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pattyfgd's review
5.0
Every time I pick up am A.M. Johnson book, I know I am going to love it. Each one is so distinctive, I fall in love for a different reason. This book features the youngest of the O'Connell brothers, Kieran who is now struggling to figure out who he is since the death of his mother. Almost becoming a priest, taking care of his mother and running the business side of the tattoo parlor has shaped him into the man he is, but there is so much more to him. When he see Melissa Trujillo in church, he thinks his missing piece has been found. Melissa has her own demons and secrets she is dealing with and the addition of Kieran in her life is something she is not sure will work out. While their happiness seems evident, of course something will always get in the way. There is so much woven into this story. AM Johnson has a way of dealing with real life problems that makes the characters so true. Her way of giving the gift of poetry to Kieran is incredibly expressive and so beautiful. The addiction, dealing with death, and living day to day is something that so many live with and Johnson's portrayal of Melissa's journey is hard yet beautiful. The feeling of knowing all the characters and feeling their pain, making decisions with them and trying to figure out how to help them as the story continues. The investment is absolute and doesn't end until the culmination of the story. Bringing Declan, Paige, Liam and Kelly into the mix just makes it more like family, we know these characters so well. Loved seeing the twins too, the softness that the babies bring to these men is priceless.
Narration is spot on for this book. Teddy Hamilton has a way of creating his characters with such emotion and vulnerability, its easy to get lost in the character. His quiet, yet husky voice is exactly as I would have heard Kieran. Seraphine Valentine voicing Melissa was perfect, bringing the slight accent and angst necessary to make her character so imperfectly perfect.
Narration is spot on for this book. Teddy Hamilton has a way of creating his characters with such emotion and vulnerability, its easy to get lost in the character. His quiet, yet husky voice is exactly as I would have heard Kieran. Seraphine Valentine voicing Melissa was perfect, bringing the slight accent and angst necessary to make her character so imperfectly perfect.
__livesbtweenpgs__'s review
5.0
Amazing!
I have been waiting for this one since we first met Kieran in Declan's book.
I knew I would love him but not how I love Liam or Declan, it's more of a need to protect kind of love. He is so innocent that it just hurts you when he hurts, I was gutted at the one part and I knew without a doubt that this series is one I won't forget at all.
These brothers are one of a kind and I feel the need to keep them close!
I have been waiting for this one since we first met Kieran in Declan's book.
I knew I would love him but not how I love Liam or Declan, it's more of a need to protect kind of love. He is so innocent that it just hurts you when he hurts, I was gutted at the one part and I knew without a doubt that this series is one I won't forget at all.
These brothers are one of a kind and I feel the need to keep them close!
erina1510's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first book from this author and I enjoyed it. The storyline wasn’t one I’ve ever read before so it was nice to try something new. Kieran definitely wasn’t your typically 27 year old male that you expect and when he falls, he falls hard. He is truly a gentleman in all forms that in completely honest so he expects the same in return. Melissa is a damaged girl that has many skeletons in her closet and has overcome many obstacles. She’s never met someone like Kieran and that terrifies her because skeletons don’t ever stay hidden but can Kieran ever be with someone like Melissa. Very good book and can’t wait to read more.
kodom251999's review against another edition
5.0
Omg! This was amazing! This whole series! So relatable and angsty. I loved these brothers getting there loves.
nessreads11's review against another edition
5.0
*ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review*
10 "I need all of Kieran O'Connell's words" Stars!!!
You know that moment when you're reading a book and you just have to stop and close your eyes and take a moment and press the book against your heart and soak up the words because it's too much. And not too much in a bad way. But too much that you have to take a minute to appreciate the breathtaking literature because once the book ends that's it, your high is gone. And even as the days go on you can't help but still live within the words and are still breathing the characters inside the pages. Because that's just how exhilarating the book was. That's what happens when writing so exceptional makes you feel everything to the core. And 'Poet' by A.M. Johnson was that and so much more.
Ever since Kieran was introduced in 'Possession' the first book in the Avenues Ink Series, I knew there was something about him that would call to me. And he didn't disappoint in the slightest. Kieran wasn't like any other H I've read before. He was pure and so innocent with a heart made of gold. He was everything good and I basked in his light. And his love of words is what spoke to me the most. The way his ink stained fingers poured his feelings onto paper left their fingerprints on my heart. I craved them and him like a starved desert seeking water. Kieran O'Connell is not like others. No, he is so much better.
"She called me Poet because my words circled her wrists, drew her closer as she stood on that cliff and watched me fall."
I need to take a minute right now and just appreciate the h, Melissa. Boy, I can't even begin to tell you how she entranced me. She was like a siren beckoning me, calling me to enter her warped mind. And I went, I jumped willingly. Melissa has gone through a lot. Her life's been a roller coaster, one bumpy ride after another. She's been to hell, and clawed her way out of the darkness. What I loved was that she wasn't a goody two-shoes or some innocent lamb. She was raw, gritty and fragile. And she didn't try to hide her vulnerability. She was a fighter, and her strength was a thing of beauty. But above everything, Mel was a survivor. Surviving countless demons and finding the light to greater and better things.
"She’d given me back the syllables, the letters, and I wanted her to have them all. I wanted each goodbye to be hers, to resonate. I didn’t know her well, but I think… I think my soul did."
"He was trust and I was a lie. He was innocence and I was wicked. I’d tell him I was everything he hated, and then show him there was no way to win me when he’d already lost."
Kieran and Mel were two characters that were destined to find each other. They both needed one another to show the other the meaning of what it is to fully accept and forgive. I lived and breathed Kieran and Mel. I couldn't get enough of their friendship, their playful banter, and especially their love. They loved so wholly. If two people were meant to be, it was definitely Kieran and Mel.
"It doesn’t matter what wrongs you’ve committed, because I’ve seen the bright white light of your soul and it’s stunning."
Amanda, I am in awe. With every book you write, it just gets better and better. I don't like picking favorites, I really don't. And don't get me wrong, I love Declan and Liam. But Kieran, OMFG, Kieran was EVERY! THING! I fell so hard for him and I was okay with giving him my heart. He was simply the best! Thank you for giving us his and Mel's story.
While I read this book there was a poem that kept creeping in my head. It's by one of my favorite writers. And I think it captures Kieran and Mel perfectly. It's called 'The Defining Moment' by Beau Taplin. And it goes like this....
"You were an unexpected surprise
The defining moment. The collision of stars
that slammed into me hard and sent my neat
little world plummeting into the ocean.
I never expected it to be you, you know?
But it is you. It's all you. And now there's no
looking back."
10 "I need all of Kieran O'Connell's words" Stars!!!
You know that moment when you're reading a book and you just have to stop and close your eyes and take a moment and press the book against your heart and soak up the words because it's too much. And not too much in a bad way. But too much that you have to take a minute to appreciate the breathtaking literature because once the book ends that's it, your high is gone. And even as the days go on you can't help but still live within the words and are still breathing the characters inside the pages. Because that's just how exhilarating the book was. That's what happens when writing so exceptional makes you feel everything to the core. And 'Poet' by A.M. Johnson was that and so much more.
Ever since Kieran was introduced in 'Possession' the first book in the Avenues Ink Series, I knew there was something about him that would call to me. And he didn't disappoint in the slightest. Kieran wasn't like any other H I've read before. He was pure and so innocent with a heart made of gold. He was everything good and I basked in his light. And his love of words is what spoke to me the most. The way his ink stained fingers poured his feelings onto paper left their fingerprints on my heart. I craved them and him like a starved desert seeking water. Kieran O'Connell is not like others. No, he is so much better.
"She called me Poet because my words circled her wrists, drew her closer as she stood on that cliff and watched me fall."
I need to take a minute right now and just appreciate the h, Melissa. Boy, I can't even begin to tell you how she entranced me. She was like a siren beckoning me, calling me to enter her warped mind. And I went, I jumped willingly. Melissa has gone through a lot. Her life's been a roller coaster, one bumpy ride after another. She's been to hell, and clawed her way out of the darkness. What I loved was that she wasn't a goody two-shoes or some innocent lamb. She was raw, gritty and fragile. And she didn't try to hide her vulnerability. She was a fighter, and her strength was a thing of beauty. But above everything, Mel was a survivor. Surviving countless demons and finding the light to greater and better things.
"She’d given me back the syllables, the letters, and I wanted her to have them all. I wanted each goodbye to be hers, to resonate. I didn’t know her well, but I think… I think my soul did."
