What do you think?
Rate this book
Dear Ophelia
78 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 14, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
![Profile Image for Yves V.H. [Slow reading].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1768806067i/170151541._UY200_CR6,0,200,200_.jpg)
May 2, 2026
It was okay.
What I like about poetry is even the simplest words, I could still feel the depth of emotions in it.
The length doesn’t matter or if the poet used deep or fancy words but it still made me feel something.
Unfortunately, this collection lacks that depth although I recognize that this is somewhat a nod to Shakespeare’s work it still didn’t make me want to stay in one poem and reflect.
From Netgalley. All my opinions are my own.
What I like about poetry is even the simplest words, I could still feel the depth of emotions in it.
The length doesn’t matter or if the poet used deep or fancy words but it still made me feel something.
Unfortunately, this collection lacks that depth although I recognize that this is somewhat a nod to Shakespeare’s work it still didn’t make me want to stay in one poem and reflect.
From Netgalley. All my opinions are my own.
April 30, 2026
Right from the start I found this book super juvenile and the poems felt like something you’d write for a high school English assignment. The book feels like it’s being marketed incorrectly as this completely reads as a self help book with super repetitive advice.
Would not recommend
Would not recommend
May 8, 2026
Thankyou NetGalley for allowing me to read this for an honest review, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would have. Some lines I did enjoy reading but most parts I felt like just putting it down.
April 17, 2026
Poetic
The poems were good. The letters confused me. They weren't necessary. Other than the good advice the letters gave, it was a one sided conversation and we never knew what happened from the other person.
The poems were good. The letters confused me. They weren't necessary. Other than the good advice the letters gave, it was a one sided conversation and we never knew what happened from the other person.
April 17, 2026
The poems were good. The letters confused me. They weren't necessary. Other than the good advice the letters gave, it was a one sided conversation and we never knew what happened from the other person.
May 9, 2026
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I DNF'd the book at 51% and will explain why below.
I haven’t read any Shakespeare since high school, so I had to refresh my memory of Hamlet and the character of Ophelia. However, I don’t think that readers need to be familiar with the play to get a sense of what this collection of poetry and letters is about – essentially, the recipient (Ophelia) is going through an immense personal challenge and the writer is trying to show their support and encourage her to weather the storm, because her current challenges will come to pass, and things will eventually improve.
If I hadn’t known that this collection was inspired by Hamlet, I wouldn’t have been able to guess that it was. The language used is modern and doesn’t reflect how language was used in Shakespearean times. For example: “There will be times when it is perfectly ok to be alone, and there will be times where company can be comforting (few or many). You have people who deeply care about you. It is okay not to have everything perfectly together. We hope you know that it is not about being all right (perfect) but rather alright (ok and whole). This is very noticeable when compared to, for example, this part of Dogberry’s monologue in Much Ado About Nothing: “Dost thou not suspect my place? Dost thou not suspect my years? O, that he were here to write me down an ass! But masters, remember that I am an ass; though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass. No, thou villain, thou art full of piety, as shall be proved upon thee by good witness.” The antiquated grammar is the most obvious difference here.
While the idea of pairing letters with poems is creative, the letters themselves are quite prescriptive, telling Ophelia what she should do and how she should handle things. The letters don’t sound like they were written by one of Ophelia’s loved ones (despite the letters repeatedly stating that Ophelia is deeply loved) as they aren’t very personal; I cannot get an idea of what kind of person is sending Ophelia these letters and who they are to her.
The poems tend to be simple and repetitive, with words such as love, hope, good, bad, joy, light, etc. recurring many times. An example of a poem that I find simple is “Glad You Are Here” on page 5: “I am glad you are here./You’re worth more than you know./Don’t let doubt keep you afraid./There are reasons why you are here./First, you were made to glow./Don’t hide your light in a lampshade./Second, live & love out your purpose for being here.” These lines come across as platitudes to me.
I decided to stop reading at 51% because the same themes and ideas had been repeated multiple times by that point, and I figured that the second half of the book would be similar.
I do appreciate the creativity that is evident in the idea of writing letters to go along with poems for a character from one of Shakespeare’s plays. This isn’t something I’ve seen any other poet/writer do before. However, the execution unfortunately fell flat for me.
I DNF'd the book at 51% and will explain why below.
I haven’t read any Shakespeare since high school, so I had to refresh my memory of Hamlet and the character of Ophelia. However, I don’t think that readers need to be familiar with the play to get a sense of what this collection of poetry and letters is about – essentially, the recipient (Ophelia) is going through an immense personal challenge and the writer is trying to show their support and encourage her to weather the storm, because her current challenges will come to pass, and things will eventually improve.
If I hadn’t known that this collection was inspired by Hamlet, I wouldn’t have been able to guess that it was. The language used is modern and doesn’t reflect how language was used in Shakespearean times. For example: “There will be times when it is perfectly ok to be alone, and there will be times where company can be comforting (few or many). You have people who deeply care about you. It is okay not to have everything perfectly together. We hope you know that it is not about being all right (perfect) but rather alright (ok and whole). This is very noticeable when compared to, for example, this part of Dogberry’s monologue in Much Ado About Nothing: “Dost thou not suspect my place? Dost thou not suspect my years? O, that he were here to write me down an ass! But masters, remember that I am an ass; though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass. No, thou villain, thou art full of piety, as shall be proved upon thee by good witness.” The antiquated grammar is the most obvious difference here.
While the idea of pairing letters with poems is creative, the letters themselves are quite prescriptive, telling Ophelia what she should do and how she should handle things. The letters don’t sound like they were written by one of Ophelia’s loved ones (despite the letters repeatedly stating that Ophelia is deeply loved) as they aren’t very personal; I cannot get an idea of what kind of person is sending Ophelia these letters and who they are to her.
The poems tend to be simple and repetitive, with words such as love, hope, good, bad, joy, light, etc. recurring many times. An example of a poem that I find simple is “Glad You Are Here” on page 5: “I am glad you are here./You’re worth more than you know./Don’t let doubt keep you afraid./There are reasons why you are here./First, you were made to glow./Don’t hide your light in a lampshade./Second, live & love out your purpose for being here.” These lines come across as platitudes to me.
I decided to stop reading at 51% because the same themes and ideas had been repeated multiple times by that point, and I figured that the second half of the book would be similar.
I do appreciate the creativity that is evident in the idea of writing letters to go along with poems for a character from one of Shakespeare’s plays. This isn’t something I’ve seen any other poet/writer do before. However, the execution unfortunately fell flat for me.
April 21, 2026
Shakespearean inspired letters and poems based on Hamlet and the John Everett Millais painting "Ophelia" - two of my core interests. Beautifully written and thoughtfully compiled.
e-arc provided by Netgalley ❤️
e-arc provided by Netgalley ❤️
Did Not Finish
May 4, 2026I received an ARC from NetGalley.
DNF @ 23%. I was put off by the constant rhyming and redundant titles of the letters/poems. I wasn't particularly drawn to any of the messages. Nothing felt particularly new, like sentiments I've seen before just rephrased in a rhyming manner.
DNF @ 23%. I was put off by the constant rhyming and redundant titles of the letters/poems. I wasn't particularly drawn to any of the messages. Nothing felt particularly new, like sentiments I've seen before just rephrased in a rhyming manner.
Did Not Finish
May 12, 2026This wasn’t for me.
May 13, 2026
Love is not only a matter or a subject and this book shows it.
Perfect love is hard to find and this book shows a teenager love that is difficult to conquer.
A good reading
Perfect love is hard to find and this book shows a teenager love that is difficult to conquer.
A good reading
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews