how sunflowers bloom under moonlight: a collection of poems on love and heartbreak by isabella dorta

by Isabella Dorta

there are two ways you can read this book. 20 years in the making, ‘how sunflowers bloom under moonlight’ is the story of isabella’s journey through love, heartbreak and everything in between. her debut poetry book is split into three sections that flow into one another, letting every person who has had their heart broken, see the thoughts in their head finally written on paper. isabella’s book was created to, in her own words, ‘give people the comfort of knowing they are not alone in their emotions’. from relationships, to body image, to mental health, ‘how sunflowers bloom under moonlight’ has the sole purpose of making you giggle, cry, smile, reflect and cry a little bit more. so, keep a box of tissues close, find a quite place to read and allow yourself to feel absolutely everything.

Genres: Poetry, Mental Health, Nonfiction

154 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2022

Reviews

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

i bought this books after i discovered the author reading her words on tiktok. she moved me, some deep-down parts of my heart and i bought her book impulsively. i do have my struggles with modern poetry books, because even if i enjoy some of the words from the bottom of my heart, a lot of them feel very unnecessary and like they have been put together for the sole purpose of creating a book with a certain number of pages. but this books held some treasures. the author crafted her words so carefully and so effortlessly at the same time, it broke my heart and put it back together in the same sentence. i really enjoyed the majority of this book. not every single poem was made for me, but i really enjoyed the overall experience. i read it in the second way the author suggests, from beginning to end, in one sitting, but i will definitely get back to it using the first way!

[Tory Tammen · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to even start....

This book changed me. I have never felt so understood by an author before. I read it in one breathless sitting. I cried more times than I could count. I feel so touched by the author. This book will stay with me forever. Cannot give a higher recommendation to anyone who wants to feel.

[Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] · Rating 4 out of 5]

and i think this love,
this bonfire of love,
will eventually consume me.
and it will use me
as its
kindling.

[elea ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed this ❤️

[Sarah Gerbers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, I hated this collection of…poetry? Is this even poetry? I don’t mean to sound so harsh, but I simply could not connect to ANY of these self-centered poems. This author lives on a different planet from me, I am certain.
But this has encouraged me…if this book can somehow make its way to actual publication, maybe mine will stand a chance.

Definitely wasted money on this one. And time. And brain cells. Wow.

[Cari · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift from a friend that said it sounded like something I needed to read (and I did). I felt like I connected with so much of what the author was writing about. The grammar errors bugged me a bit but overall really good!

[Else Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Denne boken har jeg slitt meg med å komme gjennom fordi det for meg ble litt for mye av det gode for meg. Noen veldig såre og gode dikt, men mye gikk igjen, og ble litt i overkant.

Jeg føler kanskje diktene passer bedre som enkeltstående dikt enn som en diktsamling, men der har jeg også skyld i at jeg leste mange sammenhengende.

[Brooke Foresee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book cuts like a knife in the best way possible

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

This was such a powerful collection of poetry and by page 25 I was already sobbing. This comes with many many trigger warnings that I will list below. There are so many poems that stuck with me and it really makes you value your self worth. It is humbling, raw and filled with so many emotions and questions on how I personally deal with things.

Something that I've taken away from this is self love, and so much more. It may be 150ish pages, but the absolute impact this has given me, it's something that will never ever be taken away.

Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assault, Eating Disorders, Mental Health and Suicide Ideation

[martina🫶 · Rating 1 out of 5]

W ogóle nie było to poezją, a bardziej pamiętnikiem z oddzielonymi linijkami żeby wyglądało poetycko XD dlatego 1⭐️ już któryś raz trafiam na "poezję" nowoczesną gdzie wszystkie dziewczyny piszą tak samo i w sumie to nie wnoszą nic ciekawego ani niczego nowego

Nic nie rezonowało ze mną, bo nie mam takich problemów jak autorka - ED, nie kochanie samej siebie, złe patrzenie na swoje ciało że jakie to jest okropne i jak ktoś ja w ogóle może kochać XD lub czy jeśli jest bi a zwiążę się z dziewczyną to czy wszyscy będą patrzeć na nią tylko przez pryzmat lezbijki i zatraci swoje "bi identity" o czym my mówimy w ogóle!????

[Michelle De Giambattista · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to even start… The poems were beautiful and if you read it from start to finish instead of just a random poem at a time it feels like a story… it perfectly shows the stages of love and heartbreak and how it changes with time… beautiful!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Ali Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book healed me in so many ways

[Emsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in the car out loud with my friend and I could hear my voice wobble I feel tears in my eyes almost every poem. It was so beautiful every page was a story I loved

[Chloe Pounds · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so amazing. it was truly heartbreaking and showed an amazing journey of heartbreak, falling for someone, love, and heartbreak again. the poems are so relatable and real. it felt like they came from Isabella’s soul and i loved it so much. thank you Isabella for writing something so powerful and so beautiful!!! 💗💗

[kiersten · Rating 5 out of 5]

if i could post the photos of myself sobbing i would

[Eviee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I too, want to be loved.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been listening to Isabella Dorta’s poems on TikTok for a while now so I was very excited to get my hands on this book. This book was so beautiful and moving and her poems just have a way of making you simply 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁

[Sw33t_heart89 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☀️⭐️

[Emily Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could listen to this again and again ♥️

I love everything about this poet, her poetry, voice and incredible talent.

[Shelby · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 50%... this didn't really feel like poetry to me. it just felt like a journal that had the lines broken up to look like poetry. all of these newer poets are just writing about the same damn things. loneliness, sex, some person that broken their heart and it's all starting to sound the same.

i guess i'm just looking for some more complexity to the way it's written. everything is just so straightforward.

