poems i sleep next to

by Shelby Eileen

A contemporary poetry collection.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Nonfiction, Adult, Lesbian, Queer Lit, Contemporary

155 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2019

Reviews

[Fadwa]

In the first...40% i wasn't sure how I was feeling about this one, but once I got past that this poetry collection is...beautiful. So tender and heartbreaking. I feel like if I'd read it not long ago, just a little less than a year ago, it would've been telling my own story. It would have broken me and put me back together. It would have been both cathartic and unbearable to read. So part of me is glad I only read it after healing so i can reflect on those feelings but another part of me is sad Poems I Sleep Next to didn't exist when I needed it because the words in its folds are words that would have been excruciating hard to read but I could've used them. I would probably have cried. sobbed. a lot.

This is a collection for the heartbroken, those who have been left, or who have left with no choice of theirs. This for those who left love or had love leave them. This is who had to rebuild themselves after being broken.

[Romie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i have so much love for this poetry collection, it just hit me differently. this was so raw. i did cry several times, i felt like i was being punched in my heart. this was so damn beautiful. it's about trying to heal from something you never thought (and still think) you can heal from. i loved it. simply loved. (4.5)

[Anniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shelby's poems really speak to me, and this collection was no different. The second poem already hit me so hard.

And that was just the start. There were so many poems that made me cry, but also made me feel better about myself.

I read this collection because I was feeling really anxious and it eased my anxiety and was the best choice I made today.

This collection was a little less personal for me, as it deals heavily an ended relationship and heartbreak, which I've never experienced. So where Goddess of the Hunt was very personal to me and that's a big reason for why I love it, I did connect with this a little less. But I did still absolutely love it.

[Francy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Gretchen Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

i literally cried so much while reading this poetry collection. this was exactly what i needed at this moment in time. what a beautiful vulnerable poetry collection. i have no many new favorite poems now.

[Adri · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...it was an undoing I'm still figuring out / how to undo / I might still be broken years from now / I guess, the point is / this slow loving myself back to life / is good enough / because I didn't ask you if I should do this / I just did"

In this collection, Shelby Eileen showcases a speaker healing themself from heartbreak and learning how to find strength in their softness and in their pain. It's about getting lost in desire in what ultimately sours into a toxic, dependent relationship, and this collection chronicles the speaker writing their way out of that.

Eileen is brilliant with taking a straightforward sentiment or image and infusing it with weight and power. On the surface, some of these pieces may seem simplistic, but it takes a lot to value yourself and your feelings enough to commit them to to page and speak them into reality, which is what I feel this collection is all about.

Ultimately I think these poems are honest, cathartic, and real. And reading this collection made me absolutely sure that I would love to read even more of Eileen's work.

(NOTE: I received an e-ARC of this collection from the poet herself. All opinions are my own.)

[Jemima Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 stars.

e-ARC received via the author in exchange for an honest review.

Please do not panic at the rating. I find poetry books extremely challenging to rate so I do so critically.

Shelby Eileen's poems are raw and real and I am sure that they come from a place near to her heart. At the beginning, I fell in love with her words every couple of pages. They resonated with me and I thought that I saw where the story was heading. Unfortunately, after page 38, this seemed to stop. In my opinion, the ordering of the poems could've been a little different. One of the things I appreciated the most about her work was the uniqueness of the poems that were structured like a series; almost like companions to one another. If the other poems had been ordered well too I think it would have read a bit better. Ultimately, I found that I could not relate to a lot of the later poems in Eileen's book. Some of the themes were far apart from where I stand but having said that I think others might feel differently.

I did appreciate her commentary on 'insta-poets' and the importance of soft being seen as strong but other poems were lost on me. I can see Eileen's writing improving with time and practice. She is so young; I believe there will be a bright future ahead of her.

My rating for 'poems i sleep next to' isn't bad by any means; at the same time it's not my favourite poetry collection that I have ever read.

My favourite poems were found on pages: 14, 16, 18, 19, 23, 28, 30, 38, 63 and 99.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance copy from the author for review purposes. This in no way influences my review; all words, thoughts, and opinions are my own.

Shelby’s poems speak to my very soul.

I love this collection so much. There are several poems around, presumably, one person the author loves/loved and the complicated feelings of her being unhealthy but also being willing to take her back, “thorns and all.”

I’m just in awe of this collection and hope everyone who enjoys poetry will pick this up at release because it is beautiful and heart wrenching in equal measure.

Reread Mar 23, 2020: I really love this collection and just see so much of my own feelings and experiences with one of my exes, which of why this resonates so deeply.

[laura (bbliophile)]

I'm usually not one to read a lot of poetry collections, but there's just something about Shelby's words that leave me wanting more and more every time I read them. I'm not sure how to review poetry, but poems I sleep next to felt lying in bed on a sunday morning in spring with sunlight softly landing on your face. like sitting outside in the grass and having a good conversation with a friend.
this poetry collection moved me and I love and value Shelby's words a lot.

