I loved this book, it was very clever and compelling. Looking forward to seeing what Reid publishes next!

Okay, first of all, I want to roundhouse kick Tom. Yeah. That's it

Let me tell you. I have immense respect for poets. You write in rhymes or free verse, it takes guts.
And writing a novel in poetry? You earned my respect.

I never read a poetry novel. But I Googled around a bit and found that they are called verse novels. And wow this was a journey.

Emma fell in love with her professor. But after some time she understands that their relationship is nothing but toxic. He taunts her, torments her and pushes her down at every opportunity he gets. What will Emma do to save herself? Will she succumb? Or will she fight back?

And let me give you a little spoiler. She chooses the second option. Revenge is sweet. I really really liked this book and I will not stop until i scream about it to all. Highly recommended.

This is a gritty, rage-filled book about an extremely toxic relationship, covering power dynamics, ego and privilege in academia, gender, gaslighting and, ultimately, revenge.

This was a book of two halves for me. It started off quite slowly and though I was enjoying it, I didn’t feel fully invested. But there was an “OMG moment” about halfway through, from which point I couldn’t put it down.

As a northern, working class woman who worked in Oxford for 10 years, I felt that a lot of this book rang very true. Anyone who suffers from imposter syndrome or who doesn’t quite fit into their working environment by virtue of class might feel the same.

Louisa Reid’s writing style is sublime, the verse lending an extra punch to the already affecting subject matter. The Poet is the first of her novels that I’ve read and I’d now be keen to read her YA fiction.

With thanks to @doubledayukbooks for sending me a digital copy to review

Flipping amazing loved it all the way and Louisa has written some beautiful poetry for this book
A must read and a copy is in our library

The new Queen of free verse has done it again.
I absolutely adored this book and devoured in one sitting
There are some hard hitting topics and I feel that every woman can relate to parts and likely know someone who feels this way
The prose flows, the story is captivating. Absolutely loved it. A Triumph!!

I am so torn over ‘The Poet’ because although it is written in well crafted free verse I found the novel in its entirety became a little bit overdone in its structure.
I loved the level of toxic beauty that came across through Reid’s words as she depicts a dysfunctional relationship. Emma is dating her former professor, Tom, who is as charismatic as he is manipulative. Tom is a truly awful character and their unbalanced relationship is pushing Emma to her emotional limit- this definitely comes through in the free verse form.
Personally I think I would have found this story more impactful in this structure if the novel were more compact but that is just my experience. Overall very original and extremely well written.

A novel that has been well written and is packed with so much anger,rage and frustration. It's about a professor and very naive grad student. The relationship is toxic.

I have rather conflicting feelings about this one. On the one hand so stunningly written in free verse (I found the form quite accessible and had no problem getting into it), with the most visceral and painful imageries that perfectly captures how trapped and claustrophobic Emma felt. Her self-esteem is beyond shattered by the cruel Professor Tom. However, on the other hand our story starts when Emma is 25-years old, and at this point has been in a relationship for almost four years with the man who was once her professor. I think the problem was that I felt Emma was old enough to leave the relationship and her constant complaining of Tom began to feel, dare I admit, tedious and whiny. I didn’t think a 25-year old was a precious young thing and didn’t understand why she stopped writing and was “stuck”. She was living with Tom who paid for everything, and had plenty of time to write considering Emma didn’t have a job and did gardening all day. What was stopping her? Besides her debilitating thoughts, which was due to her and not to Tom.
Something monumental does happen halfway through plot wise, but then the momentum dips down again and I couldn’t understand Emma’s dismissive treatment to Ariel. I think the problem is Emma is supposed to be the victim but I found her annoying and entitled.
Certain things weren’t clear plot wise. What was the award Emma won and who is it due Tom she won it? I felt the plotting could’ve been tighter and more pacy. On the whole, an intriguing and unique read exploring an unhealthy and toxic relationship.

