Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for this ARC!
this was really what i kinda needed right now
(triggers at the end)

i've been in a weird life slump as of recent, and i don't know what it was, but i felt drawn to reading this book. i had the arc of it forever and never really thought to pick it up. i knew i enjoyed amanda lovelace's writing and her poems in the past have really resonated with me, yet something was just pulling me to pick this up, especially today. not too sure, but it was a great decision.

the formatting of this story is different between the parts; firstly it's between 2 sisters, the younger expressing her issues, and the older giving advice to her younger sister, then the next 2 parts followed regular modern poetic formatting, with the poems one right after the other, stylized however chosen. i really like the older sister providing advice part, it felt more personal- someone speaking right to you with a designated role that isn't simply "the narrator" made it more impactful. i don't have an older sister, since i am the oldest sibling myself lol, but it felt like i had one for these pages and was getting that advice i might tell one of my own sisters, but never myself. it was a format i think lovelace really worked well with, and the format of modern poetry using the 2nd person pronouns works fantastically.

then we have the themes throughout. it was very whimsical, following a narrative of a princess creating her own crown for herself rather than accepting one from a prince, and the poems followed suit. very much promoting a look at self-love, self-compassion, and understanding ourselves before we try to understand anything else. there was also a nice emphasis on spirituality and a lil witchcraft, which i understand the author is a practitioner of if i'm not mistaken, and there was a lot of emphasis on shadow work (using personal energy and intention to understand traumas we've experienced in the past to empower us for a better, more tranquil future), which i think was amazing.

even if you aren't spiritual or practice anything of the sort, you can take what she says and try to be more mindful of yourself, and i really liked that accessibility of it all. in school, we study about mindfulness and self-compassion, but it can be really hard to incorporate into everyday life for a lot of us, but having mantras you say to yourself in the morning can be good, or doing breathing exercises when you get into bed at night- or if you do practice some form of witchcraft, you can look into shadow work and mindful meditation with intentions at the forefront for peace, success, and self-love.

trigger warnings for
child abuse, toxic relationships, sexual assault, eating disorders, mental illness, self-harm (somewhat descriptive), sexism, suicide, suicidal ideation, trauma, harassment