Since I've been evaluating Courtney Peppernell's novels for some time, I believe she is a competent author.

The Way Back Home is a collection of poems on courage, love, and purpose. Some poems are formulaic and convey the same message in several ways. That was my biggest concern. Although I generally liked the book, I didn't fall in love with it. In contrast to past books by this author, when I would be marking every page, this one didn't have many poems that I thought were particularly interesting. Positively, she never fails to have exquisitely illustrated covers.

I just couldn't get into this. It's not bad or anything. Not at all! I think I'm just not in the right mindset to read it as I'm a mood reader.

3.5*
I think I've read pretty much every poetry collection by Courtney Peppernell at this point. And this one was a bit of a miss. It was beautifully written but didn't quite evoke emotions out of me. The best part for me was called "Find love", that was gorgeous. But for the rest of the poems, they didn't hit me emotionally unfortunately.
P.s the artwork was great, as usual.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although some of her other books resonate deeper within me, this one was equally beautifully written. I might've not fallen in love with this book, but I was able to appreciate most of the poems. The illustrations are wonderful as always. I had high expectations for this book, but it did disappoint me a little. I think no other book will grab my attention as much as Pillow Thoughts did.

4.5 stars
This is my first collection by Courtney Peppernell and overall I really enjoyed it and want to pick up her other works. The beginning was extremely relatable and I can't even tell you how many parts I highlighted. She takes us on a journey that flows together from beginning to end, I love the concept of "building a house". The art was adorable and a fun little element to Courtney's writing. Unfortunately towards the end I felt like I was just rushing things along to get it done with and wasn't retaining anything. It felt tiring at times to try and get through the poems, partially due to writing style and part because of the content/relatability. The ending produced a few emotions and goosebumps from me that helped to bring up my rating and bring everything to a lovely conclusion. *Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

This is the first Courtney Peppernell book I read, so I had no clue what to expect other than poetry centered around the theme of home. And I absolutely adored it in every way. The theming, the way the sections split, and the artwork was phenomenal.
There was certainly some repetitiveness but not enough to bother me. On the contrary, I think it drives the message home better and highlights the main themes of the collection.

It was very interesting heart wrenching sometimes and had me feeling so many emotions. I would defintely read more from this author! Thankyou for the arc I enjoyed it immensely

Having read some of Courtney Peppernell's collections before I knew going in that I would enjoy her style of writing. This collection is a mix of prose and verse, with much of the prose being little stories throughout the collection, some whimsical while others were honest and thoughtful looks at real life. This collection especially seemed to come from the heart, looking at internal feelings of a wide range of emotions as well as external situations. I found a lot of the pieces very poignant and loved when there was a little whimsy or fantasy woven into the poems and prose.

as always, courtney hit home beautifully with her newest poetry book, she somehow knows every single emotion i’m feeling and managed to put them into words whilst they’re still stuck all jumbled up in my head. I will always recommend Courtney to everyone and anyone, she is a beautiful poet with a beautiful soul.

DNF. I really enjoyed it as I read, but it felt very long and I was left struggling to continue through it. Currently do not want to finish, unfortunately. This collection just didn't keep my attention.

This was okay. I don't really think that Courtney can pull off story like poetry. I also think that if this book had been released in 2021 it would've connected better with people reading. No one really wants to read books that reference the pandemic. This book felt very self-helpish. Not really poetry.

This was an okay read, most of it was the same meaning, just said differently. It lacked a little more diversity and a little less repetition.

This poetry collection definitely wasn’t my favorite. Over the past year I’ve read a lot more poetry and have been discovering more of what I like and I find that Courtney Peppernell’s mixture of self-help with poetry is not what I’m looking for when reading a poetry book. I also have a hard time identifying with the romantic and relationship aspects of her poetry as someone is on the asexuality/aromantic spectrum. I also found a lot of the themes in this particular collection to be overdone or cliche.

What I look for when reading a poetry collection is parts I can identify with or themes I feel passionate about and this isn’t necessary for all poetry readers, but it is what it takes usually for me to enjoy a poetry book. There were aspects of those things I enjoy in this book, but definitely not enough for the rating to warrant more than 3 stars.

I think if you like a mixture of self-help with poetry or like reading about poetry about current or former relationships you might enjoy this, but if you are looking for something different I would skip out on this one.

Another beautiful collection of poetry and prose by the author, while not my most recommended collection it is well strung together with some really moving and connecting pieces that just sneak up and grab you. Gorgeous visual drawings to capture you at every stage that add to the perception of a personal journey of discovery that you undertake throughout the book. I definitely enjoyed the read and look forward to future new releases by the author.

This collection of poetry was so whimsical and easy to read. I loved the sporadic artwork throughout the book; it was a lovely accompaniment to an already great story. The writing is very lyrical and beautiful to read. I really want to read more of this author's published work and any work she writes in the future!

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for letting me read this ARC.

First of all, I am not unfamiliar with Peppernell’s poetry and short stories. Thanks to a former friend of mine, I learnt about her works and started to read Pillow Thoughts and others.
The Way Back Home is another one which kept me curious. After reading it as e-book, I can already say that I’d love to add it to my physical collection some day soon.

About this book:

“But where to start,” I replied, “when one feels so desperate and alone?”

What I can already say about this is that I love how the book connects with the story at the beginning in which one is finding a spirit and slowly starts to work on making their soul a home for themselves again by proceeding with the next pieces.
I also admire the connection of written art and drawn art. Illustrations just make this even more lively!

As I’m still reading but so far I can say that Peppernell’s poetry and short stories speak to me again in such a way that it makes you think that you’re having a heart-to-heart conversation with an old friend. I’m bookmarking my favourite pieces in the e-book and there’s quite a sum coming together.
Nonetheless, it’s beautiful.

Thanks again to the team over at Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing.

This was my first Courtney Peppernell book, and though I mostly enjoyed it, some of the longer form prose dragged for me. I enjoyed the themes of strength and musings on the world in general, but I don’t think Peppernell’s style suits me. I hesitate to make a judgement, since poetry is so subjective, however I do not think I’ll read others of her books.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing an e-arc.

So lovely, I absolutely love this collection. The covers is these are what drew me in, but the content is very much worth it.

The Way Back Home by Courtney Peppernell goes through the different stages of the isolation the world experienced due to the global pandemic in the form of the construction of a house. Each chapter manifests different emotions and pains that was experienced over the course of the pandemic.

I found this poetry book by Courtney to be heartwarming and thoughtful. I would flashback to the times during the lockdown when I would feel the same way as the poem would and it made me feel less alone in what I had felt back then.

This poetry book feels like hearth and home. This is what we all needed during the pandemic and what I wish I had back then.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A noble undertaking for a poetic work with a sweet guide, and a novel imagining of collecting and rediscovering the different facets of a soul (courage, hope, etc.) in the guise of building a house, I was hopeful going into this collection. Overall however, I found it to be rather simplistic, and repetitive. Though there were points that had some beautiful prose, I found myself waiting for a revelatory discovery for each section rather than conclusions such as simply “I found the courage”. I do think this author has a strong imagination and a distinctive voice, and perhaps this approach just wasn’t for me. Given the gentle, innocent approach the author takes to this journey home, it might even be better suited marketed to a younger audience.