A razor sharp novel exploring a toxic relationship between an egoistic professor and a naive grad student of his, written in free verse. Packed with pent up rage and frustration, this was a fast and furious read. Reid has a way of writing stunning imagery. Highly recommend.

A stunning, beautiful yet bittersweet lyrical verse novel. You can picture every word as it flows.
A refreshing take on a toxic relationship.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for my copy of this one.

As soon as I started to read this book I knew it would be different to everything I have read before. It does tell the story of a toxic relationship, which has been done many times before, but is done so in verse. I never thought I would be possible to have so much impact with so few words.

Emma is in a relationship with Tom, lecturer, novelist, charmer, idolised by many. But beneath the surface you get to see the man for what he really is. A bully, cheat and liar who is prepared to do anything to protect his image. It takes Emma a while to realise what he is like but when she does she starts to think of a way in which she can get her revenge.

It did take me longer than I thought it would to read it. I can only think that this was because it had such a big impact despite its brevity. I really sense how alone, betrayed and desperate Emma felt. I could see her self hatred for giving in to him time and time again, not knowing the best way to cope with him. But in the latter stages of the novel I saw her change, able to show how much she hated him and I was cheering as she got what she wanted.

This is an absolutely wonderful novel, I read a digital copy but I definitely need to get a printed edition for when I get the chance to reread it.

The Poet is a mix of poetry and verse. It’s extremely clever in the fact that an entire story, one that could easily be a novel, is told through poetry. I really loved it and I’m so glad that the author wrote it in the way that they did. It was way more impactful and I felt far more connected to it. They did a fantastic job of making me feel a large range of emotions throughout the book.

The story follows Emma, who is in a relationship with her lectured at University. It dives straight into the fact that she feels trapped and reliant on him yet doesn’t seem to have much love for him. She has one published work and has been putting off finishing her next project, constantly feeling inadequate compared to him and her peers. What follows is a story of rage, deception and betrayal.

The main focus for me was the poetry and language as opposed to the characters. This is what really made the book stand out for me and kept me reading. Arguably, none of the characters are particularly likeable and they have all done morally questioning things. However, the author did a good job of making me still want to read on and in many ways I enjoyed the fact that I felt so angry or disgusted with some of their actions. I think that highlights great writing and just shows the power that this book has. Emma is complex and it was very interesting having a glimpse into her thought process and emotional state. I think so many women will love this and feel the rightful anger and recognition of being overlooked based on gender. I also liked how it touched on class issues and inequality in places such as Oxford.

Overall, this is a fantastic debut adult book from Louisa Reid and it will become a firm favourite I’m sure!

Such an angry book, written with fine feeling that hits the mark. The story of an Oxford Don who wants not only their graduate student's bodies and hearts, but also their minds, is a familiar old story, but the bleak and brutal prose poetry here gives it a hard edge that is both believable and disheartening. Explored very precisely with a command of the form, Louisa Reid opens up and addresses many difficult issues of class, privilege, sex and plagiarism.

Bright, promising Emma is entangled in a toxic romance with her old professor - and she's losing control. Cruel, charming Tom is idolized by his students and peers – confident he holds all the cards. In their small Oxford home, he manipulates and undermines her every thought and action. Soon, he will push her to the limit, and she must decide: to remain quiet and submit, or to take her revenge.
Written in verse that is raw and visceral the narrative is charged with anger. And although the writing is sparse it exudes a rich intimacy. Many phrases are breath-taking in their originality and beauty. If new to novels in verse it may take a while to get used to the flow of the narrative but soon you will become immersed in Reid’s incredible talent.

The Poet explores class and toxic relationships in a manner I've never seen before and it's explosive!

