I Hope You Stay

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book. I love Peppernell and am always so excited when she has a new work come out! This work of poetry is about love, exes and getting over it. It was a bit longer than her others, but it didn't impact or take away from her words. Definitely recommend for poetry and Peppernell fans.

This was a deeply moving and emotional look at different aspects of the human experience. I enjoyed it very much!

This poetry collection can be described as having a very hopeful message. The author guides us through the path that people have to go through after a painful break up. In the moments when everything seems lost, we must not forget that there's always room for healing and for the possibility of a new life and also new love, the kind of love that is accepting and deep and everything we deserve.
If these are themes that interest you, then you should definitely check this collection out.

Perfect for fans of Alicia Cook and Arch Hades.
A lovely poetry collection that explores themes of love, relationships, heartbreak and self confidence among others.

There are some fanatstic lines that I want to share with everyone so I'll definitely be buying a physical copy for my library.

Some of the poems felt overly long even though they aren't - I think it is the formatting that felt them harder to follow as they were just in one large paragraph.
I loved about 80% of the poems where every word was fantastic. Some of the others were just nice put not as perfect.

I'll certainly be checking out this poet's previous collections.

I Hope You Stay is a new collection of poetry by one of my favorite authors, Courtney Peppernell. So when I saw it available on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to read it. I may have also squealed a little.
This new collection is centered around breaking up with someone and the long path to healing and moving on. The majority of poems were very beautiful but there were also quite a few mediocre ones,unfortunately. I loved her previous series, Pillow Thoughts, way better, but that could be due to the difference in themes.
You achieve all your dreams by facing your fears. By experiencing the doubt and the disbelief and choosing to carry on anyway.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First thing first, thank you very much to Netgalley for sending me a e-ARC of this book.

After having read and adored Pillow Thoughts, I always keep my eyes peeled for any new releases from Courtney Peppernell., so as soon as I saw this title available on NetGalley, I jumped on the occasion like a jaguar.

And I can happily say that I was not (entirely) disappointed.

If I have to be honest, nothing compares to the beauty and the inspiring magic that Pillow Thoughts was, and this short collection was no different.

I Hope you Stay was uplifting, kind and positive, but also nothing ground-breaking.
The poems were simple and full of love but they were also rather cliché. Some felt a bit like posts you would see while scrolling on Tumblr, actually.

Nonetheless, this was a lovely poetry collection that somewhat warmed my heart through its positive and touching messages.

I'm glad I've read this and I will keep on being a fan of Peppernell's work.

Hello my new favorite read! What a great read to start 2020 with, I simply LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

If I can describe this group of poems in one word it would be a "Friend", those poems were so kind, empowering and above all they were genuine and honest, after all she started the poems with "You Will Ache".

I really liked how Peppernell sectioned her poems into:
You will ache
You will dream
You will love
You will heal
You will rise

To be honest, this is not my favorite book by Courtney Peppernell. BUT, I really liked the first half of it. It was intimate and very nice to read. As a whole, I enjoyed most of it, even though i think i would have prefered something a little less "spilled thoughts" and more "poetry-like" (if that makes sense). I liked that the book was separated in sections, and really liked the otter illustrations.

"I Hope You Stay" poetry collection is a reminder of the strength and hope that is found after going through heartache and pain. Courtney Peppernell's poems are universal alongside being completely personal. There are five sections, with poems ranging from free verse to short form. This poetry collection covers many topics from heartbreak, to dreaming of and finding a new love, to healing the heart to eventually finding peace.
I was so excited seeing her newest collection for I fell in love with her other series, "Pillow Thoughts" late last year, 2019. The artwork she displays on the cover and her sections, are simple but its so profound to me. I could continue to study the artwork re-reading her poems and knowing her words will perspectively change the design from my original thoughts. She is becoming one of my favorite modern poets.

"What are you looking for
Listen to others and yourself. When you listen
to the way you act from others, you often find
yourself becoming more self-aware. When
you listen to yourself, you learn how to set
boundaries for other people

What do you want to be
Do you like loud parties or small, intimate
dinners; do you think about choices and
consequences; are you there for others or only
yourself? The hardest critic is yourself,
but self-reflections is good for the soul

What do I do when I fail
You get back up. You will fail at many things
in your life, sometimes over and over again.
But the point is to continue forward; no matter
how big or small the failure, you are always
learning, always renewing."

A solid thee stars for me. The message of this poetry collection is very hopeful. It's guiding you through a break up and reminds you that it's okay to be in pain, hopeless but also that eventually you will heal and find new love.

There were some poems that really spoke to me and were powerful but also plenty which didn't touch me. That's okay though, it doesn't mean they were bad I just didn't have a connection with them. I definitely enjoyed most of them though and I will definitely check out previous works of this author because my interests are peaked.

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

I've read several of this authors poetry collections and this one definitely did not disappoint. Courtney has a way of digging out emotions and long lost memories that you had forgotten.

I Hope You Stay by Courtney Peppernell is my first experience of this poet's work, and I came away wondering how I have never found my way to it and, indeed her, before. This is a thought-provoking collection that I very quickly devoured. Contained within are the universal themes of heartbreak and loss, yet the overall feelings that resonate throughout are of hope and resilience. I will look forward to reading more of Ms Peppernell's work in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I Hope You Stay is a tender and hopeful collection. Courtney Peppernell's prose especially is full of heart, and it is always a pleasure to read her works. Just as the back of the book says: "These words are a light in the deepest hours of the night."

I would like to thank NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review.


Courtney Peppernell is a great storyteller and great poet. What i enjoy most about Peppernell's writing is her vivid imagery. "The jar shattered, and my heart fell to the floor. Now my heart is ripped and torn from all the pieces of glass" She has a great way to show emotion and describe exactly what she's feeling.

My favorite section of "I Hope You Stay" is the "You will dream" section. It is full of hope and light. It was nice to see optimism and hope in between pages of sadness and heartbreak.

Overall, this is a 4.5 (rounded to 5) star work for Peppernell. I do not believe it is her best work, however, I do believe her writing and imagery has improved vastly from her first.

[3.5 Stars]

"I Hope You Stay" is a new poetry collection from Peppernell that deals with heartbreak, healing, self-care, and love. I've been a fan of Peppernell since I read the Pillow Thoughts series and I was very excited to get my hands on her newest work. I found the collection as a whole hopeful and sweet but some of the poems felt hollow throughout. I found her poems that seemed from personal experience shone the brightest while the others about "self-care" were trivial and the kind of thing you'll see in other poetry collections nowadays.

While this wasn't her strongest book I still enjoyed my read and as always her soft and welcoming writing style.

Book was great and heartfelt. Loved all the poems and the cover is just stunning. I think people will devour this book when it comes out and people will highly suggest it to one another.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

I read poetry every now and again and I thoroughly enjoyed I Hope You Stay. The messages throughout this were so well written and I could really picture the images the author wrote (such as how a poem described the sky spilling in sleepy colors; that’s one in particular I had stand out to me!). This was my first time reading a poetry book by Courtney and based on how much I loved I Hope You Stay and the connection I felt throughout her work, it definitely won’t be the last!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a beautiful book of poems that were relateable and felt like they were being spoken to me in confidance and receiving advice from a dear friend.
This is a lovely book that touches your heart. Thank you for such a beautiful book of poems!

I received a free ebook copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Beautiful, moving, touching and eloquent. I Hope You Stay is personal and relatable with emotional experience. I cried, laughed and was deeply moved. Courtney Peppernell does not disappoint when it comes to poetry.

I have no words. This made me cry and think back on a time I would much rather forget, but it also lifted my spirits and inspired me to be the woman I was before the hurt. The one I thought I lost. I will read everything that Courtney Peppernell writes. Thank you again for filling my soul with light.

I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Reading "I hope you stay" felt like putting on a warm blanket, or maybe like having a heart to heart with a good friend that helps you through the bad times. For me, it was about feeling lost and slowly finding your way back to yourself, about falling in love with all the little moments and letting the sun back in. Go read it, it's great.

Love this book!! Another great poetry book, it's all about self-love (again) which I found really helpful for my own sake. highly recommended!!

***I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

once again ive fallen in love with Peppernell's writing. She is one of my favorite poets but she never ceases to amaze me. although prose is not my favorite she delivers it in such a way that makes me forget I don't love it. this collection will give you hope and remind you that your feelings are valid which we all need sometimes.

I read Pillow Thoughts when it was first released and I really loved it. It was one of my favorite poetry books I'd read in a long time. I was really excited to pick up another book from Courtney Peppernell and while I really enjoyed this book as well, I didn't love it as much as I expected. There's so many beautiful poems in I Hope You Stay and I especially love the overall story it tells, but I felt like there was quite a few poems that didn't match the quality of others, which was a little disappointing. I did really enjoy the otter illustrations throughout the book and I absolutely love the cover. Even though I didn't love this as much as the author's other work, I do plan on purchasing a physical copy for my poetry shelf.

I’ve read most of the Pillow Thoughts series and am quite a fan of Peppernell’s. This is exactly what I’ve come to expect of her poetry. I’ve gotten used to the poems not having titles. Like her other collections, Peppernell explores themes that resonate with almost everyone such as new life, healing and broken relationships but different poems will resonate with different people. The collection is divided into sections. The first section resonated the most with me with poems exploring finding new love and struggling to let go. I also liked the variety in the length of poems. This is a enjoyable, moving collection. I rather enjoyed it.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I Hope You Stay is an enjoyable poetry collection that takes us through the pain of heartbreak to the joy of new love. With it's message of hope, I think this collection would be an enjoyment for anyone, no matter what phase of the love cycle they're currently in.

The style is modern poetry and the layout is beautiful. It is divided into 5 sections, each a phase of love and heartbreak. Each section also has an illustration in the beginning that suits the theme well.

While I didn't find myself becoming lost in the poetry, I did enjoy a lot of it. It took me a few days to read which is a bit longer than a normal for me. Overall, it's not bad and is definitely worth reading.

I really enjoyed this poetry collection. My favorite sections were the dream and you will rise. I resonated a lot with the poems in those sections. This is a beautiful poetry collection and has a great message of overcoming heart break and hard times. I highly recommend!

A empowering poetry book filled with different parts of life and what we can do to overcome our fears and rise again stonier and renewed! I loved how it ended on a powerful and positive note that we can rise and change how we see ourselves as a whole!

This poetry book was about love
"She is my soul, my heart, my life. The moment I heard her laugh, I knew I wanted her to be my wife."

Learning to love yourself/self-care
"If they make you feel like your body, your heart, and your soul are not worthy of love, then they are not worthy to be loved by you."

"I am not going to be or act a certain way for anyone.
I am who I am, and I am going to embrace it. not everyone will like me, but the most important thing is that I love me, all my parts, working together, all that makes me whole."

And empowering yourself and let you know that everyone has struggles and that even though it might hurt at the time everything will be fine someday.

I did enjoy it, I left with a few memorable quotes and feeling like it's normal to feel sad or tired but know that everything will pass and better days will come.

Beautiful poems and such heartfelt sentiment. I have already bookmarked to order a copy for a dear friend. The emotion in each line was stunning at times and I kept reading to see what would "metaphorically" happen next.

" Take your time, but do take the first step"
This is the key message of Courtney Peppernell's latest collection which looks at recovering from the breakup of a relationship. As there always is with her books, there is a raw honesty to her words, and so they are easy to relate to. She embraces the dark days and the moments of hope and through her words encourages the reader to strive for more, to take that first step, because what is out there is worth taking that risk for.
"You are in control of your own progress, the only person who can decide how much or how little you tread. No one else gets to decide for you, no one else gets to tell you what defines you "getting better" All the things you struggle with are yours, your battles are yours and your victories are yours."
I also loved that she encourages women to stand up for and stand with one another, to be kind to one another and build each other up instead of tearing each other down, another positive message that needs to be heard.
Deceptively simple but often surprisingly moving, I would definitely recommend this book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

What a beautiful read 'I Hope You Stay' was!
I didn't think I would fall so hard for Courtney Peppernell's writing. But the truth is I did, big time.
Her words are so powerful, it transcends other collections of poems I have been able to read. Each part were meaningful and each spoke to me with great resonance.
I was able to identify with the author's words and I felt like she spoke directly to me, addressing her poems to encourage me. It is incredible how she managed to express how I'm feeling. Her words were so reassuring and it soothes me to see that I'm not the only one to feel those things.
Each part was really inspiring. You also can clearly see the pain she felt transpire through the pages. Many poems were really moving.
I fell in love with her way with words, her phrasings, the way she delivers herself to the reader, purely, simply, humbly.
Courtney Peppernell is talented and I'm glad I discovered her through this collection of poems.
I will most definitely read her other works and follow her in the future.
This was everything I needed, it could not be more perfect.

Such a beautifully written book. I loved the structure of the book and the poems. It was lovely to read. The illustrations were also adorable!

My arc of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for honesty review.

