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It's a Lonely Love
In his poetry collection, It’s a Lonely Love , writer Hunter Summerall honestly reflects on the feelings of heartbreak and isolation before, during, and after a doomed relationship.
Cataloguing the rise and fall of an ill-fated relationship, It's a Lonely Love explores the vulnerability one must feel before moving on from a lost love. Styled as entries from a journal, Hunter Summerall’s poetry takes the personal and constructs a universal story about unrequited love and anguish.
Cataloguing the rise and fall of an ill-fated relationship, It's a Lonely Love explores the vulnerability one must feel before moving on from a lost love. Styled as entries from a journal, Hunter Summerall’s poetry takes the personal and constructs a universal story about unrequited love and anguish.
- GenresPoetry
128 pages, Paperback
Published November 13, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
September 26, 2018
This is what I call teenage poetry. Small, short sentences, poems about love and heart break. Not that bad, but nothing that speak to my soul and nothing very interesting in terms of writing. Too casual!
August 6, 2019
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | (Nearly 3 stars: 2.5-.8ish)
As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.
Review also found here.
Before you go looking at my star rating and thinking, "Oh? Two stars? Must not be good!" bite your tongue. That's not true in the least. It's a Lonely Love is pure self-expression and one of the many levels to poetry. Something about it reads very quickly and cuts bluntly to the point from the very start, in a way that will certainly connect with its readers--in particular, its younger readers.
While it wasn't especially my cup of tea, while I rated it less than I'd expected, that means f*ck-all. Something not being my personal preferences essentially means nothing, because that is art and art, and taste, are subjective. Take a drink every time I say that in my reviews.
Here's the basics. Hunter Summerall bares all with it and you'd be silly to not respect it. The collection is solid, both in its self-expression and the gloominess of one relationship. Every poem reflects a different level of human emotion and its complexities, keying up the reader with tension and respect, sympathy and compassion. You can't help but to want to give Summerall your support because the way that the prose connects with readers just works.
I think that, had I been a few years younger, It's a Lonely Love would have connected with me better. At the back of the collection, the author bio states one simple goal for these poems: to make others feel less alone. Rating this collection was difficult for me because in theory, if I were rating it from another standpoint, if the Jessica of the past was rating it, it would have been given a 3.5-4 star rating. The only thing I can say for certain is that reading It's a Lonely Love will all be about perspective and taste, tied into where you are in life.
As far as emotion it conveys--it holds a lot. That despair that comes with heartbreak. That sense of loneliness that soon follows. The scars it leaves behind. This collection will do a lot of good in the sense that it provides Summerall an outlet and ties their voice into readers minds, effectively lifting a weight from their shoulders.
The truth is, you aren't always going to fully connect with poetry and that's okay. I didn't always find it easy to connect with It's a Lonely Love, but that is more to do with age than anything. It doesn't make it any less remarkable than it is. I wish I'd had poets like Hunter Summerall as a teenager or in my early twenties. Because these poets, with their quick-to-the-point levels of honest and those glimpses into their life, are out there doing some of the most wonderful things with their expressions.
(I feel strange saying the age thing. The gap isn't that large, considering I am 27. But.)
Summerall, like many modern poets, are the future of the poetry community. Mostly, they are the real reason why so many young readers and writers are able to make it through their day feeling less and less alone. Whether you feel connected to their work or not, you have to applaud the good they are doing for themselves and their readers.
It's a Lonely Love is poignant, in spite of its short page count, and will really capture its audience.
Before you go looking at my star rating and thinking, "Oh? Two stars? Must not be good!" bite your tongue. That's not true in the least. It's a Lonely Love is pure self-expression and one of the many levels to poetry. Something about it reads very quickly and cuts bluntly to the point from the very start, in a way that will certainly connect with its readers--in particular, its younger readers.
While it wasn't especially my cup of tea, while I rated it less than I'd expected, that means f*ck-all. Something not being my personal preferences essentially means nothing, because that is art and art, and taste, are subjective. Take a drink every time I say that in my reviews.
Here's the basics. Hunter Summerall bares all with it and you'd be silly to not respect it. The collection is solid, both in its self-expression and the gloominess of one relationship. Every poem reflects a different level of human emotion and its complexities, keying up the reader with tension and respect, sympathy and compassion. You can't help but to want to give Summerall your support because the way that the prose connects with readers just works.
I think that, had I been a few years younger, It's a Lonely Love would have connected with me better. At the back of the collection, the author bio states one simple goal for these poems: to make others feel less alone. Rating this collection was difficult for me because in theory, if I were rating it from another standpoint, if the Jessica of the past was rating it, it would have been given a 3.5-4 star rating. The only thing I can say for certain is that reading It's a Lonely Love will all be about perspective and taste, tied into where you are in life.
