Cover Image: Aphrodite Made Me Do It

Aphrodite Made Me Do It

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Member Reviews

*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.

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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.

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I absolutely loved the artwork in this book! At times, I felt they were more powerful than the words in the book, which is the main reason I only game it 3 stars. Also, there were some subjects discussed that I didn’t see eye to eye with the author, but that’s just a personal thing. Overall, good messages.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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This book was a really great one.

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

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Beautiful poetry and images in this book. One of the best I've ever read. There were so many strong ones, it was the first time I ever connected so much to a poetry-book.

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The pictures get an easy four stars. I loved the mixed media aspect, the bright colours, the gorgeous fonts and the texts itself.

As for the text, I liked the Aphrodite parts more then Poet parts. Hers felt more cohesive and told a more interesting story, while I felt like Poet only reiterated the same thoughts again. Some of the things discussed I found valuable or interesting, others were too short to form a proper opinion on them.

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This is the poetry collection I needed to read.
It is utterly brilliant and the prose is stunning and it flowed together so well.

This is a story of abuse and survival, it is visceral.
It promotes self love and self healing whilst talking about the horrible effect abuse has on people.

"I haven’t learned how to heal. I’ve learned how to be alone. They’re not the same thing anymore."

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I was very excited for this book for two reasons:
1. Greek Mythology is my favorite
2. Trista Mateer is one of my favorite current poets.

Sadly, this book let me down. I understand you can’t win them all but I was really rooting for this one. The writing was eh, a lot of repetitive ‘poems’ (more accurately I’d say essays, maybe? Statements?) that reminded me of the “I will not..” statements you used to have to repeat while in detention in middle school.

I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the photos with doodles/quotes. It felt out of place like the book had empty space so she dumped them in and called it a day. Although with that said 2 out of my only 3 favorite lines came from photos. So maybe they were the best part?

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Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a mixed media poetry collection. With thought-provoking poetry sandwiched between beautiful pieces of design, it was certainly an interesting read. I've never read any of Trista Mateer's work before and I would definitely like to explore some other work.

There was a switch throughout between the voice of Aphrodite which I absolutely adored and other poems focused on the person Aphrodite is talking to. I felt the collection started off really strong and found its strength in the middle with some poems that really made me think about myself and my life as a woman in particular. Unfortunately the last third I just couldn't connect to the poems and if I'm honest I can't really remember them. I think just the poems from Aphrodite's perspective would have been enough and possibly made it a little less confusing.

It's definitely given me a taste for Mateer and I would like to check out more of their work. A 3 star read for me.

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Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy!

I was super excited to be able to read this ahead of the pub date as I am a big fan of Trista Mateer's words. I loved the inclusion of art in this collection. Many of the pieces are quite simplistic, especially in terms of style, but there is a strength in every page. There is a piece or a line that will reach out to every reader, either as a gentle hand on the shoulder or tight fist around the heart. Mateer's words are beautiful, raw, and bring new life to the stories of familiar figures like Aphrodite. I can't wait to snag a physical copy for my shelf at home.

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I’m so glad to have read this book. It came to me at a time when I was feeling very down about myself and where I was in life. Reading this book lifted my spirits so much, but it also almost made me cry because of how close to home it hit. Before I read this book, I was worried that it would be really preachy and insensitive and would be covering too many topics at once, but the book was none of that. I read it all in one sitting, reading poem after poem. There were a few of them that hit home for me the hardest, and even poems I read twice because I liked the messages that they were sending too much to read the poems only once. The messages weren’t ever forced so I never felt like I needed to like or even believe in them. It was like Aphrodite herself was there encouraging and supporting me.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It was a book that I absolutely needed, and I’m buying a physical copy of it for my shelf at home!

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Some nice poems, but on the whole given this is supposed to be about female empowerment I wasn’t keen on a lot of the author/poets views here and found some to be offensive to me as a feminist, yeah I get there are different types but unfortunately some of the views weren’t for me. Not for me at all unfortunately

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

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" *I didn't forget how to fight for myself.
I forgot that I could. * "

This was everything that I needed right now. This poetry collection explore a lot of different topics surrounding femininity and more. It dose it in a way were it's not only surface level. No, I felt that.

I really like the way Mateer expressed herself as well as choices of words and writing style. It is written in a pretty way but convey real, hurtful and dark topics which is my favorite combination.

I also really liked the red thread through out the story always connecting back to Aphrodite and how the people have painted her for years, in the same way we have painted women.

Beautiful.

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*thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for an honest review*

1 / 5 stars

I was loving this book at first. I loved the way it told me to write my own story, that it's ok to let go and be unapologetically me. Then the author went on a rant about women lying about rape and how she's worried for her boys life and how a mans career can be ruined by a lying woman. (insert eye roll here) Even worse, she said her daughter didn't matter in this equation. Ummmm, I'm pretty sure she does because in the grand scheme of things men rape more than women lie about being assaulted. It's facts. And instead of teaching our boys not to rape the author seems to be going for, "Let's not believe the women because we can't ruin this poor man's career."

It just made me feel like this author is out of touch and using her queerness to get away with saying stupid and ignorant sh** because diversity. Spoiler alert, I'm queer, I'm bi, I'm Latina, and those things don't make it so I can say stupid sh** about rape culture like this author did. Because of this author I'm now on the hunt for some good poetry to cleanse my palate. No thank you Aphrodite Made Me Do It.

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This is a really nice short collection of prose and poems about self-growth, self-acceptance, and healing.
The author resurrects Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, to tell the story of the wild goddess Aphrodite was before she was forced into obedience, her stories were re-written, and she became the embodiment of beauty and love.

<blockquote><i>"I wept at what became of my name."</i></blockquote>

The author uses Aphrodite's tales to show how women were always forced to morph, bury themselves, to become <i>acceptable</i>. She uses her example to provoke women to be loud, to be heard, because we aren't born to stay quiet. This book teaches you a lesson on love; how the most important kind of love is the one that you give to yourself.

It talks of abusive love, sexual assault, queer- shaming, being insecure and afraid to love, being afraid of being hurt again. It also talks about body image, mental health, and healing.

<blockquote><i>"The battles you fight will not always be loud, bloody affairs. Sometimes they will happen in your own home. Sometimes they will happen in your own head. Just remember: you have in you what it takes to overcome."</i></blockquote>

I enjoyed more the prose that the poetry in this collection. The thoughts the author shared with us are very powerful and I admire her determination and fearlessness to being able to speak so freely.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for providing me e-ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review. I solemnly swear that all opinions are my own.</i>

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