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Reflections: A Poetry Collection
Who do you see when you look in the mirror?
A friend? An enemy? A stranger?
Have you ever truly stopped to look into those eyes—not a rushed glance, but a long, deep, searching gaze? They say eyes are the windows to the soul. What do you see in yours? Light or darkness? Hope or despair? Pain, anger, joy, or love?
Perhaps it’s a little of everything. Inside each of us is a vast, unexplored universe—a fascinating, complex world that often feels too scary to confront. But if you find the courage to dive in, to truly look inside, you might discover something you’ve been searching for all along, perhaps without even realizing it.
You might discover yourself.
Reflections is a poetry collection that invites you on a journey of self-discovery, encouraging you to look inward with open eyes. Through raw, honest verse, this book will be your companion as you explore the depths of your soul and meet the person waiting to be found.
A friend? An enemy? A stranger?
Have you ever truly stopped to look into those eyes—not a rushed glance, but a long, deep, searching gaze? They say eyes are the windows to the soul. What do you see in yours? Light or darkness? Hope or despair? Pain, anger, joy, or love?
Perhaps it’s a little of everything. Inside each of us is a vast, unexplored universe—a fascinating, complex world that often feels too scary to confront. But if you find the courage to dive in, to truly look inside, you might discover something you’ve been searching for all along, perhaps without even realizing it.
You might discover yourself.
Reflections is a poetry collection that invites you on a journey of self-discovery, encouraging you to look inward with open eyes. Through raw, honest verse, this book will be your companion as you explore the depths of your soul and meet the person waiting to be found.
146 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2024
5 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Elena Carter
29 books62 followersElena Carter lives by the sea in the beautiful city of Varna, Bulgaria.
When she’s not writing, you might find her chasing her toddler around the house or pushing the stroller along the city streets, while taking pictures of all the cats and flowers around and at the same time thinking of story ideas.
Elena believes that dreams are meant to be followed, magic actually exists and coffee can fix pretty much anything.
When she’s not writing, you might find her chasing her toddler around the house or pushing the stroller along the city streets, while taking pictures of all the cats and flowers around and at the same time thinking of story ideas.
Elena believes that dreams are meant to be followed, magic actually exists and coffee can fix pretty much anything.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 20, 2024
"People like boxes.
They’ll put anything in a box.
You, themselves, and anyone else they come across.
Maybe people have more in common with cats than they think.
They’ll shout they want freedom.
Then they’ll hide in a box.
And remind you to not poke your nose out of yours.
They’ll paint their boxes black and white
And refuse to accept other colors exist.
If you dare to have a red box
Or blue, or yellow,
Or step out of it for some fresh air,
God forbid,
They’ll be quick
To shove your back inside
And seal the exit if they can.
Returning to their boxes,
They’ll cry again for freedom."
Honestly, I could have highlighted just about every single poem in this book, but there are a lot of hard truths in here, and this is one that stood out to me. I think this poetry collection is the perfect blend of realism and hope; of pain and beauty. I've been following Elena's author journey since her first book, and I can say with genuine sincerity that she gets better with every single work she publishes. It's always such a pleasure to get a peek into her mind. Her wisdom.
A wonderful addition to my collection. I hope she publishes more books like this in the future!
They’ll put anything in a box.
You, themselves, and anyone else they come across.
Maybe people have more in common with cats than they think.
They’ll shout they want freedom.
Then they’ll hide in a box.
And remind you to not poke your nose out of yours.
They’ll paint their boxes black and white
And refuse to accept other colors exist.
If you dare to have a red box
Or blue, or yellow,
Or step out of it for some fresh air,
God forbid,
They’ll be quick
To shove your back inside
And seal the exit if they can.
Returning to their boxes,
They’ll cry again for freedom."
Honestly, I could have highlighted just about every single poem in this book, but there are a lot of hard truths in here, and this is one that stood out to me. I think this poetry collection is the perfect blend of realism and hope; of pain and beauty. I've been following Elena's author journey since her first book, and I can say with genuine sincerity that she gets better with every single work she publishes. It's always such a pleasure to get a peek into her mind. Her wisdom.
A wonderful addition to my collection. I hope she publishes more books like this in the future!
February 25, 2025
As a Bulgarian, I was excited to discover this book since the author resides in my home country. Although Elena is not Bulgarian herself, I was still looking forward to reading it. It had been a while since I last read poetry, so I felt a change was due. Here I am, happy to share my thoughts and experiences on this collection of poetry.
I received this review copy for free, and I am providing my honest review.
THE REVIEW:
This collection of poems was quite interesting, covering various topics from motherhood to profound reflections on our existence.
The writing style was straightforward, easy to follow and emotionally engaging. There were a few poems that really hit home, and I could definitely feel what the author was feeling and understand what she was talking about.
I would like to share a couple of the poems that really resonate with me, I felt seen and that I am not alone in how I feel and view the world sometimes:
"Unshed
Tears unshed are suffocating me
spilling their venom into my veins drop by drop
not even rising to my eyes they burn the soul
it's their revenge for being trapped inside
there will be no relief until I let them out we're in this hell together both captors and captives"
"Ride
You're here on a ride.
It's a short one.
And a wild one.
But there's no round two.
No chance to buy another ticket.
Either enjoy the ride
Or close your eyes and hold your breath until it's over."
Although I enjoyed the reading and found the writing relatable, I struggled with some of the poems. They felt somewhat generic as if I had encountered them somewhere before. It was like experiencing déjà vu; while it wasn’t unpleasant, I felt that the themes were overused and, frankly, fell a bit bland for my personal taste.
In my opinion, the writer could have explored certain topics in more depth, particularly motherhood. As a mother myself, I felt the need for greater representation on this subject. It was a bit disappointing to see it mentioned only once or twice, especially since Cater is also a mother. I expected more in that regard.
In conclusion, this was a nice poetry book worth reading that I ended up giving 3.5 stars rounded to 4.
P.S. I do like the cover!
I received this review copy for free, and I am providing my honest review.
THE REVIEW:
This collection of poems was quite interesting, covering various topics from motherhood to profound reflections on our existence.
The writing style was straightforward, easy to follow and emotionally engaging. There were a few poems that really hit home, and I could definitely feel what the author was feeling and understand what she was talking about.
I would like to share a couple of the poems that really resonate with me, I felt seen and that I am not alone in how I feel and view the world sometimes:
"Unshed
Tears unshed are suffocating me
spilling their venom into my veins drop by drop
not even rising to my eyes they burn the soul
it's their revenge for being trapped inside
there will be no relief until I let them out we're in this hell together both captors and captives"
"Ride
You're here on a ride.
It's a short one.
And a wild one.
But there's no round two.
No chance to buy another ticket.
Either enjoy the ride
Or close your eyes and hold your breath until it's over."
Although I enjoyed the reading and found the writing relatable, I struggled with some of the poems. They felt somewhat generic as if I had encountered them somewhere before. It was like experiencing déjà vu; while it wasn’t unpleasant, I felt that the themes were overused and, frankly, fell a bit bland for my personal taste.
In my opinion, the writer could have explored certain topics in more depth, particularly motherhood. As a mother myself, I felt the need for greater representation on this subject. It was a bit disappointing to see it mentioned only once or twice, especially since Cater is also a mother. I expected more in that regard.
In conclusion, this was a nice poetry book worth reading that I ended up giving 3.5 stars rounded to 4.
P.S. I do like the cover!
April 14, 2025
5.5/5🌟 🌎✨☁️
“Reflections” by Elena Carter
☁️Truth be told, I’m not much into the poetry genre. But there are at least two authors whose poetry collections I would read no matter what. They are Elena Carter and Despoina Kemeridou. Both authors are incredibly talents and create in many genres. Today, I would like to tell you how I embarked on a bookish frigate and had a fantastic trip on the pages of the pure beauty and magic of the poetry collection by Elena Carter.
