After learning what this book was going to be about, I was a bit skeptical if I would be a good audience for it. Nevertheless, I was excited to read. I thought someone like myself, having only read a couple of Bronte sister’s books, was not going to understand the book. This could not have been further from the truth. Emma Conally-Barklem makes the Bronte sister’s legacy accessible to all in this short poetry book. Each poem captures a piece of history I would have never known about, but Conally-Barklem brings to life in a way not excluding the audience. I firmly believe someone without any background on the Bronte sisters would thoroughly enjoy these poems.

I believe they are put together so wonderfully, the book flows very well. Readers also get a sense of the narrator’s and author’s voice, as I know Conally-Barklem has a special connection to the Bronte museum. The narrator is so passionate about the Brontes in a refreshing way.

I think a couple of things could have been done better: I enjoyed the context at the beginning of each poem, but I thought some were unnecessary or just too long. At some points I just wanted to read on to the poetry. In general, I love playing with space on a page. I am sure nineteen poems of the same form would get quite boring, but I thought some spaces were unnecessary. I wondered what it added to the poems.

In general, I really just think the poetry is emotional and very well done. It is so beautiful and stuffed to the brim with transformative imagery. I liked the difference between the narrative poems and the more impressionistic pieces. Overall, I would suggest this for any reader, poetry or not. Bronte reader or not.

Thank you NetGalley and Querencia Press for the chance to read and review this book.

If you're interested, Hymns from the Sisters is also available for free to kindle unlimited subscribers. Would I recommend it, absolutely not. It's really a book that will produce a strong reaction depending on your taste in poetry. I did not care for it in the least, but I respect that the author has such a strong style and isn't afraid of it.

As a person who just started out reading poetry, this was a bit of a difficult read for me. Emma used complex terminology that was difficult for me to grasp so it took me a bit longer to get into the poems because I was searching for the meaning of the words used. Poetry is mostly really hard to rate because my experience might differ from yours so take this review with a grain of salt! All in all, you are able to see pieces of Emma's life in this book and I really enjoyed how each poem had a small description explaining the inspiration of the poem!

Oh, I loved this even more than I thought it would. The author has a deep understanding of the Brontë siblings and the world they inhabited. Perfect for any fan of the Brontës, amateur or devoted. I especially liked the notes about what the poems were inspired by, they led me to other interesting sources to read. Thank you!

I am not usually fond of poetry, and yet I was always extremely intrigued by the Bröntes lives. This collection of poems perfectly encompasses the sisters’ world in a short, but very impactful way.
Love, melancholy, grief, and death are the most important themes of all these poems, but the one that really strike me was “Hair”. The necklace made of Emily’s hair inexplicably got under my skin and I’ll surely re-read it again.