It was a very quick read. For the first half of the book the writing was flat and unimpressive, some of the poems were quite literally copy and pastes of hit tweets or tumblr posts but with the phrase changed a bit to look 'aesthetic' which I found super annoying but apart from those, the poems by the end were more meaningful and well written.

As someone who reads poetry a lot I can't say I really found anything special with this collection but it was alright. I don't hate it and I don't love it. (I did hate the first half though, ngl, the last part redeemed it somewhat).

Thanks Netgalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the chance to read and review this book!

While there was nothing bad about this book, the poems didn't exactly appeal to me and I found it unmemorable. I feel like the author held back and could have made these poems infinitely darker.

ok wow...
had to admit, the starting didn't really feel me
It felt like a bunch of 'big' words together written in poetry form
but 'the end' part was just ✨✨
poetic musings over the end of the world is just hands down, one of the best things ever
and of course, describing the fairy tales was also the one of the other things that I liked about this
This is a light and fun read that just makes you think
Would definitely recommend it!

Ah, combining two things: one of my favorite genres and one of my least favorite formats, this is what scary looks like in poetic form.
Or at least, that’s the idea here, in this collection by a Bram Stoker recognized author.
Poetry is, inherently, a thing that thrives on brevity. But these slices of life, supernatural, extraterrestrial, and otherwise, go even further, whittling themselves down to mere slivers.
The result is interesting enough, conceptually, stylistically, and contextually.
Sometimes a few words is all that’s needed to present or at least hint at a complete story, sometimes they are mere glimpses of another world – one slat in the window blind open.
Yeah, again, interesting. And for the time it takes to read this book, which is not time at all, it’s worth checking out, if only for an experiment’s sake. Thanks Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my type of poetry. Sng has a unique voice, blending pieces from sci-fi, horror, and fairy tales to create analogies to her own experiences with mental health. She ties together each story in “acts” to make the collection more cohesive. I loved it. It feels like something that was written directly for someone like me. A few of the poems I had to revisit to fully analyze what they were about. In a way, this adds value to the collection and benefits from re-reads. I recommend this for any fan of the aforementioned genres and for those interested in mental health!

I began exploring poetry last year, and this collection is unlike anything I’ve encountered before. I know that poems, just like prose, are available in any genre, but the chance of reading a dark fantasy/sci-fi/horror poetry collection is something that I didn't anticipate would happen sooner since I was not actively looking for works that are far from contemporary fiction and LGBTQIA+ poetry.

I started the book with the fear of being overwhelmed by long verses filled with macabre images and unfamiliar references. But Sng proved me wrong. Through very short poems, the horrors of a post-apocalyptic future and the mysteries kept by fairy tales are conjured. Sng also asserts that she's an experienced poet by showcasing a perfect balance between personal sentimentalities and thought-provoking philosophies.

The book also plays with our claustrophobic and "astrophobic" thoughts. It recalls how suffocating existing could be and how big our responsibility is as breathing creatures. These feelings are evoked by the poems which for me are like screen captures of sci-fi films and excerpts of high fantasy novels.

There are only a few things that bothered me while reading the collection. Some poems are too short; thus, sometimes, it's hard to determine their context. In my opinion, wide readers will also notice that the themes are already prevalent in the genres touched by the book, and appreciating the poems' uniqueness might be difficult at first. Despite these, I'm sure that you'll recognize that Sng presented a creative exploration of the most beloved stories in the world of sci-fi and fantasy.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

I absolutely loved the name of this collection and I feel like the cover truly reflects the emotions the author wants to portray. Truth be told, I didn't connect with a few of the poems in this collection. I wasn't particularly intrigued by the ones inspired by fairytales. However, I did enjoy the ones sets in space and how they reflected not only emotional turmoil but also introspection (or at least that's how I interpreted them). There was one particular poem titled Electroconvulsive Therapy Session One that made me feel so many emotions at once.

While ultimately this collection of poems isn't necessarily for me, I think other people will absolutely enjoy it because, at the end of the day, the beauty of poetry is that it speaks to us in different ways.

This was a fun and unique read!! I loved the bite sized pros. I did not feel like it was wholly unique, but enjoyable. Would be something nice to have in print for when you want to find inspiration.

Thank you netgalley for this collection of poems! This book was honestly so good i loved the collection of poems and the spooky and horror behind them it was such a quick read but it was a good little journey and i LOVED the spin on the princess stories that we all grew up watching it was nice to see a spin on it. This collection of poems had so many different kinds of horror and spooky vibes to it i felt like every page had a different type of eeriness if thats a word LOL! Now this is the type of poetry i LOVE!

I really loved this book. A lot of them reminded me of darker, more traditional fairytales. Slight criticism only - some of the poems felt too short

A collections of short poems of a horror/sci fi theme. Some of them were very lyrical and I really enjoyed, my favourite was Cinderella and Marriage. The sci fi ones weren’t for me but it has never been a preferred genre so this isn’t. A fault of the writing. I would have enjoyed some longer poems as well.

3.5 rounded up

This is a poetry collection on a variety of themes. The imagery used is great, and often I found myself surprised at the turn it took. Some of the themes are: The End, Ghost Stories, Real Monsters and more. A very fun collection of poems which I will likely read again and a very fun one to highlight certain favourite poems from.

<i>I was provided with a complimentary copy of this poetry collection from Interstellar Flight Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which I leave voluntarily.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was just an okay poetry collection, I didn't really understand what all the poems were trying to say. It didn't make me feel anything but I wasn't bored either so that's a plus.

There was some very interesting poems in here. I really enjoyed Escape, A Better World, and Requiem. I am very picky with my poetry and thought the title/cover was interesting. I would like to see some of the poems expanded upon. To help the reader fully understand what the author is trying to tell them.




Thank you to the author and publisher for letting me read this book. Opinions were my own.

"Creating a new world / Full of rage-filled ghouls / Bent on protecting little girls" (A Better World)

The Gravity of Existence is a masterfully crafted collection of poems ranging from fairytales to space exploration, but all grounded in the very real pain of day to day survival.

I really enjoyed how minimal these poems are! It can be so difficult to balance the right word choice for shorter poems, especially freeform, and Sng nails it. My top favorites were: Little Red in Haiku, Alice in Wonderland, The Werewolf, Basilisks, The Siren, Magic, and The Gift.

I truly enjoyed this collection, so much so that I wish each section had been split out into their own collection. I would read and reread Sng's work about fairy tales and folklore if it was every extracted and extrapolated upon, I think the minimal approach to it worked so well! I also felt the same about the science and space focused poems, there was clearly a story weaving through each piece and would love an entire collection containing more of those.

This was a wonderful read! I can see myself picking this up again before it's full release in December and I can't wait to recommend it to some of my friends who enjoy the themes in this collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for providing me with a copy for an honest review!