[Nicole Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what it is about Shelby's writing, but I find it so cosy or at least reassuring. Given the title of this one, I was thinking it would be a lot more on the side of cosy. But it was still very reassuring, and it still definitely fits the title theme, just in a different way.

You know those thoughts that hit you just before you go to sleep? Not necessarily the helpful ones, especially after a break up. These are the poems that this collection is filled with.

It's bittersweet, heartbreaking and hopeful in all the best ways. Sapphic pieces are often so filled with happily ever after, and this was instead real in a way that I've experienced but not read a lot of. Not being enough for the other person, even though she's also female, was somehow really validating.

I reckon I came out of this collection feeling both better about myself and also less alone.

[Julia Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosh, I really enjoyed this collection! I thought the writing was absolutely lovely, and I loved the range of topics that this author explored in her collection. I also literally LOVED all the different formats that were used in this collection, I thought it was so cool and unique. Especially all the different little motifs that were utilized-it was amazing. I wasn't able to connect with everything in this collection, but that's just me-I know that SO many people will be able to. This is definitely a very talented author, and I would for sure encourage people to pick up her books!

[Kimberly (kimberly_reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a raw collection of poetry and I truly commend Shelby for sharing her soul in such a way. I could picture her experiences play out (even though I personally haven’t experienced heartbreak which is a main subject expressed throughout this book!) as I was reading these poems and I found that to be really beautiful. Thank you to the author for allowing me to read an arc of this lovely book, and I can’t wait to see what works you’ll share in the future.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Shelby has done it again. this is a wonderfully raw collection of poetry about grieving the loss of a relationship and finding yourself through it. I read Soft in the Middle last year and it was my favorite poetry of 2019. you may remember be raving about the fat girl covered in flowers on the cover.
This collection is different. It is rougher and more flawed, but I loved them all. her poetry is super queer with tons of fat girl rep and I am here for it.

[Shan( Shans_Shelves) 💜 · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this collection but I never should have doubted Shelby Eileen because in the end- I loved it.

Not to sound pretentious, but I really connected to some of these poems. Shelley’s pottery always leaves me speechless and this was no different.

Highly recommend.

[juju ☀️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

too much of this hit too close to home and now i'm in pain bc of things that i thought i was over by now lol

[mar✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to know what it feels like to live harmoniously peace and pleasure present and parallel

[Lina Portillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Shelby has composed yet another stunning collection of poetry that has absolutely left a mark on my soul! There are several pieces in this collection that are just so poignantly beautiful and speak to the realities of what it means to move on from a love that didn't last as long as you'd hoped. I love that Shelby was able to capture the cyclical nature of moving on and the raw honesty in these pieces was incredibly moving and inspiring. I'm so excited to have yet another of Shelby's beautiful collections on my shelves and I definitely recommend you check this collection out for yourself! It's truly a wonderful read!

[A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it’s December and here I am once again about to start my official poetry collection binge read of the year. Now when I first started poems I sleep next to, I thought that even though I end up reading a lot of poetry at the end of the year as a way to meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge instead of just changing it like it’s one hundred percent okay to do, I was really loving Shelby Eileen’s poems and remembering that I truly love reading books of poetry and should do it more consistently throughout the year. Granted that will probably never happen because the need to consume pretty much nothing but romance novels has been in my veins since I was twelve going on thirteen and I don’t see the changing any time soon, but you should know that I at least think about not saving up all my poetry for the end of the year.

Anyway, actually moving onto poems I sleep next to now — I loved it from the jump! The first poems were awesome and then the more I read, I won’t lie, they reminded me a little of Taylor Swift with the diction and the vibes. So if you’re a folklore/evermore/All Too Well 10 Minute Version fan, I highly recommend this collection because I think you’ll really enjoy it. However, if you’re not into Taylor or if you hate her, please ignore everything I just said and still give this book a chance. I think if you’ve ever had a really hard breakup with someone very significant, like you thought they were the one or if you’ve ever separated from someone who you felt like you gave them your all and put so much of your time, energy, and just yourself into the relationship — whatever kind it might’ve been and all you got back was nothing and you felt like you nothing to them and that you never mattered at all, I think you’ll really be able to relate to and understand these poems and quite possibly not feel so alone if you’ve felt that way.

poems I sleep next to was an excellent read, I was moved and hit by some of the poems and I would definitely like to read more from Shelby Eileen again!

~ Sonja, 5 Stars

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been dipping my toes into poetry for the past few years and so far, it's been an interesting journey. I haven't yet found anything that has really spoken to me or changed my world, but I'm hoping to find that eventually. Unfortunately, this book wasn't it either. The poems were interesting and I did find some lines that I connected with. But this book is definitely for someone in a breakup mindset. And as someone is a happy, committed, long-term relationship, I had trouble connecting with it- and I don't really want to put myself back in a breakup headspace after so long.

