Patchwork: A Poet's Guide to Love

by Catarine Hancock

"Love isn't a single story; it's a lifetime of rewrites." — A journey through the stages of love, heartbreak, and healing from one of today’s most heartfelt voices.

Fall in love, break, and heal all over again in this stunning new poetry collection from Catarine Hancock, one of today’s most beloved voices in modern poetry. In this deeply emotional journey, Hancock captures the shifting tides of love—from the thrill of new beginnings and the ache of heartbreak to the quiet strength that comes from finding yourself again.

Written with both vulnerability and wisdom, each poem explores love in all its the euphoria of romance, the lessons learned from unhealthy relationships, and the gentle path toward a healthier, more hopeful love. Through raw, relatable verses, Hancock shines a light on what it means to truly heal and to grow, offering solace and encouragement to anyone who has ever felt lost in love.

Whether you’re navigating heartbreak, rediscovering joy, or simply longing for words that understand your heart, this collection is here to remind you that love is a journey—and every step brings you closer to becoming whole. Hancock’s words are a comforting presence, and a reminder to yourself that love—real, healthy love—begins with you.

Genres: Poetry

176 pages, Paperback

Published November 4, 2025

About the author

Catarine Hancock is a poet, author and opera singer from Lexington, Kentucky, currently living in Chicago. She holds a bachelor of music in vocal performance from the University of Kentucky and a master of music in voice from Indiana University.

Aside from music, writing is her other great love. Having been a bookworm and writer all her life, her passion for poetry began at the age of 13, and shortly afterward, she began sharing her writing online. Over the past 11 years, her platform has grown to an audience of over 300,000. She is the author of six poetry collections: "shades of lovers" (2020), "sometimes i fall asleep thinking about you" (2021), "i gave myself the world" (2023), "patchwork: a poet's guide to love (2025), all published with Central Avenue Publishing. Her self-published collections are "sprout: selected poems" (2022) and "holy ground" (2023). She is also the author of the fantasy romance series, Firebird.

When she is not singing or writing, Catarine can be found curled up with a good fantasy novel, wandering the aisles of the local bookstore, or adding a weird décor item she found at the Goodwill to her already too-cluttered apartment. You can find her on Instagram or TikTok at: @catarinehancock

Reviews

[Kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you for reminding me what heartbreak feels like.
thank you for reminding me what healing feels like.
thank you for reminding me what love feels like.
thank you for reminding me i deserve it.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

4.5 stars.
Patchwork: A Poets Guide to Love is a beautiful collection of poetry from the gorgeous cover to each beautifully written and relatable poem on every page.
I loved how the collection was subtly divided up into sections with a poetic opening for each section which contain love as an experience, lessons learned from love and past relationships, healing and moving forward to having and recognising healthier relationships.
This book was a beautiful, heart pulling, raw, passionate, and compassionate collection, and I loved every single poem.
This is a beautiful collection to read at any stage of your journey through love and relationships and brings a light at the end of the tunnel, understanding, and wisdom along the way.

[Anastey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, Central Avenue Publishing, and Catarine Hancock for sending me this advance review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The total lack of capital letters was a bit annoying, but at least the style was consistent through the whole book.

This book is filled with the good and bad things surrounding love. I was expecting it to be on the more positive side of love, but overall it was a bit depressing.

Love isn't all happy, and there is a lot of emotion we crawl though about the pain, anxiety, and worry about the relationship not working out. Sometimes you have to move on from the person you love, and it hurts so much. Th emotions felt real, and there were times the sharpness brought tears to my eyes.

It's a great book, just don't be expecting happy sappy love poems.

[Laurisa Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

First, the cover was super stunning. Second of all this was such a beautiful book and had me in shock honestly because the poems were quite relatable. I loved how it flowed like a story however, the lack of capital letters bothered me. Still, Patchwork is such a beautiful collection of poems that really tug on your heartstrings. I'm really glad I received an arc for this book, it was so worth my one hour of reading!

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a relatable collection of poetry exploring the theme of love, from the thrill of the nervy excitement first love brings but the bitter aftermath of it falling apart too especially the pain of being cheated on and fearing it occuring again in the future feeling you are seen by them as the back up. How the idea of love can be kinder than the cruel reality of the wrong love and watching them move on and see another person awaiting to be changed forever by them for better or worse.

I love the title for the collection too how after each try at love, the scars are patched to try again not be dampened in spirit just reshaped to retry again find the right love despite any previous scars that linger.

