Prepare to be amused, warmed, horrified, comforted, inspired - but watch out for beauty's sting in the tail. Sarah James' first poetry collection was the third prize winner in the 2011 International Rubery Book Award. Reviewers' comments: Sarah James' poems are full of colour, a life-affirming response to both the domestic and the fantastic. Nevertheless, they are aware of darker shades, the grimmer side of life, relationships and the imagination. This is a varied, thought-provoking and enjoyable first collection. Review by Jacqui Rowe – Poetry Society Trustee and co-director of Flarestack Poets Sarah James' poems are earthy, sensuous, often sexy, peopled by resonant characters, such as Shakespeare's Juliet and a stiletto-heel-wearing Inuit. Always clear-eyed and compassionate, she explores the visceral realities of the female body; the pain of infertility and post-natal depression with language that pins down her subject with surgical precision. Review by Catherine Smith – award-winning poet and Poetry Book Society/Guardian ‘next generation poet’ Sarah James deciphers the world with a wise young eye; attentive to complexity, she makes her own sense of things - and expresses it in language that is often dramatic, and always engaging. Review by Meredith Andrea – co-director of Flarestack Poets Sarah James’s first collection shows an imagination that can surprise and delight, as well as skill and confidence in her craft. I am already looking forward to seeing what she does next. Review by Angela France – poet and features editor of Iota