Bittersweetness: Poems

by Stella Donato

Bittersweetness is a poetry collection about heartbreak, love, and raw emotions. You will recognize the brutal honesty, vulnerability, anger, sadness, and pain that continuously dripped from the poet’s pen to their pages.

These poems are divided into sections to allow you to follow the poet’s emotions, words, and thoughts at your own pace. You’ll find that when you think you’ve finally understood what the poet is trying to express, you run the risk of unraveling. Thus, you will have the need to dissect, devour, and digest each poem and see it as an individual piece before you can view it as a collaborative piece.

Genres: Poetry, Ebooks

422 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2022

About the author

Stella Donato is an indie author who debuted in the literary realm with their first poetry collection, Bittersweetness, and then published their second poetry book, Blushing Muse. They will be releasing their third poetry book, Unbridled Damsel: A Poetry Collection of Fragments soon. They graduated with a BA (Hons) in English Education with a Creative Writing emphasis, obtained their teaching credentials, and their MA in English.

Donato loves coffee and matcha; listening to all types of music; writing poetry, short stories, and novels; reading manga, webtoons, and graphic novels; watching K-Dramas, anime, and other foreign films and television shows; and just experiencing life and being able to immerse themselves into other fictional worlds. They are working on several projects, such as an upcoming adult fantasy series, and look forward to publishing them soon.

You can keep up with them here:

Twitter:
@StellaDonato_


Instagram:
@stelladonatowrites


TikTok:
author_stelladonato


Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B0BCYQHFV9


Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...


Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a tendency of bookmarking pages or lines when I read poetry; I mark moments or phrases that strike me as poignant or beautiful and I think I may as well hit highlight all in this collection.
Donato really grasps the rawness of emotion that we feel in our darkest moments and the pain and frustration of daily inequalities. I cannot say how much I adore this collection and find myself keep returning to significant verses that really resonated with my own personal doubts and fears.
For me the collection was so successful not just because of the beautiful grasp Donato uses on language but also form. There are various styles and structures used and I appreciated that each was chosen specifically to emphasize each poem; nothing about this collection is created purely for aesthetic reasons, everything is placed for a reason and added depth.
Overall: heart achingly gorgeous.

[Hayley Anderton · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s some very beautiful and powerful poetry in this book! I took my time reading it and got a lot out of it. I think it’s meant to be read slowly and each section brings something new to the table. A good debut from Stella Donato!!!

[Rachel Bowdler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bittersweetness is a versatile collection of poems spanning across personal themes such as mental health, grief, and heartbreak, to wider and more universal themes of gender and racial inequality and religion. Needless to say, there’s something in here for everyone. Donato uses all of the raw, visceral language and imagery of a suspense author, and yet merges that sharp surprise with emotion, romance and melancholy that oozes off the page: an adventure from start to finish. There wasn’t one poem here that I felt detached from, with each line and verse phrased in new and unexpected ways that left me feeling both hooked and seen. At times, the pieces were so lyrical I imagined them with music. The form was played with, varying not just subject matter but both the aesthetic and the way it is consumed. In short, this collection is a work of art and yet still manages to resonate in a very human way, especially in exploring the difficulties that come with living as a young person in a broken world. If you’re looking for poetry you can both identify with and be stunned by, this is the book for you!

[Eryn McConnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot to this poetry book; a lot of poems, a lot of raw verse, a lot of rage. I think it's very very good. The poet is furious, incandescent, passionate. It's definitely a collection to return to, to think about. Big thumbs up from me.

I AM MORE THAN THE WORDS ON MY TONGUE

I wished I could've drown in poetry,
but I sat there & ate the silence.
I let the letters marinate
on my tongue & singe my throat.
I’m left with two options:
Let the words cement
in my lungs or unshackle them.

[M.E. Aster · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Actual rating: 4.5 stars)

Bittersweetness is a wonderful collection of poems by a new to me author that I mostly picked up thanks to its gorgeous cover.

And I’m so glad I did. This book contains a multitude of powerful poems that I slowly savored over the course of a month. Donato writes with a unique voice that felt as if they were standing next to me reciting them aloud instead of simply on a page.

My only small complaint was that every instance of the word “and” was typed as “&” and I had a hard time getting my mind to read the symbol as the word but that is just me being nitpicky.

I loved this collection and I would definitely pick up another book by this author.

[Jordynn Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 24% I will say the poetry did have some great quotes but I just could not get into it. I just kept asking myself why am I still reading this.

[Neri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very gratefully received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

What first drew me in was the cover, it was very aesthetically pleasing. Pink background with a skeleton that has flowers and Ivy twining on its bones, love that!

As I read on, while I did enjoy some of the poems, in particular the “In Moderation” and “Here and There” I feel like it mostly read more like a diary. I enjoy more of the metaphorical type of poetry and while there are poems like this in this book, and some of the diary type poems were enjoyable, this book felt disjointed or like two books mashed together.

I thank the author for the opportunity to read it and provide my opinion.

[NotTheAuthorWendyHeiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no way to describe how much this book spoke to my soul and hurt it at the same time.
I might have highlighted just about every line of it.


Thank you to Stella for letting me ARC read this book!!

Gray-dipped world. But you, my darling, remain the same: A brush of color.


With each knock, I list reasons to open the door. I list reasons why no one would care if I choose to stay or if I choose to go.


By which I mean, I wish blue could mean happiness. By which I mean, I could be submerged in the ocean & still breathe.

