shine your icy crown

You Are Your Own Fairy Tale #2

by Amanda Lovelace, ladybookmad

“Make them rue the day they underestimated you.”

This is a story about not letting society dictate the limits of your potential. it’s time to take back your power & realize that you don’t need a king in order to be a queen.

Genres: Poetry, Feminism, Nonfiction, Adult, Mental Health, Contemporary, Ebooks

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 16, 2021

About the author

Amanda Lovelace is a bestselling American poet who rose to fame through her poetry posted to Tumblr and Instagram. She is the author of the women are some kind of magic series, including the Goodreads Choice Award-winning the princess saves herself in this one and women are some kind of magic.

Reviews

[R ♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

❝ her parents screams at her more than they ever told her they loved you. ❞

— disappointment

I CAN RELATE TO THIS BOOK SO MUCH IT'S LIKE THE AUTHOR REACHED INTO MY MIND AND STOLE MY THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES. And though I appreciate what the author is doing, I don't like how they did it.

I gave this book a shot, full well knowing that I despised The Princess Saves Herself, so truly it's my fault. I'm just unsure how this could possibly be considered poetry (it felt more like a book of advice).

All the poems go something like this:

I am a poet, because I use commas, to emphasis a pause, and because I don't like, regular sentences. Also, this book is supposed to make you feel good, so like, here are some uplifting passages, that are the most generic, basic pieces of writing you'll ever read. but like it's because I use lowercase and put '&' instead of 'and', use roman numerals and don't use the grammar and punctuation rules of English literature, so obviously this is poetry. also, princes suck and sh*t, they are irredeemable.

No but seriously, here is a snippet of a poem in the book:

❝ why doesn't anyone want me? ❞

— why? why? why?

another one:


❝ come to the party. ❞

— her friends, trying to include her.


❝ i'd much rather stay at home and read a book. ❞

— her, running away scared again.

another one:


❝ cancelled plans make her sigh in relief. ❞

— now she won't have to fake it.

ANOTHER ONE:

❝ you're too pretty to be single. ❞

— he.

❝ i'm too pretty to even talk to you. ❞

— she.

ANOTHA ONE:

❝ i. drive the scenic route.
ii. take more self-care days.
iii. sing, even if it's off-key.
iv. make time for your passions.
v. let yourself feel joy.❞

—don't waste a single moment.

There is more but I shan't bother you with the details.

I must admit though, part "ii" I did enjoy (only the first 'poem' though). I thought it was cute, not poetry, but still admirable.

I love the message, just not the execution.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Olivia (Stories For Coffee)]

I found my first favorite read of 2021. I’d highlight my favorite passages, but then it’d be just a neon book. There are so many universal truths woven into this poetry collection, especially truths that I specifically needed to hear and will come back to over and over again.

So proud of my friend for constantly raising the bar 🖤

[aksh ✮ · Rating 1 out of 5]

➻❥ 𝐝𝐧𝐟 𝐚𝐭 𝟐𝟓%

𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘯𝘧'𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘯𝘧, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 - 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦'𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 ♥︎.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to quote so many pages! But let's wait until the book comes out.

Damn. That's what a queen speaks to the other queens.

Seriously, this collection speaks volumes on how women see other women, how we are competing against ourselves and how we are hurting each other.

And of course, there are always douchebags, man or woman. Yes, I love in the real world even though I am being extra extra active online and every single page speaks to me.


So damn genuine and so damn liberating to read something this different and uplifting.


Expect the illustrations to bling your being.

Thank you, Amanda and the publisher, for this amazing advanced reader copy.

[Jodie✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars! Not my favourite poetry collection from this author but some of them really resonated with me. Rounded up to three stars.

[sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

“here, sisters make up a large part of the magic. but that’s the case so much of the time, isn’t it?”

Shine Your Icy Crown is the first Amanda Lovelace collection I have read, and while it wasn't my favourite- I would still try out something else by her.

This poetry collection centres on themes of sisterhood, feminism and self-love. While I am all for those topics in theory, I felt that the execution wasn't as good I wanted. My main issue was the fact that most of the book didn't feel like poetry. It was mostly just advice- good advice, mind you- but advice nonetheless. If I was looking for that I would have picked up a self-help book, not poetry. Here is an example of what I am talking about:

" i. drive the scenic route.
ii. take more self-care days.
iii. sing, even if it's off-key.
iv. make time for your passions.
v. let yourself feel joy."

