Another phenomenal collection of poetry from Courtney Peppernell. These poems stay with you, and I typically screenshot so many of them to reread later. These are for those in love and those heartbroken. Highly recommend!

I found this collection almost painfully relatable. Each section tugged on a different emotion but all still worked together to make a cohesive collection. As someone who prefers their poetry to emotionally destroy them, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It had a more subtle emotional strength rather than a lot of in-your-face pain some collections use. I liked this one, and I think it's a good companion to the poet's first collection.

Poems are so wonderful and are a great way to get in some reading without the full on book. I loved reading this book and how the author put so much thought into her work. I love poems and how they say so much without going into depth and can still speak to your soul. I highly recommend this anyone who loves poetry.

Wait, where can I get Pillow Thoughts I because if this is two, then I am all about reading one too!
I'll gush about this collection once I lay my head on my pillow because heartbreak is real, just as love is! Thanks for the eARC NetGalley.

Wow! What an amazing welcome into the world of Courtney Peppernell. I have not read the first Pillow Thoughts, so I was worried that I may be missing something. I was. I was missing the works of Courtney Peppernell. I am so grateful to have been able to read Pillow Thoughts II and the original, Pillow Thoughts, is now on my to read list. What touching and heartfelt words. The whole publication really hits you right in the heart.

I'm going to start off my review by saying that I love jellyfish. If you give me a blank canvas and some paint, chances are I'm going to paint a jellyfish floating in space ( have... 3 times.) I picked up Pillow Thoughts II (and Pillow Thoughts) mainly because of the covers, and also partially due to my newfound interest in poetry. If you're interested in the popular "instagram" style of poetry (short, meaningful, easy to read) then you just might like this collection of poetry. 

The subtitle of this collection is "Healing the Heart," so it's only fitting that the section titles are related to the heart. There are 5 sections in this one, as opposed to the 10 in the first novel. The section titles are: "If your heart is in love," "If your heart is aching," "If your heart is missing someone," "If your heart is Happy," and "These are for your heart." Each section is around 40 pages long. I really like that the poems are divided into sections. It's easy to open up to a specific section whenever you want a particular mood. 

There's not too much to say about the poetry. Peppernell's poetry is gorgeous and moving. Some of them are as short as a single line, while others are half a page long or longer. Some tell small stories, while others are thoughtful musings. 

While you can easily read through a single section for a particular mood, I recommend that you just open to a random page and just take in whatever poem is on that page. You'll get a lot out of the book that way, and you might find that the book takes longer for you to get through. Its the type of book you should savour, not binge-read.

I'll share one of my favorite poems from this collection:

Sometimes I fall asleep and I am still half awake, watching myself dream. In these moments, I am more than I ever thought I could be. I am more than a dream, more than the moon. I am the universe, and every possibility belongs to me." 

All-in-all, I highly recommend this book! Fans of Atticus, Rupi Kaur, r.h. Sin, or really any instagram poet will probably enjoy Courtney Peppernell's newest collection of poetry. It comes out next Tuesday, so be sure to pick up your own copy!

*Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with a copy of Pillow Thoughts I and II for review*

I don't what it was about this collection of poetry, that I just can't seem to place my finger on, that just stopped it connecting with me.
Some of the pieces were wonderful and normally I adore poetry in this style, but this just fell flat for me. Not a lot of it felt very emotional it felt very surface level, and I feel Peppernell could have dug a lot deeper and would have ended up connecting a lot better. In addition, a lot of pieces were just a few sentences or more like prose than actual poetry. Beautiful cover though.
Favourite quotes;

You have every right to love your solitude, Being alone doesn't mean you are lonely.

Tell me how to reach your heart, show me where you keep it.

Each small victory is worth celebrating

I really enjoyed this anthology. The drawings were very pretty and cute and immediately got me interested in the first Pillow Thoughts. The poetry is very free verse, but I enjoy that usually. At times the poems could be a bit repetitive in their messages and wording, I think this collection could have benefited from being a bit shorter. I still liked the poems. Some of them I didn't feel anything for, but then others hit really deep and in the end I was left with good, hopeful feelings.

Usually these kinds of poetry collections are darker and deeper, but I enjoyed this one as well. It just barely went under the surface and was more focused on self-care and strength in being yourself than on pain. I like the deeper poems as well, but this was a very nice change.

I absolutely adore Courtney Peppernells writing. I connect with her on such a personal level. I beg of you to pick it up.

I read this a few months ago, as soon as I could get my hands on a copy, and I am still at a loss for words when it comes to describing this work. I’ll start by saying that the message of “healing the heart” rang so true all throughout these pages. It entered my life at the best possible moment—as I have been going through the mending of my own heart—and touched me incredibly deeply. She has a talent for crafting poems that are seemingly unassuming and straightforward, but that are, in actuality, extremely complex, vivid, and multi-dimensional. And the beauty of her writing lights up every line.