And a personal favourite:

No art worth a damn has ever been created out of happiness.

[Carmens.library · Rating 4 out of 5]

conversions with the world

It’s crazy and unbelievable but all topics discussed in the poetry collection need to be said.
It’s entirety is whole to what day now in 2022 is.
Poems about depression and anxiety which is the realest meaning in this day in age.
Females reproduction shouldn’t be up to anyone but our own.
Discovery in not all relations are ok to continue.
Heart break can lead so a lot of self doubt mostly if the counter-partner is condescending or cruel and don’t know how to love you

Loss and grieving is often suppressed and this book talks a lot about it.

Even political discussions and talk about racism is important and some of these poems Ned to be spoken louder for the back room to hear!

I enjoyed each and every one of these poems. Some spoke volumes to me. Some I found intriguing and some are a complete conversation starter. Like for real let’s talk about these!

Also really loved the poems about self love ❤️

[M.J. Mallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stella Donato Bittersweetness

It's always such an honour to read a new poet. This is the 1st collection I've read from Stella Donato. At times a tough read, as the subject matter involves topics such as: depression, grief, religion, suicidal thoughts, rape,  gender & patriarchal society, racial hatred, hatred of one's own reproduction organs and the personal wish to be childless in a world where this is frowned upon.

The poetry is set out & placed on the page in such an engaging and imaginative way.

All the poems are good. Certain poems spoke to me more than others.

I personally loved Aphrodites Balcony Scene about learning to love yourself.

Brown Girls in Red Lipstick : 'I wonder when my "No’s" stopped being heard ?'

The distressing Night Out, here's a snippet: 'Inside that w i d e closet is where they had you. For all night long they just had you without asking.'

Broken Girls about society not liking broken girls. 💔

You Let Me Go about sexual orientation.

I wanted To Be Like Her. Not Outgrow Her, a poem regarding the death of the author's older sister.

A poignant poetry collection largely about trauma and depression, full of personal insight. A collection particularly suited to dark poetry readers to thoughtfully read a little at a time.

[Annette Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bittersweetness is a powerful poetry collection from Stella Donato. I dipped in to this book daily over the course of two weeks and every single time I found a phrase or an image that stopped me in my tracks and made me think . There is a rawness and honesty in the poems that leaps from the page and I found myself underlining or bookmarking the poems that spoke to me particularly. It is a long time since a poem made me cry, but as I read a poem titled Your Worth Should be Priceless Not Priced Less I felt the tears welling up, and I couldn't help but think of all the people in my life who needed to hear those words. Throughout the book there are moments of beauty and happiness but also moments of anger, frustration and deep sadness - as the title says it is a real mix of bitter and sweet as the writer is not afraid to delve into the darker moments of their life or indeed the darker moments society has faced in the last few years. I can see this being a book that I will return to when the mood strikes me and one that I will be recommending to many many people.

[Rae's Reading Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant collection!

CW: mentions of self harm, manipulation, mental health, rape

This was a really heavy but also completely beautifully tragic collection. Made my heart ache more times than I can count and I definitely felt for the narrator in many of the cases.

Would 100% recommend!

Thank you to the poet for providing me with an eArc in exchange for my honest review (full review will be up on my bookstagram tomorrow for the books official release! - Instagram.com/raesreadingcorner)

[Jasmine Cenci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful cover to cover read. I simply didn’t put it down. This book broke my heart and mended it again. I found companionship within the words, they hugged me tightly. Bittersweetness touches on a lot of thought provoking topics and provides an incredibly raw insight to the authors experience. Forever grateful I was able to read this book before publication. It was a great honour. I cannot wait for whatever is next for Stella.

[W.A. Ashes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should not have read this when I was depressed. I cried and cried, and cried, and fell into a black abyss of nothingness. It ended up making me feel validated. I loved it. I needed it. You need to read this. Every single man and woman on this planet needs to read this. Every single American needs to read this.

[balladoftayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant, evocative, and introspective. It took me on a rollercoaster of emotions and I found myself wanting to experience it again. I don’t normally enjoy poems but I have recommended this book of poems to my mother because she enjoys poems more than me and she had to buy a copy for herself.

[Jenna Harries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t normally leave reviews but I knew I just had to with this one. This is a masterpiece! I can’t believe how relatable it was and how it made me feel, I cried so much reading it. 100 percent recommending this to everyone!

[Christine Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great!

Raw, real, and reminiscent. These poems reach into the depths of that which we bury and brings it back to life. We face those demons in beautifully brutal ways with each poem.

[Lacrima Mundi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic modern poetry collection!

Poetry that
makes you think,
makes you cry,
makes you pause,
and hold your breath.

It stops the world
for a moment
or two,
punches you right in the gut
or your heart,
and penetrates your thoughts,

makes you wish
you were there
or somewhere else

entirely.

--

Please do pay attention to the CW/TW in the beginning of the book, as this collection addresses a lot of very heavy subjects (depression, suicide, sexual harassment/assault, racism, gaslighting, etc.).

[MoonLovixx · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just so absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of poems! I look forward to reading more work by this author :)

[Sophie Bowns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely collection.

I discovered this lovely poetry collection on kindle unlimited as part of indie April. Stella Donato writes her poetry really well.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Some good poetry in this book. Love the pictures you have used throughout the book. Love the front cover also.

[Becca Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing collection of poems, you can feel the author's emotions.
Well worth a read and doesn't take long.