I had just finished reading another book of poetry by Courtney Peppernell before venturing into this ones inner workings. I have to say, while I really enjoyed "The Road Between" I think that I loved this one even more. "Pillow Thoughts" had a bit more of the uniqueness I craved from her other book.


Just so that I can give a little glimpse into some of my favorite parts of her writings I'd like to show you one of the very short poems that I very much loved:
"We should kiss.
Not because you passed my way by chance
but because you stopped
and i haven't been the same since."


and I would also like to share a little snippet of another that absolutely touched my heart:
"You remind me of hope,
of the sea and the sky,
every hug and every kiss from your lips to your thighs.
I have flown around the world and met no one like you
because you are all the things I keep coming back to."


I highly recommend to anyone looking for a good poetic read to let sweep across their soul in the depths of the night (as I did).


I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book Via NetGalley.

Pillow Thoughts is a collection of poetry and prose, one that is divided into sections to read when you need or want to. Peppernell’s poems are honest, raw, and authentic and that’s what made them really special.

I think I liked her poems more and more as the book progressed. At first, I thought it would be just a decent, pleasant collection; an enjoyable one, but nothing too memorable. Things, however, changed when I realized she was talking about f/f relationships. What?? I know, right? Poems about f/f relationships? Poems that beautifully and honestly depict what it feels like to be in love with a woman? Written by a woman confident in her own sexuality, eager to depict these – often ignored or overlooked – relationship in a positive, realistic way? Amazing.

What I really loved was the way Peppernell showed sapphic relationship. There were cute, domestic moments that we don’t often see in mainstream media; and no scene in any poem oversexualized f/f pairings, as so often happens. I really enjoyed this fresh, authentic perspective of something that means so much to me.

Overall, it was a good collection, one that made me want to read more by the author, which is why I’m picking up her The Road Between next.



**An ARC was provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review**

Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC. This collection of poetry is being published August 29, 2017. I am going to pick myself up a copy when it is released.

Pillow Thoughts is a collection of poetry. This collection is uniquely divided into section for however you are feeling. The poems are beautiful and so relatable, I found. Every section hows its unique poems and no poem is the same. I bookmarked many pages to go back into to reread because they are so true to how I am feeling right now. I think everytime you read this collection different poems will standout to you and mean a lot to you depending on the time of your life. I would recommend this to anyone, even if you haven’t picked up a poetry book before, you have to start somewhere.

I had similar feelings about Pillow Thoughts as the poet’s other collection, The Road Between.
The poems are not bad, for the most they are just – nothing I haven’t read thousands of times before in other collections. The poet knows how to create poetry, use imagery and has a way with words. However, there was nothing to make any poems stand out.
The themes are universal such as love, loss and heartache so it’s easy to relate to the material. However, the problem with using such well used themes is how hard it is to say something different or new. None of the poems stood out in this respect.
Pillow Thoughts also has a lot of poems that are one or two sentences on a page that come across as some kind of self-help proclamation. These are also in The Road Between. These did nothing for me.

Absolutely stunning. Would make a great gift for anyone who loves poetry!

The poems in this book were hit and miss for me. Some were really great and others didn’t for me. Poetry is such a subjective thing that I feel that’s how much it goes with most poetry collections. Divided into several sections, there’s a little something for every mood (If You’re Lonely, If You’re In Love, etc.). The writing is simple, not flowery or full of overdone metaphor, and that works in it’s favor.

I'm not going to beat around the bushes with this review. It's hard because I really don't enjoy writing negative reviews or saying something against a poetry collection that obviously means so much to the author, but I hated this book! It was so difficult to read through and I felt no emotional connection to it whatsoever. I should have just put it down. I shouldn't have read all the way through it. I should have known something was up when I struggled to get it to download on my iPad. Maybe the fates were trying to intervene? *shakes head* I just don't know. 

The book was chalk full of poems that were choppy, poorly edited and extremely repetitive. Now, I'm not an expert on poetry, but usually it has some kind of flow or rhythm. These poems didn't have either. Also, I often stopped and checked back to earlier pages. Everything sounded the same. I kept on wondering to myself: didn't I read this before? The wording was also painfully obvious or straight forward. It completely lacked figurative language and metaphors, two things that I believe make poetry magical and mysterious. 

I completely reg my discussion to request this book on NetGalley. I've never been so disappointed by a poetry collection in my entire life. There are so many wonderful collections out there to read and love. Go pick up those and avoid this one at all costs! Ugh!

I loved that this book is divided into sections with different themes. There's a section for if you're lonely. Another for if you need a reason to stay. One for if you're sad. While not all of the sections resonated with me, reading this book did, overall, feel like sipping a mug of hot tea. It was warm and encouraging and comforting. It was like flannel sheets and an afternoon snuggle on a rainy grey day. Read it if you feel alone, feel sad or are in need of comforting. Choose the section of the book that you feel applies best and settle in. This book won't make the bad things disappear, but it may just give you hope for the future.

This was an unimpressive collection of poetry. There are a few lines, here and there, that I enjoyed, but as a whole this felt like the work of an unpolished writer first exploring poetry. The themes didn't vary much, and most of the poems felt very samey.

I read this title after having read The Road Between by the same author. I felt that many of the pieces between the two books were very similar in many ways. The books tended to explore the same themes, experimented with form, rhyme, and rhythm, and fluctuated between longer and shorter pieces to create balance. As with the first title, I didn't enjoy the shorter pieces as much as the longer pieces, as most of the time they felt underwhelming for me and left me with little to chew on after the fact. Overall, though, I enjoyed this title slightly more than The Road Between, and while I don't know that this author's poetry is for me, I would be interested to check out some of her fiction.

(from my Goodreads review)

Pillow Talk is a poetry book for young lovers. Its a collections of poems of young girls laughing and drunk in the intoxication of initial new love while on a sunny beach with an endless summer ahead of them. It is of all young girls laying in bed and dwelling over a smartphone; obsessing with old photos and text of lost or betrayed lovers. It is of young souls missing the love in their lives and isolated while surrounded by people everywhere. It is a maelstrom of every shade of passion and positivity that a young woman is confident of and preaches for all to hear. And it is her confused and doubt when that confidence is lost. All these poems seem written on worn notebooks of doodled page tears and colour.. and transferred into a published collection for others to encounter and witness.

And the best part is that it is all written and expressed very well. It’s nicely satisfying to see this much depth from a writer so young and not ancient with age (full of old love, pain, experience and goodbyes). Kudos for Courtney Peppernell for conveying such depth of feeling of lesbian love, loss and support. Proving to the world that we all feel the same way about the affairs of the heart, no matter your age or orientation. The artwork is cute too!

Was not able to read as it was not compatible with my Kindle Fire.

"I have been a little off balance since the day I met you. This is because I had never known what it is to be perfectly aligned."

The poems are divided into sections on what you needed to hear. I loved the self-help part but I can also relate to the relationship based poems especially the one for the broken hearted.

"in the end
we
as in you and me
were never
meant to be"


I'm still lost right now and this book made my soul weep for hours and left me with a lot of questions to myself. Enriching and simply beautiful.

"I hate to spoil the ending
but You is fine
You is still here
You is going to make it"

*I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

"You are a battlefield. Never will there be a greater war than the one you hold with yourself"

Rating this was hard. I'd like too give this two different ratings, where some of the poems get 2/5 stars but some are strong 4/5 stars. Let me explain.

I almost DNFed this after 20 or so pages, because the beginning just didn't interest me at all. The metaphors felt poorly executed and the poems had the feel of inspirational quotes you find online. I also had difficulties understanding the structure and to find a story within the poems. They kind of felt like randomly put together diary entries. BUT THEN, the last part! Maybe it had to do with the themes, that they resonated more with me, but they were actually really beautiful. The last part saved this collection for me.

I'd recommend it if you're in love, or heartbroken, or just a little lost.

3/5 stars.

I discovered this book by chance and now I want to read every book that Courtney has ever published.

You could taste the overflowing emotions, the pain, the happiness, the longing and love. I really did enjoy reading it, and getting to know the person that wrote those poems, exposing herself out for everyone to judge and see. The fact that the author shared so intimate thoughts about people she was in love with and the pain she has gone through and the happiness that little things in life could give you is really admirable and I could relate to that.

The book is divided into sections, a touch I found to be lovely. 

Here are some of the poems that stuck me the most:





"I hate to spoil the ending
but You is fine
You is still here
You is going to make it"


"I have been a little off balance since the day I met you. This is because I had never known what it was like to be perfectly aligned."


''Here are some nice things: warm nights after the rain, old books, new books, tea in the afternoon, snow angels, palm trees, smiling, laughing, hugs that make you feel like you are combusting, we-nose kisses from your dog, waterfalls, sunsets, a clear night sky, the hopes and dreams of you and me. A kitten curled in you lap, fresh laundry, favorite songs, the morning birds in perfect harmony. Nice simple things to remind you to stay.''

"I have been a little off balance since the day I met you. This is because I had never known what it was like to be perfectly aligned."

These poems made my heart sing, my soul weep, and my love for poetry grow. The raw emotion was palpable as I read through each section. The one section that really hit home for me was, "If you need a reason to stay." As someone that has depression and anxiety, these poems described what's going on in my head in ways that I've never been able to articulate. I would recommend this book to every girl or boy that's ever been in love, has ever been heartbroken, loves poetry, or just needs something to read. These poems will stay with you long after you finish the book.

"I never expected you to get under my skin, but now your name runs through my veins and I can't help but let every part of you in."

Spellbinding, enriching, magnificent, and lovely. I felt myself engaging with her word and every emotion.

I love the cover. It's simplistic but very striking. I liked that you could dip in and out whenever the mood took you, and the way the poems were arranged made it easy to select specific ones.
I enjoyed the second half of poems more than the first, but in all honest I really liked most of them. I haven't read many modern poems, but this has definitely ignited a new interest.

A beautiful collection, and one that I could envisage picking up and dipping into at a variety of moments, this little gem of a book speaks to anyone who has loved, lost or longed for someone. In a mix of poetry and prose Courtney Peppernell bares her soul in a way that is immediately recognisable to the reader, and I defy anyone not to be moved by her beautiful words.

Peppernell's poetry dwells on many emotions like love, heartbreak, longing and loneliness. I quite enjoyed it as a reader of contemporary poetry. The book is inspirational and touching.

You remind me of home,
of all the simple things in life,
of light and love and the reasons I am not alone.
You remind me of hope,
of the sea and the sky,
every hug and every kiss from your lips to thighs.
I have flown around the world and met no one like you
because you are all the things that I keep coming back to.