All that being said, I will continue to read this author. Shelby Eileen was kind enough to post several of her books for free on Amazon during the start of the COVID-19 isolation and I greedily downloaded all of them. I'm excited to use these books to continue my foray into poetry, and it will be very interesting to see how one poet handles a variety of topics across different works.

[Martina Weiß · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 / 5

I wasn't sure about this collection at first. It took me a while to get into it. Be it because of the poems themselves or because of the style or because of me. I don't know. I just know that when I finally clicked with the poems, it was worth the wait and time.
The farther we got into the collection, the better the poems seemed to get and when we reached the last page I was kinda a little sad it was over.
These are again very raw and emotional poems about more than just heartbreak.

There was one poem that made me a little uncomfortable, but I can't tell if that's just a me thing or not. It was a very personal one for sure but ... yeah, it was the one thing that made me go: Please let there not be more of that.
Thankfully there wasn't.

Besides that, I felt like the poems were all very well written and hit deep so again a collection that I can see myself reccomanding.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Insta-regret

How do you get gear for a poetry collection. Recently I have been picking up some, definitely the queers side, but this is just installed poetry. Lines, fragments, words looped together for what looks like poetry. And it shows. Some pages could have been combined like the pt. Pages of list of thing to do as the author's broken heart reaches out to no former lover. It could have been grouped together added content to make it more than just a list. Cause it was just list no substance. Other issues I had was just the fact that the poems really didn't have so much. Sure it would be a nice post on in stag ram but I gained no sence of deapth, humor, or anything surface level with getting over a same sex relationship.

While yes, I will admit, I can find it easy to read getting into it dragged out.

[lauraღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

perhaps nobody is born broken / but once you acquire a piece that makes you feel that much more whole / maybe you think / there must be more pieces of me out there / and don’t I deserve to have them?

I must confess to not being exactly wowed, but I was very moved by several of the pieces in this book. I like Eileen's simple, straightforward writing style that doesn't prevent real beauty and profundity from sparking in a few lines. There were some great poems on writing, on love, on heartbreak and recovery, and I feel like the collection took you through a whole little journey. Made me remember why I like reading poetry, and how much can be gotten out of it.

3.5 stars.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been really liking Shelby Eileen's poetry collection.
I always thought poetry was art that wasn't meant for me. That I wasn't it's target audience. But now I feel like it's something you need to grow into. Get in that flow.
There were moments in this collection that really made me feel things.
Eileen is very good at describing something with such emotion that it suddenly feels personal to you.
Relationship related poems isn't necessarily something I relate to, but all of a sudden I did. I did feel like my heart was broken into a million pieces.
That's what I like about their poetry!
I'm looking forward to reading her other work!

[Mona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this this poetry collection was good and well written just like any book by Shelby Eileen. Their writing is stunning and I'm always so emotionally invested in their poems.
But I have to admit that I wasn't the audience for poems I sleep next to. I'm getting tired of poems about break ups so unfortunately, I did not love this one as much as their other poetry collections. But just like I said before, it doesn't mean it wasn't good!! I really recommend it.

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
This collection takes a while to get going. It definitely could’ve used a harsher editorial hand when it comes to pairing down the poem selection. In particular, I think the poems with cliche affirmations to the reader added very little. I also thought the love poems got repetitive. There were some introspective gems and one-liners, but it was mostly a redundant collection with many Rupi Kaur knock offs interspersed among longer pieces that held most of the emotional meat of the book.

[Ana Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot say I liked or loved every poem in this book (I definitely enjoyed "Soft in the Middle" way more than this one) but a number of them hit my heart.
I like the Shelby's poems are raw and honest, they are the feelings and thoughts I was never able to express.

Reading these poems is a perfect way to help you understand some of your feelings and somehow connect with old (or new) scars.

[Holly Shacklett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Break-up poetry

I didn't know this was going to be all about a break up. At least that is how the entire book translated for me. I feel like this author has potential. I hope she keeps writing but I hope she writes about other things. I almost didn't finish this one though.

I appreciate transparency, connecting to emotions, and vulnerability. This content was just simply not up my alley.

[Iz · Rating 4 out of 5]

omg my heart 🥺🥺🥺
Thanks to Shelby for providing me an ARC💓


“today, I love you
and it is probably a moment
that I should not write down
and it should be easy to ignore
[or pretend to ignore]
but I don’t
because today, I love you
and though it is definitely something
I should not be doing today
I probably will tomorrow, too"

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a highly emotional poetry collection, each poem seem to bleed into one another, like watercolour. The title of the collection really fit the content as it felt like one big dream, the rising emotions and memories that one has when dreaming or even thinking while in bed. Sadly, I just didn’t connect with the poetry as much as I’d hoped.

[Kerstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main reason I read this is because it's free on Kindle Unlimited and I'm milking my free trial. Also, my attention span is pretty bad sometimes, so I look for a quick read.
Thematically, this covers pretty much the same ground as "soft in the middle", minus the body positivity stuff. So most of it was about a failed relationship and that's still entirely unrelatable to me, so 🤷‍♀️