes in the future. Highly recommend for poetry lovers. be aware that some poems could be triggering for some of you as poetry is a way of dealing with trauma for many.

CW- sexual assault, rape, toxic relationship
-
I thought that this was a lovely poetry collection. I enjoyed the illustrations throughout, and overall it was a fast paced impactful read.
-
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I liked better the Vol. I of this poetry series, even though there were a few poems that reached my soul.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this before publication date.

What a beautiful book of poetry. You will be taken on a journey of love, lust, abuse, heartbreak, and finding yourself again. These poems truly resonated with me. There were so many beautiful ones I felt I could relate to.⁣
⁣
The illustrations are absolutely stunning as well. Some that I felt would even make gorgeous tattoos. ⁣
⁣
Thank you @netgalley for an ARC for my honest review!⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I very much enjoyed reading this book. The words in a lot of cases were completely relatable and the ones that weren’t had so much feeling behind them that you could understand how the thoughts and emotions came to be. For me the emotion expressed is what makes this book a great read.

I loved this. It was beautiful and every poem took me on a journey. You can clearly tell Bridget put every inch of her soul into this poetry book.
The illustrations are absolutely stunning and I love how the art complemented the poems without taking away from them.
The themes Bridget wrote about really hit home for me. I like how open and real the poems are, they hide nothing. They’re straightforward and so relatable. The way each poem was worded truly spoke to me.
I usually do not enjoy modern style poetry, but this one was a wonderful experience that I will come back to time and again in the future.

Sad, deep and not always easy to read. Love and heartbreak fuel distrust and disillusionment in these poems drenched in raw emotion. The poets self awareness make them all the more hard to read but also hard to stop reading.

This is a beautifully written collection!

I loved the cloud imagery in the first section of the book (where you left me); I also enjoyed the animal and plant/nature imagery popping up throughout the rest of the poetry collection.

The language used is emotional, soulful and elegant yet also very straightforward and simple. However, I think because that the lines were very simple that some lines were a miss with me (while others were a hit, of course). The benefit of the simple language, however, is that the poems were easy to understand and thus, relatable.

Overall, I love the journey the poems took me on. Also, the artwork throughout the book was gorgeous as well - it was very social-media friendly.

This collection of poetry was beautifully written, heartfelt, and beyond relatable. I loved the artwork as well.

I finished reading in one sitting and reread it the next day and also listened to the audiobook. Bridgett Devoue definitely exceeded my expectations.

I will be purchasing this for my own personal library as well as for gifts for friends.

This is a good poetry collection, full of emotion and some really powerful pieces. I really related to several of the pieces where the author talks about putting on a mask, adhering to expectations in a relationship in order to be loved, and then pulling away when it doesn't feel like they're putting equal effort in the relationship at the same rate. I liked how this was a continuation of the first soft thorns collection, and the ways themes were repeated and reoccured.

I received an arc in exchange for an honest review

I didn't read soft thorns volume 1, but this is the kind of poetry that I love, the kind that breaks your heart a bit when you read it. Some of the poems hit close to home in the romance department.

The book focuses on dating, trauma, and having to leave people as well. It hurts when you read it, but it is so well written it also inspires you to stop and reflect, and just enjoy. My only complaint would be some of the spacing felt awkward, like was it the same poem over many pages spaced weirdly, or was it multiple poems?

Regardless, I highly recommend this book.

I love all poetry and all tumblr quotes… there are apparently a lot of controversy when deciding on whether one is considered 'poetry' or not. Personally, I don't know how to classify them. But, I DO know that I enjoyed this book very much and it got me thinking. Thinking about all sorts of things related to the writing and my past experiences. The emotions I read and felt were one of my favorite things about this book.

I would definitely recommend to those who likes poetry and like to read deep quotes once in a while. :)

This collection was beautifully written, raw and very much relatable. I loved the artwork too and thought they were really pretty also. These poems were straightforward yet simple enough to really show the emotion and soul that the author put into every piece. I really loved the imagery she used in her collection. the second half was rose's and nature while the first half was clouds. I really related to a lot of the poems in this collection just like with her first book. So I hope she comes out with more work in the future. I will be buying a physical copy to go with the first one.


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

Soft Thorns Vol. II by Bridgett Devoue is a collection of poems divided into 5 chapters. The author takes us on a journey of lust, abuse, love, heartbreak and recovery. 

The poems are beautifully written and accompanied with amazing illustrations that gave this book a special touch.

Soft Thorns in a powerful, heartfelt collection of poetry. It was composed of 5 chapters of what appear to distinct moments in the author's life. I enjoyed the illustrations throughout. Many of the poems I found myself turning back to read again, as their words resonated with me. I can imagine many young women in the target audience will find this book relatable. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This poetry collection was absolutely beautiful, but also heart wrenching. Part of this may be that a lot of the subject matter and emotion woven into it really resonated with me and I could empathize since I've had similar feelings and experiences. Keep in mind before going in that there are definite trigger warnings for trauma, rape, rape culture and toxic relationships. I loved the language used and the imagery that was woven not only in words, but also in the illustrations that were peppered throughout the collection. This one really spoke to be and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a poetry collection that will make you sit with it and absorb as well as just power through it depending on your mood.