Beautiful and heartfelt poems. This collection really shows what it's like to be human with out downfalls and out highlights. It shows that its okay to not be okay and that you are never alone and at some point light will shine. The way the poetry was set up it was like a journey. Iou could really feel the emotion in these poems. This collection was readily empowering. At some points though the way some poems was wrote made it seem like you should be dependent on a relationship to get through your dark times. I know that it's good to lean on someone in times of need but sometimes you just really need figure things out on your own.

I am typically not a big fan of poetry, but this book was quite enjoyable. It is divided into 5 sections -- you will ache, you will dream, you will love, you will heal, and you will rise. The poems are a mix between free verse and short form, and carry an uplifting theme that reminds readers that no matter how hard life gets, they are not alone.

"Words will not stop her, only drive her. She has a fire in her heart and determination in her step. People may tell her she is bound by gender, sexuality, and skin, but she knows better than to let hate win."

One of the best things about reviewing arcs is your experience with a book tends to be different than the normal readers. It feels like you are bestowed with scared knowledge and you are waiting for the knowledge to be available to all for you to make sense and not sound like you have lost your mind because you cannot stop freaking out on how GOOD a book IS! And this poetry collection makes me feel this so intensely!

A collection divided into 5 parts: You will ache, You will dream, You will love, You will heal and You will rise, this poetry collection is full of unfeigned words woven together to create a blend of simple, raw and beautiful emotions and thoughts! Since most of the poems are prose-poetry in this collection, it's a book for anyone who wants to read the thoughts or emotions which you want to read about and relate to it.
Courtney's writing style makes this read hypnotic as she crafts the emotions compellingly in just a few lines! I still haven't read Pillow Thoughts but I will read it soon and keep an eye out for more works by her!

As always, Andrews McMeel brings out the best to the world of poetry! I loved and thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience but the reason I am going to give this 4 stars is that I found some of them quite too simple. I am going to give an extra 0.25 as they are still perfectly penned by Courtney to resonate with a reader!

Rating: 4.25
Recommended: To anyone looking for a good, heart-felt poetry read, this one is the one you gotta choose!

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel for this e-arc.

Courtney is an amazing poet and her collections are always relatable, moving and so imaginative my favourite poem from this collection is about sharing a song with another and them knowing it and tainting it in your eyes forever. I can relate when I shared a band with my ex they are his favourite band now still I believe. I also relate to one about struggles getting better and victories in your life as I personally have recovered from self harm and anorexia which wasn't easy and seemed unreachable at many points previously.



This collection is another stunning addition to her previous works and I highly recommend you pick it up too!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

"she wants a love so powerful it wipes out everything else"

[3.5 stars]

A book of empowerment and strength (also what sets it slightly apart from its predecessors). Some other themes it portrays are: grief and heartbreak, love and loss, pain and moving on. Some poems were impactful but majority were just more of the same. I think it will resonate better with those who are going through heartbreak and difficult romantic relationships.

While I expected the usual fair of "Instagram" poetry we see now, I was happily surprised that Peppernell had some more traditional aspects such as rhyming. It was a breath of fresh air after reading so much of the Rupi Kaur-style poetry we have now (which I do enjoy). Her poems do feel very raw and honest, which makes them powerful. I do think that this collection is targeted towards younger audiences who are more so navigating their lives than I am currently.

R E V I E W - I Hope You Stay

I Hope You Stay is an anthology of poetry that takes the reader on a journey which begins with heartache and ends in strength. The poems don't always follow any conventional 'rules' of poetry which enable them to feel very raw and honest. Sometimes I felt I was reading Peppernell's thoughts which could be a good thing if you enjoy that type of reading.

I like that the final poem in each chapter makes a reference to the title of that chapter. It signifies the end of that step in the journey and paves the way for the beginning of the next chapter, which is essentially the next step in this journey.

This book would be an ideal guide for someone young who is trying to navigate their way through heartbreak; perhaps a teenager or young adult who is experiencing their first broken heart because the lessons in the poems are true and relatable.

I'm giving this book 3 stars because while I appreciate the topic, I felt that the writing was a little too young for me. I think I'm just getting a bit too old to read about broken hearts and feel connected to it. Saying that, I think my younger self would have loved a book like this!

