Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy.

This is a beautiful collection and I really connected with so much of Catarine Hancock's words. I would definitely recommend this collection to readers of all ages. I especially appreciated the account of first love at such a young age - I remember feeling so deeply in middle school and I would have loved to read these poems.

I received a digital arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


I will preface this review as I alway do when it comes to poetry by saying I think it’s really difficult, and nearly impossible, to rate poetry. I think poetry is one of the purest forms of expression and I don’t belive you can really “rate” someone’s expression of their thoughts, beliefs, and trauma. There are obviously technical aspects to poetry but I think what’s most important is if they can convey the story or emotions they are trying to envoke. So obviously despite having to rate it (because that’s the whole point), I recognize that with poetry a rating is even more subjective to the reader and their experiences than with other genres.



To start off from the very beginning, I love the way the table of contents is itself a poem. It’s a unique thing I haven’t seen done before (not saying it hasn’t been done, just I haven’t seen it before). I like the uniqueness of assigning each person a color and while I liked the format, it did get repetitive since it was the same for each color.



The author talks about the different relationships that she’s had in her life and while doing so, the different kinds of relationships we often experience. There are those that are filled with pain, those that are easy and sweet but surface-level, those that feel unfinished, and so on and so forth.

“Love does not have to consume to be real. You can love and sleep soundly. You can love and kiss softly. You can love and leave quietly. You can love and leave whole.”



The author is young (not much younger than me, but I feel like in this age range, a few years can feel like a lot) and that comes across in her writing, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. You can feel her pain through her writing and a lot of people can relate to her story.

“I can’t tell you how many times somebody has looked at my open wounds and told me that I’m not really bleeding” -age doesn’t mean shit

Many of the poems are about heartbreaks and relationships that happened when the author was a teenager. It’s easy to read these poems as an adult or just someone who has maybe dealt with different heartbreaks and discount this as teenage angst but I think the above quote is true. I think back to being in middle school and early high school and the pain that came with my first heartbreak and how it felt at that time like the world was ending. The author starts with age 13 and as much as later on you know that many of the things you deal with at that age will one day be a distant memory and you’ll be okay, in that moment it feels like everything. So I think it’s important to keep that in mind when reading. The author does a good job at putting all those feelings of first love and first heartbreak into words.



The author touches a lot on self esteem and how it’s hard as a young person to not place your entire self worth in the hands of someone else.

“Because later that night, when I went to talk to self-love, I saw you looking back at me when I should have seen myself”

That’s one of my favorite lines from the book. My favorite poems from the book were when the author wrote about self confidence and loving herself. The poem that begins with “the moment you being to love yourself is an act of war...” is probably my overall favorite from the book. I found it powerful and it will definitely stick with me.



This definitely feels more like the author’s diary, which a lot of poetry is. And that is what makes poetry so powerful and beautiful, but can also sometimes make it not click with everyone.

13-17 year old me would’ve loved this. It’s no longer for me, but that’s okay. I definitely think there’s an audience for this and I applaud the author for putting her thoughts and emotions out there in such a raw way.

I’m giving it a 3 out of 5 stars because while it may not be my favorite, there’s people out there who will love this book.

This is such an amazing poetry collection. I believe it grabs you at the very beginning. I'm looking forward to any book the author decides to publish in the future. Rating: 4/5 stars.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this galley! I liked this book, and enjoyed the process of reading it, but it didn't really say anything new. I think I've been reading a lot of poetry like Catarine Hancock's, and it's vivid, lyrical poetry, but I wasn't really as ready to care as I wanted to be. You could tell that these poems were deeply personal, and it almost makes me hesitant to review this, but I feel that Hancock could do so much more with her poetry. There are moments with extended metaphor and language play that I'm entranced, but then it slips back into styles and statements I've seen and heard before, and I am left wanting more.
Still a great book, and one I would recommend to lovers of modern lyrical poetry.

Stars: 3.5/5

Thank you for a free digital copy in return for an honest review.

I liked the uniqueness of this poetry, how people were made colours and the analogies used to really allow the reader to understand the writer and her emotions, how she felt, feels and hurt. I like the ups and downs, the reality. I enjoyed the story aspect and watching the author's growth.

While I enjoyed the poetry, finished it in a day, I wasn't as moved as I thought I would be and maybe my expectations were a bit too high but it was underwhelming. Kudos to Hancock's creativity though.

WARNINGS: body image issues, abuse

Recommend for: Those who like creativity, artistic poetry and romance

This was a nice collection of poetry. I liked the format and how it was broken up by lovers and colors. Some of the poems felt repetitive at times, however. But I did enjoy this collection overall.