"i want this"

"i'm afraid of this"

"i will never tell you exactly this thing"

there wasn't any depth to the words beyond what they were telling you. there wasn't any need to sit and think about it for a second. to take time to let the words settle in your soul, to fully grasp what was said. you already got the full meaning from reading it the first time, so why read it again?

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely journey through a raw honest portrayal of love. Whilst I would heavily warn anyone who has suffered with an eating disorder, I think the other aspects of mental health tackled in this book are done with grace and self-awareness. My favourites were "squeezed hearts" and "excuses". I would compare this for potential readers to a long-form rupi kaur book. I thought the author's note prefacing the book with instructions on how you can read the book was a lovely touch and the informality of it brings you closer to the narrative voice throughout.

[Robert Pierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprise I actually almost given up on reading modern poetry because a lot of it’s just really bad or Instagram or Hallmark card But this actually had a lot of thought and a lot of feeling but into it it does hit on some very hard-hitting topics so I don’t think this is gonna be for everybody but if you’re looking for a good new poetry book this is a good place to start not every poem is a slam dunk but I’d have to say this makes me still want to read Moner poetry.

[clairesfavswiftie · Rating 5 out of 5]

July 20th 2024: I love this book so much, I love all of Isabella’s writing. It’s honestly so good and so so special too me. I sob everytime I read her books and you best bet I’ll be re reading this a 100 more times.

April 21st 2025: Bye I still adore this book, it’s up there with my like top 10 books ever. You’ll catch me sobbing to her books even in the grave.

December 5th 2025: Hi I forever love this book.

[arireadsthings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection of poetry in that it was the author’s raw self laid out on the page. I felt I connected greatly with many pieces of the work and I applaud her for having the courage to publish something so vulnerable.
That said, I feel this book needed a few more run-throughs on editing and a bit more content work. I found MANY grammatical errors and misspelled words, as well as inconsistencies. For example, the use of apostrophes in some words but not others (inconsistently within the same word at times, suggesting it was not a writing style), the use of the word ‘women’ instead of ‘woman’ or ‘morning’ instead of ‘mourning’, repetition between poems (sometimes even using the same phrases). Also the use of many cliches and common metaphors.
I figure this is a self-published author, so I am more understanding of some of these oversights, but I think this would have easily been 5 stars with the help of an editor, or at least a few more people to run through the work with a critical eye.

[Katlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page after page of poems about relationships, love, body image and mental heath with stunning illustrations throughout. ‘how sunflowers bloom under moonlight’ is incredibly raw and beautifully written. Isabella captivates the reader start to finish, she has a way of putting what you feel into words when you feel wordless in the most powerful and inspiring way. I annotated the hell out of this book, it is everything I have ever felt. Isabella is an amazing writer and the fact she adds a couple of blank pages to the end of her books so the reader can write their own poems is so empowering, I simply love and adore her for that! She’s a very talented writer and she has a way with words, if you were thinking about reading ‘how sunflowers bloom under moonlight’ you should.

[Aj · Rating 4 out of 5]

we’ve had our movie moments,
the ones you replay to help you fall asleep,
the ones that make you feel all tingly,
and warm inside.
and don’t get me wrong,
these moments are great,
they’re perfect and so long sought after,
but i think i prefer the imperfect moments all the more. when i can’t stop laughing while he’s trying to kiss me and it’s all teeth and smiles.
when he’s distracting me while i’m driving and i hit that damn curb,
when he snores in his sleep.
and he can only fall asleep in one specific position,
all curled up on his front, arm underneath himself, face all squished into the pillow.
somehow he still always looks so peaceful.
i love that one.

[Twitchmatic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting an amazing collection of prose and poetry from a wonderful human. I was not expecting to be educated on eating disorders, sexual assault and mental health (some of the topics covered, in addition to, of course, love and heartbreak). It was sobering, eye opening, beautiful, vulnerable, soft, and honest. This collection will find a home on anybody’s shelf, but especially those that want to connect with the human experience that is all around us.

She does a fabulous job of teeing up the book, and expectations, on its opening page, and then delivers all the way through!

[Daniannotates · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t explain what some of these passages mean to me. The hurt in my heart at the memories they reminded me of, but also the strange peace that somebody else understands my pain.
It felt like Isabella took things from my brain, that I could never say out loud, and put them into words. Things I never knew how to express, are now in a book.
It was beautiful.
It was heartbreaking.
It was healing.
I read it in one sitting, front to back, and cried when it was over. I will definitely be picking up more of her books 🤍

[Beth Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I woke up really craving some poetry and so this was what I picked up. I absolutely love Isabella's poetry and follow her on tik tok where she posts her reading her own work out and this is what caused me to purchase this one. It didn't disappoint. There were ones that made me smile, ones that me cry and ones that made me reflect. It's now bookmarked with sticky tabs so I can go back to my most favourite.
One negative I did notice was that there is the odd spelling/grammatical error, but it didn't take away from the poetry.
This is my favourite poetry book that I've read to this date and I will look to buy some of her other collections in the future. :)

[Nalaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this author on TikTok and knew I wanted to read more of her poetry. I just received this book today and finished it in one sitting. The poetry so eloquently follows the emotions of wanting to be loved, finding what you think that love is, and losing it only to end up back where you were at the beginning. It covers heavy subjects, such as sexual assault and eating disorders, but I think it is so worth the read. Isabella is going to be a force in the book community and I can't wait to see more.