—don't waste a single moment.

This is obviously a personal preference, and if you enjoy your poetry having explicit and unambiguous messages, I think this collection could be good for you! In my poetry I just prefer leaving a little more up to interpretation, having more elaborate metaphors and motifs, and more flowery writing.

my favourite parts of Shine Your Icy Crown were those that actually felt like a fairytale. I had expected the whole collection to be that way, but unfortunately I had to be content with the little snippets we got in between the instagram poetry. I also loved the illustrations, and imagine the physical copy will be absolutely stunning!

Overall, I am glad I gave this a try. I will be on the lookout for other poetry collections centring on fairytales and feminism if you have any recommendations! I am also still hesitantly interested in Amanda Lovelace's first series of poetry collections- perhaps I will enjoy those more!

★★☆☆☆.5 stars

Thank you to Andrew McMeel Publishing for this ARC

Release Date: 26 January 2021

[Renata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oficially I declare myself Amanda Lovelace fan #1 there's nothing this mastermind can write and me not reading it or not liking it?? Even since I checked the books that were going to be published in January I was like wow...A.L. really said let's save Ren's year and she did it!!

I love how she always talks about different things yet always empowers you? I don't know, maybe I'm too biased and I feel connected to another ways with everything she writes.

Here are some of my favourite parts:

“do not plan your life so meticulously that you leave no space for starlight to leak in.- miracles happen only if you let them.”

“I deserve to have good things even if I have not always done good things.- perfection is a lie; flaws are real.”

When other people choose not
to believe in your magic,
you must take it upon yourself to
believe in your own magic.
there will be no greater satisfaction
than proving them wrong.

anything
you're brave enough
to believe in
is more than possible.
don't start small.
begin with
your wildest dreams.
accept nothing less.
nothing.

the only one stopping you
from holding the moon
is in your own two hands
is you
- self-limiting beliefs.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We are not defined by the love our family could or could not give us. we are defined, instead, by the people we consciously become in spite of them - the kindness we show others, the forgiveness we give to ourselves, the times we speak up instead of choosing to remain silent, & the difficult yet necessary apologies we make."

I have read and enjoyed all of Lovelace's poetry collections and this one was no different. I know many struggle to relate to the sparseness of modern poetry and here, as in every anthology, not every poetry will make you feel as intended. For me though, whilst not every single poem was perfect for my specific needs, the collections as a whole felt like being wrapped up in a big, warm hug and being told it was all going to be okay. I felt so soothed by her words that they often brought me to tears.

I feared I would relate to this anthology less so than her others, once I discovered it was centred around the theme of sisters. I do not have a sister and thought that whilst I might enjoy this I would not feel those heart-tugging emotions that her other anthologies have elicited. However, I found this to focus more on the bond between women, and the way they should build each other up, rather than the specific relationship between sisters. A sister can be found in any individual, regardless of blood or gender and the empowering message behind much of these poems attested to that.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Amanda Lovelace, and the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing, for this opportunity.

[Eva B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if there's any other author whose star ratings oscillate from book to book for me than Amanda Lovelace, but I really loved this one. Sure, it's not the world's best poetry, but who cares?

[Mina ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry book really connected to my soul.

[Naia Pard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I know that there are feminists complaining about the "mainstream-ization" of the movement. They argue that by bringing it into the pop culture, the feminist gets to be forecasted as a stereotypical girl wearing t-shirts with edgy wording and sporting a hell of an attitude for all the bad reasons.

On the other had, I think that a little pop culture never hurt nobody.
What does that have to do with this poem's book?

In my view this book was a perfect example of an Instagram page that calls itself feminist. There are pretty drawings that follow pretty words mushed together from which you can make a post at your leisure. They are just the properly amount of quirky and reactive.

”she wants a life
Like you see in movies---“

Perfectly safe lines, nothing too problematic. Here is another quote-ish line, with a bit more depth:
”love is not
Always the answer”

The book was designed as a conversation between sisters. I think that it might help teenage girls, if not in life, at least to see a conversation about them.


It was not a bad book.
It was just boring and repetitive and redundant.
But that may be that I have already read some Andrea Dworkin and Beauvoir Simone De.
Instagram\\my Blog\\

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

they slept the way otters do -
holding hands, so as never to lose the other.

-sisters.