As far as emotion it conveys--it holds a lot. That despair that comes with heartbreak. That sense of loneliness that soon follows. The scars it leaves behind. This collection will do a lot of good in the sense that it provides Summerall an outlet and ties their voice into readers minds, effectively lifting a weight from their shoulders.
The truth is, you aren't always going to fully connect with poetry and that's okay. I didn't always find it easy to connect with It's a Lonely Love, but that is more to do with age than anything. It doesn't make it any less remarkable than it is. I wish I'd had poets like Hunter Summerall as a teenager or in my early twenties. Because these poets, with their quick-to-the-point levels of honest and those glimpses into their life, are out there doing some of the most wonderful things with their expressions.
(I feel strange saying the age thing. The gap isn't that large, considering I am 27. But.)
Summerall, like many modern poets, are the future of the poetry community. Mostly, they are the real reason why so many young readers and writers are able to make it through their day feeling less and less alone. Whether you feel connected to their work or not, you have to applaud the good they are doing for themselves and their readers.
It's a Lonely Love is poignant, in spite of its short page count, and will really capture its audience.
September 28, 2018
Follow Just A Girl High On Books for more reviews.
I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley.
our futures aren't aligned.
but who knows what our stars might do.
It's a Lonely Love by Hunter Summerall is a short poetry book that I didn't particularly like. Divided into four themes titled, Falling, Flying, Fallacy and Feat, each described in detail through the poems. My particular favorite was Feat because it talked about rising once again after being heartbroken and dumped. The first theme is about falling in love with the other person. The second talks about the bliss that one feels when one is in love. And the third theme, which has the maximum number of poems in the whole book, is about the heartbreak. Together, the four themes explore the various aspects of a broken relationship. The poems take on a rather personal note and form a story about unrequited love and the anguish that comes after once realizes it.
Other than that, although the ideas inside this book were relatively less popular and less experimented before, for example, the way of describing a relationship, etc, they were not implemented very nicely. I struggled with reading many of the lines. In fact, some of them even confused me a little.
Hence, overall, it was a rather okay-ish book because although the ideas were nice, the words weren't.
I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley.
our futures aren't aligned.
but who knows what our stars might do.
It's a Lonely Love by Hunter Summerall is a short poetry book that I didn't particularly like. Divided into four themes titled, Falling, Flying, Fallacy and Feat, each described in detail through the poems. My particular favorite was Feat because it talked about rising once again after being heartbroken and dumped. The first theme is about falling in love with the other person. The second talks about the bliss that one feels when one is in love. And the third theme, which has the maximum number of poems in the whole book, is about the heartbreak. Together, the four themes explore the various aspects of a broken relationship. The poems take on a rather personal note and form a story about unrequited love and the anguish that comes after once realizes it.
Other than that, although the ideas inside this book were relatively less popular and less experimented before, for example, the way of describing a relationship, etc, they were not implemented very nicely. I struggled with reading many of the lines. In fact, some of them even confused me a little.
Hence, overall, it was a rather okay-ish book because although the ideas were nice, the words weren't.
February 19, 2020
When I think of this book, a question comes to mind: “How can heartbreak be so tragically beautiful?”
Hunter does an incredible job of capturing the love and pain of falling in love and losing it with each poem. It’s sad as it should be but the reminder of the feeling of love is still there. He describes the feelings of both in a way that pulls at the heartstrings of every relationship I’ve watched leave me—even if it wasn’t a relationship with a partner.
I also love the way he’s set up the book in the form of letters to the one who caused him pain.
This is a book I’m happy to have decorating my bookshelf alongside my favorites!
Hunter does an incredible job of capturing the love and pain of falling in love and losing it with each poem. It’s sad as it should be but the reminder of the feeling of love is still there. He describes the feelings of both in a way that pulls at the heartstrings of every relationship I’ve watched leave me—even if it wasn’t a relationship with a partner.
I also love the way he’s set up the book in the form of letters to the one who caused him pain.
This is a book I’m happy to have decorating my bookshelf alongside my favorites!
February 23, 2022
There were a few poems that I liked and caught my attention but as a whole it didn't hit me the way some poetry has. It was okay.
March 17, 2023
Quick read. Something new and I haven’t been very into poetry so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but this is definitely in my top reads for this year
Loved it that’s all I gotta say.
Loved it that’s all I gotta say.
