I'd like to start off saying if I could give this book 10 stars I would. Aphrodite Made Me Do It is an incredible collection of empowering feminist poems told through the eyes of the poet and goddess Aphrodite. Poems range from personal matters of Mateer to loud and bold exclamations via Aphrodite for her women comrades. Each poem that I read gave me a sense of comradery and empowerment, coupled with the beautiful artwork, this book created a visceral reaction in my heart that I can only hope for in any poetry collection. I'd recommend this to anyone age 13 and up since it deals with some triggering topics, but it can be compared to the likes of Amanda Lovelace and Rupi Kaur in that she writes for readers in all stages of life! This is definitely a must for any library poetry collection and I personally will be picking up a copy for myself when it's published!

This was so much more than I ever expected. It was so beautifully written and raw and her own personal story but also I related to so much of it even though we aren’t the same person. It was fantastic in every way.

To sing of love
is almost always
to sing of war.

This is easily one of the best poetry collections — maybe the best — I have ever read.

I am older than the poets
and I am older than the pens.
I am older than the stars
and the ocean I crawled out of.

It’s a story of assault, and survival, and having our stories rewritten without our consent. It’s worship and blasphemy, anger and heartache, capped off with tenderness and self-love and learning to cherish yourself no matter how many people in your life have failed to do so.

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

Among all these other things, it’s an incredible view on many infamous women of mythology, and it gives a voice to the sides of their stories that we all too often overlook. It plays a strong parallel to the sides of stories from everyday women today society would have us overlook, too, and it’s powerful. Don’t miss out on this one.

They made a monster
of Medusa as well.
Hated how loud
her trauma was.
Couldn’t believe
she had the audacity
to not take it lying down.
They made a war-ground
of her body
so she made one
of theirs.

TWs: assault, homophobia, transphobia

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I think everyone needs a book of poetry like this. Especially teenage girls that can relate to this poetry and feel empowered by it and a little less lonely. The authors words really hit me and spoke to me in a language that I understood and wasn’t like complicated poetry. A quick read that I really enjoyed. I also LOVED the Aphrodite tie ins!!!

LOVED THIS! So moving, with gorgeous artwork interspersed throughout. The mythological references added another layer to the already nuanced poetry.

A stunning, empowering collection of poems, with occasional drawings and photographs mixed with words.

"The thing about embracing your own chaos is that it never becomes clear when you need to stop"

With this collection, we dive into the memories, thoughts and hopes of the goddess Aphrodite and the author herself, Trista Mateer. It's striking and moving and made me feel their anger, their sorrow and their love. I felt so inspired and after reading a few bits, I had to lay down in admiration.

"They fought over Helen like children but Achilles mourned Patroclus the way a soul mourns a body"

Trista Mateer writes about what it's like to be a woman, her own traumas and healing from them. Some poems really resonated with me, it felt like my own complex thoughts finally put into words. Other parts I didn't feel directly connected too, although they still touched me and I was still able to understand.

"I will grow until I am bigger than what holds me down"

As someone who isn't really into poetry, this book still amazed me and impacted me. It was accessible without being too simple. I'd never read feminist poetry before but I'm definitely going to read more in the future!

"I live with one version of history and everyone else lives with another"

I also admire the way this book was constructed. It's filled with short poems, long poems, one sentence poems, drawings, lists and pictures written on. It never felt repetitive.

This review will be posted to Goodreads and retail sites on the first of October, since Central Avenue Publishings approval preferences tell me to publish my review as close to the publication date as I can.

Part poetry journal, part survival manifesto, and part zine, This book was not at all what I expected and beautifully personal. Discussions of rape and trauma won't exclude this from the teen area, but that and some illustrations make it a book you will want to be mindful in recommending. The alternating voices of Aphrodite ("I live with one version of history/and everyone else lives with another") and the narrator ("I"m trying to remember to make room in my life for the person I am now, not just the people I have been") echo one another through the pages, and create a book of insight, healing, and yes, even love.

3.5 stars
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really liked the concept of this book, with the mythology aspect, interwoven poems, and beautiful pictures with text. I found some lines to be particularly poignant, and I was highlighting my kindle copy throughout. I'm not very familiar with mythology, so I think I probably missed some of the connections and poetic comments. Some of my favorite quotes included, "They saw parts of me they didn't understand and they broke them off." "I wrote my own story and still said all the wrong things." "The someway she rose from the sea, you rise like a phoenix from the ashes of things that no longer serve you." I thought this book had a lot of comments on feminism and what it's like being a woman, and a lot of the quotes really resonated with me.

I was pleasantly surprised by Mateer’s collection. This is not my usual genre but I am trying to explore it more and this is a great addition to my reading this year, feminism and mythology woven together with some raw moments and brutal honesty.

The collection reads very much like a diary rather than a book which I suppose comes from Mateer’s blogging background and fits with that style very well. It will do well with readers who enjoy Rupi Kaur as it blends art and free flowing poetry together in a similar way.

Note: the cover of this is so beautiful, I will definitely have to pick up a final copy when released because I need that on my shelves!

