I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Author and Poet Mary Beth Hines takes readers on an emotional journey through the highs and lows in everyone’s lives in the collection, “Winter at a Summer House”.

The Synopsis

In Winter at a Summer House, Mary Beth Hines’s poems speak to the sublime and risks in every middle-class home, small city neighborhood, seaside retreat, or suburban backyard. Vivid, tactile imagery suffuses the collection, which follows the arc of a life from birth/first words to death/last words. Together, these poems create a sometimes heartbreaking, but often humorous and joyous, narrative that speaks to all readers.

The Review

Such a brilliant and beautiful collection of poetry! The author did such an incredible job of pulling in all of the raw emotions and subtle feelings that life can bring on any given day, and somehow creating a thoughtful poem that paints an image in the reader’s minds that reflects those moments in all of our lives. From a child’s first words to days spent at home during a winter storm and the loss of a loved one, the author captured all of these moments with the same vigor and artistry that the world around us naturally brings to our lives during these moments. 

What played so well here was the vast amount of imagery the author utilized with their writing. The poetry was not only emotional but so moving that it became almost cinematic in its delivery, creating the perfect balance between narrative-style poetry and the more in-depth emotional connection not only between the author and the words, but the poetry and the readers as well. 

The Verdict

A meaningful, engaging, and breathtakingly beautiful collection, author Mary Beth Hines’s “Winter at a Summer House” is a must-read poetry book! The journey of life itself and the hauntingly beautiful yet truly relatable way the author was able to connect their own experiences to the overall themes explored within this collection will keep fans of poetry hanging off of the author’s every word. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Mary Beth Hines grew up in Massachusetts where she spent Saturday afternoons ditching ballet to pursue stories and poems deep in the stacks of the Waltham Public Library. She earned a bachelor of arts in English from The College of the Holy Cross, and studied for a year at Durham University in England. She began a regular creative writing practice following a career in public service (Volpe Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts), leading award-winning national outreach, communications, and workforce programs. Her poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction appear in dozens of literary journals and anthologies both nationally and abroad. Winter at a Summer House is her first poetry collection. When not reading or writing, she swims, walks in the woods, plays with friends, travels with her husband, and enjoys life with their family, including their two beloved grandchildren. Visit her online at www.marybethhines.com.

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