Each section of this collection focuses on a different type of healing, and makes for the perfect book to pick up either when in need of overall healing and positivity, or when going through a specific healing process. The range of emotion shown in these poems hits its mark time and time again, and makes this a widely accessible piece. Peppernell’s words seamlessly fill one’s soul with the comfort it is craving, as well as the healing you didn’t even know you were in need of. There is such safety and peace within these pages, a reader’s sanctuary where one can comfortably grieve and find release.

On a brief, more personal note, I discovered Courtney Peppernell’s work about a year ago and she immediately flew to the top of my favorite poets list. The messages, values, and general positivity that she puts out to the world through her words has been exceedingly impactful for me, and I truly admire her—she is an absolutely beautiful person. I want to have the strength to fully acknowledge and express who I am one day, and it is people like Courtney that, without knowing it, give me more courage. She has a way of always inspiring me both in my writing and in accepting and striving to be my true self—and this is a gift that is meaningful beyond words.

Fantastic. Beautiful. Empowering.

I love this collection of poems for your heart that is in love, aching, missing someone or for your happy heart. A surge of empowerment went through me each time I picked up this up to read a few pages. I highlighted probably half of the poems because they meant so much to me.


Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I like the cover of this book. I wouldn't recommend this because I thought the poetry was boring. I haven't read anything by this author before so fans of previous work might like it. Not for me.

3.5/5 stars

The title of this is so fitting!

It's free verse "poetry", yes. But I appreciated it for what it was: just pillow thoughts. It reminded me a lot of the good ol' high school days when you'd be having problems with your boyfriend/girlfriend so you'd invite over your best friend for a sleepover, sit on your bed and vent to them, and they would just always know the right things to say.

My favorite poem:

Love isn't always about falling in love with a person. Love is
passing your final exams. Love is watching the sun come up
between the clouds. Love is finding the light when you were
in the dark. Love is when your favorite TV show returns. Love
is when your dog tilts its heads with confusion. Love is a free
ice cream voucher left on your car windshield. Love is the
leaves falling in the fall. Love is learning the constellations.
Love is solving a ridiculous math problem. Love is the
changing Starbucks menu for the seasons. Love is watching
a child play in the sandbox. Love is warm clothes when they
comes out of the dryer. When you've given up on love,
all you're really saying is that you've closed your eyes.

I felt good after reading this book, and I think if you pick this one up, you will too!

Thanks a million to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. Quotes are subject to change upon publication.

An appropriate “sequel” to Pillow Thoughts, this is readable, relatable and a warm dose of self-care. The author is not afraid to be deeply personal, but despite the more sad content, the collection leaves you with a sense of hope, much like the first book. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I highly enjoyed this poetry collection. (More than I thought I would…) Most of the poems were quotable and interesting, and I liked how they weren’t about straight relationships. I mean, even the one line poems have an important message to deliver, unlike some of the modern poetry out there. I connected to some of the poems, something rare for me, and bookmarked more pages than not. However, and this isn’t that big of a deal, but sometimes the rhyming seemed off. It felt like the author wanted to rhyme in a particular line rather than just let the rhyming come naturally.

But can we now talk about the beautiful cover and art inside?

Courtney writes lovely, I had the feeling she was talking straight to me; which is exactly what I needed at this time. The poems, some short and sweet, some rough and longer than we wanted them to be hit home. So to say..

Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart is a poetry collection of inspirational and comforting poems for those who are mending their broken heart.

"You shouldn’t lose sleep over somebody any more than they should lose sleep over you. Buy you do, we all do.
And we call this love."

Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart is such a beautiful poetry collection. I loved every poem from this collection because they were so relatable and beautifully written. I requested this book on Netgalley because the cover intrigued me and the synopsis sounded promising, but I didn’t expect Pillow Thoughts II to be this good!

The only negative thing I have to say is that the poems had no titles, which made it hard to make a ‘favourite poems’ list. But hey, if all the poems had titles, the list would probably never-ending!

"It’s in the moments you want to turn to them and share good or bad news that you realise how much of a hole is in your heart when they aren’t with you. All you want is for the person you love most to be by your side."

I really enjoyed reading this poetry collection, I finished it in one day and I cannot wait to read more poetry books written by Courtney Peppernell!

I rarely read poetry. In fact, the only poetry anthologies that I've read have been for school, but I thought I would broaden my reading horizon and pick this up. I did enjoy this collection of poems from Peppernell however none of them seemed particularly poetic. I know that seems stupid but for me, poems need to have deeper meanings and very few of the poems in this did. On the surface, I enjoyed them though, and there were a few where I just understood them so well. Overall, it was a decent collection but I wanted more.

*Netgalley provided e-arc, in no way does this shape my opinion*

Courtney has done it again! I felt so much in every section.She writes simply and lyrically, the affirmations are just what you would need.Each poem is short and you know exactly what it is trying to say but at the same time it is able to speak to the reader and really touch them.

I can't wait for everyone to read this when it's released!

This new type of poetry isn’t really my thing, but Courtney Peppernall has a way with words that I’m sure will resonate with fans and new readers alike. Focusing this time on the topic of love, she writes about the many different kinds and stages of love, capturing the essence of all its pleasures and pains.