September 26, 2021
DROWN ME
i know i still love you, despite this pain,
because when i smell the things that were ours
i'm overcome with a drowning rush of vivid memories
that feel nice like it once did the original time.
it's when the rush passes moments
after that rips me inside out.
if i could drown in that rush forever with you,
i would never hurt again.
US AGAIN
i can't deny that you
could take it all away
and fix this mess you made of me
and i can't deny that i would forgive you.
as much shame as it brings me to admit,
i would do anything you asked
and give anything of me that you need to be us again.
KEEP LIVING
i still feel lost, however,
i am finding more of myself every day.
i've been slowly finding ways to come back
together
and be me again.
i will still hurt because i still love you.
that's not something i can ever see changing,
but i am healing.
i know how to live with it now and will keep on living.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It depicts how being left/parting with the one you love really takes a toll on yourself. The bad, the good, the ugly, and the high of loving, hurting, longing, and eventually healing. The truth is it never really ends.
It's so hard to pick a favorite out of all the poems in this book. Some just hit too close to home.
p.s. I'm still learning how to live with it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars.
September 29, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In It’s a Lovely Love, poet Hunter Summerall explores newfound love, loss, and toxic emotions. This poetry collection is divided into four parts, following the progression of the documented relationship. Each stage is a part, and it allows readers to experience the beauty of falling in love, and how quickly that love can turn into obsession and then heartbreak. The poems themselves tend to be rather short, simply a sentence or two divided into lines. But as the collection moves further into the relationship, the intensity grows with the length of the poems.
Overall, this is a collection that many people who read modern poetry will enjoy. Unfortunately, for me, there was a disconnect about halfway through. While it has a trendy style, the poems failed to do anything new and became repetitive (though I can see this being reflective of the topic, how we tend to overthink certain emotions, situations, etc.). Also, in the last section, Feat, there were a few poems that veered from the topic at hand and left me confused with the chosen metaphors.
However, I appreciated the emotion as well as the trigger warnings, which today is much needed. Readers of R.H. Sin and Amanda Lovelace will enjoy this collection, which delivers emotion from the beginning and carries throughout.
In It’s a Lovely Love, poet Hunter Summerall explores newfound love, loss, and toxic emotions. This poetry collection is divided into four parts, following the progression of the documented relationship. Each stage is a part, and it allows readers to experience the beauty of falling in love, and how quickly that love can turn into obsession and then heartbreak. The poems themselves tend to be rather short, simply a sentence or two divided into lines. But as the collection moves further into the relationship, the intensity grows with the length of the poems.
Overall, this is a collection that many people who read modern poetry will enjoy. Unfortunately, for me, there was a disconnect about halfway through. While it has a trendy style, the poems failed to do anything new and became repetitive (though I can see this being reflective of the topic, how we tend to overthink certain emotions, situations, etc.). Also, in the last section, Feat, there were a few poems that veered from the topic at hand and left me confused with the chosen metaphors.
However, I appreciated the emotion as well as the trigger warnings, which today is much needed. Readers of R.H. Sin and Amanda Lovelace will enjoy this collection, which delivers emotion from the beginning and carries throughout.
May 9, 2020
SUNKEN WINGS
let’s run here, you ran there
and we watched
all your favorite movies.
i’ll watch mine later, i guess.
we never got to
look at my favorite
section of the bookstore.
i hope you enjoy the books you got.
i wanted frozen yogurt,
you wanted johnny
rockets.
the milkshake was good, it’s cool.
these things are okay.
i never minded.
i can love
the things
you love.
i wanted to.
but i also wanted to fly.
and you made me sink.
Reading a poetry book depends a lot on who's reading it and at which stage of life they're reading it. I like modern poetry style but Hunter has taken it to another level. It’s a Loney Love is an ultra-short, bite-sized collection of poems. It is broken into four parts and describes the feeling of love, obsession and heartbreak. I did not enjoy it much because the depth of poems was somewhere lost. Readers of r.h Sin, Amanda Lovelace, Courtney Peppernell, Nayyriah Waheed, r.m Drake would enjoy this one.
let’s run here, you ran there
and we watched
all your favorite movies.
i’ll watch mine later, i guess.
we never got to
look at my favorite
section of the bookstore.
i hope you enjoy the books you got.
i wanted frozen yogurt,
you wanted johnny
rockets.
the milkshake was good, it’s cool.
these things are okay.
i never minded.
i can love
the things
you love.
i wanted to.
but i also wanted to fly.
and you made me sink.
Reading a poetry book depends a lot on who's reading it and at which stage of life they're reading it. I like modern poetry style but Hunter has taken it to another level. It’s a Loney Love is an ultra-short, bite-sized collection of poems. It is broken into four parts and describes the feeling of love, obsession and heartbreak. I did not enjoy it much because the depth of poems was somewhere lost. Readers of r.h Sin, Amanda Lovelace, Courtney Peppernell, Nayyriah Waheed, r.m Drake would enjoy this one.