This is my first verse novel in a while - but it's not Reid's, she's clearly a master of the form from her previous YA novels. In The Poet, Reid introduces us to, Emma, a young woman in a toxic relationship with her old university professor Tom, who is every inch the arrogant lecturer archetype. Emma feels trapped and out of control, and it's clear from the beginning that this isn't a love story.
First: the style is impeccable here. If you're a fan of novels in verse, this will be right up your street, and as I said above, Reid is wildly talented in this arena. Unfortutely verse novels just aren't my jam, though I powered on due to the content of the novel, as troubled young women novels are my favourite thing. And The Poet largely delivered! The story was wild, filled with rage and pain, and ultimately exciting. But perhaps I've read too many similar novels in the last while - Julia May Jonas' Vladimir and Megan Nolan's Acts of Desperation spring to mind - but I just couldn't get into this novel. I wanted to fall for Emma and get swept up in her story but something prevented me from connecting entirely.

📚 Book review 📚
The Poet by Louisa Reid
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Oh. My. God. 🤩 🔥😍
This book is incredible!!
There are not enough stars to apply here and thank you so much to @netgalley for the free E-ARC and to @transworldbooks and @louisareid because this was phenomenal! Everything about The Poet blew me away. I loved the way it was written in verse - it was just so perfectly fitting and so clever. As a uni academic myself, with a particular interest in professional boundaries and an undergrad degree in English, this story was so alive for me and I gasped out loud when I realised what Tom had done as Emma’s supervisor… let alone her partner!
The level of coercive control was terrifying and the way Tom honed in on every opportunity to gain power and undermine - God, he was so exploitative!
I will be recommending this incredible book to everyone I know - always!
Blown away!
Thank goodness it is released on the 9th of June so I can buy a copy to hold for when I read it and savour it again!

I personally didn't really enjoy this book. I can tell it was well written however it was too flowery and poetic for me and I didn't feel like there was enough plot to engage me to keep going with the book. I did read the whole thing and preferred the second half but it just personally wasn't for me

Louisa Reid's 'The Poet' explores the toxic and abusive relationship between Oxford lecturer Tom Abbot and his former student Emma Eliot, who enjoyed a brief moment of success after her first poetry collection won a literary prize but is now floundering in the middle of her doctoral thesis on the poet Charlotte Mew. Reid's account of this relationship sadly feels all too plausible in our post-#MeToo world as Emma's initial infatuation with Tom's charisma has given way to narcissism, parasitism and gaslighting, leaving her feeling utterly helpless. Reid is particularly skilful in showing how gender, social class and institutional power structures have all contributed to this unequal power dynamic.

I was engaged by this novel from the very start, but midway through I became completely hooked after Emma discovers a particularly egregious act of wrongdoing on Tom's part and begins to plot her revenge and work out how to reclaim her voice. This is where the book really becomes a page-turner, aided by the verse novel genre which distils Emma's emotions with a precision and urgency that is difficult to match in prose. Verse novels have become a well-established genre in YA fiction, and it is great to see successful YA verse novelists like Sarah Crossan and Louisa Reid writing for adults.

This novel also explorers the wider issue of the different ways in which female writers are silenced and suppressed by men, referencing figures such as Colette and Lizzie Siddal along the way. Charlotte Mew makes for an interesting focal point for the novel, and Reid has Emma make some insightful observations about Mew's life. If I had a criticism, it's that I would have liked a bit more focus on Mew's writing (which is wonderful) - we are told that Mew is an unjustly neglected figure but I wanted the novel to do more to show us why Mew is in fact worthy of our attention. But this is a small quibble with an immensely powerful, timely and gripping read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review!

I read The Poet by Louisa Reid in one sitting. This absorbing novel written in verse has the ability to strip away any of the usual expectations of a novel because the way it is written is so sparse and raw without anything getting in the way. The story of Emma, a young academic, and her lover, Tom, a college professor could have been cliched, but in fact, became a tale of the perfect revenge. She wasn't side-lined by the possibility that her lover could have been having relationships with other students, but more importantly that he considered it acceptable to steal her work while using her lack of confidence in herself to persuade her that she couldn't possibly be successful without him. I thought the denouement was all it had to be to ensure that she could walk away without turning back. Recommended.

I need to read more novels in verse! This is one of those books that lingers with you well after closing its pages. Absorbing, visceral, intimate, claustrophobic, and gorgeously eloquent. A work of art. Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.