I was so excited to be approved on NetGalley for Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer! While this is my first time reading any of her poetry, I was very excited because I had been meaning to read her work after meeting her at a signing during BookExpo 2018. So, when I saw Aphrodite Made Me Do It (and I mean, look at that beautiful cover!) I knew I had to read it no matter what.
Now, I really love the format of this poetry collection. It switched between the point of view of the poet and the goddess Aphrodite. Mateer’s poetry is free form and beautiful. Lyrically, her prose is structured in a way that gets me, as a reader, in the heart. With sentences like, “I am older than the poets, I am older than the pens” and “They vilified want but all of us are full of it. Even me. Even still,” the poetry is accessible for someone not well versed in the genre and just plain beautiful to read. Which is a great combination because it hits you in the heart and you understand why.
The structure of switching points of view is really effective since Mateer can talk about more personal things in the poet sections while zooming out and using Aphrodite as a global metaphor. Specifically, choosing to write in the voice of Aphrodite was just so compelling to me, because love is at the center of this collection. Love of others, love of self, the bad parts of love, love twisted and turned, letting go of love, and the opposite of love. Specifically, the themes of this collection range from the aforementioned, love, LGBTQ+ love and prejudice, rape and assault, relationships and letting go of past relationships, trauma, and finally joy. The recognition Mateer has in that moment of writing about joy at the end, and the commentary about if art is healing if you are only talking about trauma was very refreshing because it is a question I and others encounter in our own writing.
One of my favorite moments is near the end in this conversation of joy:
“And Aphrodite watched me scrub my bathtub….she says, ‘If you were only meant to be beautiful, we wouldn’t have put you down here in the dirt.’”
This moment is of Aphrodite and the poet melding and interacting. There is this metaphorical interaction with love that is uplifting and feels very earned at this point in the collection and to start this new turning point.
Finally, throughout Aphrodite Made Me Do It were photos by Mateer that emphasized what she was trying to say. They added to the collection in my point of view in giving it that personal and journal-like touch. Instead of making the reader feel voyeuristic, these drawings and photographs really felt a part of the prose and elevated it in some instances.
Overall, I really enjoyed Trista Mateer’s Aphrodite Made Me Do It and would recommend it to any friend.
4.5/5 Stars

“Men wrote the myths down and called them history, and time has dragged them further from the truth.“

There are so many different times during my 24 years of life, where I wish this collection of poems had been there with me. As young women, we are programmed to perceive mythological women as villains and temptresses, our educators use Eve’s sin and Aphrodite’s sexuality as weapons to make us docile and passive and apologetic as if it’s our burden to carry. These poems give a voice to the alleged past and the chaotic present, reminding us that though worlds apart, very little has changed in the way that women are trampled all over in the history books.

Fans of Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad will love this retelling, it’s brave and honest and brutal and graceful and all of the things that young women need to hear in this unstable world where it can sometimes feel like we’re moving backwards. I would never call myself a poetry fan despite having a Literature degree, but I really wish my educators had given me poems like these instead of ones written by stuffy old white men, because the world needs more voices like Trista Mateer.

"Every scar is evidence of growth"

I have read this twice already and I am pretty sure those won't be the last. Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a collection of verse and poems regarding tough topics such as body image, sexual assault, rape, eating disorders, physical abuse, gore, blood, death and fire. I really liked how the author put in what the specific trigger warnings are in the beginning of the book to prepare the reader for what they are getting into. I loved the various quotes and I connected to a lot of the poems. This was a quick read I read it in less than 30 minutes. Like I said I feel like I will be needing to reread this when I need some advice, or a pick me up with the various quotes. The author shows you through the poems and Aphrodite that you can be your own healing.

I was really surprised by this book. It's a collection of poetry, prose and inspirational artwork. I was really drawn in to the first collection, written as if by Aphrodite herself. The following collections were more personal and hit so many chords for me - they are about being a woman, about worries, about abuse, about relationships with other people, about relationships with yourself and about sexuality. A lot in there was so truthful and raw. Things that need to be said. I actually feel lighter for reading them, as if they have enabled me to let go parts of myself that weighed me down. I would usually turn away from books like this, but I'm glad that I managed to get a copy and read it.

Bestselling and award-winning author Trista Mateer takes an imaginative approach to self-care in this new poetry and prose collection, Aphrodite Made Me Do It.

A fantastic collection on poetry, Mateer in her poetry shares such personal but relateable things within her work that sets her apart from her peers. Short and sweet and then raw and punchy, her poetry stays with you long after you have read it.

The pieces that share the thoughts of Aphrodite in this book in particular continue to make you think long after you have finished reading and make for such critiques of modern life, even if they are set many many many years ago, the goddess giving us a slice of truth in these poems.

A really awesome collection of work, I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Amanda Lovelace.

(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).

I am honestly speachless, this book is beautiful and written in a way that drags you in and stays with you for days

I love the mix of actually mythology and what became the mythology we all grew up with

I am going to be first in line to buy this book when it comes out as I need to for my own collection.

Plus I can't wait to recommended this book to the young ladies of the future

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.