3/5⭐️

This book is definitely among the more interesting poetry collections I’ve read. This collection follows a man as he journeys by train away from Paris and his lover that he can’t seem to leave behind.

I really enjoyed how this book, instead of dozens of unrelated poems, is composed of related poems to make up a story of heartbreak. I’m a sucker for a story so I liked that component.

On the other hand, it was VERY emo with lots of mentions of cutting and blades, blood and yearning. I liked the poems at the beginning, with more of a story, more than the ones at the end which I thought started to sound like the repetitive pinnings of a teenage rebel in an MCR shirt.

All in all, though, I found this to be an enjoyable read for anyone looking for a poetry collection with a story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Eli Wilde cuts deep once again with a tale of guttural obsession and fantasy.

'How I Mean Nothing To You' has a Victorian vampiric lyricism to it despite the technological references making it quite modern. Eli has risen to one of my absolute favorite modern poets in the past year, thanks to his previously published collection 'La Petite Mort.' I'm looking forward to seeing more of what this author can do, and to check out some older releases.

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt super uncomfortable while reading it. It might work for others though.

Honestly didn’t really love this book. I was expecting more poems that related to the subject matter versus the poems slowly telling all one story. It made it less relatable for me while reading it

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book!

I was really pulled in by the cover of this book! It was beautiful and interesting and really made me want to know what was on the pages :>

While I thought the author has a talent with words, as I was reading I kept finding myself feeling as if I was reading the same poem over and over again. I wish there had been a little variety in the poems.

It was definitely something with dark themes and I think if you are looking for gloom and doom that doesn't let up, I think you'll really enjoy the ride these emotional poems take you on.

Raw, emotional, intimate. These are just some words to describe the pain shown in this collection of poems.

Poetry book filled with some darker poetry focused on the weight of obsession and pain.. I could definitely feel the heaviness of the author and what they were struggling with. However, the entire book was filled with these heavier topics, and there was no section with any happier/lighter content. I personally feel that publishing a book of ONLY heavy topics could bring someone who is in this place mentally, down further. I struggle with these same things, and I personally enjoy books of poetry that focus on these things to also have sections where you can see and feel the author healing. Perhaps this author hasnt/hadn't gotten to that place yet, but I feel for the safety of the reader, it would be good to have had an addition of that. Even if things werent entirely "better", having a section about coping or healing would have been beneficial in my opinion. I would not be able to recommend this book as is, for fear that it would compound someone's mental anguish instead of helping them heal.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review an advanced copy of this book.

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

I enjoyed the artwork on this, that’s what got me interested but as soon as I started to read I lost interest..

Although the author is trying to portray their emotions and feelings on what they went through in a relationship/break up, this didn’t not feel that way at all.

These poems almost felt like an obsession and lust not love or true feelings. I didn’t understand anything the author was feeling..

TW: sex, self-harm, alcohol, blood

A lot of the poems in this book do have a darker theme, but they are all super interesting. I did like how the poems seemed to be interrelated. It seemed like the romantic poems were all written about the same woman, which was super cool.

This poem collection/anthology of a man who reflects about the woman he left behind and the life they once shared. It's almost like memories that the narrator does not want to forget. The most memorable poems were Technicalities and Emotion is Illusion

Thank you to netgalley for gifting me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review

This book is perfect if you have just gone through a break up or heartbreak and need something to relate to that is straight from the heart and is filled with huge emotions and is so raw

However, for me it was slightly too depressing and graphic in some places too. I enjoy poetry that includes more raw poetry but then also includes more optimistic poetry as it progresses etc

I literally couldn't connect with this one.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I’m not sure why I keep trying to read and like poetry books as they are just not for me at all. This one didn’t connect with me and I didn’t understand what the author was trying to do or achieve. That’s not saying that it was a bad poetry book as others will understand and enjoy it more than I did.

This one is quite deep and dark so please check trigger warnings. Some poems I connected to, others I didn’t. It just wasn’t for me.

I unfortunately didn't quite connect with this one. I felt like some depth was missing, but that could just be me personally as i wasn't connecting to the writing style.
That being said, I still enjoyed some of the poems.
2.5 ⭐

I've read quite a bit of poetry, and sometimes it speaks to me and others not. Sadly, this one didn't speak to me, but some lines and stanzas did; so it wasn't a total miss for me. The cover is beautiful, like stunning, that's what initially attracted me to this collection; however, after i read the first bit about how it was supposed to be (trying to remember) some guys thoughts on a train, I was lost. That wasn't something I have been familiar with and it caught me off guard and I was just confused, but I kept on reading and it was fine. Then there were all the cutting and slicing and blood references which threw me off even more. I don't necessarily like to read about that stuff unless it's a fantasy book, relating that to real life is a bit unsettling to me. This wasn't for me, and thats ok.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for an arc!

My annotations:
- I feel like they’re trying to be like symbolic and stuff but I don’t get it, idk what’s going on in this right now.
- Lots of knife and gun and cutting references and i don’t understand them
Quotes:
- (until you speak) nothing is ever real for me until I share it with you,
- ( the lines) How her eyes look at nothing as if nothing is all she sees in me.
- (reading) now and then your features change as the words within the book spark response. - I want to get to know you once you close the book and I stop reading.
- (sadness and beauty) If I allowed it to consume me maybe I’d lose my mind.
- (still life) waiting for you to cut, to cut, and cut again.
Annotation: Lots of knife and gun and cutting references and i don’t understand them
- (the first cigarette of the day) were full of light yet wild as the night.
- (quirk) I don’t love you Yet, I cannot live without you.
- (once) Even when you are not with me your effect transcends emotion.
Vocabulary:
- myopic,
Lacking imagination foresight or intellectual imagination
- augers
1. a tool with a helical bit for boring holes in wood.
2. a tool with a large helical bit for boring holes in the ground.
- polyphonic
Producing many sounds simultaneously
- retrograde,
Directed or moving backward
-unremitting,
Never relaxing or slacking, incessant
Thoughts: I read it, got nothing from it. Wasn’t my cup of tea, I just didn’t understand it but I’m also young and haven’t experienced much so for someone who has experienced something similar to the author, they might love it and feel seen; however the only one I liked was the one called Reading
Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for an arc!

Although this is not the type of book I usually read, I enjoyed it more than I expected! It showed raw emotion and I love when an author can use their words to make the reader feel those emotions, and Eli Wilde did that in this book. The cover is absolutely beautiful and that is what drew me to read it!

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the chance to read and review this.

Long story short, I didn't like the poetry in this book. Yes, you can tell that the mans on a journey and all that, but it wasn't interesting or moving in the slightest. In my opinion, it wasn't good and was overly simplistic poetry. However, others, as I can see from the reviews, will disagree with me.

How I Mean Nothing to You by Eli Wilde is the third book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it. It's a book of poems that have been written from the heart and with so much passion and love. Once you read a few of these, You will want to read them all. This little book is great for a rainy day and is based on a man that was going back home by train to Brighton by train each day and is constantly thinking about his lover that he left behind, and and the life they once they both shared.

It's an interesting read and the cover is beautiful.

Big Thank you to netgalley and BooksGoSocial for my copy for an honest review.

TW: Self-harm, death, cutting, blood,

The imagery the author evokes with his words is incredible. It felt like I truly saw into the mind of this man who became obsessed with this woman who he parted ways with. The wording on every page compelled me to flip to the next, eager to see where this man and his obsession would lead him next in his life.