Wow, this was a really moving poetry collection. I'm not generally a big fan of poetry, but I've been making an effort to read more of it, and this one was extremely beautiful. I love the attention to detail with Aphrodite and her myths and how the poet translated that into modern-day life as a woman. I absolutely loved the artwork scattered throughout. That raised it from 4 to 5 stars for me. The art is beautiful and made me stop and gaze at it on a regular basis. The poems remind me of Amanda Lovelace, but I have to say I prefer Trista Mateer's. A really exceptional collection that I would strongly recommend. The visual art is a strong component.

I received a copy from NetGalley.

This book was nothing like I expected, with that said it was absolutely beautiful. I fell in love with this book very quickly and very thoroughly. I couldn't put it down, I read it in one sitting. This book touches on a lot of serious topics, all of which I have experienced or thought at least once in my life. This made the book hit home on numerous occasions. I felt so many emotions with this novel, that I think it is my top 2019 read as of now. I will definitely be purchasing this book for myself as well as friends. I will also be getting copies for each of my daughters to read. This is a book I think all girls should read to realize their self worth, as well as what and when to let certain things, as well as people, go. This book touches on so many emotions that it makes it hard to describe.

Biggest thanks to NetGalley for this early copy. It October 1st.

This is also a case of right book at the right time. But let's just say she did it again. Trista Mateer stole my heart.

Very different to her other books, here we have less of her usual style of poetry and more of an inspirational text that goes right through your bones. Mateer offers a message of power, community, love and joy.

Visual arts took a very important space, to my delight. Each piece was though off in a perfect mixture of beauty and meaning.

While I did not connect to all the subjects that were addressed in this collection, they still all conveyed strength.

Finally, I'm certain this will be a splendid book "object". Can't wait to see how it'll look then.

This was an amazing and unique poetry novel.

I adored the storytelling style of the poetry, and the images were fun little additions.

This book covers a lot of subjects, especially about self-identification and wanting to be welcomed into the world without questions. It’s about finding yourself and who you are, and embracing if you are different. It’s about love, and hate, and acceptance. It’s a beautiful poetry novel and anyone could relate to this in some way.

As I try and get more into poetry I find myself enjoying and understanding each collection I read more and more. I thought Aphrodite Made Me Do It was very honest and open.
I really loved the illustrations throughout.
I loved the incorporation of mythology and more specifically woman from mythology and how they were integrated to touch on certain points.

This is a beautiful construction of imagery that connotes power and inspiration. This collection is a must read for all budding English students.

This collection was sheer pleasure to read. I really enjoyed the artwork and illustration scattered throughout. These added depth to the pieces. I loved the title of the collection and it really fits the content. I liked the way the author combined personal journeys with mythology. I felt I could really relate to a lot of the poems. The poems combine Greek mythology, biblical references and personal insight. It’s a strange combination that works on every level. I read it in a couple of sittings because I enjoyed it so much and didn’t want to put the collection aside.

A very powerful collection of poetry that uses interesting metaphors, beautifully direct language, and is brutally honest. The only reason this is not getting a fifth star from me is that I didn't love a lot of the illustrations /photos in that they felt like banal Instagram statements, especially in comparison to the poetry.

"I'm trying to remember to make room in my life for the person I am now, not just the people I have been."

Rating: 3.5 stars

I love poetry, particularly feminist poetry, and I love mythology so I was immediately drawn to this text. And I enjoyed it, with the balance of perspectives between Aphrodite and the author, and I highlighted a few passages that particularly struck me as beautiful or relatable. However I did struggle a little with the text, though that may be the ARC copy formatting weirdly on my phone and I'm definitely keen to take a look at a finished paperback copy (I love all my poetry collections in paperback) to see how the pages are supposed to look. I've read a lot of feminist poetry, and I enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed all the rest of them, however I couldn't help but feel that there were only a few stand out sections. Some of the content felt very tonally and textually similar to other collections I've read. Not to say that we don't need lots of feminist poetry out there, because I think the more the better, particularly if it gets more people reading poetry again, but I do feel that there was just something missing here.

"I will grab myself by the throat but I will never let a man do it again."

I absolutely will be reading it again when it comes out in paperback, though, because as I said I want to see if being able to sit and dog-ear the pages gives me a different reading experience.

"She says, if you were only meant to be beautiful, we wouldn't have put you down here in the dirt."

A truly beautiful winding of mythology and personal journeys make this poetry collection very dear to me. It is a wonderful thing to be able to see yourself in a poem, to connect and feel valid, which is so important in this day and age. Bravo, Trista Mateer.

This book is a trip. It intermingles Greek mythology, biblical references, and the author’s specific neuroses into one strange place.

This is what it’s also like:
-A middle school diary
-College art sketchbook
-Art gallery exhibit
-Compelling Instagram story

That’s all I’ve got for skimming it in thirty minutes.

Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.

*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *

Aphrodite Made Me Do It is such an amazing collection of poetry. Actually, I'd say this is probably my favourite collection of poetry, just behind Sappho's Fragments. I read it in one sitting and then I went back and read it all over again.

What I especially love is that the collection is framed around Aphrodite and the author having a conversation with her, listening about her life. I've always loved Ancient Greek myths, particularly the ones that involve women: my favourite is the story of Medusa, which we briefly read about here. Most recently, I've been enjoying relearning these myths from a modern and feminist perspective, which Mateer definitely does -- along with poems about her own personal life mixed in with Aphrodite's.

The poems are about trauma and assault, but also about empowerment, self discovery and inner strength. This was my first experience with Mateer's poetry, and it definitely won't be my last.

Even though I received a free copy of this collection, I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy so I can annotate it.

If you've ever been interested in poetry, but didn't know where to start, I recommend this collection as a beginner.

Trista Mateer gives us a bold assembly of poetry, prose, and images. It’s a creative approach that pleases.

I also appreciate the conceit of mythology as a way of thinking about daily experience.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital review copy.

I really enjoyed this! This book is full of emotional and uplifting poetry as well stunning pieces of art. I’ve been seeing a lot more poetry like this and though many of them have similar underlying messages, each provide the author’s unique experience and that is what makes me want to read more. This books was also so cool because the poems connected to both the author’s story but also had a second storyline dealing with Aphrodite (which I found so creative and beautiful!)


This is such a quick read so I definitely recommend anyone (& everyone) to pick this one up and be prepared for some feels!

Thank you to Trista Mateer, Central Avenue Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me the extreme pleasure of access to an advanced reader copy of “Aphrodite Made Me Do It" for an honest review.

I jumped at this arc when it was both poetry and Aphrodite related, and then had the great pleasure of discovering it was Trista Mateer's poetry. This was a rich, biting book full of the reclamation of past and future women. I was really pleased to see some of Aphrodite's beginnings addressed, and with such anger toward the future, toward the controlling, cleaning up, and rewriting of women. I was absolutely not expecting the references/appearances of Eve and Pandora and Helen, each of which made the message and the links in the chain of this being done over and over to women through the writing even clearer.

The combination of healing and reclaiming of self, through the past, through love, through healing, was gorgeous. The confessional poetry style, overshot at times with lists and poetic prose kept me involved and invested in all the topics as they continued to be built on across the small text.

I cannot wait to buy a copy of this for myself and a friend of mine who loves all things poetry & Aphrodite.

This is the poetry I've been looking for.

Personal and powerful without spending too long on one thought or feeling; easily accessible and packed with words that leave an impression. If this weren't an ARC, I'd be quoting so many lines. I loved the inclusion of Aphrodite and her own perspective on her legacy and power.

I recommend this to teens and adults; it would fit in perfectly (and stand out, in my opinion) in any poetry collection. Plus, that cover!

I was feeling down and this collection of poetry helped me feeling better,
It's so beautiful, I will buy a final copy in October for sure.

I love the mix of pictures and texts, it eased the reading. and the cover is really pretty,

I will read more work of Trista Mateer as soon as possible.

The cover of the book and art are pretty. I liked all the ideas and themes of the poems. I enjoyed the poems from the poet’s persona more so than Aphrodite’s persona. The collection is well organized.
Unfortunately, the vocabulary of the poems is often weak, lacking empathis and imagery. If you removed the line breaks, some of these poems would appear as regular sentences. Uneccessary filter words and telling also weaken the poems.
While I like all the art, I think some of that space could used for more poems. Several ideas could have been more fleshed out if they had more room to be explored.
I will be posting this review a week before the publication date on my blog and goodreads.

I am fairly new to the poetry anthology world but what I have read I have really been loving. I have said several of the poems in this collection because I really related to what was said. As far as the themes of women empowerment and self-love and self-care... these are topics that we can never get enough. I am here for each and every one of them because they are important reiterations. This collection did a few things really well. The two voices between Aphrodite and the author are distinct from one another. The artwork was relevant and beautiful. The author's addition of her own pain and experiences set's the subject matter a part from anything else I have read. This will definitely be on my list of recommendations for poetry collections.

Thank you Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for an e-arc of this poetry collection

"I belong to no one. They never wrote that part down."

This was an incredible collection of poetry that mixed really well with the little breaks of graphic art. The topics are deep, emotional and can definitely be a trigger given their harsh nature, but they're approached in such a beautiful and unforgiving way. The blend of Aphrodite representing womanhood and the author's own experiences make the collection quite unique. The last 20 or so pages are mostly lines you can also find when searching "empowering quotes" but it's a strong finish none the less and I enjoyed this read very much.

Thank you NetGalley, Central Avenue Publishing and Trista Mateer for the copy and the experience.