Thank you to Central Avenue Publishing for letting me read this for a review.

I gave Shades of Lovers book 3 stars.

This was written in poetry and went over the journey the author went on throughout different relationships for a young age. It went into detail the emotional experience she went on and is truly thought provoking. It opens up the reader to understand how heartbreaking and rocky first loves and relationships can be at such a young age.

I was looking forward to reading this as I'm making an effort to read more poetry. I did feel like I was going on an emotional journey through each relationship and the fact that it was written in poetry made a bigger impact for me personally.

While I did feel emotionally connected to the book at points and was a super quick, yet interesting read, it just wasn't quite what I expected and it just didn't do anything special for me. However, I will definitely be recommending this to others as it was an enjoyable read.

Hi everyone!
This is a collection of poems where the author tells us her journey through six relationship and self love.
I really liked the idea behind this book, like how each type of love is associated with a different color.
But in the end I struggled a bit with the writing style. If you like amanda lovelace style you are probably going to like this one, but I just couldn’t get over it. Also, the ARC had some layout problems with my kindle, which didn’t help.

Shades of love is a collection of poems by Catarine Hancock that tell her journey through six different relationships and what each taught her. From heartbreak, to goodbyes, to self-love, to happiness, each love is designated a color and chapter of poetry that come together in a beautifully honest story.

"the moment / you begin to / love yourself / is an act of war / against those who try to chain you to a scale, against those who try to / brand you with a label, / against hose who try to tell you / it is better to do the opposite."

There were so many gorgeous, quotable passages in this book. It must be one of the most highlighted works in my library. But, for all of the beautiful parts, there were those that bothered me. First, I did not enjoy the lack of capitalization of any word (especially “i”) throughout the entire book. I was hoping at least that in the last poem, or line, there would finally be a capital “I” to mark the author’s journey to finally loving herself, or something to that effect. Then I could feel the style had a purpose, but alas, I was disappointed. I’m sure there was some reasoning behind it, but it was one that I could not discern, and therefore just distracted me from the writing.

I also kept thinking of that one Friend’s episode where Chandler gets tricked into seeing the angry one-woman play, where every scene starts out with the woman yelling “CHAPTER (insert number, and title).” Hancock labels certain poems with the designations such as “word of advice #x” or “scene:” or “things that remind me of you #x” and it really broke the flow for me. I wish instead of stating those things outright readers were left to interpret them a little more freely, and just be in the moments.

That being said, I absolutely loved the journey through her story. I personally have struggled with self-love and getting caught up in relationships, and I thought she gave a very accurate view of what that is like. I could feel all of the beauty and all of the pain that she described, and was reminded of many events in my own past. The fact that I could see myself in some of the tougher parts of her story made me hopeful that someday, I might find myself as Hancock does.

I have to say, I was hoping for a little bit more from the language. Often I did not feel immersed in imagery, which is what I expect/enjoy about a lot of poetry. For example the line where she says “this is an angry poem. it is bloody and it is wounded and it is angry” just felt a little lacking to me. With all the other ways she describes anger, I did not understand why lines like that were necessary. For me, they blunted the impact of her previous/future descriptions, and I wish we were given more imagery instead.

I think this would be a great read for any young woman (or man, but the fact that it is written from a woman’s perspective makes it feel that much more relatable for me) who has experienced love and heartbreak, or struggles with self-image. I also would like to point out that, as this was an E-ARC, the formatting was really off, and while I tried not to let that influence my feelings for the work as a whole, I may have had some unconscious biases.

I would give this a 3/3.5 stars out of 5, rounded down to 3. The message and journey were great, but I needed more from the writing style itself.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
(Goodreads review will be posted a week before publication date)

I really liked the premise of this book, a mix of prose and poetry, an exploration of six different relationships, and every one of them was associated with a colour, but sadly this was not the book for me.
I did not particularly enjoy the poetry writing style, and I felt like some of the themes in this book were only looked at with a superficious glance. I would have liked to see a little bit more, not just little glimpses. I would have liked all in all a little more focus on some big themes that were only mentioned by name.

I liked the fact that every lover represented a different colour, but other than that I could not quite connect with the poems. I totally respect their intent and the experiences that inspired them, of course, but they did not click with me.

If you're interested in a collection of poems about young love though, this could be your cup of tea for sure.

