This poetry collection was absolutely stunning, I already have a copy on my bookshelf to reread over and over again.

Shades of Lovers is emotional, enchanting and highly relatable.

The prose rolls across the page, taking the reader on a ride that feels personal, like the author has pulled parts of our own personal histories and put them on the pages.

I really, really enjoyed this collection of poetry. I have been reading a lot of poetry recently, but this one definitely stood out to me the most. The theme was something I could relate to so easily, and each poem is very well written.

Catarine Hancock is arguably on of the best poet of this generation. I really adore her specially on how she writes her book. Her first book is one of ultimate favorite. Hancock is very honest to her feelings and use her strength and feminism into words. It talks about modern way of affection and how we respond to it. I knew Hancock's feeling of writing poems because I have been a fan of hers. Shades of Lovers is an ultimate must-read poetry.

This collection of poems from Catarine Hancock is raw, vulnerable, and seems almost unfiltered by copious edits, more like a volume of her heart's cyclical thoughts rather than any carefully considered lines. It's filled with fluctuating emotions all told through the lenses of different colors, one color per each of the lovers Hancock documents here.

This was a beautifully crafted work full of emotion and hurt. The writing evoked feeling and explores the reality of relationships in all their glory. It really showed how well the author can convey thoughts and moments that reflect so much as well as so many different themes. It was inspiring how the need for self love and reflection was described through the beautiful poetry. “The moment you begin to love yourself is an act of war” lines like this one were so powerful and raw. The poetry really allows the reader to take a journey through the authors experiences, which I loved.

Shades of Lovers is one of the most structured poetry anthologies I have read. I really liked the subject matter of these poems, it make me reflect on a lot of aspects of my life taking me completely into the story of the book

First of all that cover is so beautiful and instantly made me fall in love.

I find it very hard to rate poetry on a star rating. These poems were so heartbreaking and real, I would defiently recommend this to others.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a free copy to review.

Firstly, I'd like to thank Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the eARC for an honest review!

Poetry is always hard for me to rate and review, but I found this collection heartbreaking and relatable.

I would recommend this poetry collection to those who enjoy poetry about love and also enjoy YA ( although there are some trigger warnings). I really enjoyed it and read it in one sitting , but I don't know if it is one of my favorites.

Throughout this poetry book, I pictured two lovers in a grand room full of people. They see one another, and slowly as the night progresses find connection with each other. Of course at times, the two get lost in the crowd and it is slow, but the burn of intimacy between the two is too great to ignore.

I really enjoyed reading what Catarine brought to the spotlight, and if you are searching for a poetry book that shows the evolution of love (the good, the not so good) then this book is for you.

My rating scale:

5☆ - I will own this book someday, I loved it that much!
4☆ - Near perfection and enjoyed losing myself in the book!
3☆ - I liked this book.
2☆ - I didn't really care for this book.
1☆ - I did not like this book at all and probably did not finish it.

I received an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.




The gorgeous illustrations on the cover of this poetry book drew me in and so I had to request it.

However I believe it expired in the NetGalley App before I had a chance to open the pages so sadly I was unable to read this book.

Poetry is always hard to rate and review for me, but this book is very heartbreaking and gives perspective into personal struggles and well worth the read.

Firstly, I'd like to thank Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the eARC for an honest review!

Again, I was pleased to see the trigger warnings at the beginning of the books! This collection is separated into six chapters that each focuses on a different relationship and there are patterns throughout, such as the 'relationship status' and 'words of advice' poems but I really loved the last longer piece of each chapter that was written like a letter to each ex. The first chapter, Ruby Red, literally felt like it was written for me. Every detail was the same, even the age! I couldn't have related to anything more. I loved how the author validated every type of love at any age.

There was so much reflection and honesty. A lot of poetry about love and heartbreak only focuses on the other persons wrongdoings but I loved how there was acknowledgment of her own flaws and mistakes. The amount of feelings that I felt while reading this book was unbelievable and I feel like I want to buy a physical copy just so I can go back a read it again and again! There are a mixture of short pieces and long pieces, mainly poetry but also some prose and they are all equally as good.

I would recommend this poetry collection to those who enjoy poetry about love and also enjoy YA. I really loved it and know that it will be a book I come back to time and again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a nice little poetry collection, but personally for me it didn't feel like anything revolutionary. I enjoyed the reading experience but it just felt very 'samey' to other poetry I've read.

Hancock's Shades of Lovers is a beautiful collection of poems exploring her ideas of love and her experience of heartbreak.

I enjoyed the collection although the writing took some time to get use to. The language felt raw and there were parts that really stuck with me. This is definitely a poetry collection I would dip in and out of, rather than read in one sitting.

such a beautiful collection. I read it first when it was self published and only loved it even more re-reading it now. Hancock has such a beautiful way with words.

I really liked the subject matter of these poems. I loved the autobiographical nature of them. They were very raw and you really could tell a sense of heartbreak. I really liked that Hancock was very realistic and open about herself and how much she has grown over the years but also how she hasn't and how she has held onto her pain and resentment despite knowing she shouldn't. I also liked reading about her tempestuous relationship with her writing as it again just made her feel all the more real and made you sympathise with her. I really resonated with Ocean Blue and it was hard for me to read because in the way that it was a harsh truth to connect with.
Hancock has a really interesting writing style and that's where it fell down for me. Every poem swaps between a more traditional freeform poetry kind of vibe with stanza etc. and then it will swap to a paragraph of structured prose, almost in a style of a letter, when she is directly addressing her past-boyfriends. While I understand why it was important for there to be a change in the style to show her changes and realisations, it wasn't my cup of tea as I prefer poetry that sticks to a more formulaic scheme. Another big peeve about this for me that almost made me DNF was the fact that the 'i's' were never capitalised. Also, there were no capitals at the start of sentences which I found really distracting and it verged on painful for my eyes to read as it made it a lot harder to process and compartmentalize each sentence.
Overall, I could appreciate some elements of it but ultimately the formatting and writing style let it down for me.

I am someone who usually enjoys books written in verse, and also poetry.
But this one just didn't sit nicely with me.
Perhaps it was because I couldn't get into it, but it could've also been the way it was written (not the format, but the words themselves).
Either way, I, unfortunately, didn't end up enjoying this one.

Okay, I really enjoyed this. I found each poem to be raw and passionate, the author shared some of her most vulnerable moments for us to read. I could feel her pain, sorrow, joy and love through each poem. I loved it.

I've got to say, this was very well done. I connected so much to some of the poetry, heartbreak and hurt. It was highlighted so much with what I connected with and what was brilliantly written.

I can definitely recommend this book as one of the better poetry collections I've read.