3.5 out of 5 stars

'I hope you stay' is a collection of LGBTQ+ poems about love, but also about life and body positivity. To be honest, the love poems are for anybody. The author talks about a 'she', and she is a female herself. However, I'm sure there are men out there who feel the same. Which makes this poetry book so unique and fun. I always loved her work because of the different interpretations.
What I liked the most about this one, is the fact that you start at 'her' lowest'. I'm not sure if the poems are a reflection of her life. It simply starts in a negative mood and slowly the poems are getting more positive. The book has different parts, for example about healing. Every next part is a step up the ladder of recovery. Which I adored. The motivational message of the later poems is simply fantastique and fits perfectly with the negative ones at the beginning.
I like her way of writing and how modern positivity can be so recognizable for anybody. Which is absolutely one of her strengths.

I did feel like some poems did contain the same message. Also, the one sentences ones felt a bit <i>meh</i>. She writes such beautiful texts and the simple ones with one sentence just don't add up to that.
I also felt like the lay-out could be less boring. The otters were very cute, but they could be used a little more. Now the pages were just simple and white. I like poetry books the best when they also have some visuals.

Firstly, I'd like to thank NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"She is the reason hope will fly"

This is the fourth book of Courtney Peppernell's that I have read and it didn't disappoint. It was equally as good as the Pillow Thoughts series and I'm so grateful to get the chance to review this book that will be released March 3rd!

"She wants a love so powerful it wipes everything else out"

This book is full of hope and love which really made me think positively throughout. As I have followed Courtney for a while I have seen that she recently got married and you can feel the love in this book. This book helps you to see that heartbreak is necessary for you to find the love that will last.

"True love doesn't run away"

I also enjoyed the new art that came with this book. It is divided into 5 chapters that deal with different feelings, such as dreams, hope, etc.

HOLD ON, THE SUN IS COMING.

As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.

I Hope You Stay is another solidly intimate and compulsively enjoyable collection of prose from Courtney Peppernell. As far as modern day poets go, Peppernell is one of the best and never fails to disappoint me in terms of quality and intimacy. If you are looking for something that makes you feel, then look no further than I Hope You Stay.

Be sure to pack your bags to go along with Peppernell on this emotional journey she's woven into words.

I Hope You Stay fits refreshingly well with who I am and what I hope to feel whilst reading poetry. It is full of lines that strike me down in that aching way that only poetry or music can. Minimal little nods that hit bluntly against your heart. As the lines blur into pages, readers will feel their effect.

Looking back on I Hope You Stay, I've come to realize that this collection resonates with me because Peppernell does more than simply state emotions that parallel my own--she makes you feel it, too. Life pulses from every word. It aches. It coaxes optimism. It makes you feel. She eases us into heart-break and moving on; falling in love, and living, with an easy-going quality.

Like all good poets, she does more than compel you to read her words--she speaks directly to you. Each poem in I Hope You Stay leads into the next and fits a specific mood. Peppernell's words flow into a bigger picture, telling a story that is hopeful and honest. While there were a few poems in I Hope You Stay that felt repetitive or out of place, I still feel like this is an absolute must-read for the modern poet.

Peppernell continues to be a leader of the pack when it comes to her contemporaries. I Hope You Stay is another beautiful expression of life and will surely strike a chord within readers. It is simply beautiful.

Disclaimer: I was given an advance reading copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity.

Another poetry book added to my list of favorites! I expect nothing less from the authors of Andrews McMeel Publishing, and I Hope You Stay is definitely one for the books.

Like all poetry books that I like, this is relatable and mesmerizing. It is inspiring and honest -- the kind of book that gives you reality and makes you feel things. I have now found another poetry book that I could go back to whenever I'm needing my poetry fill.

Please pick this up once it gets released worldwide. I couldn't recommend it more.

Beautifully written poetry piece about love, self love and acceptance. The book progresses through accepting the love of yourself and how it can impact others and the relationships you make. Truly impactful to me and my personal journey through self love as well. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Verses filled with vivid emotions. A few grammatical errors but some lines are absolutely wonderful, i saved them as quotes.

Another collection of modern poetry where I'm not a hundred percent sure where the actual poetry is.


I don't say that this book actually bad is. It isn't. When I started to read it, I even thought these so called poems could raise the feeling inside me that somebody narrated them to me, I could actually hear the low but strong, alto voice of a woman in my head - which isn't exactly poetry, but is like the next best thing.


With time I got a bit bored while reading, though. There's structure, there are thoughts (though to me mostly average wording), but I felt like it lacked real substance and depth.


