How many times have your heard the phrase “you have always been enough”?! Enough! I also had enough of the "books of poetry" which does not rhyme and which you could finish within 30 minutes (or less!). I guess the one and only target market of such books are teenage girls around the world. Topics covered: love of self, men, broken heart.

"Aphrodite Made Me Do It" is better than "Milk and Honey" - the author is not as self-centred as Rupi Kaur. And what a cool cover.

Many thanks to @NetGalley and the publishers for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a collection of prose-poetry, framed as a conversation between the author and Aphrodite, goddess of love, sex and beauty.

The author uses this dialogue to explore ideas of womanhood, and womanhood in relation to the ideas that the goddess represents: pleasure and pain, love and sex, beauty and the gentle, suffering female. Scattered between the explorations of weighty emotions are lighter notes, in the form of motivational quotes and illustrations, linked to the theme of that section.

This is not a representation of love as romance – all hearts and flowers and frilly words. This is love borne in blood and sacrifice, enduring and often painful. Here is also rage and sorrow; at the limitations and restrictions of a woman’s given role and taken rights; at the expectations heaped upon the female form and spirit; of the false representations used to define womanhood and thus control it.

Gradually, the poet (and the goddess) moves from righteous anger and grief to acceptance, forgiveness and a strength to move forward into a more hopeful future, both individually and as a species. The feeling and expression of strong emotions acts as the healthy catharsis that can allow poet/goddess/woman to open her heart to the peace, self-love and joy that she deserves.

Reading as a glimpse into the private thoughts within a self-care, healing journal, Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a survivors story that speaks to women everywhere, in fierce and loving tones.



She says there’s some dispute over the reason for our creation but that it definitely wasn’t to be gilded objects.
She says, if you were only meant to be beautiful, we wouldn’t have put you down here in the dirt.

– Trista Mateer, Aphrodite Made Me Do It


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

5/5 Stars

I received an e-arc from net galley for review and I did purchase a final copy of the book. I started reading the arc on my phone and really loved it. I ended up finishing by reading the physical copy but I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. What stands out in the collection is instead of illustrations that are in a lot of collections, is images with stuff imposed over them. As someone who is bi-sexual I did appreciate that she talked about how the people she knew would mock her about whether she has picked a side. Although later on the author refers to themselves as queer but I appreciate the nod. Themes of getting over a relationship, dealing with negative influences and the fear of what people will think of something that is not the norm. I really want to go back and read the author's other collections and looking forward to future ones as well.

An interesting concept for a book: not quite poetry, not quite prose, not quite instapoetry.
This book combines pictures with text and poetry/prose, alternating points in which the author talks to herself and in which Aphrodite talks to the author.
Another interesting point is the view on mythology and the narrative the author spins on it.
Overall a book I would recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for providing it .

This was beautifully written and inspiring. I learned a lot about Aphrodite which i’m glad was mentioned in this collection.

This is rather generic personal poetry interspersed with artwork by the author. The poems alternate between Aphrodite and the poet herself in terms of who the speaker is supposed to be. Lots of difficult subjects are touched on like sexual assault. There were a few poems that I was pleasantly surprised by, but most were the sort of Tumblr and Instragram Lite poetry that's big right now.

An example poem:

We thrive best
like gardens,
not singular plants
in lonely pots.

Some people will no doubt love this book, as it speaks about subjects and feelings that connect many of us. I would prefer if it spoke about them more poetically and with fresher use of language.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for purpose of review.

There was something really crafty and dreamy about this book and poems. Sometimes I felt I was a little too old for them, but enjoyed it no matter what.

This was nothing like what I expected. First of all, poetry. I forgot about it when I read the description and when I started it, I was really confused!
BUT. But, it was so good.
I connected with this so much more than I expected. It was really aesthetically pleasing and powerful.
I think this will be a perfect quick read for fans of The Handmaid's Tales, because it was really a big quote to put on a gravestone. Or to shout to the world, you pick!

