The third book in the Pillow Thoughts series. Will it live up to the hype?
Dates Read: 09/03/2023 to 17/03/2023
Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Word to describe: Missing
Genre: Poetry
If you know me then you'll know the little pocket of space in my heart dedicated to the Pillow Thoughts series by Courtney Peppernell - after crying my way through books one and two I was eager to start the third instalment and get into my feels once more. However, I found that Mending The Mind fell short of my expectations. Normally, Courtney Peppernells writing is so emotionally charged and beautifully written that it is hard to describe exactly how brilliant her work is. Mending The Mind, however, felt like a repeat of her previous work, even poems within this book appeared to be re-written drafts of the exact same sentiment over and over again. I lost count of the number of poems that overused phrases like "you are strong" and "you complete me". This overuse of simplistic words written in a slightly different format each time very quickly became redundant and boring.
Don't get me wrong - there were undoubtedly some brilliant pieces of work within this book. Several of these were posted straight to my story on #bookstagram and onto my own personal Facebook page as insight into my own battles with depression and anxiety. But these handpicked verses were of a few amount. Out of the several poems within this collection, there was a small amount that caught my eye and left a lump in my throat (emotive is an understatement) but the remaining aforementioned were copycats of the previous books. It truly felt that Courtney Peppernell was banking on the hype of her previous books and trying to make the series last as long as possible (books four and five anyone?) to rake in the cash from her steady following.
It really is a pity when poets reduce their skills to the same four phrases and themes. Heartbreak, loneliness, self-image, and, of course, mental health, are Courtney Peppernells iconic themes in the majority of her writing. But how many times can a reader be told you are a Goddess I miss my ex in the same chapter without beginning to feel separated from the intent of these poems? The emotional charge that once made me adore the Pillow Thoughts series was performative in Mending The Mind and missed the mark in several pieces.
That being said, the ones that did catch my eye were superlatively beautiful. On one hand, I adored this book as much as usual, but on the other hand, it failed to grip my heartstrings as I had hoped. I can't expect all of her writing to be instagramable but a reader can wish! Final thoughts? Invest in this book if you're only just getting into poetry but then look further into other works by Courtney Peppernell because there are certainly better ones.
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