[Robin Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry
My Rating: 5 stars

A journey through love, heartbreak, and healing written in poetry.

I love this. The poetry was phenomenal and so relatable. It felt like reading my own journal (if I kept one). It was a fast read. I was able to finish the book in a couple of hours, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

I’ve been looking for a poetry book written as a story rather free-standing poems for a while, and I am so glad I found this. It was so well done, and I can’t wait to purchase a physical copy.

This book is perfect for anyone who has ever experienced love and heartbreak, no matter what age.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

This was beautiful. Heart-wrenching yet heart-warming. The analogy of self, life, and love as a patchwork was beautifully woven across this poetry collection.

Patchwork takes you through the lifelong journey of love, all the people you meet, some you wish you hadn’t. It brings up all the feelings from the very first love and heartbreak right through to the last, and it just hits. It’s the kind of writing that will give you a totally different experience depending on when you read it and what stage you are at in life.

Catarine just gets it SO right, every time. She just puts experiences into words and articulates it in a way that I couldn’t have thought of before. This was a highly therapeutic read, and I can see myself going back and rereading many times.

[Dingske · Rating 4 out of 5]

A declaration of love to love.

Patchwork by Catarine Hancock is a declaration of love to love. A collection of poems about “loving” and the signs that love can bring. It is raw, mournful, honest, sincere and hopeful.

This is my first encounter with Catarine's work, and wow, it immediately drew me in and won me over. The choice to choose love, seeing love as an answer, listening to desire, and so much more.

A book for all ages. For those who are in love for the first time, for those who are searching, for those who are lost, and for those who are happy. And everything in between.

This is an ARC thanks to Netgalley

[maité · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you to netgalley, central avenue publishing and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this e-arc!

2.75 ⭐️ — i think i went into this book with the wrong idea and that's why i wasnt' a big fan. a few poems resonated with me but most of the poems were very sad and melancholic. i liked the way it was seperated into different parts but because of those parts it became very repetitive after a while.

[Alyssa Snow · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style chosen did not resonate with me and felt rambling. However, the poet shares an intense vulnerability with her reader that creates a shared experience. The emotions and chaos surrounding love and especially broken hearts is portrayed beautifully.

Thank you to Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for this Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.
Edit Review

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fully enjoyed reading Patchwork: A Poets Guide To Love by Catharine Hancock I couldn’t put it down once I started it.

It’s definitely a book that makes you think and feel things in a good way.

This is a book that I would recommend and that I will read again in the future.

I’m glad I had the chance to read an ARC copy of this book thank you NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing.

[Sabrina Musse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like reading old letters or a friends journal. A nostalgic and heartachingly beautiful collection that goes through a healing journey of love and heartbreak through our lives. This was a very intriguing read, but with writing style did not fully resonate with me. Would still absolutely recommend to others though.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arc review.

This I poetry about love.
Tbh a lot of the more depressing side.
I liked the book, the poetry is good.
It's a quick read.
But it's not as ''happy''

4,25/5
Thank you to everyone who was involved for the arc!

[Shan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Maja · Rating 4 out of 5]

deeply enjoyed this one! much of it hit really close to home. recommend ⭐︎

[Estela · Rating 2 out of 5]

** Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review **

Actual score: 1.5

Patchwork is a poetry book that clearly focuses on topics that are very personal to the poet, and I can imagine that it must have been very cathartic to write. That being said, I found myself struggling to find the poet's identity in these verses, since to me, many of them were things I've seen in similar words in other poetry books or in song lyrics. I couldn't shake the feeling that some of them must have been intended to be relatable and quotable, but that in when having this intention, they lost all identity.

I will say that I did really like the sewing and weaving metaphors found throughout some of the poems, and I wish that there had been more of that — especially given the name of this poetry collection!

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catarine Hancock’s book “Patchwork” is a collection of heartfelt, hopeful poems. In them she reflects on relationships that blossom, bloom, and fade, showing both her vulnerability and her strength. She shares despair and hope, and reveals her journey back to her own self after sharing it with another person, the wrong person, for so long. Hancock’s poems are beautiful and moving. This is a lovely collection.

[Isabella Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection of poetry about love and how it changes us, sometimes for the better. Full of lovely vignettes about first love, the grief of heartbreak and how new love can help us move on.

Loved every piece in this book and thought it was beautifully written! I will definitely be reading more of Catherine Hancock's books in future. ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for letting me read this book in return for my thoughts and honest feedback. 📚

Isabella Ann
www.thepaintedcaravan.substack.com