Rachel Long is a bright new voice in poetry, I loved reading this exploration of what it means to be.

I believe all poetry books have gems and also have some poems that don’t connect with me. This collection is the epitome of this. I know I am not the intended audience being white and retired but I wanted to understand a different view from a polar opposite perspective and I enjoyed that I had to take my time and really think about the work.

Ms Long is an excellent poet and there are some beautiful lines and rhythms in this book:-

“Only when he is sleeping can I breathe out. So deep my ribs come up like a ship.”
“For years I didn’t think of him. OK, perhaps, but in a loose and smirking way: playful, no serious pining.”

This is not an easy read and demands concentration but I am happy with that and I will be looking out for any future collections from this poet.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

An exciting first collection from a poet I've been excited to read on the page for some time. Can't wait to see what she does next!

"Each poem has a vivid story to tell – of family quirks, the perils of dating, the grip of religion or sexual awakening – stories that are, by turn, emotionally insightful, politically conscious, wise, funny and outrageous."

An excellent, brilliantly strong debut.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review! A decent and sweet little collection of poems exploring femininity, Blackness, and family relations among other nuanced ideas I of course won't pick up on from a personal level. I really enjoyed the intimate and oftentimes lyrical tone Long takes on and as a debut collection I enjoyed the imagery used within. It is hard for me to fully relate or understand the poignance delivered of course but I have done my best to not let that detract from my review! I did feel some poems felt a bit more disjointed and thus struggled to fully grasp my attention.

Poetry on my Kindle... not what I would normally opt for, but Rachel Long's debut collection, 'My Darling from the Lions', certainly didn't disappoint. This slim book covers significant issues in Long's life, focusing, perhaps specifically, on her black heritage and her position in society.

Many of the poems are almost narrative in style. They read as being incongruous but are not, as soon as one digs beneath the surface. Some focus on Afros; others on sex. They are candid and heartfelt, but beautiful at the same time. In 'Sandwiches', the school yard resonates - 'Thick, white, unbuttered' - and one can imagine the way children wind each other up, commenting on breast size ('tissue and a tit/sock and a tit') - quite cheap but very true in so many ways, and like a short story. In 'Holiday Album', the 'motherless on an ocean liner, crying in the restaurant the first time we try [bloody] steak...' is very sad - as is the fact 'She's absent from every family holiday.' 'Thanksgiving' shows the situation after a passionate night of sex - 'I find my head/washed up window-side of his bed.' All in all, Long gives readers an honest perspective on life, love and relationships, often confronting what people don't like confronting: it's a refreshing and very real collection.

I loved this collection and feel sure that Rachel Long is set for great things - let's hope so.

"Behold the miracle of afro hair.
Blackness so complete
You could put your hand in,
never get it back."

"She's absent from every family holiday.
Doesn't she care that we appear motherless
and heartless, grinning cheese like we don't miss her."

"Steve was the black one mum
must've bought him for us we wouldn't have asked for him
he was ugly of course he fancied princess barbie
but her blue sparklies were strictly for ken"

I always struggle to review poetry because my thoughts basically boil down to "don't like this/don't get this" or "really like this". Anyway I really like this. One of my best of the year.

Such a vast range of uncomfortable subjects covered in these poems in such an unflinchingly beautiful way. I would say that this poetry collection isn't for everyone and may be worth checking out trigger warnings prior to reading. That being said I devoured this collection in one sitting and would recommend.

A wonderfully vivid collection, filled with urgent emotion as well as great humour. I absolutely loved it and will be reading it again!

I loved this. It's a stunning poetry collection about growing up and coming into yourself, and the poems are strange but reflect on very relatable and familiar situations as well. It's like looking into a trick mirror, I loved it. It was my first introduction to Rachel Long, definitely interested in what they do next!

There are some fantastic poems here and I feel bad not to give a higher rating but for me there was a gulf between the best and the rest. Is this my own fault? Am I guilty of not deconstructing my own response in terms of my lack of related lived experience? Possibly. But then how to explain that the best here made my breath catch in my throat and others just left me empty.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

An absolutely wondrous first collection. Rachel Young's poetry is beautiful, skilled and poignant. Dealing with themes including (but not limited to) childhood, masculinity, race and class, her poems feel fresh and new. She is a modern poet writing modern poems, and this is why this book is so good. I loved it and have bought a copy to keep for myself!

It’s rare to be able to sit and read a book of poetry straight through from beginning to end. I can’t pretend to have fully understood everything but the way Long’s language and structure pulls you in and makes you feel, leaving just enough space to read it again and again... My Darling from the Lions is poetry done really well. The shapes and pictures tug and appear and have a life that is their own as you read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for review.

I found this collection of poetry to be an incredibly uncomfortable read. Of course, in dealing with the many difficult and painful topics that it does, this is absolutely to be expected. However, I felt that this didn’t come across in the description, and therefore was quite a jarring experience. I think a trigger warning of some kind would be of massive value to this collection. I felt many of the ways it was described, such as “family quirks, the perils of dating, the grip of religion or sexual awakening” really underplayed the seriousness of many of these poems, and I felt like this doesn’t do justice to reader or author.
Despite all this, I do think it’s a valuable collection of poetry, with some moments that made me laugh out loud, and provided some much needed lighter context amidst some heavy reading.

A collection of stunning poetry, full of strength, covering themes from sexuality to religion, this just cries out of grit, reality , of female and power in being a woman, of her race, a powerful Black female voice and I feel honoured to have been given an ARC of her book, I will be buying on publish date to have on my bookshelves permanently. A wonderful captivating voice and a collection to be read again and again, as I know I will.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Reading this book I realised, finally, what I find hard about reading poetry. I need things spelled out to me and poetry relies a little too much on nuance and vagueness often. As such I felt myself pulled in and pushed out at times by the writing, simply because of that issue.

I still thoroughly enjoyed what I understood and I am sure people who enjoy all of it will enjoy it even more.

Powerful, important, empowering; Long's poetry collection explores the themes of race, religion, sexuality, family and cultural identity in such a captivating and delicate manner that has both a personal and a universal quality.

This collection embodies a mixture of themes namely blackness, sex and family. The execution of this collection is captivating.
However, for the first 30% of this book, I found myself thinking the collection just wasn't for me. It had a lot of the makings of poems I find hard to discern, however as I kept on reading I found some real gems. Even if I didn't like an entire poem, there would be lines in there that I just adored. Regardless of if I enjoyed a poem or not Rachel conveys strong imagery with her words, my issue was that I felt a lot of these things didn't make sense or they were way too disjointed. However, this strong imagery is also what I loved about certain poems, as disjointed as they felt or as random as they seemed, some poems just spoke to me. My favourite poem is Communion, it works well in free verse and for me, they built on images I am already familiar with due to my experience relating to the poem. I also just had to look up the inspiration behind the poem and I love an ode to Black hair and the experience of Black hair salons.

This is a beautifully crafted collection. I was totally immersed in the world of the poems and devoured it in one sitting. It's magical yet gritty real at the same time, the characters - their desires, realities and truths - jump from the page.

Long's poetry collection is a sophisticated debut. My Darling from the Lions captures many of those nebulous feelings found in the very best bildungsroman texts with an urgency and specificity that prevents it ever seeming saccharine. Biography blends seamlessly with commentary on today's most pressing, and divisive, social issues. "I am magazine educated", she writes. This line is one to which every young woman can relate. The recollection that follows, however, offers insight into the experience of a Black girl who was unable to find representations of her body in the pages of print. The clarity and care with which she presents moments of intersection such as this are exceptionally strong.