"He was trust and I was a lie. He was innocence and I was wicked. I’d tell him I was everything he hated, and then show him there was no way to win me when he’d already lost."
Kieran and Mel were two characters that were destined to find each other. They both needed one another to show the other the meaning of what it is to fully accept and forgive. I lived and breathed Kieran and Mel. I couldn't get enough of their friendship, their playful banter, and especially their love. They loved so wholly. If two people were meant to be, it was definitely Kieran and Mel.
"It doesn’t matter what wrongs you’ve committed, because I’ve seen the bright white light of your soul and it’s stunning."
Amanda, I am in awe. With every book you write, it just gets better and better. I don't like picking favorites, I really don't. And don't get me wrong, I love Declan and Liam. But Kieran, OMFG, Kieran was EVERY! THING! I fell so hard for him and I was okay with giving him my heart. He was simply the best! Thank you for giving us his and Mel's story.
While I read this book there was a poem that kept creeping in my head. It's by one of my favorite writers. And I think it captures Kieran and Mel perfectly. It's called 'The Defining Moment' by Beau Taplin. And it goes like this....
"You were an unexpected surprise
The defining moment. The collision of stars
that slammed into me hard and sent my neat
little world plummeting into the ocean.
I never expected it to be you, you know?
But it is you. It's all you. And now there's no
looking back."
dragonflyreads's review against another edition
5.0
I can't express my feelings enough for POET. AM Johnson pours her heart and soul into each novel she writes, but there's something different about Kieran and Melissa's story. It's raw. It's real. It's passionate. Every single page was better than the last. Reading Melissa's struggles and Kieran's apprehension made me FEEL for these characters. It's just so good!
Johnson wraps up the Avenues Ink Series with a beautiful HEA and more info on our other favorite characters in the series. POET will be in my re-read arsenal for sometime to come.
bookbruin's review
5.0
After meeting Kieran in Possession, I knew that the youngest O'Connell had a story to tell. I just didn't expect the words to sing to me the way that they did. Like the previous 2 books in the interconnected standalone Avenues Ink series, Poet was an emotional and moving experience. Though it can be read as a standalone, it would be best enjoyed after reading Possession and Kingdom since characters in previous books appear throughout the series.
There could not have been a more fitting title for this book. These words wrapped around my heart so tightly that at times I felt I would burst.
The book is certainly not all rainbows and unicorns and there are some very heavy, painful truths. Mistakes are made, and though my heart broke, I appreciated the fact that all the drama and angst was realistic and centered on Kieran and Mel's own insecurities and fears.
Catching up with the rest of the O'Connell clan was amazingly wonderful (I will always have a special place in my heart for Declan) and the epilogue solidifies Kieran O'Connell's place in the book boyfriend hall of fame. I cannot recommend this book and series enough!
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book*
There could not have been a more fitting title for this book. These words wrapped around my heart so tightly that at times I felt I would burst.
She is the light and I am the shadow that chases her dawn.Kieran and Melissa's story was so heartbreakingly brilliant in it's honesty and candor. Mel's shame and guilt were almost palpable characters in this story. The demons of her past and the consequences of her decisions were so haunting. We watch her struggle to not only keep her head above water, but also to live and feel worthy of love. I found it refreshing that it was the heroine who was the more broken and dark of the pair. So often the hero swoops in and saves the heroine, but this time they saved each other. Their initial meeting had my heart rate spiking and their official introduction had me swooning and grinning like a fool. I loved their playful banter and that try as they might, they never stood a chance at not falling in love.
The book is certainly not all rainbows and unicorns and there are some very heavy, painful truths. Mistakes are made, and though my heart broke, I appreciated the fact that all the drama and angst was realistic and centered on Kieran and Mel's own insecurities and fears.
By impulse everything was lost,This is such a powerful story of acceptance and forgiveness. AM Johnson's words are so poignant and thoughtful that they will strip you bare. And right when you think that your heart can't take any more, her words will lift and heal you.
and I can't find my way... home to you.
Catching up with the rest of the O'Connell clan was amazingly wonderful (I will always have a special place in my heart for Declan) and the epilogue solidifies Kieran O'Connell's place in the book boyfriend hall of fame. I cannot recommend this book and series enough!
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book*