Title: Violet

Author: Sabrina Simon

Genre: Poetry / Romance

Violet is a poetry collection that centers on love. With fifty poems written over the course of years of the poet’s life, the collection explores the ups and downs of falling in love. From the exciting sparks of first love to numbing heartbreaking to opening up to a new crush, this collection is an honest account of raw emotions.

The collection opens with poems that introduce us to the poet’s writing style and the varied techniques they use to make their poetry unique. There are a few poems that have rap-influenced rhythm and “Are You in Love” is one that is the most memorable. Each line rolls off your tongue and you feel the pulse of the poem naturally.

Some standout poems in the collection are “Mindplay,” a poem about making love with your mind. With an erotic tone and delicious language, this is the poem where we see the biggest change in voice from innocent to mature. Another is “A year ago/A year later,” which explores the progression of love. The voice is honest, to the point, and it’s not hidden behind flowery language or elaborate metaphors. “Home” is a surprisingly touching, short and sweet poem. Its display of vulnerability reveals a gentle, tender voice.

Throughout the collection, we notice that some of the poems describe the feeling of love, but they don’t delve deeper into the concrete, tangible effects that love, and people we are in love with, have on us. A good example of this is “Forever and today.” This poem had a great opportunity to use some of the techniques that we see in other poems in the collection. For example, using imagery from weather, nature, and the four seasons to symbolize the passage of time and ebbs and flows in a relationship. Making the descriptions immersive and using our senses here would’ve amplified the poem’s impact more.

“The Ocean’s Tirade” and “Muse” are the poet’s best work using immersive descriptions. The poems play with language and imagery to create a complete story. They’re lyrically playful, thematically on point, and overall a delight to read.

“Damn,” “Pain,” and “Pain II” are poems with so much potential, but could’ve gone further. These poems are unique because they explore anger and heartbreak, the consequences of love. Though blunt and honest, it almost feels like there’s a guard between us and the reader. These are poems where we should be at the forefront of an unabashed, unashamed explosion of emotion, but instead we get only the tip of the iceberg of the ugly side of love. So much effort and care is put into fleshing out love, and we wish that same attention to detail was put into fleshing out heartbreak.

Vulnerable, and full of heart and soul, Violet is a collection of love poems that untangle the beautiful, messy, scary feelings that come with being in love. With yummy language and a distinct voice, Violet is rhythmic, personal, dynamic, and cohesive. Whether you’ve never been in love or are going through heartbreak, Violet has a poem that can make anyone feel seen.

This Editorial Review was written by the Book Review Directory staff. To receive a similarly honest, professional review for one of your own books, click here.