September Love

Gem

I have been reading Lang Leav's poetry collections for the past two years and yes, I will keep reading whatever she writes.So far, I feel this is one of her best collections. So far my second favourite collection. And so apt for the September 2020 even though the book is coming out in November 2020 and was compiled in 2019 which started with a poem with the same name of the book title published in one of her popular poetry collection two years ago.The author focuses on relationships, writing; her past and the present; all the ridiculousness of the blame games directed to her because of her writing, her poems; and being an artist; seasons, love, loss, time and healing; being a woman and how life gets chaotic and how beliefs matter.I specifically liked reading 'After Thirty'. She talks about how she changed after being this particular age. And the most interesting poem for me is 'Ten Things'. It talks about only ten worldly possessions. That gave me lots to reflect on.But the best part is after reading all the musings, the lines, the poetry and the one liners, it gives me hope like it does for the author.I like the genuineness in the writing. It's heartfelt and personal.Learning to express one's own feelings and emotions through poetry and musings is one of my most favourites to read.However, I feel some parts get a bit too repetitive. Otherwise I totally love the collection.

⨳4.5⨳This is my second Leav book and I’m so glad I gave it a chance!“I used to think love had no limits—but I draw the line at myself.”I'm actually shocked by how much I loved it. It's like you open the box on the kitchen top, thanking your brother internally to be generous enough to leave you a piece of apple pie and it turns out to be a whole chocolate truffle cake!Coming to this bittersweet treat—I can already say I’m going to read this again sometime. I finished the book and went back to the first poem immediately because it was a masterpiece. I tried to list my favorite pieces but soon realized it’ll be better if I just add the whole book to favorites.If you’ve read Leav before, expect the usual flow and style here. She addresses several themes like love, heartache and grief, womanhood, self-empowerment, self-love which she has always voiced through her poems. What was new (and my favorite parts) was the way she wrote so beautifully and poignantly about being an artist, her inspirations, and the burden of acceptance or criticism her work carries.There were so many pieces that had me just stop and take a breath- not because she says something no one has ever said or felt, but because she plucks the most mundane, alluvial thoughts and gives them a home on a paper.Also, shoutout to Lili Reinhart for that amazing foreword!Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!