I must say, though, that I love those little otters, or whatever they are! They're adorable.


All in all, I should say that this collection is very typical modern poetry. If it's your thing, this book is for you.

I’m not sure what possessed me to request not just one, but two ARCS of poetry in February (given that I'm anything but a regular poetry reader), but if there was one month to do it, it might as well have been the month of love. 

"I Hope You Stay" begins as a collection of poems about heartbreak and those you love leaving you behind, but blooms into a beautiful collection of love poems accompanied by equally cute and gorgeous illustrations of otters in space. I can see why people would connect to Peppernell's words in both categories, and there were plenty of times that I found myself nodding my head in agreement with the words on the page and highlighting passages that I felt strongly about.

What sets this collection apart is the way it's written, the modern style which this follows has become very familiar, but whereas I’ve seen prose told through verse, I’ve never seen poems told through prose, which is what a majority of this book tries to do. This definitely caught my interest, and I enjoyed it at first...until I realized how plainly everything ends up being said. 

The messages in this work are powerful to read but they don’t hold the magic that can be sparked by the imagery, ambiguity, allusions, and other strategies used in most poetry. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any of the common literary devices usually utilized in verse. This ends up making the collection feel almost more like a journal, a series of thoughts, or perhaps a collection of notable quotes. Still powerful messages, but poetic...questionable.

In a more story-like structure, one might expect that the strength of this collection to be the overall narrative, unfortunately, the poems didn’t seem to follow a clear path from start to finish. Instead, they appeared to be gathered up when finished and bound together as they were.

This was only furthered by the fact that the poems switch between who is narrating and who is being addressed, sometimes using ‘I,' sometimes ‘we,’ sometimes ‘you,’ which all seem to be interchangeable at times, but not at others. This makes it difficult to discern who the main character is and our relation to them as readers. 

I rated "I Hope You Stay" 2.5 out of 5 stars.

“I feel like I am sinking back into the soil, while everyone continues to grow, sprouting new buds and blooming, long before I can feel my roots”

This poem spoke volumes to me because I feel this in my soul. Everyone else my age is moving forward while I still feel stuck in the same spot. This poem was in the “You Will Heal” section, which to me reminded me that we all feel hurt and lost but eventually you will, indeed, heal.

“You Will Rise” was my favorite section.
“You don’t need to drink to feel confident
You don’t need to do drugs to dream
You can be high on yourself”

Favorite poem in this book. You are your own happy, your own dreamer, your own confidence.


Peppernell’s poetry makes you think, not only of yourself but if others. She reminds you that other feel just as you feel. That you are not alone in this crazy messed up world. She tells you that this messed up world needs you. That’s what I love about her poetry.

This one wasn’t my favorite of her books but I still loved it.


I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5☆~

Overall I enjoyed this collection! I'm a fan of modern poetry & the short formatting of pieces. I did feel like a few of the pieces in this collection could've been together as one instead of on their own pages, lengthening the book length. But still, I can see why Peppernell is a popular modern poet! Will be picking up her other works in the future for sure.

This was a lovely poetry book, as I have come to expect from the amazing Courtney Peppernell. I enjoyed this book and flew through it.

This book of poetry is amazing and rejuvenating. For any soul willing to delve into the renewing and raw words of Courtney you will not be disappointed. I feel so blessed and thankful for all the feelings that the poems invoked from deep within.

I encourage anyone who wants a healing and motivation book of poetry that you’ve found it.

I frequently read poetry. And most commonly I get to read free and open prose, which requires no rhyming or synchronisation.
This work is about depth, despairs and complexity of human relations.
It shows deep longing in face of stark betrayal and chaos.
I liked the angles of life captured by the author.
It is surreal, emotional and impactful.
It is decided into sections featuring different stages of development of a bond.
It is full of pain and has ruminations of an aching heart.
It also gives message of triumph of perseverance.
A good book but I liked pillow thoughts by the same author, a little more than thus one.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.

"I Hope You Stay" is a poetry book written by Courtney Peppernell. I've had my eye on her for a long time and this was a great opportunity to try one of her books. This poetry collection is mostly about healing, growth and self-love. It shows us that it's okay to step away from people in order to heal and become aware that you are enough and that you matter. I totally recommend this book to everyone - from people who have been through break ups and might need some help to everyone else who is simply interested. Rating: 4/5 stars

I’m not a big fan of poetry, but I really enjoyed Courtney Peppernell’s Pillow Thoughts collection, so I wanted to read this book.