🛥️The Plot: On my frigate, I drifted on the waves and made stops on 70 islands - magnificent verses. Each of them had hidden lines that I guess I was lucky to notice. Each of the verses has a bottomless soul, a piece of which I was fortunate to sneak into. Every verse is pure magic, beauty, and wisdom. During the bookish trip, I sobbed, shivered, smiled, processed, and put every single verse through my soul and mind. In some verses, I felt an absolute match between my soul and the verse, and it was powerful, enveloping, touching, heartwarming, and unique.
✨The Writing Style: Whatever Elena Carter decides to write is fated to have a tremendous success. Her talent infiltrated words with a superpower in some unique way, but the most interesting point is how Elena Carter reveals her relationship with WORDS. This poetry collection is dark and light, inspiration and grief, observations and musings. This poetry collection penetrates deep down a soul and finds a proper place to heal, inspire, encourage, and envelope with warmth, kindness, love, gratitude, imagination, and hope.
🤌The Fave Quote: “Nothing worse than waiting and chasing…” “Everybody wants to speak, but nobody wants to listen…” “When do we stop flying in our dreams and gazing at the clouds?”
🌎Would I read other books by this author: Yes!
✨My humble rating is: 5.5/5
🤍P.S. I gave my highest humble rating to this glorious poetry collection, because it seemed like a lullaby to my bookish/nonbookish soul. It was the case when you read a book and understood that it came to you at the right time, in the right place. And I’m delighted I was fated to read “Reflections,” which matched my soul perfectly in this imperfect world.
“Reflections” by Elena Carter
☁️Truth be told, I’m not much into the poetry genre. But there are at least two authors whose poetry collections I would read no matter what. They are Elena Carter and Despoina Kemeridou. Both authors are incredibly talents and create in many genres. Today, I would like to tell you how I embarked on a bookish frigate and had a fantastic trip on the pages of the pure beauty and magic of the poetry collection by Elena Carter.
🛥️The Plot: On my frigate, I drifted on the waves and made stops on 70 islands - magnificent verses. Each of them had hidden lines that I guess I was lucky to notice. Each of the verses has a bottomless soul, a piece of which I was fortunate to sneak into. Every verse is pure magic, beauty, and wisdom. During the bookish trip, I sobbed, shivered, smiled, processed, and put every single verse through my soul and mind. In some verses, I felt an absolute match between my soul and the verse, and it was powerful, enveloping, touching, heartwarming, and unique.
✨The Writing Style: Whatever Elena Carter decides to write is fated to have a tremendous success. Her talent infiltrated words with a superpower in some unique way, but the most interesting point is how Elena Carter reveals her relationship with WORDS. This poetry collection is dark and light, inspiration and grief, observations and musings. This poetry collection penetrates deep down a soul and finds a proper place to heal, inspire, encourage, and envelope with warmth, kindness, love, gratitude, imagination, and hope.
🤌The Fave Quote: “Nothing worse than waiting and chasing…” “Everybody wants to speak, but nobody wants to listen…” “When do we stop flying in our dreams and gazing at the clouds?”
🌎Would I read other books by this author: Yes!
✨My humble rating is: 5.5/5
🤍P.S. I gave my highest humble rating to this glorious poetry collection, because it seemed like a lullaby to my bookish/nonbookish soul. It was the case when you read a book and understood that it came to you at the right time, in the right place. And I’m delighted I was fated to read “Reflections,” which matched my soul perfectly in this imperfect world.
July 9, 2025
Poetry doesn’t work for everybody. It takes an intricate combination of factors for the versed lines to reach a reader’s heart. A poet must spill a part of their soul onto the pages, and those lines should touch a familiar string in the reader.
In my case, “Reflections: A Poetry Collection” by Elena Carter has ticked all the right boxes.
I admire the author’s courage to bare her soul in these beautiful poems. I used to write poetry myself, so I know the piercing feeling of sharing something from the very depth of your being that comes over you when you express yourself through poems. I guess I never returned to poetry, even after I started writing again, because of the darkness that would have come from under my pen if I had. You cannot lie in poems. Falsehood irreversibly spoils the words’ beauty, and readers always feel it. And you cannot take the certain edge out of the process of writing poetry. It is an integral part of it, without which the verses become empty shells.
