The Empty Nest by Jared Walker , Sarah Collins

This book was a tender picture book focused story telling for adults relatable around the subject of the pain of trying to conceive and the pain of a literal empty nest despite hopes to have even one little one. A beautiful book in illustration and tender in handling a painful topic with heartfelt compassion.

Unsent Letters by Sebastian

This was such a sweet collection of poetry especially reading from a guy's perspective, the experience of feelings and thoughts around crushes and relationships. Some stand out poems to me were: The Brave Version of Me, about hoping to be daring enough to tell the person you like exactly how you feel, bravely. Small Courage, about the way saying hi first can feel like a big step and change in dynamic. The Quiet Between Us, how silence can feel like the pause before a movie begins, full of tension and anticipation, even in silence. Dear You, was a great simple poem about how one person can inspire you to write, I know my person does for my own poems so this one resonates in it's simplicity. You Without Knowing, how that one person just stepping into your vision can make the day feel brighter and you lighter but they don't always realise how so, until you tell them! A beautiful collection built from the idea of unsent letters of thoughts that matter in the dynamic of relationships becoming and flourishing.

Loving In Real Time by Evelyn Alfieri

This book was a great read about self love and self worth, being brave and you always, unapologetically.

Through My Dirty Window by Artuu F Pace

A great collection of longer poems with sentences still as impactful interspersed between the poems and showing appreciation for nature surrounding us in daily life too.

The Space Between Our Whispers by Travis Park

This was such a lovely collection of poetry you can really feel how much love has impacted them in their life producing such emotive poetry. A short but nonetheless really impactful insight into love and life.

Do What You Love Fragility Of Your Flame by M J Mallon

This was such a great book, themed with fate's three sisters, encouraging and guiding like friends it was fun with a playful twist on serious topics, especially with the added photography too, which shows items inspiring the poetry for us to share in especially highlights of Edinburgh and Cambridge of which I know I have much to explore of the two myself.

Whispers For The Habit Of You by by T.Euke

This poetry collection focuses on how love settles into your life even if you split and distance is created, memories settle, leaving lingering love and appreciation from being present together and living through the unseen quiet and peacful moment's in complete comfort. A beautiful collection on the peace a relationship should provide you.

Unveiled: A Poetry Memoir by Ivy Cirillo

This poetry collection focuses on the way feelings as we grow up are as the title says, unveiled, in the way early life impacts us growing into adulthood and the lingering feelings that stay with us. Some stand out poems of this collection to me were: Childhood Anxieties, was a relatable poem how as kids we can grow up quicker and more resilient in the face of hard times and adversity we face. Breaking The Cycle, was a powerful poem of reclamation of self against family norms and proving you are your own person and not what anyone forces you to believe or make yourself be. Things I'll Never Get Used To, was so relatable as someone facing similar situations and constant questions that weigh heavy in your mind. Misfit & Admiration, were two poems that were so relatable how we can love things to enrich our lives but not ourselves and feel can still feel that we never fit in. Constant Comparisons, was a fantastic reflective poem of how different and more positive your view and our perceptions of each other could be, instead of just comparing ourselves to other versions of ourselves we've already been. Unapologetically You, was to me, the ultimate poem of self reflection and self love and appreciation for things we often see first as flaws before seeing them as strength. A collection to make you appreciate simply being you.

I Wish You Never Left: A Collection of Sad Love Poems for Broken Hearts and Healing Souls by Yogesh Chandra

This poetry collection is set a year and six months on after a break up, hence the title and two poems really stood out to me: The Weight Of Silence, how it can feel like a funeral when someone just ghosts you and falls silent. If We Hadn't Met, was such a beautiful nostalgic poem inspired by nature and all about the way life can be beautiful but is enhanced by feelings and emotions. A beautiful reflective collection in the aftermath of break up pain.

12 Steps Of Letting You Go by Stacey Nicole Douglas

This collection reads like poetic essays all about the ways loving someone as much as you do can be painful when not reciprocated despite a great friendship or relationship. 47, Putting On A Show, is extremely relatable at feeling you're playing or have played a tole the other wouldn't equal to you in sadly. The poem written to play on a twelve step plan, in this case creating one for accepting the end and moving on of a relationship was a great use of the twelve step concept in a new way and situation. Another great collection in the Thought Garden series.

A Catch-22 by Lana M Rochel

A short but sweet story about love knowing no boundaries written in poetic form, a joy of a story to read and a true one too which make sit all the more beautiful that love can form no matter the distance and flourish.

Defeating Cancer One Poem A Day by Owen Watson

This was such an inspiring book, for anyone dealing with any illness let alone cancer one of the worst illnesses to face and feel the fear of dealing with 'Always give your best, right now, right here!' A poem a day providing lots of positive thoughts all about embracing the time you have illness or not and doing ehat you want to in the time you have

The Dirty Secret Of A Poet by Sam Solomon

This was a really deep collection of poetry about how love, lust and desire can all collide in quite a connection! Simply titled, Love, was a tender poem questioning what feeling is love questioning is it born from lust or nurtured through trust and respect over time of a relationship growing and developing. Exquisite Taste was a really playful poem about how lust and love ignites into desire to be close, I'll let you imagine or read the book to figure that! I will say it's definitely not a collection for younger readers if not absolutely obvious anyway! However, for us older readers, I found myself totally getting how a relationship can go full circle, from hesitant first attraction, growing closer, forming trust etc, it was a great collection and especially to read a collection from a guy too when often they can bury feelings this was fantastic and really open and articulate, well done Sam!

Milk and Brexit: Poetry of the Public by Idiocratea

This poetry collection will absolutely guaranteed make you laugh with many nods to British culture and people's honest thoughts of waiting for Brexit to possibly happen until it did and then the actions taken to actually happen. There was lots of really good puns related to Brexit, the EU, England and various food jokes too. A short and sweet collection of jokes and poetry, verses which makes me realise how Brexit was seen as a joke by many especially for the time it dragged on in the end too!

Compulsive by M. M. Crusinberry

This collection details the nature of the thoughts beyond the stereotype of being all about cleaning, but the way the thoughts become rituals of routine to complete to feel some kind of peace of mind and feel at ease that nothing bad will happen if you do something enough as your mind tells you. A great short collection talking openly of all the ways the compulsions can claim so much of your life.

In Another Galaxy by Stacey Nicole Douglas

This poetry collection focuses on the pain of limerence and a situationship and unrequited feelings and the way it can leave you feeling. I really appreciated how the collection discussed how music can help heal the ache and feel less alone, very relatable. The final poem of the collection was a clever look at the Disney princesses and their stories having tragedy woven in instead of being simple happy love stories too.

Conversations I Replayed Too Many Times: Poems About Overthinking, Regret, and the Things We Never Said by Unsaid Lines

This poetry collection reads as an almost autopsy poetically on reflection of when and how a relationship changed and ultimately fell apart. From questioning, overthinking conversations, thinking of different versions and ways of the conversation going that could've been it was a fantastic poetry debut showing the resilience of us when experiencing a break up.

He Loved Me Once by Mary Kay Cunningham

This poetry collection focuses on the aftermath of an abusive relationship and the way you can feel trapped literally in a relationship and controlled. Some stand out poems to me of this collection were: Rotted, about the way you can feel rotten from within by them taking your sweetness for granted and using you. Give It All Back, was again, such a relatable poem about the way that we can waste time on the wrong person and after everything we just wish we had the precious time back to spend more wisely. Tell Someone and So We Stay, are two poems about the ways we are blinded by loving someone, we remain with them even when they hurt us. The Ache Of Staying, how the pain of memories can remain and stain your mind. Do You Remember? Was such a great poem about all the questions that you can be left with and wondering constantly about. Security, was a beautiful poem about how life should feel like alike the poem Existing In The Quiet, about how you feel so secure and at peace in safety with the one you love. A collection about deep hurt and the aftermath of a relationship to find acceptance and healing after it sours.

Crybaby: a collection of poetry by Lexi Scott

This poetry collection focuses on the way in life hurt can effect us from various different types of relationships. Some stand out poems of this collection to me were: Bad Guy, the opening poem of the collection was straight to the point of feeling like you have to fight to feel heard and feel like the bad guy in a situation. Avoidant, a deep poem about the effects of touch and when it was dangerous how it can still feel foreign to be good after past hurtful experiences. Broken Friendships, about having poetry as a safe way to express what you could never tell ex friends and so you write to free your mind and find healing in the aftermath. Poetic Forms, about poetry seeming sad but makes you feel seen in the relatability and vulnerability it can provide you freely. Quill, about poetry being therapeutic and freeing for your soul to again write how you are feeling and thinking. A collection that anyone I feel can easily find relatable in various ways.

Strong As A Tree Fragile As A Branch by Amanda Kviatkovski

This poetry collection focuses on the metaphor of humans being alike tree's in the way we can grow up big, strong but still we can act reckless, feel raw and breaking in the darkness, as well as talking of moods and how for tree's, storms and break or destroy relationships. Tear me apart, a poem about a sought source of ache and how we can rely on light to lean then learn to grow and how people are alike tree branches and we gather and we lose them along life's journey as we all alter. An amazing exploration of the metaphor of tree's being alike people, beautifully written.