The collection is divided into 5 parts: You will ache, You will dream, You will love, You will heal, and You will rise. These covered many subjects, from falling in love to breaking up with someone. I especially liked the final section, You will rise, which was about feeling empowered.

There was one poem about how women should stick together and support each other, which really resonated with me. Sometimes we judge others, without thinking about how we can help them instead. The example she gave in the poem was whispering to a woman to tell her she has lipstick on her teeth. We should look out for each other, rather than trying to bring each other down.

This is another great poetry collection by Courtney Peppernell.

Thank you Andrews McMeel for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!

Great collection of poetry and prose. It's the first book I read by this author. It sounded a little like a self-help book sometimes, which isn't something that bothers me, but it's not really what I expected. Still, I could relate to so many pages, I share those feelings too... So yeah, I think it deserves 4 stars. :)

I was only able to read half of this before the ARC expired. I enjoyed what I read and it brought back so many emotions of my own bad breakups and how bad they make you feel in the moment. I wish I could have finished it but time got away from me.

“And after all the pain maybe it wasn’t the timing maybe we were just two people bad for each other”

I requested this from NetGalley because I had heard that this authors previous poetry collection Pillow Thoughts was outstanding. I was really hoping to like this, and I did, however I was not blown away by it.

This collection is divided into 5 parts: You will ache, You will dream, You will love, you will heal and You will Rise. Through which the author explores the idea of grieve, heartache and finally moving on. This poetry collection is full of powerful words that together create a simple, raw and beautiful experience to read.

Like I said, I enjoyed this poetry collection, it did not bring any new ideas to the table however the writing is beautiful and the otter drawings definitely brought a smile to my face. The reason I did not loved this collection is because I could not relate to it. This book is design for you to relate to what the author is feeling. I think this was a hard topic for people to relate to because even though we all have been heartbroken, we all hurt and heal in different ways and maybe some can identify to the way the author hurts and heals but for me I was not able to connect.

We all can relate to the idea of heartbreak and moving on however the way the author portrayed her hurt and healing process is very different to the way I hurt and heal. However, there were definitely some gems in this book and it still think it is worth reading. This collection had a great concept overall, but the execution might not be everybody´s cup of tea. My advice is, if you are interested, read it, you might relate to it way more than I did and find a new favorite collection.

Overall, it was a solid 3 star read, it was not spectacular or mind blowing but I do not regret reading it at all and I do believe some people will definitely feel connected to it.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read and review this collection.

I was just over halfway through when the eARC expired 😭 happy to say I was really enjoying it and some of these poems really stuck with me. My favourite from Courtney Peppernell so far!

This was the first time reading anything from Courtney Peppernell. I really enjoyed this one, and I definitely would love to read more of their work.

This is an empowering poetry collection ideal for someone going through, or having experienced, a tough time —especially a bad break-up. They will feel understood and this book will help them see that, although some trials in life seem like the end of the world, they're strong enough to survive them.

After the sucess of the best selling poetry book Pillow Thoughts, Courtney Peppernell creates another gem that surely touch every reader's heart.

Courtney Peppernell is known to be one of the best poet in this generation. Along with Atticuss, Lang Leav, Michael Faudet, Rupi Kaur, Peppernell creates her own path to sucess by building up words that our heart cannot explain.

I Hope You Stay is divided into five parts. You will ache, You will dream, You will love, You will heal, And You will rise. Each section is filled with passion and soul.

What I love about this book is the love and pain combined to let us know that there is always something, something beautiful about love and pain. This is a story full of hope, awakening, self healing, and bravery. We always mistaken pain as a bad feeling, a feeling of lost and grief. But this book shows that it is not always ache and heartbreaks but also the bloom of our scars. Scars are beautiful. They make us beautiful and powerful.

"𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒹𝑒𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓅"

I hope you stay is not just an ordinary poetry book. It is a golden book created for people who feels lost, feels unloved, and feels nothing. Self Healing is a process. It is not like one day we are totally healed from the bullets of our past. It is taken step by step, and as I turn the pages of the book, i found the answers not merely seen in some other books. We are woman. A girl power. Together with Courtney Peppernell, I hope you stay because you are worthy and you are loved. ♥

Courtney Peppernell is a very gifted poet, and I love the illustrations sprinkled throughout this book. I think Pillow Thoughts is still her best work, but this is a good companion to it. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!