I. ABSOLUTELY. Loved. This. Book.
I've been a fan of Trista Mateer for awhile and this book was definitely NOT a let down! Amazingly moving and incredible poems told about and through the eyes of the goddess Aphrodite. I honestly loved this book so much and had a bit of a book hangover after reading it! A book I will absolutely be visiting again in the near future!

ARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.

I really wanted to like this. I thought that the premise of a poetry collection told from Aphrodite's perspective was going to be amazing. Unfortunately I did not connect with a single one of the poems in this. It feel both very over the top and not flushed out enough. I really enjoyed the pictures however. The illustrations were fantastic! I loved the art style and I found those more impactful than the words on the page.

I love the concept of Aphrodite just appearing to the author in a dream, at once an enemy and a friend. It was a great idea with some really powerful images and moments, but it lacked depth overall.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Thanks to Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not really a poetry girl but I automatically request anything Classics related, no matter how tenuous the link.

The book was a mix of reflections, self-help ponderings and affirmations about topics as varied as desire, lost love, abuse, LGBT issues and sexual assault that all came together into something rather beautiful and powerful.

The Aphrodite parts were the standout for me but overall I just really enjoyed this although I'm a total newbie when it comes to poetry.

It’s a first-time reviewing poetry on this platform for me. However, I am more than happy than it is with Trista Mateer’s poetry. Her book, Aphrodite made me do it, intertwines the story of the goddess of love with the one of every and each woman. Through it, you discover how to survives the world and how to heal from wounds older than you, such as injustice made to women and discrimination, abuse, fear of rejection or heartbreak.Essentially, what is surprising and what really resonates with me in the writing is this ambition to write the common and the daily life as sacred spaces and moments, as many possibilities to found yourself and to heal. The real world, just as the world of myths and goddesses, becomes important and magical, sublimed by the person who live in it.
By unraveling the story of Aphrodite, Trista Mateer wants to show how empowering taking back your own narrative can be. She interrogates, meddling with past and present, ancient and resolutely modern, how history is rewritten by the “victorious” and the ones who benefit from the power dynamic.

I’ve read most of the books written by Trista Matter and “Aphrodite made me do it” is my favourite of all.

It’s a beautiful collection of poetry and prose and reading it feels like checking the author’s art journal, because it has illustrations and photos with messages... and it’s so gorgeous!

And I love how it deals with topics such as feminism, body image, sexual assault, abuse, queerphobia, trauma, healing and self care.

WONDERFUL. I'm not sure this collection of poetry will be for everyone but for me it was great. I think sometimes poetry falls into our hands at the exact moment we need it. I LOVED this whole collection and the images just enhanced the experience. Aphrodite Made Me Do It deals with a lot of tough topics in a beautiful way.

A wonderfully magical collection of poetry and prose!
Mateer manages to not only re-write Aphrodite in the modern lens but gives her a voice so powerful and succinct I found myself highlighting phrases of the book every two seconds.

I received an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5 stars

This collection was thought provoking and parts of it were very well crafted. I highlighted certain lines as they spoke to me, but I think that my overall issue with the collection was that I liked parts of it and not all of it. As a whole, I didn’t feel like it flowed well and consistently.

That doesn’t say that it wasn’t well written. Parts were eloquent and edgy, and I really did enjoy reading that. I liked the blend of artistic pictures combined with the poetry and writing, and it made for an engaging read.

This is a review written for a book outside my comfort zone. I don’t read a lot of poetry. I don’t go crazy for Milk and Honey or much modern verse, and I don’t really write it. So this is the review of someone who went outside of their comfort zone to read a book written by and for women.

I give it a 2.5 out 5 because it was between a “meh” read and an “I liked it” rating. It may just be personal belief and personal opinion that this book wasn’t a stunner for me. I did enjoy the idea of it and certain lines, and feel like this is a book one would have to read themselves to form a full opinion of.

This read was beautifully written and made me as reader pause and soak in every word. I truly enjoyed this author's writing style and look forward to seeing her name more in the future.

The writing didn’t mesh well with me. I found myself getting utterly lost in the text and not in a good way. Should’ve went through at least another round of edits. But the actual premise was interesting.