April 16, 2019
“I want to be a tree
that falls in love with
the earth, not the sun”
Beautiful imagery, right? Well, this author does not lack in that area. The back claims this is about the rise and fall of an ill-fated relationship but really it was 90% about feeling broken from the failure of a relationship. There was no rise. Every poem read like another like in the same story instead of talking about new aspects of the sorrow felt from the end of a relationship. The author has potential but needs a lot of work.
that falls in love with
the earth, not the sun”
Beautiful imagery, right? Well, this author does not lack in that area. The back claims this is about the rise and fall of an ill-fated relationship but really it was 90% about feeling broken from the failure of a relationship. There was no rise. Every poem read like another like in the same story instead of talking about new aspects of the sorrow felt from the end of a relationship. The author has potential but needs a lot of work.
February 26, 2019
This is a collection of poems best read when fresh out of a relationship. While they are relatable and well written, I believe that they resonate best under the emotional circumstances of grieving the loss of a relationship. It's definitely a book I would recommend to those going through that emotional turmoil since it gives you the security and comfort of knowing that you're not the only one who has gone through the heartbreak of such a loss.
March 23, 2019
I don’t want to say this is bad. Perhaps, it’s that I can’t relate. These poems are targeted to an adolescent audience. Not poorly written, but not exactly noteworthy. Kudos to the author for pouring their vulnerability out for the world to read, though. I hope they continue to write and grow with it.
December 27, 2019
It’s a lonely love is a simple collection of poetry that captures the many feelings of heart break. This is a great read for young adults though it does hint at suicide and can be very touchy at moments. I finished this book in about an hour and was moved by multiple poems. I’ll be gifting my copy to a friend that is experiencing heartbreak herself.
January 29, 2021
I’ve never really read a story of poems because I never understood it until NOW...
I picked this up off of my shelf and decided to just flip through it, make a little bit of annotations and then I’ll be done with it...OH WAS I WRONG.
3 hours and a heavily annotated book later😃
GO READ IT NOW!
TW: DEPRESSION AND SUICIDAL THOUGHTS🚨‼️
I picked this up off of my shelf and decided to just flip through it, make a little bit of annotations and then I’ll be done with it...OH WAS I WRONG.
3 hours and a heavily annotated book later😃
GO READ IT NOW!
TW: DEPRESSION AND SUICIDAL THOUGHTS🚨‼️
February 13, 2019
This was a disappointment. The pro is that it only took an hour for me to finish the disappointment. This is something I would have loved maybe in middle school. I was looking for a Rupi, and was sorely let down.
September 4, 2020
10/10 would recommend this book to anyone who has just recently been through a really hard breakup. It’s so raw and passionate and beautiful. I read this entire thing while walking around target and I want to cry.
December 2, 2018
Heartbreak and love-it's here.
Some of my faves:
GOOD MORNING TO THE BOTH OF YOU, THIRSTY FEELINGS AND SAVIOR.
Love this 20 year old's voice. Free verse.
Check it out.
Some of my faves:
GOOD MORNING TO THE BOTH OF YOU, THIRSTY FEELINGS AND SAVIOR.
Love this 20 year old's voice. Free verse.
Check it out.
June 25, 2019
Oh. My. God. This was dreadful. I’m so sorry. I’m so terribly sorry. I don’t mean to be rude or mean. But really though. This was just too much. My god.
December 9, 2019
This was awful. The words do not flow like poetry, and at times do not even feel like they belong together.
April 18, 2020
Certain poems stuck out, the rest didn't.
April 26, 2020
Actual 2.5⭐
May 1, 2020
Overall I didn’t care for any of the poems except four of them. Those four really struck a chord and might have moved it’s way up on my favorite poems list.
March 22, 2021
I read this book in a day because of how short it was. It was a broken heart combined in a short book of poetry and it was really enjoyable.
April 9, 2021
It was a meh poetry book, it read like a kid wrote it and nothing in the book was “deep” or “meaningful” to me.
August 9, 2021
Good poetry but not as great as I was hoping. Relatable and moving. First time reading his work.
April 4, 2024
🫂❤️🩹
April 6, 2023
Connection is there but still a big struggle to finish the book.