In her poetry collection “Reflections”, Elena Carter shares her thoughts about the myriad of things important to all of us. Finding hope, fighting one’s fears, healing after life has broken you. Through her words, filled with sincerity and depth of understanding, the author offers her reflections, at the same time inviting the reader to seek answers to the questions she poses.
“When do we lose our wings?” I’ve been asking myself this question frequently ever since I’d lost too much and too many. Even though I haven’t given up, it still doesn’t mean that living with the feeling that something is lost forever is easy.
“I know for sure I’ll never run out of love.” These are the words that sustain me.
We share a similar background with the author, and I could feel it acutely reading her poems. It was a very special sensation that warmed my heart, and for that, I am grateful. After finishing the book, I was left with the wish for every person with a kind heart out there that their “All the might-have-beens and could-have-dones” would be outweighed by the glorious moments of “couldn’t believe my luck but it actually happened.”
In my case, “Reflections: A Poetry Collection” by Elena Carter has ticked all the right boxes.
I admire the author’s courage to bare her soul in these beautiful poems. I used to write poetry myself, so I know the piercing feeling of sharing something from the very depth of your being that comes over you when you express yourself through poems. I guess I never returned to poetry, even after I started writing again, because of the darkness that would have come from under my pen if I had. You cannot lie in poems. Falsehood irreversibly spoils the words’ beauty, and readers always feel it. And you cannot take the certain edge out of the process of writing poetry. It is an integral part of it, without which the verses become empty shells.
In her poetry collection “Reflections”, Elena Carter shares her thoughts about the myriad of things important to all of us. Finding hope, fighting one’s fears, healing after life has broken you. Through her words, filled with sincerity and depth of understanding, the author offers her reflections, at the same time inviting the reader to seek answers to the questions she poses.
“When do we lose our wings?” I’ve been asking myself this question frequently ever since I’d lost too much and too many. Even though I haven’t given up, it still doesn’t mean that living with the feeling that something is lost forever is easy.
“I know for sure I’ll never run out of love.” These are the words that sustain me.
We share a similar background with the author, and I could feel it acutely reading her poems. It was a very special sensation that warmed my heart, and for that, I am grateful. After finishing the book, I was left with the wish for every person with a kind heart out there that their “All the might-have-beens and could-have-dones” would be outweighed by the glorious moments of “couldn’t believe my luck but it actually happened.”
September 7, 2025
Elena Carter’s Reflections: A Poetry Collection is a touching and thought-provoking book that takes readers on a journey of self-discovery. Through her heartfelt verses, Carter asks us to look deeply within ourselves and truly see who we are beyond the surface. Her poems explore emotions like love, pain, hope, and fear, showing how complex and beautiful the human soul can be. Each poem feels personal yet universal, making it easy for readers to connect with her words. The collection encourages courage, honesty, and reflection, reminding us that looking inward is the first step toward growth and healing. This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys meaningful, emotional poetry that speaks directly to the heart.
November 18, 2024
Poetry always evokes feelings and emotions in me - I always feel inspired and wistful after. But this collection in particular felt like Carter pulled words from my own soul that she also felt and wrote a poem out of it.
Absolutely amazing! I am so incredibly grateful to BookSirens for the opportunity of reading this ARC - this is going on my Books To Buy list so I can have a physical copy of this goodness 💜
Absolutely amazing! I am so incredibly grateful to BookSirens for the opportunity of reading this ARC - this is going on my Books To Buy list so I can have a physical copy of this goodness 💜
May 27, 2025
The most enlightening poetry book!
Beautiful, powerful, inspirational, heartwarming, and full of genuine emotions.
I felt so many things... I want to read this book again and again... I don't want to forget even a single word from it. It's so important!
Beautiful, powerful, inspirational, heartwarming, and full of genuine emotions.
I felt so many things... I want to read this book again and again... I don't want to forget even a single word from it. It's so important!
November 23, 2024
I will leave one star for author development.
Good book, nice imagery of feelings into every poem
Good book, nice imagery of feelings into every poem
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews