“Men said she was the perfect vessel for evil to enter the world, but men are the ones who wrote the stories. Men wrote the myths down and called them history, and time has dragged them further from the truth.”

Aphrodite Made Me Do It is an atypical sort of collection; it felt like a needed step away from poetry which makes a bouquet of the trauma and pain of its maker. You may think this therefore moves away from the encouragement readers might be looking for to help them move past their own pain, but it doesn’t, or from the lyrical beauty of a heart-felt or raw piece which readers can relate it, but it doesn’t. It just shouts into the void in a different way, and I really liked it.

With that said, the collection isn’t especially poetic or lyrical in nature. It actually feels more like an account of things Aphrodite taught the narrator in anecdotal style, which was a strange approach. There are multiple images throughout which felt a little juvenile – they genuinely looked like images captured from google with clip art attached, or were images with poignant quotes on which you’d often see scrolling along your chosen social media platform. This didn’t work for me at all and really distracted from the poetry.

I really appreciated that, despite this being Aphrodite inspired, the author didn’t allow love or romance to be the biggest part of her story – she actually says as much in a few of her poems. This worked really well for me, much better in fact than deliberately pointed poems about finding your inner strength when faced with heartache or only needing yourself all along anyway, all of which I find isolating. I particularly enjoyed one of her poems about men writing stories and not capturing history in the way Aphrodite might have liked which left more to the imagination.

A number of the poems rely on heavily repetition as a device to invoke emotion:

“You abusers past does not absolve them of their abuse. Their depression does not absolve them of their abuse. Your relationship with them does not absolve them of their abuse. How long you’ve known them does not absolve them of their abuse. Your love for them does not absolve them of their abuse”.

I actually really like what she’s getting at, I just didn’t enjoy the delivery and especially when it happens on a number of occasions. In this way some of her work was perhaps lessened by her execution when it could have had a much greater impact if delivered in another way.

This is definitely a different style of poetry, I’d highly recommend having a look at the images within and seeing if they are to your taste before investing in them because they can be off-putting. But the poetry within is really good, very relevant and celebrates a more uplifting approach.

“The world was full of men who called themselves heroes for crossing boundaries, claiming bodies like prizes. The world still is.”

I've read it in a few hours because the writing was very good, engaging and emotional. I think some of those poems were very raw and really made you think and feel. The illustrations were a great addition, they were very much in tune with the poems and gave a visual representation of the emotions presented in the verses.
Still, there was something missing, something that could've made this collection exceptional! Something that kept me from giving it five stars. I will, however, check this author's future books because she convinced me that she has a great potential!

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the advanced copy.
I went through a phase last year where I really enjoyed reading modern poetry, but I eventually got tired of it because I felt like I was reading the same things over and over again. I felt like the poetry stopped being original the more I read.
Fortunately, I did not have that experience while reading Aphrodite Made Me Do It. I really enjoyed this poetry collection. It felt like a more advanced form of poetry than what I am used to reading, which might be why I liked it more than others. I loved the words as well as the message. I highly recommend this poetry collection if you feel tired of modern poetry like I was.

I don’t think it’s a shock that I adored this book since I’ve given both Honeybee and Dragonhearts 5 stars but there’s just something so incredibly magical and powerful about the way that Trista Mateer writes poetry and I will never stop reading everything that is published.

I absolutely loved how vivid the imagery was in this collection, the addition of the artwork throughout really added to what I was imagining but it would have been just as stunning and easy to picture without it. You can also just feel the emotion in every single poem, it is so damn powerful and so damn beautiful that I had to keep stopping to reread certain poems because they just got to me in a really profound way. To me, this collection really focused on finding the power within yourself and doing whatever you need to do with that power. It’s a really important message of self love and self worth that was amazing to read. I also just loved that the poems were told from the perspectives of both the poet and Aphrodite, there’s something really magical about hearing the words of a powerful Goddess that just makes you feel something. And by reading the words of an equally powerful poet that makes you feel even more.

Poetry collections are such a personal thing, and I find reviewing them so very difficult, but I absolutely loved every second of this collection and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book so I can treasure it forever. Definitely recommend this one for anyone and everyone because it’s just that good.

I . . . don't get it. I don't get the high ratings for this, which feels like an extended Tumblr-quote, with faux-inspirational quotes to match. I wasn't a fan of the writing or the artwork - some of which was ok, but most of which seemed like text slapped over a copyright-free image. This was marketed to me as YA poetry, but it was neither YA - as far as I could tell - nor was it poetry, as far as I could tell. It was disjointed prose.

"I think of you often but I think of myself more."

I really enjoyed a lot of this poetry book! The art was fun and inspiring; I think it definitely has an aesthetic to it. I was excited to read from the perspective of Aphrodite and the Poet. The historical elements of Aphrodite's parts were some of my favorite; it was compelling to see her take her voice back from the words of male writers. Though I liked a lot of this book, there were a few parts where it fell flat for me. Specifically, I could tell at some places that the author was hoping a certain phrase would be impactful but sometimes those feel flat. In addition to this, I felt some of the art was wonderful and some of it looked like something I could make on a pain app in a couple minutes. That being said, there were many phrases that stuck with me and I included them below, and I'm sure reading a physical copy would solve some of my issues with the art!

"Men wrote the stories of my birth as if they were standing on the shore when I was spat up onto it. They picked up their pens and waxed poetic and nobody questioned it. Nobody asked me instead."
"... love has little to do with blood relations/and more to do with who you bleed for"
"Their fingers are purple with want"

This is a very thought-provoking, beautifully written and structured poetry collection. I hadn't read anything by the author before, but I have been wanting to read more poetry, and this turned out to be an excellent choice. There's a lot of heavy, emotional content, but a lot of empowering content as well.

There are two "main characters": the poet, writing about her own experience with love and life, and Aphrodite, talking about her own life and giving advice/having a conversation with the poet. I thought this worked really well, and it made for some very insightful poems.

My absolute favourite part of this poetry collection, being aromantic, was seeing such an inclusive portrayal of love. Often, love is reduced to romantic love, and this paints a very limited picture, but here, it was wonderful to see it portrayed as any type of love for any person.

Another favourite part of this book is that there's full colour art in it, which really adds a lot to the poems as well. I absolutely loved some of the art, especially the work that was combined with text, as it was very provocative and combined really well with the textual content.

The book lists the following CWs: body image, sexual assault, rape, eating disorders, queerphobia, emotional abuse, physical abuse, gore, blood, death, fire

Additional CWs: trauma, mental illness

I love seeing women write about their experiences. Poetry and prose is one of my favorite things to read and follow because we all relate in some way. I loved the title and cover but what was inside was so much more.

Aphrodite made me do it was an impulse request. I saw the cover and had to have it. And then i read it and looked at the art and thought, i need a physical copy of this immediately. Kindle just doesn't do the art justice.

I believe most of us are familiar with aphrodite in some respect, but not in the way aphrodite is portrayed in this story. Aphrodite's portions seemed a little more linear than the poet's sections, but both were artfully written.

There were some formatting issues with the verse, but that may have to do with my kindle settings as opposed to the actual narrative. But regarding the verse, the use of repetition leaves a memorable impact on the reader. The more you repeat a phrase, the better you remember it. And there are some extremely important reminders in this book that need to be repeated. The most valuable ones are the ones that say "your pain is valid" and "there is no excuse for abusive behavior, not depression or previous experience with assault, etc".

I admit i'm not familiar enough with poetry and verse to really comment intelligently on mateer's verse. I just like it lol.

I really appreciated the trigger warnings at the front of the book. I knew only what the synopsis said before i started this, and the warnings gave me a better idea of what would be discussed. That said, it does handle some heavy topics but also focuses on healing from the trauma stemming from those topics. It mostly focuses on somewhat vague sexual assault and queerphobia, but there are some other issues discussed as well. I think that if you are suffering from these types of trauma, this will be healing for you. But i wouldn't recommend it if your hurts are very fresh.

I almost wish this book was longer so i could learn more about mateer's aphrodite, but that would require extending the poet's sections, and i don't think there's any point in besting a dead horse. I really appreciated how Aphrodite plainly said not everyone's looking for love. I think in a story that focuses on trauma and abuse born from supposedly loving relationships, this is a very good and very important message.

Mateer made me feel energized and empowered with the statements they made in aprodite made me do it. Usually books like this make me sluggish and feel useless because there's so much focus on trauma that there's no focus on healing. But mateer focused on both equally, and that's how a master writes trauma, in my humble opinion.

At the end of the day, this is an extremely important mixed media book. It's not long enough to drag and make the reader bored, but in some ways it's too short for such heavy, multi-faceted topics. I genuinely believe that everyone should read this. Everyone should know that their pain is valid and that there is no excuse for the people inflicting it. Aprodite made me do it is almost like the book that gives me permission to take no shit and do no harm. I shouldn't need that permission. I shouldn't be afraid to tell an abuser that their depression isn't an excuse for their behavior.

Some poems really spoke to me and the fact that I love the goddess Aphrodite is what actually got me intrigued in this book in the first place. While the poems were good and relatable, I wasn't too keen on the artwork. It was a bit too simple and not that impactful.

While not all the content was reflective of an experience I've had in my own life, as a female (or probably just a human being), I found segments echoed my own life/interactions. Trista Mateer has a real talent for evoking true emotion in her poetry. I loved the parallels she drew in her exploration of Aphrodite's life and her own experiences. The push and pull flow of the narrative helped me absolutely fly through this.

This book felt like peering into someone's art journal. It was gorgeous, and I loved how it was arranged with pieces from Aphrodite's point of view and more personal pieces from Trista. The poems on self worth and queerness really struck my heart and I think this is a collection that is concise yet powerful, saying as much as it needs to without being overly-abrupt. I cannot wait to buy a physical copy of this, and I hope it gets as much love and attention as milk & honey did

*3.5/5 stars -- thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review*

TW: sexual abuse, rape

This was a series of poems written in the POV of Aphrodite speaking of love, empowerment, degradation, and resilience. It has a unique formatting where Aphrodite is speaking on different topics and is paired with artwork, photographs, and handwritten notes to add to the overall reading experience which I think made it more interesting for the reader.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a feminist poetry collection about love, loss, insecurity, pain, and empowerment. It's also a retelling of Aphrodite's story. I read the NetGalley proof on my kindle which for some annoying reason always means that it messes up the lines and images, but I liked the design and style anyway. The poetry itself - especially the parts about rewriting Aphrodite's story far away from the male gaze - was intriguing, but it didn't capture me for long. It was a short read with beautiful words, but at the same time, it felt like scrolling through someone's poetry-inspired Instagram feed - pretty but easily forgotten.

Wow guys. This was my first FULL poetry book I’ve ever read and I have to say it was quite an interesting experience.

I’ve never read a book that consisted only on storytelling through poem but found that I did not in fact hate it or even dislike it (like I very much feared I would).

This book is not the soft, lovey dovey romance poems you would expect when you think of love poems. Instead Mateer focuses on much more powerful stories of overcoming abuse, learning to love your body, and overall becoming happier and healthier.

Her focus on ones well being is both inspiring and very powerful. Her word choices and phrases are very bold and occasionally not for the faint of heart but thats what makes them so very powerful. I feel some of the things addressed in these poems is just what certain readers may have not known they needed to hear. Mateer's poems truly hold the power to influence and help others in their lives and how they view themselves.

I also really enjoyed that pictures were included for every poem. Some were placed throughout and some were the cover image for the individual poem. I also enjoyed the way Mateer tied in Aphrodite's story and connected her points and beliefs through the narrative voice of the goddess of love and how her reputation came about.

Overall a very intriguing powerful short collection of love poems that go against the traditional norm. Recommend for readers who enjoy poetry books or our looking to read some powerful poems about love and strength.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a collection of thought-provoking poetry; it speaks from a place of loss and lessons, feminism, and through the use of Greek Mythology. It's a letter to women to never be ashamed of who they are, to become their own warriors, and never apologize for any of it. And it doesn't shy away from discussing queer struggles, love and loss, and the way women are forced to be whatever is widely accepted rather than their own unique selves. So I loved this collection.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

This... was not what I expected. I must have read the description wrong but I thought this was going to be a lot more wishy-washy.

In some ways, this book frightened me - but it also challenged my perception of Aphrodite. It made me see Aphrodite as someone less wishy-washy and someone who was strong and, quite frankly, somebody to be feared. I think as kids, especially watching Hercules, we think of Aphrodite as the God of Love as someone very feminine and timid - but this collection challenges that notion and makes you see her as somebody powerful.

I really enjoyed the illustrations in this collection. They were beautiful and added something new to this collection of poetry.

4.5 / 5 Stars

Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a poetry collection that stands out above all the rest. With a blend of modern poems and prose, it changes perspective between the writer and Aphrodite as they chat with one another over their own experiences.

Trista brilliantly blends the mythology of Aphrodite with her own experiences, commenting on feminism, mental health, LGBT, and healing from past traumas. It's a collection in which will touch many aspect of your own life, with lines of poetry and prose that need to be highlighted and screamed from a rooftop. It's a collection that is impossible to put down until you've read it entirely. It's a collection that demands to be read again and again.

From subjects of love, healing, feminism, pain, trauma, recovery, sexual assault, LGBT+, and even stealing of her own work, I found so many quotes that I love and so many things that I needed to hear. Poetry can often be quiet depressing, and whilst this does also have parts that focus on what it's like to live with mental illnesses and experience trauma, it balances that with positive and motivational words. It reminds that you can get through it. And had a cathartic energy to it, that allowed you to feel the emotions but didn't let you get swept away. It kept you tethered and when the time was right, pulled you back away from the water and wrapped you in a warm embrace.

This has to be one of my favourite collections of 2019, perhaps ever to exist. The mix of mythology was something that I truly enjoyed and didn't put this down for even a second. Once this comes out I'm purchasing to be able to re-read and highlight all over again.

I have never been touched and affected so directly by poetry in my life. This collection was magnificent and it completely took my breath away more than once. The poetry itself was so amazing, but the other unique parts of this book made it goddess-level perfect. The graphics included just added something extra to the story that I was not expecting. Not only were they beautiful, but they were just the cherry on top to what the poetry was discussing. My favorite part was how this story was told. We got inserts directly from the poet, but Trista Mateer also included poetry from the perspective of Aphrodite herself. The juxtaposition between the two narrative worked so good together and made the whole thing that much more interesting. I think its safe to say that I absolutely loved this and highly recommend!

This book was a really great one.

I love how Aphrodites is portray it in this one.
As a strong as fuck female.