Shades of Lovers is a poetry collection that follows Hancock’s relationships chronologically, exploring the good and the bad.
I really enjoyed this collection of poems. The flow of the poems is like a stream of consciousness – I was able to sit and read through them very quickly. Each one was as powerful and insightful.

The subjects of the poems talked about the different loves of her life and how they affected her. I like that each love helped her to grow and she carried that with her. The poems in each section are directed towards its respective lovers which adds to the raw feeling to the collection. Every poem is important and significant to Hancock.

This was my first introduction to Hancock as a writer, but I can see that she has a true passion for the craft. This collection was a joy to read and I would highly recommend it.

(I have to say how weird I found saying referring to her by her surname when I have the same one!)

Thank you NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the ARC copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great book of poems! It explored the good, bad, ugh that and dark side of love! Brutally honest in heartache and passion and learning from mistakes of the past.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I don't usually like or read poetry but I was pleasantly surprised. Its probably one of the best poetry books I've read in a long time.

I enjoyed this book. The flow of it, whether it was intended to be like this or not, is very stream of consciousness and I really like that inside of poetry books. I think the stories that are intertwined within here are really beautiful and I did enjoy the callbacks to "the things that remind me of you" lists. The subject matter talked about inside the book was interesting about how the different loves of her life affected her and I like how it wasn't saying all the previous loves were bad. That each love brought a new piece of growth/knowledge into her life and she accepted it and carried it with her. I think that I would recommend this to maybe young girls getting into their first relationships. So they can know it's OK to have more than one love as you grow up.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Expected Release date: August 18th 2020

Shades of Lovers is a poetry collection that chronologically follows all of Hancock’s relationships, thoroughly exploring the bad and the good. Each lover is given a pseudonym of a symbolic colour that Hancock justifies in a sentence before their specific collection of poems.

I’m surprised how much I liked this collection, and I found the enjoyable factor the most noticeable. I usually find poetry difficult to rate, especially modern poetry that focuses on repetitive ideas and short structure over anything else. However, the poems within Shades of Lovers vary in length but follow the modern convention of line breaks. Not only are the lovers in chronological order but so is their love story and I LOVED this. It was so smart and it created a better connection and understanding for the narrative. This also allowed for a smooth transition and eradicated the repetitiveness of modern poetry, creating a refreshing collection. The lack of periods is something I often find annoying and ever present in modern poetry. Hancock ignored this convention and her consistent use of periods helped with the flow and understanding of the poems, limiting the need to reread as I naturally hit the breaks.

The poems in each section are directed to its respective lover, which creates a rawness and extra layer to the work. This sometimes gives a detached feeling to the poem as if this is Hancock’s therapy journal, but unlike other collections that attempt this, it works in Shades of Lovers. Throughout the collection we see Hancock’s growth to acceptance, understanding and self-love, and the struggles that happen during the journey, all through a reflective lens. Therefore, every poem is important and are definitely significant to Hancock, consequently many will able to relate and learn. Personally, I found her discussion of tumblr poems and their cultivation of mental health, to be one of the most memorable due to it’s sad truth and extreme importance. Every division includes a section where Hancock lists the things that remind her of that lover which ends in a sentiment of their relationship. At the end of each collection is a direct letter to that lover, explaining Hancock’s feelings and what she wants to say to them. These were most definitely my favourite parts of the whole book and I found myself looking forward to them. The last ending letter to ‘Emerald Green’ was really powerful and an amazing way to conclude.

Yet there are some negatives of this collection. Within the book, Hancock uses these ‘scenes’ where she states ‘scene:’ and then describes the event before ‘end scene’. I found these really weird and jarring for the rhythm, I didn’t really understand her choice with these. It would have flowed much better if she just lead into the scene with language rather than disturbing the flow with ‘scene:’. Hancock often speaks to herself in the poems which could get very confusing since there was no clear divide as she spoke to both herself and the lovers using second person narrative. I like the duel audience but by using ‘you’ again when it was so clearly used throughout the whole collection to direct to the lover, made it extremely difficult to understand. ‘Stormy Gray’ was the weakest section in the book, with the poems being puzzling which resulted in re-reading, and yet I was still confused by the wording. This was the only one that was slightly repetitive in my opinion, but not to a hindering scale. ‘Stormy Gray’ was supposed to be the most raw and painful for Hancock, so I wonder if that’s why it wasn’t as polished as the other sections.

I haven’t read anything by Hancock before, but it is obvious to me that her writing has grown and developed already, and she has a true passion for the craft. Shades of Lovers was a joy to read and a refreshing, detailed collection, that I would recommend if you were already interested.

P.S. I would very much like an ‘Emerald Green’ to listen intently and support my poems too please x

I’d never heard of the poet before but I’ve enjoyed other poetry collections from the publisher so had high expectations. This is an impressive collection considering the poet is only 20. I can only imagine how good she’ll get as she grows older and gains even more life experience. I get that age has nothing to do with maturity or experiencing pain. I just look forward to seeing the poet grow in skill and talent. This is a very personal collection, clearly about six relationships the poet had and how they worked or didn’t work out. The themes explored are universal; love particularly first love, hope, relationships and loss. I felt very close to the poet and her experiences as I read this collection. Love is different things for different people but I could relate to the poet’s experiences. Many poems reminded me of my first love. I was 22 and she eviscerated me. I got over the pain by obsessively writing about 200 poems. This is the poet’s third collection and I will check out the other two.

This reads a bit like a coming-of-age diary. Like a confessional. These poems are what would happen if you sat down before those you once cared for deeply as a teenager and poured out the contents of your heart in simple, conversational, stream-of-consciousness terms so they could see your love - and your journey, your evolution through it - in its many shades.

It’s the lovelorn thoughts you carry around in your head about someone. It’s the contents of that letter you write to an ex, but will never send. It’s the romanticized pinks and butterflies and foot-popping kisses that only, and I mean only, happen in the movies. It’s heartbreak as it stings between your two front teeth.

Here is where fantasy cracks open on the sidewalk and a crush swoops in to skin your knees. Here is where you get your first sip of the unrequited. This is when you learn, when you burn. This is when you lose over and over but you dust yourself off to try again.

This collection is testimonial to what it means to live. To feel. To be young in a world of firsts and almosts, of ‘c’ya laters’ and ‘too little, too lates.’ It’s a place for reflection as well as perspective - but one that’s not too far ahead in the game yet. (Think more like a couple football fields away.)

The themes here are not deep. They’re easy to see and even easier to feel. Cliches dot the periphery too much sometimes; still, you can’t help but relate.

The lines in this are no more layered in meaning than the colors of love are faded, but that’s okay because the sentiment behind the words is bodied and human. They’re a shade of what we can feel.

So many of us have been here before. We’ve been hurt or betrayed, have regretted or abstained. We’ve loved someone else when we should’ve worked on loving ourselves instead. And if we haven’t experienced any of these things yet, we probably will before too long.

So while this was by no means achingly profound, if anything, the universality to be found in these pages is comforting. 2.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the ARC!

I found myself reasoning with a lot of things Hancock said in this short collection of poetry. It was relatable in so many ways to my struggles with relationships, and it just felt really real, raw, and emotional. I really enjoyed this book. The writing was superb and easy to read, I did find myself getting lost in the big chunks of text, but easily found my place again. It was a good book and I recommend it to anyone.

I don't read a lot of poetry, but from time to time I enjoy delving into something different if I know I will enjoy it. This was no exception. I would have happily read more and more of Catarine's work. A raw and real take on heartbreak in a variety of forms. Everyone remembers their first love no matter what age it sweeps us off our feet. And everyone inevitably remembers their first heartbreak. Just one of the themes explained in her work. I really enjoyed this and will be preordering a copy for my shelf, as the cover is also truly beautiful

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read & review an E-ARC of this collection!**

I found my love of poetry thanks to a poet that wrote in a way that made it easy for me to connect to the emotions of the poems. In this collection, Catarine Hancock writes beautifully about such personal experiences & with intense emotionality, thought, & purpose. Please find my extended feedback below...along with some potential spoilers (beware).
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Things I Liked:
-The way the poet showed a journey of self discovery throughout the collection. It was beautiful to see how love can shape us in the best & worst ways.
-The writing was very easy to follow & flowed wonderfully.
-I liked that to me...if felt as if the words were thoughts. I know that might sounds weird...of course words are thoughts...but I mean it more in that while reading it felt as if the words in these poems could have been my thoughts if I'd been in a similar situation. It was relatable.
-I thought it was very interesting & thought provoking that she named the sections after colors or "shades" as the title notes.

Things That Didn't Sit Quite Right With Me:
-I do have reservations about how the concept of loving yourself & loving another got too tied together in some parts of this collection. That can be a very dangerous path to traverse. However, it is important that this potential slippery slope is highlighted so that self-love is promoted.

Overall, I gave this collection 4 stars. I think it would be a great read for those interested in poetry, exploring emotions through verse, or discussing the many different types of relationships & the lessons they teach us.