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.

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.

I Hope You Stay by Courtney Peppernell wasn't the moving and inspirational poetry book that I expected. I loved reading Pillow Thoughts and judging from that and the title of this book, I assumed I would enjoy this too. Poetry is deeply personal and particular to different individuals which might explain why this collection wasn't for me. I Hope You Stay was bland and very un-poem like. It read like notes or short diary entries that had neither the flow or rhythm of poetry. Poetry is supposed to make you feel things, it's supposed to give you goosebumps and shivers. Sadly I Hope You Stay did not evoke any feelings of significance or emotion.

I love poetry so much, but genuinely did not enjoy this collection. I was granted a free digital ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved the message and the meaning behind it but the delivery was very scattered. The way it went from first person, to third person, to second person, back and forth with no real pattern of distinction made it hard to follow. The use of metaphor was so repetitive that it felt forced and almost overdone. At the end of the day, this was someone’s form of expression and I mean no disrespect towards that, it simply was not my cup of tea.

I Hope You Stay by Courtney Peppernell

1 star

Poetry is not often something I completely loathe, but this collection was one of the worst forms of “poetry” I have read. I am saddened to say that. I don’t like giving out 1-star ratings and I usually do anything I can do abstain from doing so, but the only thought going through my head while reading each and every page of I Hope You Stay was how much I hated the poems. The poems are short and consist of random thoughts or what I like to call inspirational quotes. Just because you can put it on a refrigerator and it’s two lines does not make it a poem. If you write it like it’s a poem, it does not make a poem. Poetry needs to have structure while also recognizing the constraints of structure and breaking them. Peppernell does not do that. In fact, many of her poems feel like diary or journal entries. It made me want to stop reading poetry which says a lot because I recently discovered my most beloved poetry collected (Tomorrow’s Woman-which everyone seems to hate). I am a black sheep poet critic. I like what everyone hates and love what everyone wants to tear apart. Oh well, I won’t be picking up Pillow Thoughts any time soon.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 1

Plotastic Scale: 1

Cover Thoughts: I adore this cover. It is beautiful and absolutely breathtaking.

Thank you, Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

"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.

<i>arc provided by the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

This was a pretty average poetry collection for me. I liked some poems, connected with a couple but overall they weren’t my favourite and it felt very repetitive.

I liked the messages this sends out but sadly the poetry itself just wasn’t my cup of tea.

2/5 ⭐️

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!

Otter illustrations: 5 stars.
Poems: 2 stars.

I've read quite a few of Courtney Peppernell's collections of modern poetry now and I either love them or they completely miss the mark for me. I definitely think that the collections are designed to be read at the right time. which potentially is part of the problem for me, because this book is entirely about healing after break-ups and finding some encouragement following that. If I needed that, I think I'd probably be really happy I'd read this collection. As it stands, it felt a bit flat for me.

I like to read poetry, regardless of what's going on in my life, to find some meaning in it. There certainly are poems within this collection which had interesting ideas - most of which are incredibly relatable actually - but none of them stirred anything in me regardless. I think that they're too plain, almost simple really, to have much of an impact on me. It really feels less like poetry and more like a casual scroll on Instagram for some inspirational posts to favourite.

I loved the illustrations; otters are a massive winner. But the poetry really wasn't for me - I do really think they would be what the right reader at the right time would hugely appreciate though.

I was hoping that this collection will be better than it actually was, but in the end, I'm slightly dissapointed. I've enjoyed Courtney's Pillow Thoughts series, so I really wanted to like this too, and yet I didn't. Even though I liked the overall message about hope and healing, none of the writing pieces resonated with me and I'm entirely indifferent about everything I've read. I think I will still be checking out Courtney's new releases, but ultimately this was a waste of time.

Thanks to the Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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!

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.