I think this might be my favourite Amanda Lovelace's poetry collection. It's such a powerful and meaningful group of poems. I especially liked the first part of this book and overall I really liked how empowering and feminist these poems were.

[giulia ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"you are your own empress, you are your own high priestess.
you are your own goddess. your independence will intimidate some -
it might even offend others. let it. that's their own problem,
not yours."


amanda lovelace is growing so much and it shows, each poetry collection keeps getting better and better ♡

[Cleo Harper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was approved for this title, downloaded it, and read it immediately. amanda lovelace is a hit or miss author or me, and I didn't love this poetry collection as much as other collections I've read. Some of the poems resonated with me and were absolutely beautiful, and others missed the mark for me. I loved the illustrations and how the full page graphics separated the three sections of the book.

*ARC provided by Netgalley for review*

[ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

“anyone deserving of you will see that you’re already worth more than any diamond.” i have no words

[bookishlycaffenaited · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Unfortunately, this was utterly and sincerely, not it.

I would not classify this as poetry. It literally just read and felt like cliched sentences jumbled together in attempts to make the reader feel something - whether it be empowered, empathetic, inspired, etc.
It did not translate whatsoever.

This work is just filled with banal and cliched phrases we've heard time and time again. This had no meaning, it had no substance, it had no soul. It had nothing to offer in regards to topics like mental health, feminism... nothing.

The sad thing is, I love when authors take fairytales and spin it into their own, and relay their own commentaries that inspire more conversations and expand upon the ideas from original tales. It's one of my favourite artistic approaches. However, Lovelace ultimately failed in making this her own. It's been done, it's trite, it's inauthentic. There was nothing new brought to the table. And in all honesty, the writing is bad. No clever metaphors or similies, no depth implemented. It was so disappointing.

For example:

It can get better, and it will. There is a beginning, middle, and end in a book. And some books have sequels.

ok.

Be as courageous as I know you can be. Fight on.

Thank you <3

Remember this: It is okay to not be okay. Cry it out. Write it all down. Scream into a pillow. Tell somebody. Allow yourself to feel however it is that you feel. Honour your emotions so you can finally feel set free.

Wow, I've never heard this before...

She is so tired of men telling her how strong she is. She already knows.

okay??? good for you??

She hates the thought of settling down with one person now. And they tell her that's what makes her less valuable. A lock with far too many keys
- Slut-shaming.

I'm sorry but that's so stupid.

Less girl on girl hate. More group protection spells.
- Solidarity.

What in the 2012 Tumblr is this???

And my personal favourite:

I'm afraid I don't have time to go into the kitchen and make you a sandwich. You see, I already have my hands full, for I'm busy saving the world.
- My sincerest apologies.

Like this isn't empowering. It's cringe. It's cheesy. It's not well written. It lacks any depth. it doesn't make you think; it makes you roll your eyes.

I don't understand the hype for this type of poetry, and I don't think I ever will.

[Anwen Hayward · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, this isn't a poetry book. It's a self help book, which is fine, but that's all it is. The words in here don't work as poetry, and I'm saying this as someone who's a fan of short-form poetry in general, a la Nayyirah Waheed and Warsan Shire. There just doesn't feel like there's any real artistry here. The language is overly simplistic and inspirational, exactly like you'd find in a generic book of affirmations, and some of the phrasing is so clunky that I struggled to read the poems aloud. Lovelace uses 'for' as a conjunction a lot (e.g. 'I already have my hands full, for I'm busy saving the world') and it's such an archaic conjunction that it really jarred. I liked a lot of what this book had to say, but not how it said it. It felt very rushed and as though not much effort at all had been put into crafting each poem. It reads like a book of first drafts.

That said, I do like Lovelace's use of poem titles to subvert the meaning of the poem. I thought that was usually cleverly done, although this was popularised with Nayyirah Waheed and Rupi Kaur before her, so I'm not sure I can count it as a mark of specific artistry here. Still, it made some of the blander poems more enjoyable. And when I say 'blander poems', I mean ones like this:

'canceled plans
make her sigh in relief.'

That's it. That's the entire poem. Sorry, but I really don't see any effort or attempts at using language there. It's the kind of thing you can jot down in your notebook at lunchtime in literally 6 seconds, and then never look at again. Here, let me try:

'she said no
because it was more freeing
than saying yes.'

Am I a poet now?

I will say that this is a helpful and beautiful book for young people to have, especially with the illustrations. The physical copy will be a great addition to a lot of young people's bookshelves. Some of the lessons it has to teach young girls are really important, especially about knowing your own worth (although I think that it does occasionally sink into toxic positivity, especially when it advocates an almost entirely self-focused ideology) and I think that if this was marketed more along those lines, more of a self help book or a book of affirmations, then I would be all for it. As poetry, however, it left me completely cold.

[Meisha (ALittleReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a poetry collection every woman should read. In the best way possible, I finished this feeling like I came out of a very successful and much needed therapy session. This was so good for my mental and emotional state. I felt empowered, understood, accepted, represented and comforted.
I saw myself in so much of this poetry book and a lot of it made me feel less alone. There were things in this book that I needed to hear- that all women need to hear!
I felt that the topics discussed were handled very well and I loved that it was done in a fairytale-esque way. An absolutely stunning and clever collection! Highly recommend this poetry collection. Especially if you need a little boost.:)
I also wanted to note that I really appreciated the list of trigger warnings at the beginning. More books need to do that!
Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing for the arc copy!!

[Madara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've heard so many good things about amanda lovelace and her poetry, so I was excited when I saw her nevest collection on NetGalley. And to be honest? This wasn't for me. And I'm not sure I'd call this poetry. Poetry as a genre has changed a lot over the years so maybe I'm just getting old and shaking my fist at the sky, yelling "Get off my lawn!".
I enjoyed some parts of the collection but overall it just left me wanting a bit more. But... I want to give the author another chance.

Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Ankit Garg · Rating 3 out of 5]

shine your icy crown by Amanda Lovelace is the second book under the "You Are Your Own Fairy Tale" series.

It is an empowering work of poetry.

Most of the verses in the book are worth quoting, so you are better off reading it whole. The illustrations are quite nice too.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
3.5 RTC

[ayrin ♡︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book right here everyone.

[Roos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful

[Cherri · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book would've been groundbreaking in 2012.

modern poetry has truly been reduced to bite-sized, tweet-sized statements.

maybe i'm not in the age demographic for this kind of poetry anymore. i am 22, after all. but i've been reading her books for years, since the princess saved herself came out, a book which i once loved, but....she's shown no growth. her writing style is the same, the poems have actually gotten shorter. and i appreciate the feminism, but it's extremely surface-level, way more than previously.

i'm so exhausted of poetry like this. it doesn't make me think. doesn't inspire. doesn't make me feel excited. it makes me tired, makes me wonder when we can talk about more than just other men and our relation to them in poems, it makes me wonder if my own poetry is too much or too little, if it even matters anymore that it has substance.

but hey.

maybe i'm just not 19 anymore.

[Roxie Voorhees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful words as always, amanda. I love the big sister persona as I have said those words in my own way to my sister and friends. I do hope that she expands on the sex/slut shaming as those are topics I feel need represented. Overall, lovely work.

[Katelyn Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely amazing! I think this is my favorite collection by her that I've read - probably because I connected with so many of the poems! Would highly recommend <3

[Komal ⁠♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and lovely read

[Ligia Moisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a woman, you need to read this book🫶

[Flybyreader · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Special thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.)

Having read “Break Your Glass Slippers”, I was excited to read the sequel and had my hopes up. I really enjoyed the unconventional feminist poetry collection in the first book but the sequel was disappointing and fell short. First of all, I expected poetry but most of the pages were filled with prosaic prose on sisterhood. The small amount of poetry is not competent and fulfilling. It repeats the basic cliches of “love yourself” and “ignore what others think of you”. Most of the pages just felt empty and the overall book felt forced into existence. It may be OK for young adults, it did not appeal to me.

[anouk♡ semi-hiatus · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes yes yes. i loved this! 🥹
ready for many more of amanda’s books!

”every girl is trying to survive in a gruesome world that tells her she can never be good enough no matter what she does. rest assured, there is nothing wrong with you, nor has there ever been, so don’t you dare try to change anything about yourself. anyone deserving of you will see that you’re already worth more than any diamond.”

“i used to think that crying made me seem hysterical or fragile, but now i know that allowing myself to be vulnerable is, above all, a superpower very few possess.”

“some days even the idea of getting out of bed seems impossible to her, & she once thought every impossible thing was possible: enchanted furniture, talking animals, invisible friends come to life, breath-giving kisses, faeries, & perhaps the most impossible thing of all, happiness.”
—where did she go