December 6, 2018
Original review
This book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley!
be my casket
wrap your arms around me
as i still
It’s a Lonely Love is a poetry collection about heartbreak and doomed relationships. It’s a Lonely Love is Hunter Summerall’s debut novel.
there are so many hearts
that might say or do
what i refuse.
and they must be so alive
It’s a Lonely Love was a beautiful poetry collection with some beautiful and relatable poems, but overall it didn’t really speak to me as some other poetry collections I’ve read. Like I read in another review, this is ‘teenage poetry’, short poems about love and heartbreak. There’s nothing wrong with teenage poetry, but it isn’t as deep as the poetry I like to read.
and then you were mine.
i had always been yours, but somehow
you then became mine and
i finally had the only Ours that i needed
My favourite poems:
Every Way
Want to See?
A Heart Somewhere
Perilous
Where the Whispers Are
Only Ours
Always in My Head
My Time
Casket
Nothing Was You
Constellating
Maybe even Too Much
Trainwreck
Pot of Gold
Still Here
Our Stars
Want Me
Our Matters Start Mattering
Feeling Like You
So Cold
Butterfly Blood
Shivering Sheets
In the End
Flatline
Carcinogens
Laugh with Me
IDK
Not You
This book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley!
be my casket
wrap your arms around me
as i still
It’s a Lonely Love is a poetry collection about heartbreak and doomed relationships. It’s a Lonely Love is Hunter Summerall’s debut novel.
there are so many hearts
that might say or do
what i refuse.
and they must be so alive
It’s a Lonely Love was a beautiful poetry collection with some beautiful and relatable poems, but overall it didn’t really speak to me as some other poetry collections I’ve read. Like I read in another review, this is ‘teenage poetry’, short poems about love and heartbreak. There’s nothing wrong with teenage poetry, but it isn’t as deep as the poetry I like to read.
and then you were mine.
i had always been yours, but somehow
you then became mine and
i finally had the only Ours that i needed
My favourite poems:
Every Way
Want to See?
A Heart Somewhere
Perilous
Where the Whispers Are
Only Ours
Always in My Head
My Time
Casket
Nothing Was You
Constellating
Maybe even Too Much
Trainwreck
Pot of Gold
Still Here
Our Stars
Want Me
Our Matters Start Mattering
Feeling Like You
So Cold
Butterfly Blood
Shivering Sheets
In the End
Flatline
Carcinogens
Laugh with Me
IDK
Not You
September 27, 2018
In his poetry collection, It’s a Lonely Love, writer Hunter Summerall honestly reflects on the feelings of heartbreak and isolation before, during, and after a doomed relationship.
Cataloguing the rise and fall of an ill-fated relationship, It's a Lonely Love explores the vulnerability one must feel before moving on from a lost love. Styled as entries from a journal, Hunter Summerall’s poetry takes the personal and constructs a universal story about unrequited love and anguish.
Hunter Summerall created a powerful book of poetry that is full of emotion and full of power. There is a level of confidence, encouragement, and a sense of ownership in our lives that he writes about. I loved every minute of it.
The poetry in this boo is real and honest, it’s not about flowers or the sky, it’s about the real life and the real emotions we face.
This will definitely be the next Instagrammable book, behind Milk and Honey and other poetry books.
The journal style with some handwritten fonts in here looks incredible. The simple, black and white inside with the red cover is a nice aesthetic and draws a great attitude toward the book.
This book is a must if you’re looking for strong poetry and a strong sense of emotion. This is going to be a popular read in the aisles of Target next to Iain S. Thomas books.
Cataloguing the rise and fall of an ill-fated relationship, It's a Lonely Love explores the vulnerability one must feel before moving on from a lost love. Styled as entries from a journal, Hunter Summerall’s poetry takes the personal and constructs a universal story about unrequited love and anguish.
Hunter Summerall created a powerful book of poetry that is full of emotion and full of power. There is a level of confidence, encouragement, and a sense of ownership in our lives that he writes about. I loved every minute of it.
The poetry in this boo is real and honest, it’s not about flowers or the sky, it’s about the real life and the real emotions we face.
This will definitely be the next Instagrammable book, behind Milk and Honey and other poetry books.
The journal style with some handwritten fonts in here looks incredible. The simple, black and white inside with the red cover is a nice aesthetic and draws a great attitude toward the book.
This book is a must if you’re looking for strong poetry and a strong sense of emotion. This is going to be a popular read in the aisles of Target next to Iain S. Thomas books.
May 20, 2025
‘i miss being your only one
and i miss making you happy.
i miss Ours and now it’s just mine.
it’s a lonely love.’
ahhh loved it !!! the poems as journal entries was wonderful and so lovely :)
and i miss making you happy.
i miss Ours and now it’s just mine.
it’s a lonely love.’
ahhh loved it !!! the poems as journal entries was wonderful and so lovely :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews